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The chairman, Association of Local Government of Nigeria(ALGON), Oyo State Chapter, Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye disclosed on Saturday that the sacked local council chairmen in the state have secured a court order to stop the state government from probing the Local Government and Local Council Development Areas’ accounts.
Speaking on a live radio programme, South West Political Circuit on Fresh 105.9 FM, Abass-Aleshinloye said the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan during the week granted an injunction stopping the Oyo State government and the state House of Assembly from probing the activities of the councils between January 2018 and May 2019.
Newspeakonline recalls that Governor Seyi Makinde recently set up a seven-man committee headed by Justice Laoye Popoola(Rtd) to investigate the activities of the 33 local governments and 35 local council development areas under ex-governor Abiola Ajimobi.
Makinde had said the committee was expected to investigate the councils’ financial dealings and retrieve the money illegally taken by individuals and also impound any government property traceable to any individual between January 2018 and May 2019.
Aleshinloye stated that as intellectuals, the chairmen would engage the state government in a proper way and won’t engage in any activity that would truncate the peace in the state.
He described the probe as a witch-hunt and a ploy to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it.
His words: ” What the governor did was wrong. We are ready to appear before the panel if it is constituted properly.
“We do not have anything to hide but how can you go before somebody who did not have any engagement with you and sacked you two hours into his administration.
“It is just a way of finding a bad name for a dog just to hang it.”
The ALGON boss also stated that the stay of execution granted by Justice Ladiran Akintola last Tuesday on a motion seeking to enforce the May 6 judgment stopping the state government from removing the council bosses has not changed what is on ground, saying the governor should obey the court order and wait for the appeal his government filed.
“A court of coordinate jurisdiction cannot vacate a order or judgement it gave. It is only a court of higher jurisdiction that can vacate such orders.
“Did they tell you we got an injunction against them at the federal high court which stopped them from probing the local governments.
“The governor should obey court order and wait for the decision of the appeal,” Aleshinloye said.
He advised the governor not to listen to sycophants and not do anything that will disrupt the peace being enjoyed by the people of the state.