Suspended Edo LG Chairmen defy Assembly, declare suspension null, void

Speaker of Edo House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku

Speaker of Edo House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku

By Jethro Ibileke

The chairmen of all 18 local government councils in Edo State have rejected the two-month suspension imposed on them by the State House of Assembly, describing it as a “nullity” and a violation of court orders.

The Assembly, on Tuesday, passed a resolution suspending the council chairmen and their deputies, accusing them of gross misconduct and insubordination to Governor Monday Okpebholo.

The suspension followed a directive by the governor, delivered through his deputy, Dennis Idahosa, on 3 December.

The chairmen were asked to submit their council account statements for the period from 4 September to date within 48 hours to the state assets verification committee.

However, Newman Ugiagbe, the Executive Chairman of Orhionmwon Local Government Council and Chairman of the Edo chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), speaking on behalf of the affected chairmen, dismissed the suspension as unconstitutional.

“This suspension is a brazen disobedience to the constitution,” Ugiagbe said.

“The 18 LG chairmen had earlier served a notice of judgment from the Hon. Chief Judge of Edo State High Court in Suit No. B/2570S/2624. The judgment declared our suspension or removal by the Assembly as ‘unconstitutional, ultra vires, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever’ until the expiration of our tenure,” he said.

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He added that a reminder of the court’s ruling was served to the Assembly Speaker on 17 December 2024, alongside notice of another suit against the state government, Governor Okpebholo, and others.

“The High Court of Justice granted an interim order restraining the government from interfering with, obstructing, or disturbing the claimants’ constitutional rights over all assets and funds allocated to them from the Federation Account,” Ugiagbe explained.

He also cited a recent Supreme Court judgment in the case of Attorney General of the Federation vs Attorney General of Abia State & 35 others (2024), which explicitly prohibits state governors and assemblies from dissolving or interfering with local government administration using state-enacted laws or executive orders.

“The action of the Edo State House of Assembly on Tuesday, 17 December 2024, is ultra vires and therefore a nullity in the eyes of the law. It is also a contempt against the court’s orders,” Ugiagbe stated.

He emphasised that the elected chairmen, who took office following the September 2, 2023, elections, remain the legitimate executives of their councils.

“We remain the Executive Chairmen of our respective Local Government Councils and will continue to discharge our constitutional responsibilities as the chief executive officers of our councils,” he said.

Ugiagbe called for the deployment of security operatives to the 18 local government secretariats to uphold the Constitution and enable smooth council operations.

“In any case, we are yet to receive any official document to that effect, so we are still in charge. The people of our local governments gave us a mandate, and that mandate cannot be truncated. We were not nominated; we were elected. We remain local government chairmen until our tenure expires, and we will continue to carry out our lawful duties,” he said.

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