The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, CON, has inaugurated an Inter-Ministerial Committee to implement the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment, delivered on July 11, 2024, granting financial autonomy to local governments in Nigeria.
Some have hailed the apex court judgment as an impetus for the decentralization of power and reignition of governance structures at the grassroots level.
The committee, chaired by Senator Akume, comprises key government officials, including the Minister of Finance & Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Attorney General of the Federation & Minister of Justice, the Minister of Budget & Economic Planning, and the Accountant General of the Federation. Other members include the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation & Fiscal Commission Chairman, and representatives from state governors and local governments.
The committee’s primary mandate is to ensure that local governments are granted full financial autonomy, enabling them to operate independently and effectively without undue interference from state governments. This move aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to upholding the Constitution, which recognizes local governments as Nigeria’s third tier of government.
The committee’s work is expected to have transformative implications for governance in Nigeria, as it seeks to empower local governments, who have been under the direct control of the state governors, to better serve their communities.
Some analysts see the enforcement of financial autonomy as a step toward enhancing transparency, accountability, and development at the local level. Still, others defer and uphold the view that a proper federation is strictly between a federal entity and the subnational entities – the states.
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