Edo Local Government Chairmen Resist Suspension Threat from Okpebholo, Assembly

Edo State’s 18 suspended local government chairmen challenged the State House of Assembly on Wednesday, claiming they are immune from suspension or removal.

According to reports, the House suspended the council chairmen for two months on Tuesday due to alleged misbehavior.

In response to a petition against the council chairmen filed by Governor Monday Okpebholo, the parliamentarians made the decision.

At a press event in Benin City, the LG chairmen, acting on behalf of the Edo State chapter of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, or ALGON, protested their suspension.

In a press briefing, Orhionmwon LGA chairman Newman Ugiagbe emphasized that the House of Assembly’s alleged suspension of them on Tuesday, December 17, 20204, was against court orders.

The term of the council chairmen who were sworn in on September 4, 2023, will only expire in 2025, according to Ugiagbe, who is also the ALGON chairman for Edo State.

He asserted that the State House of Assembly’s alleged suspension of them from office was illegal, extra vires, void, and completely ineffective.

He said that the House of Assembly and the Edo State High Court had ruled in lawsuits against the state government that the defendants should not dismiss the democratically elected council executives before the completion of their three-year term.

According to the state ALGON chairman, the organization reminded the Speaker of the House on December 17, 2024, about a second lawsuit filed against the governor, Okpebholo, with the case number B/3070s/2024.

He stated that in the case, the state High Court 2 issued an interim injunction prohibiting the defendants from preventing the claimants from exercising their constitutional rights to all of the properties and money that were given to them from the Federation Account.

The defendants were prohibited by the courts from suspending, dismissing, redeploying, interfering, or otherwise interfering with the management and administration of their councils, he continued.

In a case between the Attorney-General of the Federation and Abia State and 36 others, Ugiagbe also cited a Supreme Court ruling in which the court, acting through their privies, took away the 36 state governors’ and the House of Assembly’s authority to dissolve or meddle in local government management or administration by using state powers derived from laws passed by the House of Assembly or (anyhow so-called) executive orders or other actions (anyhow so-called).

In light of the aforementioned, the 18 local government representatives who were elected on September 2, 2023, and sworn in on September 4, 2024, continue to serve as the executive chairs of their respective local government councils and carry out their constitutional duties as the councils’ chief executive officers.

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Given the aforementioned, it is clear that the Edo State House of Assembly’s decision to suspend the chairmen and vice chairmen in response to Governor Monday Okpebholo’s request on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, was beyond the bounds of the law and, as a result, was void. Additionally, it is a contempt of court orders,” he stated.

Ugiagbe urged security services and other governmental organizations tasked with upholding law and order to safeguard all of the local government councils’ property and structures.

In order to defend the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Constitution, which the Edo State House of Assembly is reportedly impeding, he asked that security forces be sent to all 18 local government secretariats.

According to Ugiagbe, the deployment of security personnel will contribute to the establishment of a conducive atmosphere for the efficient performance of the duties for which they were sworn in as legitimately elected political office holders.

In response to a petition against the 18 local government chairmen and their deputies submitted by Governor Monday Okpebholo, the Edo State House of Assembly suspended them at its plenary session on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.

In the petition, the governor accused the council officials of egregious wrongdoing and insubordination.

He said that the chairmen of the councils had refused to provide the State Asset Verification Committee with the financial account statements of their respective local governments.