Attorney-general Of Abia State & Ors V Attorney-general Of The Federation (2003)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

S.M.A. BELGORE, J.S.C.

This is a suit in the original jurisdiction of this court brought by virtue of Section 232 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (hereinafter referred to as the Constitution). The Plaintiffs are the Attorneys-General of all the thirty-six states of Nigeria who, on behalf of their respective states, brought this action against the Attorney-General of the Federation representing the Federal Government of Nigeria. The grouse of the plaintiffs is the Statutory Instrument No. 9 of 2002 wherein the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, made an order modifying the Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account Etc.) Act, 1990 as amended by Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account, Etc.) Decree (No. 106) of 1992. By the 1992 Decree (No. 106), Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the principal Act were amended. It is the principal Act as amended by Decree 106 of 1992 that has now been modified. This order is now challenged.

The Constitution in Section 162(1) provides:

“162(1)The Federation shall maintain a special account to be called “The Federation Account” to which shall be paid all revenues collected by the Government of the Federation, except the proceeds from the personal income tax of the personnel of the armed forces of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force, the Ministry or department charged with responsibility for Foreign Affairs and the residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.”

And in subsection (2) of the same Section 162 the Constitution provides:

(2)The President, upon the receipt of advice from the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, shall table before the National Assembly proposals for revenue allocation from the Federation Account, and in determining the formula, the National Assembly shall take into account, the allocation principles especially those of population, equality of states, internal revenue generation, land mass, terrain as well as population density:

Provided that the principle of derivation shall be constantly reflected in any approved formula as being not less than thirteen percent of the revenue accruing to the Federation Account directly from any natural resources.

The President relying on Section 315 of the Constitution, especially subsections (1)(a), (2) and (4)(a)(i) thereof made the Order now in issue i.e. Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account Etc.) Order, 2002 on 8th day of May, 2002, and thereby altered the existing formula in the principal Act as amended by Decree 106 of 1992. The law as it existed before 8th May, 2002, provided allocation formula inter alia as follows in Section 1(a) to (e):

“(a) the Federation Government……. 48.5%

(b) the State Government……………. 24%

(c) Local Governments………………. 20%

(d) Special Funds………………………. 7.5%

(i) Federal Capital Territory, 1% of the Federation Account

(a) Development of the mineral producing areas…. 3% of the revenue accruing to Federation Account derived from minerals