The Supreme Court in Abuja declined the request to join the State Houses of Assembly as defendants in the Federal Government's lawsuit against the 36 state governors. The court stated that the Houses of Assembly have no legal or jurisdictional standing in the matter.
During the proceedings, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, sought to join the Speaker of Kebbi State House of Assembly as a party in the case. However, Justice Garba Lawal, leading a seven-man panel of justices, questioned the legality of the State Houses of Assembly joining a case between the Federal Government and the state governors, and whether the apex court has jurisdiction as a court of first instance in such matters.
In response to the court's guidance, Maikyau attempted to provide legal authority to support the request but ultimately withdrew from the proceedings when his argument did not garner support.
Following Maikyau's withdrawal, the processes of the Federal Government and those of the state governors were ordered to be adopted. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, initiated the legal action on behalf of the Federal Government. The lawsuit aims to secure full autonomy for local governments as the third tier of government in the country.
The lawsuit seeks an order to prevent state governors from unilaterally dissolving democratically elected local government councils, as well as a directive to channel funds from the appropriations of local governments directly to them from the Federation Account, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Additionally, the lawsuit aims to prohibit governors from constituting inner committees to oversee the affairs of local governments against the established democratic system.
The lawsuit, marked SC/CV/343/2024, is founded on 27 grounds, asserting that the Federal Government, as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution, is responsible for upholding and implementing the provisions of the Constitution. Governor representatives from each state were named as defendants in the lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.