The Supreme Court Affirmation of the Status and Autonomy of Local Governments under the 1999 Nigerian Constitution

Abstract Grassroots participation in Nigeria’s democratic governance, through the local government system, has remained a problem, even with the Constitution guaranteeing democratically elected local government councils and their autonomous operation as a third tier of government. The state governments have continued to encroach upon the autonomy of the local governments, thus hindering effective grassroots participation in democratic governance. To address this, the Supreme Court, in a majority judgment in Attorney General of the Federation v Attorney General of Abia State and 35 Others , reaffirmed the democratic status and autonomy of local government councils. This article examines the extent to which the judgment guarantees the independence of the local governments; it finds that the judgment has been more symbolic than impactful in resolving the issues of local governments’ autonomy. It therefore advocates for constitutional alterations to explicitly define the status and functions of the local governments in Nigeria.