Breaking News: Edo High Court Restores 18 Suspended LG Councils’ Chairmen
By Simeon OSAJIE
An Edo State High Court sitting in Benin Friday morning ordered the restoration of the 18 suspended local government councils chairmen and their deputies to their offices.
The embattled chairmen were suspended on Tuesday at the behest of Governor Monday Okpebholo who in a letter to the House of Assembly accused them of gross misconduct, insubordination and corruption.
The chairmen, who kicked against their suspension described it as illegal and against the Supreme Court judgement in July granting autonomy to local government councils in the country.
They consequently approached a Benin High Court which granted their application seeking for nullification of their suspension.
The court directed the defendants: the Edo State government, Governor Okpebholo, the state, Attorney General and commissioner for justice, and others not to give effect to the House of Assembly resolution purportedly suspending them.
The9jaTREND recalls that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, senior advocate of Nigeria, (SAN), on Thursday described the suspension of the chairmen and vice chairmen as illegal and unconstitutional.
Fagbemi, who stated this while speaking to journalists in Abuja, noted that only councilors in local government councils have the prerogative to either remove or suspend from office, any elected LG official in the country.
He, however, said his initial reluctance to react to the development was because of the fact that he wanted to know the basis upon which the officials of the LG councils in Edo State were reportedly suspended.
Fagbemi said his position was based on the July 11, 2024 judgement of the Supreme Court that granted autonomy to the 774 LGAs in the country.
According to him, “One thing that I know and can say without fear is that under the present dispensation, the governor has no right to remove any local government chairman.
“That much I know. If I did not know before, since July 11, 2024, I became aware of it that removal of any local government chairman or official would be the prerogative of that local government, through their legislative house”.
Details later . . .
