The federal high court in Abuja delayed the lawsuit filed by the Nigerian Local Government Association (Algon) against the federal and state governments until May 29.
The case must be resolved before Justice Ecuzbecause the court did not sit that day, it could not proceed.
Therefore, the court rescheduled the matter for reference on May 29.
In this case, the plaintiff was identified as FHC/ABJ/CS/353/2025 and is the registered trustee of Algon.
On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled to grant finance autonomy Give to local governments across the country.
Argon filed a lawsuit in response to the so-called violations of the state government.
Naija News The defendants include the federal Attorney General and the attorney general of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as well as 23 political parties, the report said.
These parties include the Minister of Finance, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the State Finance Commissioner, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, and the Federal Accountant.
In addition, the lawsuit includes tax mobilization, distribution and finance committees, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited, several commercial banks and an individual as defendants named Bello Lawal.
In this legal action, Argon attempted to ensure that 774 local councils were represented at the meeting of the Federal Account Allocation Committee, and the allocation discussions were conducted here.
The trustee asked the court to confirm that the Supreme Court, after the ruling on July 11, 2024, prohibited the 1st to 8th defendants from allocating funds to 774 local government councils in Nigeria through the 9th to 23rd defendants, without prior authorization.
Furthermore, they sought a ruling that the 1st to 7th defendants shall not discuss, approve, approve, promote or participate in any manner with the funds allocated to the 774 local government councils of Nigeria without the need to participate in the representatives of these committees.
The group argued that despite the Supreme Court’s ruling aimed at strengthening local government administration, the federal attorney general, the Ministry of Finance, the Finance Director and the Central Bank of Nigeria took a quick action to undermine the implementation of the ruling.
Algon, represented by attorney Okechukwu Uju-Azorji, claimed that the 9th to 23rd defendants who were identified as commercial banks have positioned themselves as an intermediary or storage facility designed to serve as any funding or allocation for the local government council.
In response, the Central Bank of Nigeria passed SAM Ologunorisa’s preliminary objection, asking the court to dismiss the case on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction.
Citrine Bank believes that Argon is not a legally recognized entity, and is neither a party nor a beneficiary in the Supreme Court case, and now mentions it.
FAAC’s attorney Olawale Fapohunda argued that Algon had no legal authority to initiate the case and thus deprived the court of jurisdiction.
Furthermore, the National Finance Commissioner, represented by its attorney, insisted that the legally defined FAAC members do not include representatives of 774 local government areas, contrary to the claims filed.
They referred to Section 6 (1) of the 1982 “Accounts” and other Act, which designated the FAAC’s legal membership and explicitly excluded local government representatives.
In response, Argon submitted an anti-devote to confirm his legal status.
It claimed to have been established as an association on 10 May 2002, with its main purpose to advocate and safeguard the autonomy and interests of Nigerian local governments.
