Withheld Funds: Supreme Court Strikes Out Osun’s Suit against FG

.Berates federal government over non-compliance with judgement on LG autonomy 

Alex Enumah in Abuja 

The Supreme Court in a split decision of six-to-one justices yesterday, struck out the suit filed by the Osun State Government against the federal government, over the non release of statutory allocations due to the Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state.

The apex court in the majority judgement struck out the suit on the grounds of want of jurisdiction.

According to the majority judgement delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris, the Supreme Court held that the Osun State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice has no legal right to have instituted the case on behalf of the 30 local governments in the state. 

Also, the justices in the majority judgement berated the federal government for failing to observe the last year’s verdict of the apex court which, having recognised the autonomy of local government in the country, ordered the direct release of monthly statutory allocation to the accounts of the LGs.

The Osun State had through the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, dragged the federal government to the apex court, challenging the decision of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to withheld funds belonging to the state’s LGAs and directing same to be paid into a special account for the benefit of the alleged sacked chairmen and councillors of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The plaintiff, in the suit marked: SC/CV/773, had sought for an order of the apex court directing the AGF to immediately release the statutory allocations to Chairmen and Councillors validly elected for the 30 Local Government Areas of the Osun State.

The plaintiff also sought for another order barring the AGF from further withholding, suspending or seizing monthly allocations and revenues standing to the credit of the constituents LGs, having democratically elected chairmen and councillors in place.

But, the federal government had challenged the powers of the apex court to hear the suit on grounds that it did not fall within the issues the apex court was empowered to handle, adding that the plaintiff lacked the necessary locus standi to initiate the legal action.

Delivering judgement, Justice Idris in the majority judgement upheld the preliminary objection of the federal government, to the extent that the dispute before the court was not one between the federal government and the state, adding that the proper person to have instituted the case are the chairmen of the state LGs, who has powers to sue and also be sued.

Meanwhile, the majority judgement disagreed with the defendant that the plaintiff acted in disregard of the apex court verdict on local government autonomy, stressing that on the contrary, the defendant’s “hands are not clean” because they have been soiled by the decision to unjustly withhold the funds of the state LGAs. 

However, while stating that the subject matter of the case is the release of funds belonging to Osun LGA, the apex court held that the plaintiff “failed to establish a competent cause of action.”

Besides, the apex court disagreed with the plaintiff that the suit was a public interest litigation as it was brought in the interest of the people of Osun State. “The LGAs are autonomous and have powers to sue….the state AG lacks powers to sue on behalf of the LGAs.

“The defendant’s preliminary objection is meritorious,” Idris held and subsequently struck it out.

Although, the apex court struck out the suit for want of jurisdiction, Idris took the opportunity of the judgement delivery to “issue a stern admonition to the federal government,” noting that the apex court erred by refusing to release funds belonging to LGAs to them.

Idris pointed out that it was imperative as the executive arm of government that the federal government put all machinery in place to ensure that funds due to the LGAs directly gets to them.

The apex court while reminding the federal government that it is bound to release in full all LG fund throughout the federation to all LGAs nationwide, held that failure to do so amounts to disobedience to rule of law. 

In the minority judgement delivered by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, the apex court pointed out that allowing the federal government to withhold funds due to LGAs would not only crippled activities at the LGAs but governance in the entire state.

“Refusal to release the funds is a clear misuse of power by the defendant and it is a clear disobedience to the court’s order that funds should be paid only to democratically elected governments,” Agim said.

He also disagreed with his colleagues on the issue of locus, explaining that the Osun AG has the right to protect the people of Osun State against the defendant.

The suit of the Osun State government had sought to set aside the letter of the AGF which had recognised APC LG chairmen as legal occupants of the LGAs while the matter was pending before court of records.

The AG predicated his case on the ground that the election that brought in the APC officials as local government chairmen and councillors had been nullified by a Federal High Court and upheld by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.