Kaduna North House of Representatives member, Bello El-Rufai, stated that former Governor Nasir El-Rufai was the first governor in Northern Nigeria to attempt granting local governments full autonomy.
Bello expressed that history will vindicate El-Rufai for his efforts. Posting on X, he said, “Mal. @elrufai was the first Governor in Northern Nigeria to attempt granting local government full autonomy. History will vindicate Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.”
This statement comes as the Supreme Court of Nigeria has barred the Federal Government from channeling local governments’ allocations through state governments.
In a landmark ruling, Justice Emmanuel Agim declared it unconstitutional for state governments to withhold local government allocations. The ruling came in a local government autonomy suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, on behalf of the Nigerian Government.
According to Agim, henceforth, local government area allocations will not be paid to state government accounts. The court also prohibited governors from receiving, tampering with, or withholding funds meant for local governments.
Additionally, the court barred governors from dissolving democratically elected local government officials, deeming such actions a violation of the 1999 Constitution.
