John Nwaigwe
Okpebholo takes impunity in govt to another level, orders EDHA to suspend 18 Edo LGA chairmen
…Counsel to LGA chairmen writes speaker, AGF, warns of illegality of action
The Edo State Governor-select, Monday Okpebholo, has taken impunity in government to unprecedented heights, ordering the Edo State House of Assembly (EDHA) to immediately suspend all 18 Local Government Area (LGA) chairmen in the State.
This is despite the ruling of the Chief Judge of Edo State, Justice Daniel Okungbowa, who declared that the state government, and the state House of Assembly or their agents have no right to suspend or dissolve elected local government council officials.
The State Chief Judge had cited the recent judgment delivered by the Supreme Court, in a suit filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice which ordered that elected council members cannot be dissolved by the state government, House of Assembly, or its agents.
Okpebholo’s directive to the Assembly, according to sources, is to suspend the Edo LGA chairman for two months, citing insubordination and corruption as reason for the purported suspension.
However, the counsel to the Edo LGA chairman, Ogaga Ovrawah SAN has written to the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku, and the Attorney General of Edo State warning him and other members of the House on the illegality of the action.
He noted that the council chairmen cannot be suspended on the grounds of insubordination when they are democratically elected and independent, and not subordinates of the Governor, the Assembly or its agents.
According to him, “Our clients have it on good authority that His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Edo State has written to the House of Assembly to request and demand that it should pass a resolution to direct him, as the Governor, to dissolve the democratically elected 18 Local Government Councils in Edo State before the expiration/lapse of the tenure of three (3) years enshrined in the Edo State Local Government Law, 2000.”
To the Edo Assembly speaker, he stated, “We have our clients’ firm resolve to take all necessary lawful actions to protect and vindicate their constitutional rights if the House of Assembly decides to obey, comply and/or purport act under the cover, guise or coloration of any unconstitutional and illegal directives, requests and/or demands made by His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Edo State of Nigeria, to usurp, subjugate, restrict and/or limit their rights and tenure as the democratically elected Chairmen and dissolve the Local Government Councils in any manner inconsistent with the Constitution, extant legislations and judgments. It goes without much ado that any action founded on a non-existent law amounts to a nullity.”
The counsel disclosed, “This letter serves as a formal thirty days (30) notice of our clients intention to institute legal proceedings against the House of Assembly if it acts upon any directive or demand contrary to the Constitution, extant legislations and the judgments hereinbefore referred to in this letter. The action shall seek declarations, orders, damages, injunctions and costs of the litigation for the truncation and usurpation of their rights.”
Details later.
