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Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, yesterday, triumphed at the Court of Appeal, Ibadan division, against the 33 local government chairmen, and the 35 chairmen of local council development areas his administration sacked on May 29, 2019.
The 68 chairmen were elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) on May 12, 2018 when the late Abiola Ajimobi was the state governor.
They had obtained an injunction from the state High Court on May 6, 2019 that restrained the governor, House of Assembly and agents of government from sacking them.
The sacked chairmen had held on to the injunction when Makinde’s administration sacked them that the government had no power to dissolve local government executive councils. But the government under Makinde approached the Court of Appeal, and sought to quash the order, telling the higher court that the injunction was speculative because he had not been sworn in as governor when it was obtained.
In a unanimous judgment of the Court of Appeal, read by Justice Simon Tsammani, supported by Justices Olujinmi Bada and Afolashade Ayodeji, set aside the ruling of the lower court on the grounds that it was speculative and premature at the time it was obtained because the incumbent administration had not come to power then.
Meanwhile, Association of Local Government of Nigeria has rejected the ruling which described its case as speculative on the dissolution of elected chairmen and councillors in the state.
A statement by its Chairman, Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, said the judgment has clearly shown that the course of justice was not served. He said the association would now proceed to the Supreme Court for proper redress and judicial interpretation.
According to Abass-Aleshinloye, the judgment was a subtle hibernation in legal technicality without due consideration of the hard facts of the issues and the valid points of law. experts.”
