By JOAN NWAGWU

The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has faulted the Federal Government over the delay in implementing the Supreme Court judgment granting financial autonomy to local governments.

The National President of NULGE, Mr Aliyu Kankara, expressed the union’s concern in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

Kankara said nearly one year and six months after the apex court’s judgment, the Federal Government had yet to take concrete steps to implement the landmark ruling.

“Almost one year and six months after the Supreme Court judgment, there has not been any attempt by the Federal Government to implement the ruling.

“The responsibility for implementing the judgment lies with the Federal Government. It is not the responsibility of state governments.

“We are calling on President Bola Tinubu to direct the immediate implementation of the judgment. There should be no further delay.”

He said the Supreme Court had directed that allocations due to local governments should be paid directly from the Federation Account through the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

According to him, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Central Bank of Nigeria are responsible for implementing the judgment.

Kankara described the delay as a violation of the rule of law, saying the Federal Government had a constitutional obligation to comply with the Supreme Court’s decision.

“A Supreme Court judgment is the law. The Federal Government, as a democratic government, should respect the rule of law and implement the judgment,” he said.

He maintained that the issue had gone beyond politics, stressing that compliance with the judgment was necessary to strengthen constitutional governance.

“It is no longer about whether anyone likes local government autonomy or not. It is about respecting the law of the land,” he said.

Kankara said implementing financial autonomy would strengthen grassroots governance by enabling councils to provide quality healthcare, education, sanitation, rural roads and other essential services.

He also said that the delay have increased insecurity, saying local governments were better positioned to address community security challenges if they had direct access to their statutory allocations.

“Local governments know their terrain, understand their communities and can contribute significantly to addressing insecurity, but they need the necessary resources to do so,” he said.

He said the union would sustain advocacy until the judgment was fully implemented, describing financial autonomy as critical to grassroots development and democratic governance.

Kankara disclosed that NULGE and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had written to President Bola Tinubu on the matter but were yet to receive an official response.

“We have written to the President and the NLC has also written. We are still awaiting a response, but we will continue to advocate implementation,” he said. (NAN)

Update news