2024 was an eventful year full of significant developments, which are remarkable and historic in how the country navigated its democracy, governance system, and different policies.

These significant developments cannot be addressed without also emphasising the reactions they attracted from the Nigerian populace, who were at the receiving end of some of the policies that surfaced in the country, ranging from the electoral system to building public trust in governance, local government autonomy, and the increment of the minimum wage to the living conditions of an average Nigerian.

Electoral System, Trust Deficit, and Political Participation

Following the general elections held in 2023 across the country, the outcome of the polls, and some technical failures reported by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigeria’s electoral system battled the residue trust deficit in the integrity of the electioneering process.

Despite the efforts of the different stakeholders to mend the fences of the trust deficit among the citizens, the narratives could not be changed as positively as expected. This cannot be precluded by the persistent reports of election malpractices, including vote buying, intimidation, and violence during the Edo and Ondo State off-cycle governorship elections.

The events undermined citizens’ voting participation, as low turnouts were recorded according to the available statistics. Political pundits and several stakeholders have all called on the government and the election umpire, INEC, to revisit the electoral act. There is also a general call from different quarters for electoral reform, and INEC is playing an active role in this.

More so, the need for the government to form a synergy with the people to enhance public trust was resounding in 2024.

Hardship, Social-economic Development.

Nigerians’ socioeconomic challenges in the past twelve months have significantly impacted the country’s democracy and governance. Since removing fuel subsidies during President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration on May 29th, 2023, Nigerians have been grappling with hardships and a high cost of living. 

The country also experienced a devaluation of the Naira and inflationary pressures, leading to hikes in the prices of basic commodities like food, shelter, and clothing. More so, the northern part of the country grappled with insecurity from insurgents and bandits; as a result, they could not engage in farming, another reason for the high cost of food items across the country. 

Amid growing concern about survival, some Nigerians took to the streets to demand an end to bad governance and hunger in the land. Tagged #EndbadGovernance protest, the agitations, which kicked off on August 1st, 2024, and were meant to end on August 1st, witnessed violent engagements by some non-protesters who resolved to loot and destroy properties, leading to the arrest and prosecution of some of the protesters by Nigerian authorities.

These issues contributed largely to criticisms of the economic reform of President Tinubu’s administration, sending a signal of distrust in the government, especially as the policies have yet to bring positive results, as promised during the campaign period.

Local Government Autonomy 

One of the crucial developments in 2024 in the Nigerian democracy and governance landscape was the Supreme Court’s ruling granting autonomy to the 774 local government councils across Nigeria. The apex court’s decision allows each local government to manage its financial mandates and make independent decisions without the interference of state governors.

These groundbreaking developments came at a time when many political pundits had been calling for the freedom of the third tier of government to extend democracy’s dividend to the grassroots. Decades before this ruling, local governments were redundant in most states of the country as the state governments controlled their funds and only gave them peanuts at the grassroots. 

To correct the anomalies, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), approached the apex court to end the state government’s existing practices and grant the local governments autonomy.

In his application, he asked the court to stop the governors from dissolving democratically elected local government councils and establishing caretaker committees. He also asked the apex to pay the money from the Federation Account directly to local governments, neglecting the unlawful joint accounts managed by state governors.

He also asked the Supreme Court to stop the state governors from receiving or spending local government funds without a democratically elected local government system.

Although some state governments fought against the Federal Government’s prayers, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Federal Government. It granted the local governments autonomy, with the warning that any state without an elected local government system would not receive the Federal Allocation.

This development was generally lauded by Nigerians, who saw the ruling as a forward-thinking approach to achieving a fair and equal democratic government in Nigeria. 

Increment of Workers’ New Minimum Wage 

On July 29th, President Bola Tinubu signed the increased new minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000 after back and forth between the two Labour Unions, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the Federal Government who had negotiations on the appropriate income Nigeria workers must take home at the end of the month.

The Labour Unions had earlier demanded ₦615,000 and later reduced it to ₦250,000. Still, the government committee pushed ₦62,000, which frustrated the Labour Unions to engage in industrial action by shutting down the country’s economy for two days. After long debates on the wage, the unions and the government agreed to ₦70,000, with the President promising that the minimum wage would be reviewed in three years instead of five years in the existing law. 

However, pundits have argued that the minimum wage increase might take the workers far if the government fails to stabilize the economy. While some states have even increased their payments, some states have not begun the payments. 

Tax Reform Bill, a Controversy That Continues to Brew Uncertainty 

In September, President Tinubu’s Presidential Advisory Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform, chaired by Mr Taiwo Oyedele, submitted four bills to the National Assembly after consulting on the new taxation policy in Nigeria. 

In his message to the lawmakers, the President asked the lawmakers to consider the Bill based on his committee’s recommendation on fiscal and tax reform. The four bills are the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, which aims to reform the nation’s taxation policy; and the Tax Administration Bill, which seeks to establish a clear and straightforward legal framework and settle all of the nation’s ongoing tax disputes, Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, seeking to scrap the existing Federal Inland Revenue Service Act and establish the Nigerian Revenue Service, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill, which would create a tax tribunal and tax ombudsman.

However, the Bill has met strong opposition from many states and lawmakers, who argued that it could endanger the economic viability of the northern region of the country. 

They also expressed their concerns that the Bill might impoverish the northern region, which is currently not contributing much due to economic fragility embattling the area, as the sharing formula might create a dichotomy between the north and the south.

Due to the agitations, the House of Representatives suspended its proceedings on the Bill, while the Senate also decided to seek further advice from the Attorney General on the subject matter. 

Despite the controversies surrounding the tax reform bill, the President, in his first media chat on December 23rd, insisted that the Bill is here to stay. He said that while he was ready to make some concessions on the Bill, the pressure wouldn’t stop the Bill from being passed.