June 02, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government has finally made good its threat to penalise states which hold local government elections in violation of the Supreme Court judgement supporting councils’ financial and administrative autonomy.
The government has withheld the allocations for LGs in Osun State for February, March and April following the elections into the councils, held, “in disregard of a valid and subsisting judgment of the Court of Appeal.”
Earlier in the year, the government set an example with the Rivers State Government when it urged the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara to obey the apex court ruling against the November 5, 2024 LGA polls in the state or risk being starved of funds to run the LGs. Governor Fubara complied with the central government’s directive and announced the cancellation of the council polls.
Similarly, the Federal Government through legal advice from the Attorney- General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, warned the Osun State Government to defer the election into local government areas in the state slated for February 24, 2025.
Fagbemi maintained that the planned polls were “in disregard of a valid and subsisting judgment of the Court of Appeal.” The All Progressives Congress, APC, made the same appeal to the Governor Ademola Adeleke to respect the appellate court ruling, which was in favour of LG Chairmen elected on the platform of the APC before the governor assumed office on November 22, 2022.
However, the state government and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, countered the APC argument and pointed out that the APC lost the case at the same Federal High Court and the appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 13 January 2025 for lack of diligent prosecution.
The Court of Appeal recently heard an application filed by APC, praying the court to relist the appeal against the Federal High Court judgement which sacked its chairmen and councillors on 30 November, 2022.
Ruling on the application and on a preliminary objection filed by the respondents, Action Peoples Party and OSSIEC, has been adjourned till a date yet to be announced by the court.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has withheld the state’s LGA allocations for the months of February, March and April and most probably allocations for May.
Unsettled by this development, the state government has dragged the Federal Government to the Supreme Court for allegedly seizing the monthly allocations accruing to the councils.
The suit dated 23 April 2025 marked SC/CV/379/2025 filed by Musibau Adetunbi, SAN, counsel for the Attorney-General of Osun State (plaintiff), has the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as the sole defendant.
The state government wants the Supreme Court to make an order directing the Federal Government to release the seized funds and for orders restraining it from further withholding, suspending and for seizing fund allocations to the local government councils in the state.
In an originating summons filed on 24 April, 2025, the state government is asking the Supreme Court to determine the following questions:
Whether upon a proper construction of the provisions of Section 162 (3), (5), (6) and (8) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) via-a-vis the decisions of this Honourable Court in A.G. Lagos State V. A.G. Federation (2004) 18 NWLR (PART 904) 1 and A.G. Federation V. A.G. Abia State (2024) 17 NWLR (PART 1966) 1; the defendant can withhold, seize and/or suspend payment of the monthly allocations, revenues and other funds due to the constituent local government councils of the plaintiff state without any justification whatsoever, notwithstanding the fact that the plaintiff state has in place, at all-time material to this suit, democratically elected local government councils?
Upon a proper construction of Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which guarantees the existence and subsistence of democratically elected local government councils in all the states of the federation, including the plaintiff state, whether the act of the defendant in withholding, suspending and/or seizing the statutory allocations due to the constituent local government councils of the plaintiff state without any justification whatsoever, does not pose a threat to the existence, governance and/or subsistence of the democratically elected local government councils in place in the plaintiff state and, by extension, the state generally, and thereby contravening the clear provisions of the constitution?
Whether the defendant, without any lawful justification and/or any valid or subsisting judgment/order of court whatsoever, can single out the plaintiff state herein and decide to withhold, suspend, seize and/or refuse to pay the monthly allocations and revenues standing to the credit of the constituent local government councils of the plaintiff state, notwithstanding the fact that the plaintiff state has in place democratically elected local government councils in the state at all-time material to this suit?
The state government is praying the apex court to make the following declarations:
A declaration that the defendant has no right to withhold, suspend and/or seize the monthly allocations, revenues and/or other funds standing to the credit of the constituent local government councils of the plaintiff state without any justification whatsoever, particularly in view of the fact that the plaintiff state has democratically elected local government councils in place at all-time material to this suit.
A declaration that the acts of the defendant withholding the monthly allocation and revenues due to the constituent local government councils of the plaintiff state for the months of March 2025, without any justification whatsoever, despite the fact that the plaintiff has in place democratically elected local government councils at all-time material to this suit, as unconstitutional, unlawful and ultra vires the powers of the defendant.
A declaration that the seizure, suspension, withholding and/or refusal to pay the allocations and revenues due to the Plaintiff State by the Defendant is a threat to the existence and subsistence of the democratically elected local government councils which is in place in the plaintiff state at all-time material to this suit.
A declaration that insofar as the defendant is yet to commence implementation of the Judgment of this Honourable Court in Suit No.: SC/CV/343/2024 between A.G. Federation V. A.G. Abia State & Ors. by putting in place necessary logistics to ensure direct payment of the allocations and revenues due to each local government council of the states, the plaintiff cannot be singled out by the defendant for non-payment of its local government allocation while other states in the federation continue to receive payment of the local government allocation for and on behalf of their local government councils.
An order directing the defendant to release forthwith to the plaintiff, the monthly allocations and revenues due to its constituent local government councils for the months of March 2025 which have been unlawfully and unjustifiably withheld by the defendant into its state joint local government accounts.
An order directing the defendant to continue paying the allocation, revenues and other funds due to the local government councils of the plaintiff state through the plaintiff’s state joint local government accounts opened for that purpose pending the necessary logistics.
In an affidavit of extreme urgency deposed to by the Commissioner for Finance, Ogungbile Adeola Olusola, the state government, through the state Attorney General, said the suit was filed against the backdrop of the unjustifiable and unlawful withholding and seizure of the funds, allowances and revenues due to the local government councils from the federation account.
The Finance Commissioner said in the affidavit of urgency, sworn to on April 24, 2025 that the various local government councils in the plaintiff state need the allocations and revenue to function.
A date is yet to be fixed for hearing of the case.
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