The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has warned that the Supreme Court’s judgment on local government autonomy can’t be overturned.
Speaking in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on Tuesday, October 22, Fagbemi said the Supreme Court’s judgment is non-negotiable and must be respected by state governors.
Fagbemi said there is no three-month grace period for the implementation of the apex court’s judgment but that the federal government won’t rush in implementing the court’s judgment.
Fagbemi said: “Unfortunately, I know it has been in the media that they gave them (the governors) a three-month moratorium, which is not the position.
“The position is that, yes, the judgment was delivered, but we felt that there is a need to put some things in place before the full implementation. That it is going to be implemented is sacrosanct; nobody can run away from it.
“Are they going to rewrite the judgment of the Supreme Court? Once we have the full details of their law, we will act accordingly.
“There is no such moratorium. The judgment was passed, but we acknowledged the need to establish certain frameworks before full implementation. Nonetheless, implementation is compulsory, and no one can avoid it.”
The AG’s statement comes against the backdrop of the recent enactment of the Anambra State Local Government Administration Law 2024 which Governor Chukwuma Soludo said was necessary due to the complexities of absolute local government autonomy.
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