The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister for Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has warned state governors against illegally removing democratically elected local government chairmen, declaring such actions tantamount to treason.

Speaking in Abuja at a Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) discourse on local government autonomy, Fagbemi—represented by Tijani Gazali (SAN), Director of Civil Appeals at the Ministry of Justice—criticized governors defying the Supreme Court’s ruling against the unlawful sacking of local government officials.

“Let me state unequivocally that this act is tantamount to treason and must be treated as such,” he warned.

While acknowledging that Section 308 of the Constitution grants governors immunity from prosecution, Fagbemi cautioned that continued defiance of the Supreme Court ruling would have consequences for their states.

Citing Sections 1(2) and 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution, he reaffirmed that local governments must be run by elected councils, and any caretaker committees or interim administrators imposed by state governments are unconstitutional, illegal, and void.

On local government funding, he clarified that under Section 162 of the Constitution, states act only as intermediaries in disbursing federal allocations to local governments and have no legal claim over the funds.

“The duty of the state is simply to transfer allocations to local government councils. The Constitution does not grant states any right or interest in these funds,” he stated.

NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), in his remarks, highlighted ongoing disputes over local government control, particularly between the APC and PDP in Osun State.

“If we fail to get it right at the local government level, we may be setting the stage for calamity,” he warned.

A representative from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also revealed that efforts were underway to register account numbers for all local governments to ensure financial transparency and prevent misappropriation of funds.