The Supreme Court judgment on Thursday, July 11, granting financial autonomy to the 774 local government areas in Nigeria has been widely commended by Nigerians.
This is as Nigerians have expressed fears that the governors, who may not give up easily, might find another means of diverting council funds.
The judgment reinstated the powers to the local government areas across the nation by mandating that financial allocations from the federation account be channeled directly to them.
It is believed that this would effectively curb the authority of state governments to remove local government executives at will.
The Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had earlier filed a legal suit against the 36 state governors, seeking full autonomy and direct funds allocation to the 774 local governments in the country.
He had prayed the apex court to make an order that funds of local governments being run by caretaker committee chairmen…