State governors have received a strong warning from President Bola Tinubu that if they disregard a recent Supreme Court decision upholding financial autonomy for Nigeria’s third tier of government, he may be forced to issue an Executive Order to mandate direct allocations to local governments.
Tinubu gave a speech on Friday at the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) 15th National Executive Committee (NEC) gathering at the State House Conference Center in Abuja.
Tinubu threatened to personally distribute local council cash from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) if governors were found to have withheld statutory amounts intended for local councils. This was a subtle but direct warning.
“The Supreme Court has capped it for you again, saying, ‘give them their money directly,'” the President remarked, addressing NEC members that included governors, members of the National Working Committee, and other party leaders. I have the knife and the yam, so I’ll chop it if you wait for my executive order.
“I’m just showing my governors a lot of respect and understanding,” he continued. Otherwise, you will see if you don’t begin putting it into practice, fact by fact.
Tinubu’s comments come after the Supreme Court’s historic ruling on July 11, 2024, upholding the Federal Government’s lawsuit to require local governments to be financially independent.
A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that it is unlawful for state governments to keep or handle monies intended for local councils.
According to Section 162(5–8) of the 1999 Constitution (as modified), the court mandated that allocations from the Federation Account be made directly to local governments. Nonetheless, a lot of governments have persisted in using joint accounts to transfer the money.
During his statement, Tinubu reaffirmed the need for governors to follow the ruling of the highest court, cautioning that any more infractions might result in federal intervention.
“Our Supreme Court is the final destination. We must adhere. He emphasized, “We must respect the judgment.
