10th November, 2010
A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Abdul Wahab Olawale Alawiye-King, has criticised the call by members of the House of Representatives for reversing of the dissolution of the 16 local governments by the state governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, describing the call by the legislators as ridiculous and abuse of power.
Expressing his disappointment on the usurpation of the power of the judiciary by the Federal lawmakers, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) stalwart, emphasized that it was only the judiciary that has the reserved power to determine who has the legal right to sack council political executives.
The representative of Lagos Island Constituency 1 in the Lagos House, who described the resolution of the House of Representatives as purely People’s Democratic Party (PDP) agenda, said the decision of the legislators was incongruous and disheartening.
He added that their resolution was parochial and detrimental to the public interest which was the reason Governor Fayemi sacked the council bosses.
Making reference to the verdict of the Supreme Court in 2005 in a suit instituted by the Lagos State Government against the President Olusegun Obasanjo-led Federal Government on the seizure of the allocations to the state’s local councils, Alawiye-King argued that the verdict was a different ball game entirely, thereby rendering useless the resolutions of the Federal lawmakers that Ekiti State councils’ allocations be withheld by the Accountant General of the Federation.
According to him, “I don’t think the House of Representatives has the power to order the President or any of his officers to perform any obligation. What the House could have done was to advise on such matter and this must be in compliance with the 1999 Constitution.â€
The lawmaker, who seeks a return to the House in 2011, argued that legislation is a serious business that cannot be politicised, adding that the Federal lawmakers should forget about politics in this matter and deal with the real issue of who has right to dissolve the councils under the law.
“The governor, who has power to dissolve, has done it and it is now left for the state lawmakers to ratify the action in the public interest. The National Assembly therefore, cannot dictate to Dr. Kayode Fayemi on how to govern his state and also decide for the Assembly members who already know what to do.â€
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