Supreme Court Grants Full Autonomy to Local Government Councils

The Supreme Court in July delivered a landmark judgment granting full autonomy to the 774 Local Government Councils in the country thus freeing the Councils from the stranglehold of State Governments. The verdict will enable the local councils, constitutionally recognized as the third tier of government in the country, make decisions and take actions without needing approval from state governments.

The Federal Government on its part in August inaugurated a 10-Man Inter- Ministerial Committee to enforce the judgement. These developments have rekindled hope of a new dawn for democracy and development at the grassroots in the country.

The Local Government Councils, in addition to their internally generated revenue, are entitled to 20.6% of all federally collected revenue in the country. This often amounts to a tidy sum for each Council every month. For instance, the 774 Councils received over N2 trillion from the Federation Account Revenue between January and July 2024. The Constitution assigns the following functions to the Councils:

• Economic recommendations to the State.
• Collection of taxes and fees.
• Establishment and maintenance of cemeteries, burial grounds and homes for the destitute or infirm.
• Licensing of bicycles, trucks (other than mechanically propelled trucks), canoes, wheelbarrows and carts.
• Establishment, maintenance and regulation of markets, motor parks and public conveniences.
• Construction and maintenance of roads, streets, drainages and other public highways, parks, and open spaces.
• Naming of roads and streets and numbering of houses within their local government areas.
• Provision and maintenance of public transportation and refuse disposal systems.
• Registration of births, deaths and marriages in their locality.
• Assessment of privately owned houses or tenements for the purpose of levying such rates as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly of a State.
• Control and regulation of outdoor advertising, movement and keeping of pets of all descriptions, shops and kiosks, restaurants and other places for sale of food to the public, and laundries.

With the revenue accruing to them and their faithful adherence to their constitutional responsibilities, the Councils, as the tier of government closest to the people, are expected to contribute extensively to the improvement of the welfare and living standards of Nigerians, especially the highly impoverished rural population.