* Cites Supreme Court judgment on LG autonomy
A civil society organization – Human Rights Monitoring Agenda (HURMA Global Resource Initiative) – has asked Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to withdraw the directive, which bars newly elected local government chairmen in Lagos State from appointing key political aides.
The directive, conveyed through a circular dated July 31, 2025, from the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development, instructed all 57 chairmen of the local government areas and local council development areas (LCDAs) to suspend appointments of supervisors, special advisers, and senior special assistants. Only the appointment of a Chief of Staff is allowed under the directive.
In an open letter addressed to Governor Sanwo-Olu, HURMA described the directive as undemocratic and inconsistent with previous declarations by the government affirming the financial and administrative autonomy of local councils.
Signed by HURMA’s Executive Director, Comrade Buna Olaitan Isiak, and Head of Legal, Lekan Alabi, the letter argued that the directive infringes on the constitutional rights of elected local government officials to form their administrations.
“We find it awkward and clumsy that your authority is directing a democratically elected government on how the government is to be run,” the group stated.
HURMA further referenced the Supreme Court’s July 2024 judgment affirming the autonomy of local governments across Nigeria, insisting that Lagos State, often regarded as a model of democratic governance, should lead by example in upholding that independence.
The organisation warned that if the directive is not reversed, it may resort to legal action to defend what it described as the constitutional and democratic rights of local council officials.
HURMA maintained that true federalism requires decentralised governance and respect for the mandate freely given to elected representatives by the people at the grassroots level.