Senator Sunday Karimi, representing Kogi West, has cleared President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly of any blame for the delay or near-failure to implement the Supreme Court’s ruling on financial autonomy for local governments.
Speaking in Lokoja while presenting his two-year report in the 10th Senate, Karimi explained that the National Assembly had no legislative role to play in implementing a decision already delivered by the apex court.
“Some individuals simply oppose local government autonomy,” Karimi stated. He urged Nigerians to actively demand enforcement of the Supreme Court’s decision, warning that silence could jeopardize the autonomy.
The senator emphasized that President Tinubu had already shown his administration’s commitment to strengthening local governments by initiating the Supreme Court case through the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
“This isn’t just the National Assembly’s responsibility—it affects every Nigerian,” Karimi said. “We in the National Assembly fully support local government autonomy and every step taken so far to bring governance closer to the people.”
He cited Section 235 of the 1999 Constitution (Section 7, Part 1), which confirms the Supreme Court as the final authority in legal matters, with its decisions binding and beyond appeal—except under the President or a state governor’s prerogative of mercy.
Karimi concluded by stressing that the President actively seeks to resolve issues plaguing local governments and firmly supports their autonomy. “If the Federal Government opposed local government autonomy, it wouldn’t have filed the case in the first place,” he stated.
