The Senate has begun moves to establish a local government election commission.

The bill titled ‘Local Government Independent Electoral Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2024’ was read on the floor of the upper chamber for the first time during plenary on Thursday.

Sponsored by the Senate Committee on Finance chairman, Sani Musa, said the bill would give LGIEC the power to conduct elections nationwide.

Penultimate Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that local governments’ allocations should be paid directly into their accounts. Justice Emmanuel Agim, who led a seven-member panel of the justices of the apex court, gave the order while delivering judgment in a suit filed by the federal government against the 36 state governors.

“Henceforth, no more payment of the local government area allocations to the state government accounts,” the judge held.

President Bola Tinubu’s government had approached the Supreme Court with a suit seeking to compel governors of the 36 states to grant full autonomy to the local governments in their domains.

The suit, marked SC/CV/343/2024, was filed by the attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, Lateef Fagbemi, on behalf of the federal government.

In the suit on 27 grounds, the government had accused governors of gross misconduct and abuse of power.

In the originating summons, the government urged the apex court to expressly order that funds standing to the credit of local governments from the federation account be paid directly to the local governments rather than through the state governments.

The justice minister also prayed for “an order of injunction restraining the governors, their agents and privies from receiving, spending or tampering with funds released from the federation account for the benefits of local governments when no democratically elected local government system is put in place in the states.”