The President of Nigeria wrote a letter to the Minister of Finance in respect of Local Government Elections and allocation of funds from the Federation Account to Local Government Areas stating that

"As the National Assembly is yet to make necessary consequential provisions in respect of any of the newly created Local Government Areas in the country, conducting election into or funding any of them from the Federation Account would clearly be a violation of the Constitution. Consequently, no allocation from the Federation Account should henceforth be released to the Local Government Councils of the above mentioned States and any of the State that may fall into the category until they revert to their constituent Local Government Areas specified in part I of the First Schedule to the 1999 Constitution".

The Plaintiff filed an Originating Summons seeking declaratory and injunctive reliefs, against the Defendant with respect to the suspension and withholding of statutory allocation due and payable to Lagos State Government pursuant to Section 162(5) of the 1999 Constitution.

Defendant filed a counter-claim that the new Local Government Areas were created in contravention of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and therefore illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.

Both the Plaintiff and the Defendant relied on affidavit evidence in support of their Originating Summons and counter-claim respectively. The parties filed and exchanged briefs. Alhaji Abdulahi Ibrahim SAN who appeared as amicus curiae also filed a brief.