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James Ojo, Abuja
The Association of Local Government Vice Chairmen of Nigeria has warned newly elected governors against removal of elected council chairmen.
Briefing the media after deliberations on a number of national issues, at the weekend, the national chairman of the association, Lawrence Onuchukwu, said there was urgent need to draw attention of the new governors on the need to respect the judgment of the Supreme Court.
He said it was high time to draw the attention of the governors to the decision of the highest court in the country, that no governor has the power to remove an elected council chairman.
The vice chairmen reminded the incoming governors that the apex court had described such an action as an ‘Executive recklessness’
“In line with the Supreme Court judgment of 2016, which declared void the power of state governors to remove from office any elected chairman, the Association of Local Government Vice Chairmen of Nigeria, hereby, warned that no governor should, henceforth, dissolve any chairman in their states,” he said.
Onuchukwu, who is the Vice Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council(AMAC), said the meeting also called on governors who are yet to conduct elections into the council to do so.
The association described the use of caretaker committees to run the affairs of local government as a conduit pipe to siphon money meant for developing the grassroots.
It also urged state Houses of Assembly that are yet to pass the bill on autonomy of local government to do so without delay.
