Afenifere, Ohanaeze disagree over S’Court judgment on LG autonomy

The pan-Yoruba socio-political association, Afenifere and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide have expressed diverse concerns over the Supreme Court judgment that granted total financial autonomy to local governments in Nigeria.

The Supreme Court on Thursday declared that it is unconstitutional for state governors to hold funds allocated for local government administrations.

The court further declared that a state government has no power to appoint a caretaker committee, adding that a local government council is only recognisable with a democratically elected government.

Meanwhile, Afenifere, in a statement on Saturday by the National Public Secretary, Chief Ayo Adebanjo and Prince Justice Faloye, described the apex court’s judgment as a mere judicial conspiracy.

The statement partly reads, “Afenifere views the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case filed by the Federal Government on the so-called local government autonomy as sheer judicial conspiracy in cahoots with the Tinubu administration against the Nigerian state and its foundational principles of federalism.

“Rather than interpret the constitution to uphold its elementary but overriding federal principle which recognises only a two-tier federal structure of the central government and federating states, the Supreme Court played to the gallery and wittingly allowed itself a most retrogressive declaration that the power of the government is portioned into three arms of government, the federal, the state and the local government.

“While Afenifere frowns at corruption and misuse of public funds at levels of government, it condemns in most unmistaken terms  the subjugation of the states and its constitutional roles, including the local government system to the whims and caprices of the federal government by any means, including obvious manipulation of the federation account as in the present case.”

However, the National Publicity Secretary of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Alex Ogbonnia, said the judgment will enhance development across the country.

Ogbonnia stressed that Ohanaeze was interested in grassroots development.

He said, “So we are very much interested in grassroots development. However, for the Supreme Court judgment to have full meaning, it must be independent and the state’s independent electoral commission has to be reviewed. So long as the electoral body is managed by the state government, it will become very difficult for any other person to win an election in a state where the state government is in charge of the electoral body.  In a nutshell, Ohanaeze is in support of the grassroots development.

“What the federal government is looking for is unachievable if the state electoral body conducts the local government election, what they are looking for will be unattainable. As long as the state government is in charge of the electoral body that conducts the election into local government councils.”