Supreme Court of Nigeria
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
There have varying reactions by Stakeholders who are responding to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday, which granted full financial autonomy to local governments.>>>CONTINUE FULL READING HERE
A Law lecturer, and Constitutional Lawyer, in the Faculty of Law at the Rivers State University, RSU, Port Harcourt Prof. Richard Wokocha deduced from the apex Court judgement, pointed out that State Governments can still run with Caretaker Committees at the local government levels as long as they can fund them.
“By the implication of the Supreme Court ruling, the 21 states that are running the Caretaker Committees can still run it if they can fund them. This is because they will not get the revenue allocation from the Federation Account. This is because the Federal Government will rely on the Supreme Court judgment and withhold the funds for those local government-running Caretaker Committees.”
Professor Wokocha was Speaking to Nigeria Inform, a Port Harcourt-based radio, monitored by our Correspondent on the implication of the Supreme Court judgment.
Also, on the radio programme, Kennedy Allen-Nwokanma legal practitioner says the judgement will affect the smooth running of the Caretaker Committees of local government areas in Rivers State.
Another lawyer, Liborous Oshoma, believes full financial autonomy leaves the federal government with the option to withhold funds from local governments still under the control of caretaker committees.
But Constitutional lawyer, Felix Biiragbara says the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC cannot change the October 5 date it already set for local government elections and therefore must stick to its timetable.
He however cautioned that the decision of the Supreme Court has nothing to do with the former Chairmen of the local government area, whose tenure ended on June 17, who are not anyway beneficiaries of the apex Court judgement.>>>CONTINUE FULL READING HERE
