By Musa Tanimu Nasidi
In Nigeria’s federal architecture, local governments are not mere appendages of state power — they are constitutionally recognized as the third tier of government. Yet, over the years, many state governors have treated them as expendable, dissolving democratically elected councils whenever it suited political convenience. This practice, far from being a routine administrative move, undermines the very foundations of grassroots democracy, local accountability, and effective governance. Recent rulings by courts of competent jurisdiction underscore just how grievous and unlawful this trend has become.
The Constitutional and Democratic Stakes
The 1999 Constitution (as amended) enshrines local government councils as the tier of government closest to the people. Section 7(1) tasks state governments with ensuring that local government exists under a law which provides for structure, composition, finance and functions. But “existence” cannot mean perpetual suspension via caretaker committees. When governors dissolve elected councils, they sever the link between the people and governance at the grassroots. Communities — worried about roads, sanitation, primary health clinics, local markets, education — lose the ability to hold elected officials accountable or demand performance. Real development suffers, as power becomes centralized in state capitals, far removed from everyday citizens.
Moreover, dissolution breeds impunity. Caretaker committees, appointed by governors, answer to no electorate. Their mandate is often opaque; their tenures indefinite. In such circumstances, mismanagement, nepotism, and lack of transparency flourish. Fiscal allocations intended for the people’s welfare risk diversion. The local government — conceptually and practically meant to be the bedrock of participatory democracy — becomes a ghost of itself.
What the Courts Say: Legal Judgments Against Dissolution
Recent jurisprudence has reaffirmed that governors do not enjoy carte-blanche power to dissolve local government councils. For instance, in May 2021 the Supreme Court of Nigeria struck down the dissolutions of elected councils in Oyo State and Katsina State, declaring such actions “illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.”
The court held that the governors, by dissolving the councils and replacing them with caretaker committees, acted beyond their powers under the Constitution. Importantly, the court ordered that the unlawfully sacked chairmen and councillors be paid their entitlements from the date of dissolution to the date when their tenure should have ended.
More recently, a landmark decision in 2024 reaffirmed the autonomy and sanctity of democratically elected local governments. In the suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) on behalf of the federal government, the Supreme Court ordered that allocations due from the federation account to local governments should henceforth be paid directly to them — not funneled through state governments — and barred governors from dissolving councils at will. The court emphasized that a governor’s unilateral dissolution of democratically elected councils and appointment of caretakers is unlawful and unconstitutional.
According to the court, only democratically elected local government councils — not caretaker committees appointed by governors — are constitutionally entitled to receive and utilize public allocations.
The Danger: What Dissolution Means for Nigerians
- Undermining Local Democracy
When governors dissolve councils, they subvert the electorate’s will. People lose the power to choose who represents them locally. Local decision-making becomes remote, centralized, and opaque. Grassroots citizens become spectators, not participants.
- Weakening Accountability and Transparency
Caretaker committees lack electoral legitimacy and accountability. Without electoral pressure, waste, mismanagement or partisan favoritism thrive. Essential public services and development projects suffer or stagnate.
- Fiscal Mismanagement and Patronage
With direct control over allocations, state executives may divert funds meant for local communities. The lack of independent oversight at the council level opens the door for patronage and resource capture.
- Constitutional Crisis and Rule of Law
Frequent, arbitrary dissolution of councils erodes the sanctity of constitutional provisions. It undermines the federal principle and the third-tier status of local governments. It erodes public confidence in democratic institutions and the rule of law.
- Undermining Development — Especially in Vulnerable Communities
Local governments are closest to the people and often the only government tier with direct contact with remote or rural communities. Dissolving them disproportionately harms Nigeria’s most vulnerable citizens, who rely on local councils for primary education, healthcare, sanitation, and basic infrastructure.
What Must Change — A Call for Respect for Constitutional Order
The jurisprudence of our apex court must serve as a warning: governors must stop treating local governments as political playthings. It is time for respect for constitutional order and grassroots democracy.
State governors and legislatures should cease arbitrary dissolution of elected councils. The Constitution recognises only democratically elected councils as legitimate.
Local council autonomy must be restored and respected. With the 2024 Supreme Court ruling affirming direct funding and autonomy for local governments, states should step back and allow local councils to function independently.
Electoral institutions and civil society should demand regular local government elections. Democracy is hollow without local representation — citizens must not accept caretaker-ruled councils as permanent alternatives.
Citizens must demand accountability from all tiers of government — including local. Local governments should be empowered, funded, and held accountable.
Conclusion
The dissolution of democratically elected local government councils by governors is not a minor administrative matter. It is a grave attack on constitutional democracy, grassroots governance, and the welfare of everyday Nigerians. The recent judgments of the Supreme Court have laid the legal foundation. Now, political actors — and citizens — must ensure those judgments translate into real change. Nigeria’s democracy will be stronger only when the third tier is respected not as an appendage of state power — but as a vital, independent pillar of governance.
