Metro

JUST IN: Supreme Court Orders Immediate Direct Payment Of LG Allocations

Published

1 year ago

July 11, 2024

The Supreme Court has granted financial autonomy to the 774 local government councils in the country.

In a landmark judgement on Thursday, the apex court ordered the Federal Government to immediately start the direct payment of local government funds to the latter’s exclusive accounts.

In its lead judgement read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court scolded the decades-long refusal of the state government on financial autonomy for local governments.

Justice Agim noted that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds themselves.

He dismissed the preliminary objections of the defendants (state governors).

The apex court directed that Local Government allocations from the Federation Account should be paid directly to them henceforth, and not to state government coffers.

Justice Agim pointed out that the state governors’ retention of the monies meant for the Local Governments truncates the latter’s activities.

Justice Agim ordered the immediate compliance of the judgement, stating that no state government should be paid monies meant for Local Governments.

LG Autonomy At Last!
There are 774 local government areas in the country but the efficiency of the third tier of government has been hampered by the weight of some controlling and overbearing governors who have been accused of mismanaging funds meant for the administration of local governments.

In the last few months, calls for local government autonomy have increased in Nigeria. President Bola Tinubu also supported the calls. In May, the Federal Government, through the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, sued the 36 state governors over alleged misconduct of local government funds.

Currently, the Federal Government gets 52.68%, and states get 26.72%. In comparison, LGs get 20.60% of the country’s monthly revenue allocated by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) which operates under the Presidency, and disbursed by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

Interestingly, LG funds are paid into a joint account operated by state governments and local governments in their domains.

In the suit filed by AGF, the Federal Government sought an order preventing the governors from arbitrarily dissolving democratically elected councils. The suit by the AGF was on 27 grounds.

The 36 state governors, defendants in the suit, opposed the AGF for instituting the case.

But Justice Agim said the AGF has the right to institute the suit and protect the constitution.

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Metro

My Husband Doesn’t Love Me, I Want Divorce —Wife

Published

7 hours ago

October 18, 2025

Editor

…I ‘m still interested in her —Husband

A woman, Mrs Hajara Busari, has asked an Area Court Centre Igboro in Ilorin, Kwara State, to dissolve her six-year-old marriage to her husband, Mr Mumini Anafi, over lack of love.

The petitioner told the court that she is no longer interested in the Islamic marriage with her husband, and urged the court to dissolve it.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), she is seeking an order for marriage dissolution, custody of their three children, as well as the sum of N50,000, being cost of maintenance of the children.

Meanwhile, the respondent told the court that he is still interested in their marriage and urged the court not to grant the reliefs sought by the petitioner.

The presiding judge, Mr Toyin Aluko, urged the husband to explore every opportunity within his reach to achieve amicable settlement of any dispute with his wife.

The court adjourned the case until December 17.

Metro

Woman Divorces Husband For Smashing Her Phone, Refusing To Repair It

Published

7 hours ago

October 18, 2025

Editor

A woman, Zainab Alhassan, has divorced her husband, Tijjani Muhammad, over his refusal to repair her damaged cell phone worth N70,000.

She told the court that she was no longer interested in their marriage and was ready to divorce him through Khul’i, (a type of divorce where a woman returns the dowry she received to her husband.)

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Alhassan told the court that she was ready to return the N30,000 dowry to regain her freedom.

She told the court that she was watching a movie on her phone when her husband started fighting her, collected her phone and allegedly smashed it.

She, however, noted that she does not have a witness to prove her claims.

On his part, the defendant said he does not have a problem with her divorce plea but disagreed with the claim that he damaged her phone.

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The judge, Malam Mu’awiyya Shehu, dissolved their marriage on the basis of Khul’i and dismissed the complainant’s plea for the repair of the phone.

Metro

I Want Divorce, N50,000 For Our Children’s Upkeep, Woman Tells Court

Published

7 hours ago

October 18, 2025

Editor

A woman, Mrs Hajara Busari, has asked an Area Court Centre-igboro in Ilorin, Kwara State, to dissolve her six-year-old marriage with her husband, Mr Mumini Anafi, over lack of love.

The petitioner told the court that she is no more interested in the Islamic marriage with her husband and urged the court to dissolve same.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), she is seeking an order for marriage dissolution, custody of her three children, as well as the sum of N50,000, being cost of maintenance of her children.

Meanwhile, the respondent, told the court that he is still interested in his marriage with his wife, and urged the court not to grant the reliefs sought by the petitioner.

The presiding Judge, Mr Toyin Aluko, urged the husband to explore every opportunity within his reach, to achieve amicable settlement of any dispute with his wife.

The court adjourned the case until December 17, for either report of settlement or for hearing.