LG Autonomy: No state can rewrite Supreme Court judgment- AGF

Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, on Tuesday, cautioned states not to commit contempt of court by disobeying the verdict of the supreme court, saying that nobody has the power to rewrite the court judgment on the matter of the financial autonomy for the local government areas.

The minister’s comment was not unconnected to the recent decision of the Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, to sign into law a bill that grants oversight power to the state government over the local government areas in the state.

Mr Soludo’s action is also in response to the recent judgement that granted financial autonomy to the local government areas, as against the current practice that places the LGAs at the mercy of the states.

The governor had warned that granting full autonomy to Nigeria’s 774 local government areas could lead to chaos, noting that such a move would not result in sustainable development.