The Nigerian Senate recently held a closed-door session to address concerns about local government autonomy. The issue arose after Senator Tony Nwoye alleged that some state governments are attempting to undermine a Supreme Court ruling that grants financial autonomy to local governments. These state governments, through their respective Houses of Assembly, are reportedly passing laws that force local governments to remit a significant portion of their federal allocations into joint accounts controlled by the state governments, which violates the court’s decision.
Senators debated the matter, citing constitutional provisions and Supreme Court judgments, and eventually decided to hold a closed-door session to discuss potential constitutional amendments to prevent further violations. The Supreme Court had ruled that local government allocations should be paid directly to them, not through the states, and declared state control over such funds unconstitutional.
