S'Court Advises FG, Lagos on Workers' Pay
From Lillian Okenwa in Abuja
The Supreme Court yesterday told the Federal and Lagos State governments to work out means of paying salaries of teachers and other local government staff in the state instead of bickering over allocation withdrawals. The court, which stopped short of issuing formal orders on how the salaries would be paid, urged the two tiers of government to consider the payments as a humanitarian way of ameliorating the plight of the workers. The court made the appeal at the resumed hearing of the suit filed by Lagos State challenging the legality of withholding funds meant for new local governments by the Federal Government.
Lagos State represented by Chief Rotimi Williams, SAN, tried to amend its Originating Summons but Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, counsel to Federal Government opposed the application stating that the State failed from the outset to file a verifying affidavit indicating that it is representing the local government under contention.
While the arguments continued on whether the application should be granted or not, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais, asked Babalola if it was not in the interest of justice for the matter to be dispensed with instead of allowing technicalities to cause a hitch.
Babalola, however, cited some Supreme Court authorities where such an application was refused because it had no verifying affidavit. He added that before a matter could be decided, cause of action must be determined and that by not including a verifying affidavit, a cause of action has not been established, in which case the application should not be granted.
At this point, Justice Pats Acholonu noted that the court was out to determine whether or not a cause of action has been determined. He stated that "the most important issue here is for the Court to determine whether the President has powers to withhold funds belonging to local governments or not."
According to him, "What is happening now is over reliance on technicalities in the face of a matter that is capable of affecting the peace of this country."
Babalola thereafter asked that costs be awarded against Lagos state before he could allow the amendment, which he said, was a plot to circumvent Federal Government's plan. The request was granted and N1,000 awarded against Lagos state.
Also Babalola asked for 14 days to enable him amend his brief of arguments but Williams objected. He pointed out that from the brief already filed it was clear the Federal Government had done its research and that they are merely stalling the action.
"If they remove the withholding of funds, we can adjourn till 2007 but the Local Government workers are suffering. The request for adjournment was not made in good faith. His brief is full of the arguments that the Federal can do what it did. They have already answered the questions raised so what else do they want?" Williams asked.
Uwais then replied: "Our concern is for the employees and teachers of the local government who are suffering and whether an agreement can be reached here as to whether Federal Government can release some funds to ameliorate the suffering staff."
He asked if there was a possibility of the Federal Government making an undertaking that some of the salaries of the existing staff would be paid.
Williams expressed his support but Babalola said he could not possibly make an undertaking on behalf of his client. He added that he would not want the court to make orders that might not be complied with but at the end of the day it was agreed that the parties should come back to the court next Monday, by which time they would have arrived at some compromise.
Though Babalola still tried to point out that the court proposal might be a difficult task to resolve as government was not ready to give money to the new councils, Williams insisted that Lagos is not asking for a kobo more than what it was receiving originally until the determination of the suit.
Lagos State had invoked the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court after issuing an originating summons against the Federal Government over the refusal of the latter to release fund meant for councils in the state.
The state asked the apex court to grant a perpetual injunction against the Federal Government and all its agencies from suspending or withholding any monies due to Lagos State Government.
Lagos wanted the apex court to determine whether or not President Olusegun Obasanjo or the National Assembly has the power to suspend or withhold statutory allocation due and payable to the state government under the constitution.
The state would also want the court to declare that the present intention or proposal of the Federal Government to suspend or withhold for any period whatsoever the statutory allocation due and payable to the state under the constitution without a valid and supporting amendment of the said constitution if carried out as unlawful and contrary to the provisions of the constitution.
The Federal Government however counter-claimed asking that the March 27, elections into the 57 local government in Lagos State be nullified.
The Federal Government in a counter claim asked that the elections conducted by Lagos State into the 57 local governments were unlawful, null and void.
Other declarations sought by government are, "An order of injunction restraining the Lagos State Governor and the state House of Assembly from maintaining any local government in the state apart from the ones created under the 1999 constitution.
"A declaration that Lagos State has no power or right under the constitution to abolish local government areas created under the 1999 constitution by altering their names, adjusting their boundaries and dividing them into smaller units.
"A declaration that the state has no power to create new local government without recourse to the National Assembly as provided for under the constitution.
"A declaration that the alteration of the names of the local government, the alteration of the boundaries of the local governments and the creation of new local governments done by the Lagos state Government is illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.
"A declaration that the following local governments are the only local governments established under the 1999 constitution in Lagos State, Agege, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Alimosho, Amuwo-Odofin, Apapa, Badagry, Epe, Etis-Osa, Ibeju/Lekki, Ifako-Ijaye, Ikeja, Ikrodu, Kosofe, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, Mushin, Ojo, Oshodi-Isolo, Shomolu, Surulere."
The suspension of LG funds to states which conducted polls in newly created councils also affected Niger, Ebonyi, Nassarawa and Katsina States. Ebonyi State government has however reversed itself by turning the new councils into development centres.
|
