LG Autonomy: El-Rufai Drops Cryptic Message on Supreme Court Judgment
- Former governor of Kaduna state Nasir El-Rufai has made a cryptic comment on the Supreme Court judgment granting autonomy to local governments in Nigeria
- El-Rufai quoted a tweet from the presidency that summarised the judgment of the apex court with a terse comment saying it is God who gives and takes
- The former governor's comment comes amid his ongoing political battle with his successor in Kaduna state, Uba Sani
Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna state, has reacted to the Supreme Court judgment granting autonomy to 774 local governments in Nigeria.
The former governor made a cryptic comment while reacting to the summary of the court judgment, shared by Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu's aide on information and strategy.
LG autonomy: El-Rufai's reaction to court verdict
The Supreme Court of Nigeria ruled on Thursday, July 11, in favour of local government autonomy, stating that it is unconstitutional for state governors to hold funds allocated for local government administrations.
PAY ATTENTION: Share your outstanding story with our editors! Please reach us through info@corp.legit.ng!
Quoting a tweet from the presidency on the court verdict, El-Rufai wrote on X:
"From God, we all came, and to Him, we shall all return."
Recall that Tinubu earlier nominated El-Rufai as a minister in his cabinet, but the Senate rejected his nomination, citing security concerns.
The former governor subsequently began a political battle with his successor in Kaduna, Uba Sani. Many have linked their face-off to Tinubu.
Supreme Court judgment on LG funds
The apex court held in its ruling that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds.
The court also ruled that the state government has no power to appoint a caretaker committee as only a democratically elected local government council is recognised.
It further said that the local government council funds must be paid to only democratically elected local government councils.
The Supreme Court accused state governments are perpetuating a dangerous trend by refusing to allow democratically elected local government councils to function.
It ordered that the federal government should pay local government allocations directly to the councils' accounts.
Below is El-Rufai's tweet:
Governor Buni of Yobe sacks LG chairman
Legit.ng earlier reported that Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe state announced the suspension of the Machina LGA's chairman, Idrissa Mai Bukar Machina.
Idrissa Mai Bukar Machina was immediately suspended and directed to hand over to his deputy.
The governor's decision was said to be in line with Section 2 of the Local Government Law 2019, as amended.
Proofreading by James Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
PAY ATTENTION: Unlock the best of Legit.ng on Pinterest! Subscribe now and get your daily inspiration!
Source: Legit.ng