Edo Governor Okpebholo, State House of Assembly have sworn in acting council chairmen, defying federal directives on local government autonomy.
In spite of the position of the federal government on the autonomy of local government councils in Nigeria, Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo and the state House of Assembly, on Monday, swore in leaders of the various legislative arms of the 18 local government areas in the state as acting chairmen of the councils.
This created confusions in the council areas, as the chairmen were prevented from resuming duties at the council secretariats with the aid of political thugs, while the leaders took over the helm of affairs as acting chairmen.
Last week, Edo State lawmakers suspended the elected local government council chairmen and their deputies following a letter they received from the governor, which, according to them, bordered on insubordination on the part of the council chairmen and vice chairmen.
Barely 24 hours after, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, reiterated the Supreme Court position of financial autonomy for local governments as an independent tier of government.
Fagbemi said governors and legislators did not have the power to sack or suspend elected local government chairmen. He added that the authority to do so lied with the councillors at the local government councils.
But the Edo State government claimed that the suspension was in line with its earlier directive to leaders of the legislative arm to fill the leadership void created by the suspension of the 18 local government chairmen by the House of Assembly last week.
It was learnt on Monday that leaders of the legislative arms of the 18 councils were quietly sworn-in to take over as acting chairmen, in spite of a court injunction granted the chairmen last week by a Benin High Court presided over by Justice Efe Ikponmwonba.
Ikponmwonba had restrained the Assembly from suspending the chairmen from office pending the determination of their substantive suit in court.
It was further learnt that the take-over of the councils went unhindered because the chairmen allegedly failed to join the Assembly, which ordered their suspension, in their suit.
A government source, while confirming the development, stated that the state government had earlier directed the chairmen to hand over the affairs of their respective councils to leaders of the legislative arms.
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