Functional Local Governments: Financial/Administrative Autonomy; and Freedom of Information (FOI) for Local Governments in Nigeria -By Sesugh Akume

My lawyers yesterday instituted two (2) local government lawsuits at the at the High Court of Benue State, in Makurdi.

The matter of Sesugh Akume v Governor of Benue & Another marked MHC/293/2020 seeks to nullify and void senseless sections of the Benue Local Government Law 2007 which put the entire local government system in Benue and its finances under the stranglehold of the governor, and his arbitrariness. 

It is unbelievable but true that sections of the Benue Local Government Law, empower the governor to suspend elected local government chairmen on mere accusations of corruption (whether true, false, or baseless). This makes all elected local government chairmen permanently intimidated, fearful and at the mercy of the governor at all times. 

Another section of the law provides that federal allocations to the local government, which are calculated and deployed according to law, are at the discretion of the governor to spend or distribute to local governments they are earmarked for, as he pleases; among other obnoxious provisions.
These sections put together make local governments dysfunctional, as extensions of the governor, and their officials stooges who are mere puppets. 

Local government councils should be led by elected public officials who are to be free to execute their visions for their respective local governments. Local government finances are not the personal property of governors to administer as they please, etc.

If this suit is successful, it will be a significant step towards a system properly run by the rule of law not the rule of man.

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The second, Sesugh Akume v Government of Benue State and 5 Others (MHC/294/2020) seeks to make the Freedom of Information (FOI) law operable in Benue and all local governments in the state. 

If this suit is successful, the state and all its agencies, as well as all local government areas and their agencies will mandatorily comply with the FOI Act by publishing their accounts and other records and information, and reply to all information as required by the law. This will include every local government publishing how much they receive from federal allocations every month. 

A possible novelty of this suit is that for the first time, an FOI suit seeks for the law to extend to the local government level. 

Sesugh Akume
PS: These public interest suits are bankrolled from personal resources, with support from a few public-spirited individuals — most of who prefer to remain anonymous — patriots who are rightly convinced that efforts as these are best carried out collaboratively, as citizens’ collective action.