In a landmark judgment delivered on Thursday, the Supreme Court has ruled that the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) will no longer release funds to states with Caretaker Committee (CTC) local government chairmen.
This decision is set to have significant implications for several states across Nigeria, including Rivers, Abia, Anambra, Katsina, Zamfara, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River.
According to Mike Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the Supreme Court's ruling on local government autonomy is clear – states must conduct democratic elections for local government officials in order to receive their share of the federation account.
Ozekhome emphasized that if a state has a CTC system in place, they will be barred from accessing funds from the FAAC.
"The judgement of the government is clear. If you want to receive funds from the federation account, then conduct an election. If what you have in place is a caretaker committee as local government chairman, be sure that it will not have money from the federation account. If you want money from the federation account, such councils must be democratically elected," Ozekhome stated in an interview with Channels Television.
The Supreme Court's decision comes as a significant blow to governors who have been accused of undermining local government autonomy by dissolving democratically elected officials and installing CTC chairmen.
The country's highest court has now barred this practice, stating that it amounts to a breach of the 1999 Constitution.
DAILY POST reports that over 18 states in Nigeria currently have CTC systems in place, including Rivers, Benue, Anambra, Imo, Kwara, Abia, Enugu, Plateau, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Sokoto, Yobe, Ondo, Osun, Akwa-Ibom, and Cross River.
These states will now be forced to conduct local government elections to ensure they continue receiving their allocation from the Federation Account.