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A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has directed the Accountant General of the Federation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Ministry of Finance to withhold monthly allocations to the 33 local government councils in the state.
The court ordered that monthly allocation to the 33 local governments in Oyo State should be lodged in an interest-yielding account to prevent the state government from using same to fund the newly LCDAs.
This the order was part of the one stopping the planned local government elections slated for February 11, 2017.
READ: JUST IN: Details of court order that stopped Oyo Local Govt elections (SEE COURT PAPERS)
Last Friday, the court issued the orders following a motion ex-parte filed in the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/11/2017 on behalf of 15 Baales from Oyo Federal Constituency by the lawyer, Ahmed Raji SAN, pursuant to the creation of 35 local council development authorities (LCDAs) in the state.
The creation of the LCDAs by the state government last year was said to have tampered with the boundaries of the 33 existing local government areas recognised in the 1999 Constitution.
The 15 village heads in some communities, which were hitherto under Oyo Federal Constituency, got ceded to local government areas which fall within the boundary of Oyo North Senatorial district.
The four local government councils in Oyo Federal Constituency are within Oyo Central Senatorial district.
The order also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was also restrained from supporting OYSIEC in the conduct of the election through the release of voter register or any other material.
He said the creation of the LCDA areas was the request by the people and not the state government.