Full List: Nigerian Governors Who Sacked Local Government Chairmen Between 2023 and 2024
On Thursday, July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment prohibiting governors from dissolving democratically elected local government councils. The court ruled that such actions violate the 1999 Constitution. Prior to the ruling, about five governors had dissolved or sacked local government councils in their states.
The federal government, through the attorney general of the federation, had filed the suit to prevent governors from arbitrarily dissolving elected councils. The 36 state governors contested the suit, but the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favour of the federal government.
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In its ruling, the court granted financial autonomy to the 774 local government councils and directed that allocations from the federation account be paid directly to the council accounts rather than to state government coffers.
The move, according to the court, is to ensure local governments manage their funds independently.
Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgment, criticised governors for denying local governments autonomy for years. The court dismissed the governors' objections, affirming local governments' rights to self-governance.
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The judgment is considered a significant milestone in Nigeria's political history for many reasons. In the first place, it ensures local governments are empowered to function effectively without undue interference from state governors. It also promotes decentralisation, grassroots development, and democratic governance.
Recall that between 2023 and 2024, five governors reportedly sacked local government chairmen in their states. The chairmen were appointed in some states and elected in others.
In the wake of Supreme Court's recent ruling, Legit.ng spotlights governors who sacked council chairmen in the last two years:
Governor Buni sacks LG chairman
Yobe state governor Mai Mala Buni recently suspended Idrissa Mai Bukar Machina, the chairman of the Machina local government area, over alleged misconduct and insubordination.
The governor said the suspension was with immediate effect and directed the chairman to hand over the council's affairs to the vice chairman on Tuesday, July 9.
Earlier in April, Governor Buni sacked all the council chairmen and conducted a local government election on June 8. Machina was among the elected 17 local government chairmen sworn in on June 11.
Anambra governor Charles Soludo
Anambra state, governed by Chukwuma Soludo, has been operating without elected local government councils for over 14 years. Despite promising to prioritise local government elections during his campaign in 2021, Soludo has continued with caretaker committees appointed to manage the 21 local government councils.
Initially intended to be temporary, these committees have been renewed every three months. Governor Soludo has followed the precedent set by his predecessor, Willie Obiano. Within two years, Soludo has extended the appointments of these chairmen seven times.
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However, in a recent development, Soludo directed the chairmen to hand over the affairs of their local government councils to the Head of Local Government Administration (HLGA) by May 20, 2024.
This decision marked a sudden change in Soludo's approach to local government administration.
How LG chairmen were sacked in Osun
In November 2022, Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court in Osogbo annulled the local government election conducted by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC).
The judgment was delivered in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which had filed a suit to stop the election.
The court declared the election null and void, citing contravention of sections 29 and 32 of the Electoral Act, 2022. The judgment effectively invalidated the results of the October 15 local government election in Osun state.
Since then, Governor Ademola Adeleke has not conducted any local government election. He has been appointing and sacking council chairmen.
Governor Alia sacks council chairs
Benue state governor Hyacinth Alia also earlier requested the removal of three local government chairmen due to alleged misconduct and mismanagement of funds.
The affected chairmen were Tavershima Agber (Gboko LG), Gideon Haanongon (Ukum LG), and Francis Zanzan (Katsina-Ala LG).
The Benue state House of Assembly promptly approved the governor's request, which cleared their replacements. Verlumun Avar, Victor Iorzaa, and Justin Shaku were appointed as the new chairmen of the Gboko, Ukum, and Katsina-Ala local government councils, respectively.
Governor Fubara appoints caretaker committee
The governor of Rivers state, Siminalayi Fubara, followed a similar path recently when he sacked the 27 local government chairmen in the state and appointed caretaker committees to replace them. The move had come amid his lingering power struggle with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike.
A factional state House of Assembly had extended the tenure of the council chairmen following the governor's refusal to conduct LG elections in the state.
LG autonomy: El-Rufai addresses Supreme Court judgment
Legit.ng earlier reported that the former Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, made a cryptic comment on the Supreme Court judgment granting autonomy to local governments in Nigeria.
El-Rufai quoted a tweet from the presidency summarising the apex court's judgment and noted God gives and takes.
The former governor's comment came amid his ongoing political battle with his successor in Kaduna state, Uba Sani.
Proofreading by James Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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