The former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.) has hailed the judgement delivered by the Supreme Court granting financial autonomy to local governments.
In his official statement, Buratai, who also served as Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, appraised the verdict labelling it transformational and a radical change that will redirect the fortunes of the local governments in the country. He also commended the federal government for the bold initiative at the Supreme Court and applauded the judges too for upholding justice during delivery.
He said, “this is transformational and radical change that will redirect the fortunes of the local governments in the country. I commend the federal government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR for instituting the case in the SC and also commend the SC for this landmark judgement”. Buratai further said that “the Tinubu Renewed Hope Agenda is truly manifesting positively for the good of democracy and for the common man.
Furthermore, he highlighted some of the cardinal points of the judgement of the Supreme Court Judges which are allocations are to be paid directly to Local Government Councils immediately, appointment of Caretaker committees is illegal and unconstitutional, and that no governor has any powers to appoint any CTC amongst others.
According to him, “the Supreme Court’s ruling is a significant victory for local government autonomy. It has set a precedent for future cases involving local government autonomy and financial independence. Also, the ruling will have far-reaching implications for the country’s political landscape, as local governments gain greater control over their finances and Local Government Councils will now be able to deliver services more effectively to their communities, without interference from state governors. Aside from that, it will have a positive impact on grassroots development, including grassroots security.
It would be recalled that the Supreme Court declared on Thursday that it is unconstitutional for state governors to hold funds allocated for local government administrations.
The seven-man panel, in the judgement delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, declared that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds themselves.
The apex court held that the power of the government is portioned into three arms of government, the federal, the state and the local government.
The court further declared that a state government has no power to elect a caretaker committee and a local government council is only recognisable with a democratically elected government.