The Committee on Local Government Autonomy, set up by the Federal Government, has concluded its meetings and signed the technical document, which is expected to be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu soon.
The National President of the National Union of Local Government Employees, (NULGE), Hakeem Ambali, made this known in an interview on Tuesday.
Recall that in May, the Federal Government, represented by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, filed a lawsuit to challenge the governors’ authority to receive and withhold federal allocations meant for Local Government Areas.
The suit sought to prevent State governors from unilaterally dissolving democratically elected local government councils and establishing caretaker committees. The AGF argued that the Constitution mandated a democratically elected local government system and did not allow alternative governance structures.
On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment affirming the financial autonomy of the 774 LGs in the country, noting that governors could no longer control funds meant for the councils. The 7-member Supreme Court panel, led by Justice Garba Lawal, ruled that it was illegal and unconstitutional for governors to manage and withhold LG funds.
The apex court also directed the Accountant-General of the Federation to pay LG allocations directly to their accounts, as it declared the non-remittance of funds by the 36 states unconstitutional.
Also, on August 20, the Federal Government instituted a 10-member inter-ministerial committee to implement the Supreme Court’s ruling on local government autonomy. The committee’s primary goal is to ensure that local governments are granted full autonomy, allowing them to function effectively without interference from State governments.
Meanwhile, the National Union of Teachers (NUT),has expressed fears about the capacity of LGs to pay the N70,000 new minimum wage to primary school teachers. The NUT’s apprehension is hinged on the failure of the councils to implement the former N30,000 minimum wage.
Findings show that some LG workers in Nasarawa, Enugu, Zamfara, Borno, Yobe, and Kogi States, among others, have remained on the N18,000 minimum wage, which was approved in 2011. However, the inability of the councils to implement the minimum wage has been blamed on the failure of the government to fully implement the LG autonomy.
Data obtained from the NUT revealed that teachers in LG primary schools were not paid the former minimum wage. In Enugu State, for instance, LG workers were exempted from benefitting from the minimum wage though the state workers enjoyed the minimum wage salaries. Also, Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Nasarawa, Kogi, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara, Imo and Gombe States did not implement the old minimum wage for teachers at both State and local levels.
However, NULGE president Ambali assured that the minimum wage would be implemented across the board when the LG autonomy commences.
