Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State has promised that his administration will ensure a smooth transition of local government autonomy following the recent judgment of the Supreme Court.
Radda made the pledge in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Mohammed, issued in Abuja on Saturday.
The governor’s plede comes after the apex court granted full autonomy to the 774 local governments in the country as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution (amended).
The seven-man panel in a unanimous decision agreed that it is illegal and unconstitutional for governors to continue to receive or retain funds allocated to the local governments.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court declared that the power of the government is divided into three arms namely the federal, state and local governments.
The court further declared that a state government cannot elect a caretaker committee, adding that a local government council is only recognisable with a democratically elected government.
