29th October, 2010
Ekiti state Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi has dissolved the 16 local government councils in the state.
The dissolution which was contained in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, (SSG) Alhaji (DR) Gani Owolabi explained that the action was taken sequel to the ruling of Ado Ekiti High Court presided over by Justice Ayo Daramola which struck out the plea of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria
(ALGON).
ALGON led by the Chairman, Ido/Osi Local Government had on 18 October filed an interim injunction at the high court seeking to restrain the governor from dissolving the councils.
At the hearing of the case yesterday, the lead counsel to the defendant, Chief Tony Adeniyi pointed out that the plea was defective and ambiguous, saying the petitioner failed to sue the Governor in his official capacity.
The ALGON counsel Obafemi Adewale after agreeing to withdraw the case to later file another, the court consequently struck out the case following which the governor immediately announced the dissolution of the councils.
The government thanked all the affected officials for their contributions to the growth of Ekiti State and wished them success in their future endeavours.
The SSG, however, directed the affected officials to immediately hand over all government properties in their care to the directors of administration in their local councils.
According to the statement, “the dissolution is in line with the belief of the state government in the rule of law, since the court had struck out the plea of the affected officials to remain in office.”
Following this development, all affected chairmen and officials are to hand over all government properties to the Directors of Administration in their respective local government areas.
