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The Association of Local Government of Nigeria(ALGON) in Oyo State has accused Governor Seyi Makinde of planning to swear-in caretaker committee members and secretaries for the 68 local governments and local council development areas in the state despite the Supreme Court judgement, subsisting court orders and ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
A statement on Monday by Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, the association’s chairman , said it is very regrettable that despite the judgements, repeated warnings from ALGON, distinguished senior lawyers and a reprimand and strong advisory letter from the Attorney General of the Federation for disobeying the Supreme Court, the governor continues “with his trademark reckless disobedience.”
He said: “It has come to our attention at ALGON Oyo State that the governor is not relenting in his serial disobedience to both the judgment of the Supreme Court, and the extant substantive judgement of the Oyo State High Court restraining all the actions dissolving elected council leadership, forbidding the appointment of caretakers over local councils, striking down as unconstitutional any consequential act thereof and injunctions restraining the governor and the Oyo State Government from embarking on these acts.
“We were informed that arrangements has now been concluded for his swearing-in of caretaker committee members and secretaries across our local councils. In this financially hard times when citizens are barely able to feed, and no palliatives forthcoming from the state government despite the huge donations r into the Oyo State COVID-19 fund, Governor Makinde continues to balloon the state recurrent expenditure with another 500 plus political appointees into caretaker committees of local governments.
“Our isolation centers have no ventilators and life is hard for the ordinary citizen, yet it is at this time Governor Makinde is creating ‘illegal local government work’ for his PDP acolytes. Let no one be suprised if our dear state is unable to pay April and future salaries in view of its misplaced spending priorities, ballooning our payrolls with political appointments in defiance of court judgements.
“We again advise Engr. Seyi Makinde to desist from his continued disobedience to the judgement of the Supreme Court and other Courts.
“This is hardly the time for swearing-in of ‘kangaroo illegal caretaker Members/Secretaries’ at this period of pandemic when coronavirus is ravaging the world, and when the governor himself closed Mosques, Churches and schools, directing no gathering should exceed 10 persons. In what gathering are these 500 plus persons appointees would be sworn-in?
“We once again request the governor to reverse himself on his illegal activities on the local government administration in the state and restore it because he has nothing to lose but more benefits to gain in making his efforts better felt at the local government tier, the real centre of people’s power and development. The people at the grassroots are really suffering without any intimate shoulder to rest on for succour in this trying period of flood disasters, COVID-19, groaning poverty, increasing insecurity in our state, and mass unemployment since the local government councils were illegally dissolved.”
The ALGON boss said citizens at the grassroot expect more at this crucial period, adding that government efforts is needed to provide more succour in the area of palliatives to virtually everybody, especially the most vulnerable that have been affected by the partial lock down of the state.
“The state government has no excuse for not making provision for essential relief items to the citizens of Oyo State, now that the federal government has been magnanimous enough to reduce the price of premium motor spirit, and offered federal palliatives to our state. It is advised that rather than embarking on another journey of illegality and insensitive fund allocations, Governor Seyi Makinde should try to be sensitive to our people’s needs by concentrating the government’s efforts on how to contain further spread of COVID-19 beyond reasonable doubt and keeping the populace safe. It is not time for finding job for his boys,” he stated.