The Supreme Court has issued a directive to the 36 state governors to file their defences to a suit seeking full autonomy for the 774 local government areas (LGAs) within seven days.
The apex court also ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice to file his reply within two days of receiving the governors’ defences.
Justice Garba Lawal, leading a seven-man panel, issued the order on Thursday while ruling on an application for an abridgement of time argued by the AGF, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN.
The court’s decision was based on the national urgency of the suit and the non-objection from the attorneys-general of the 36 states of the federation.
The Supreme Court ordered that all processes must be filed and exchanged within the specified time and fixed June 13 for the hearing of the suit.
Justice Lawal also directed that fresh hearing notices be served on eight states that were absent in court, despite being served with hearing notices.
The eight states are Borno, Kano, Kogi, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, and Sokoto, whose attorneys-general (AGs) were absent in court.
The federal government’s suit seeks to grant full autonomy to the 774 LGAs, a move that has been met with varying reactions from stakeholders.
The Supreme Court’s directive is seen as a significant step towards resolving the long-standing issue of local government autonomy.