In a crucial development, governors from the 36 States of the Federation under the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) will hold a meeting next week to review the Supreme Court judgment granting autonomy to local government councils.
NGF Chairman and Governor of Kwara, AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman, addressed State House Correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, noting that governors, who have been using their resources to support local governments, feel relieved by the ruling. He also affirmed that the state chief executives are comfortable with the Supreme Court’s decision.
“We welcome the Supreme Court ruling, and our Attorney Generals have applied for the enrollment order, which we’ll study carefully. By and large, governors are happy with the devolution of power regarding local government autonomy. It relieves the burden on governors. Our people don’t realize how much states spend bailing out local governments.”
The Kwara governor affirmed that the NGF had requested the enrollment of the judgment and would be reviewing it to decide the way forward.
“The forum will meet next Wednesday to look at the issue wholly and come up with a resolution on that. We haven’t seen the enrollment of the court order, so we don’t know what is in there yet.”
AbdulRahman mentioned that for Kwara State, the judgment would not negatively affect them as they have not been tampering with council funds.
“It’s not going to affect the state as we’ve never tampered with local government funds. What the local governments have to do is manage themselves, especially with the upcoming minimum wage, to manage their affairs, ensure salaries are paid, and that traditional rulers get their 5%.”
Flanked by his Imo State counterpart, Hope Uzodimma, and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, the NGF Chairman said they were at the Presidential Villa to discuss various issues including the minimum wage, the Supreme Court ruling, and other national matters concerning the states.
“We’ve seen the President on various issues, from the minimum wage, which he discussed with labor yesterday, to the Supreme Court ruling and other national issues that concern states. It’s omnibus,” he added.
