The Committee of Youth on Mobilisation and Sensitisation (CYMS) has hailed the Supreme Court judgment on local government financial autonomy against the 36 governors in favour of the federal government.

This is contained in a statement issued by the CYMS director-general, Obinna Nwaka, on Thursday.

Mr Nwaka said CYMS, an organisation engaged under the Presidency, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), had been advocating for autonomy.

He said that the advocacy followed the report from CYMS State Coordinators over the underdevelopment, insecurity, unemployment and unnecessary urban-rural migration affecting the people at the grassroots level and community.

The CYMS chief said the organisation had paid a courtesy visit to relevant stakeholders such as the EFCC chairman and National Assembly members and made several calls to action for Nigerians to support LG autonomy during various conferences.

Mr Nwaka called for the governors’ immediate compliance with the judgment while charging Nigerian youths in politics to take advantage of the judgment.

He also urged them to prepare to take up leadership positions in their local government to enable them to contribute their quota towards grassroots development.

He tasked state political parties to consider candidates below 50 for local government chairman and councillors. He said this would be for effective representation, hitch-free collaboration with the people and prompt intervention on emergency assignments.

He called on meaningful Nigerians not to focus their criticism and monitoring and blame on the government of the centre for poor governance. He appealed to them to focus on and monitor the local government administration in their respective states for resource management and dividends of democracy since autonomy has been fully granted.

“The LG autonomy is now the hope for the people at the grassroots level and the 25th democracy anniversary gift from the administration of renewed hope led by President Tinubu,” he said.

The apex court granted financial autonomy to the 774 local government councils in the country on Thursday. The landmark judgment ordered the federal government to immediately start directly paying local government funds to the latter’s exclusive accounts.

In its lead judgment read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court scolded the decades-long state government’s refusal of financial autonomy for local governments.

Justice Agim noted that the 774 local government councils in the country should manage their funds themselves. He said only democratically elected local government administrations are entitled to these funds, not caretaker committees.

(NAN)