The sacked local government Chairmen and Councilors on Tuesday vowed to resume at their duty posts in Local Government and Local Government Development Areas Secretariats on Wednesday.
Governor Seyi Makinde has forwarded the names of caretakers for Local government areas and sole administrators for Local Council Development Areas(LCDAs) to the State House of Assembly last week.
The house is presently screening the nominees and they are likely to resume any moment from now.
But Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, Chairman Association of Local Government of Nigeria(ALGON), Oyo State Chapter in a statement said “in line with our resolution to defend democracy and the mandate freely and fairly given to us by the electorate, all chairmen and councillors are here by directed to resume tomorrow, Wednesday, 17th December, 2019 ,we shall resume and defend democracy and rule of law peacefully”.
According to him, we advise the Local government employees including HLAs, DAGs, DFAs, and other Council employees not to allow the illegal caretaker appointees or the state government to implicate them in the illegal administration and operations plotted for our local councils.
“We urge you not to allow yourselves to be used by these political usurpers to spend by proxy, statutory funds of councils which our laws, and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) have forbidden caretakers from accessing”.
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“A Monitoring Committee will be on ground to enhance coordination and effective engagement for the next one month”.
Aleshinloye said despite assurance less than 72hours ago, that he would not disobey Supreme Court judgements on the illegality in Nigeria of any Caretaker Committee, a contraption unknown to law, Governor Makinde has finally eaten his words and dignity to breach the constitution and flout the judgements of the highest court in the land by setting up Caretaker Committees and Sole Administrators in all the local government councils and council development areas in the state.
“It is now clear that Governor Seyi Makinde, the Oyo State House of Assembly and the Attorney General of Oyo state, Oyelowo Oyewo have declared war on our constitution, and drawn a battle line with the Supreme Court and the Judiciary as a whole by disregarding all the Judgements of the Supreme Court, and the Oyo State High Court which declared Caretaker Chairmen over Local Governments an illegality to our Constitution, and forbade the Governor from removing Elected Local Government Chairmen via unconstitutional dissolution of councils.
“Inspite of the several Judgments
of the Supreme Court in 2 recently decided cases declaring Caretaker Chairmen *ILLEGAL* and *BARRED* such action despite the judgment of Justice A.A. Aderemi of the Oyo State High Court restraining the removal of Elected Local Government Chairmen, injunction perpetually restraining the Governor of Oyo state from appointing Caretaker Chairmen over local governments in Oyo State and voiding the unconstitutional practice in the state, the Oyo State House of Assembly on Monday at a secret session held 6pm at the House chamber hurriedly conducted the screening of 68 nominees forwarded by the Governor to the House for appointment as Caretaker Chairmen over the LGs and LCDAs in Oyo state”.
“This was in defiance of direct warning letters issued by Lead Counsel to ALGON, Oyo state, and the elected Local Government Chairmen validly elected in May 2018, Adekunle Sobaloju, which were served on the Attorney General, a professor of law from University of Lagos,Oyelowo Oyewo, as well as on the Speaker of the house of Assembly, and on Governor Makinde. The Government of Oyo state is now operating on blatant unconstitutional over-drive, despising direct court pronouncements, even from the apex court. All interventions by well meaning persons and institutions to make the government see reason that its actions are not only illegal but calculated to precipitate trouble in our state have been rebuffed”.
“This atrocious step in illegality was hurriedly taken by the governor despite a perpetual order / judgement of an Oyo State High Court forbidden the dissolution of the existing democratically elected local government administration in the state which appeal by the Oyo State government is still pending.
The ALGON Chairman however said that the Governor’s attempt to appoint people to invade the council secretariats in the state and occupy positions that are not vacant by law is crisis ridden and a hidden agenda to cause violence in our state and disrupt the existing peace he inherited.
“This Invasion by Makinde’s unelected invaders and pretenders to office will be stopped and must be resisted by all democratic and peaceful means necessary”,he added.
