27th January, 2020
The 33 sacked local government chairmen in Oyo State are back in office, backed by heavy security provided by the Nigerian Police.
The chairmen who are members of the All Progressives Congresss, resumed in their respective local government secretariats on Monday, despite the stance of Governor Seyi Makinde, who had defied a Supreme Court ruling and also the nation’s chief law officer, Abubakar Malami.
Mr. Lanre Olaosegba, of the Ibarapa NorthEast LCDA, resumed at the council secretariat in Lanlate, with his councillors, the Vanguard reported.
Also, Barr. Daud Suleiman Abayomi of Ogbomoso Central LCDA also resumed with his councillors. The padlocks used to lock the gate to the secretariat and his office were cut off.
Makinde, who was elected on PDP platform, had sacked the elected council chairmen after he took over from Abiola Ajimobi of APC on 29 May. In December, he appointed caretakers for the councils.
When Makinde announced the sack of the council chairmen on 30 May, they reminded him they had an injunction, preventing him from taking the action. But Makinde ignored them.
Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, who spoke on behalf of the sacked chairmen, said the purported sack was illegal, undemocratic, violation of rule of law and contempt of a subsisting court injunction against such sack.
He said the action of the governor was unconstitutional because the chairmen were democratically elected.
Abass-Aleshinloye further said that Justice AA Aderemi of the State High Court had on May 6, granted an injunction restraining the state governor and government agencies from dissolving the LGAs and LCDAs.
The council chairmen nevertheless went to court. They got a court order, declaring the governor’s action as illegal.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), last week wrote Governor Makinde, asking him to allow “elected council chairmen” to perform their constitutional role.
Few days later, letters were dispatched from the office of the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to the ALGON Chairman in the state, Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, and the chairman of All Progressives Congress(APC) in Oyo State, Chief Akin Oke, informing them that the Commissioner of Police, Shina Olukolu, has been ordered to lead them to their respective council secretariats.