The Association of Local Government of Nigeria ( ALGON) , Oyo State Chapter, on Sunday slammed the State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde over the dissolution of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC),Civil Service Commission, Judicial Service Commission and Local Government Service Commission.
The group called on its members to ignore the panel constituted by the governor to probe the local government councils in the state, adding that it is an affront on a subsisting court judgement and a executive ambush with the aim of giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it.
ALGON in a statement signed by its Chairman , Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, on Sunday described the governor’s action as ” another faulty and illegal step in the series of lawlessness and executive rascality the government of Oyo state is now known for.”
It said: “Gov Makinde’s committee set up purportedly to probe the accounts of elected local government administrations in the state is a breach of the 1999 constitution, an affront on a subsisting court judgement and a reckless executive ambush with the sole aim to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it.
“ALGON hereby calls on all chairmen, secretaries, councillors and supervisors to reject and boycott the insidious, illegal sittings, and activities of Governor Makinde’s hangmen panel.
“By law, a governor cannot probe local government chairmen, just like the president cannot probe a state governor by an Adhoc committee. It is only a Governor of illegalities that seeks to dare the hallowed letters of our constitution he swore to uphold. No state Governor in Nigeria has followed this ill-conceived lawless example.
“Accounts of local government councils are regularly audited by the auditors from Auditor general office and its activities are also regularly monitored accordingly.
We are not answerable to an adhoc contraption but to constitutional institutions properly established by law. We shall make ourselves available to legally constituted audit committees, as and when due, after a successful completion of all our pending cases in court.
Recall that Makinde had promised to ensure that the dissolved OYSIEC board members are paid their salaries for the remaining term.
But ALGON described the proposed payment as “bare faced corruption, very ridiculous, morally reprehensible and an unconstitutional act that cannot stand the test of law”.
The statement probed: “Are taxpayers in Oyo state now to bear the brunt of this recklessness? If you pay the commission members their 5 years wages at once for only 2 years spent and proceed to appoint new people to the same commissions during this same tenure arbitrarily truncated, are we as citizens to pay wages and emoluments to 2 different set of persons for the same term?”
It added: “In Oyo state, Governor Makinde must submit himself to the law of the land, our constitution and not to turn our dear state into a lawless state.”
ALGON enjoined the people of the state to demand a reversal of what it called” poor and reckless executive decision.”
