*Gives another 7 days to AGF to respond
By our Judiciary correspondent, Abuja
The Supreme Court, Thursday, gave the 36 State Governors seven days to file defence to the Federal Government’s suit seeking autonomy for 774 local governments in the country.
The Apex court also ordered the AGF that upon receipt of the governors defense, he must file his reply within two days.
The seven-man panel lead by Justice Garba Lawal, issued the order while ruling on an application for abridgment of time argued by the Attorney General of Federation)AGF) Lateef Fagebemi SAN.
The apex court said that the decision of the court was predicated upon the national urgency of the suit and the non- objection from the attorneys general of the states of the federation.
It insisted that filing of all processes and exchanging of the same must be completed within the time.
Justice Lawal ordered that the 8 states that were not in attendance at Thursday’s proceedings must be served with fresh hearing notice.
The 8 states are Borno, Kano, Kogi, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Oyo and Sokoto, whose attorneys general were absent in court, despite being served with hearing notice.
Meantime, the matter is adjourned to June 13 for hearing of the suit.
The FG, through the AGF, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, dragged the 36 state governors to the supreme court over alleged misconduct in the local government administration.
Specifically, the AGF is seeking full autonomy for LG as third tiers of government in the country.
The Governors were sued through their respective State Attorneys General.
In the suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, the AGF is praying the Apex Court for an order prohibiting State Governors from unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders for local governments.
In the originating summons, AGF is also praying the Apex Court for an order permitting the funds standing in the credits of local governments to be directly channelled to them from the Federation Account in line with the provisions of the Constitution as against the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by governors.
The summon personally signed by AGF, seeks an order of the Apex Court stopping governors from constituting Caretaker Committees to run the affairs of local governments as against the Constitutionally recognized and guaranteed democratic system.
It also applied for an order of injunction restraining the governors, their agents and privies from receiving, spending or tampering with funds released from the Federation Account for the benefits of local governments when no democratically elected local government system is put in place in the states.
