Another crucial phase in the conflict between the Edo State administration and the elected local government executives over control of the state’s 18 LGCs’ economic authority has just begun.
This phase comes after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a new national directive requiring the 774 local governments to register special accounts in order to receive allocations directly from the Federation Account.
Since the elected council chairmen and their deputies have been suspended for two months, the CBN further mandated that each local government chairman attach their certificate of return as elected chairman to the indicated signature in order to open this dedicated account. Failing to do so would prevent the account details from being accepted.
This crisis started on December 17, 2024, when the governor wrote to the state house of assembly, requesting that the council chairs be suspended following an investigation into third-tier government funds because of alleged institutional failures. This could have been brought on by a bitter fight with addiction and clandestine intrigues that follow the course of history.
Governor Monday Okpebholo’s obsession with this matter stemmed from purportedly strong evidence of shortcomings in the third tier of government, which is regarded as an essential part of the professed commitment to delivering dividends for the public good.
With a daring forecast that signals a sea change and helps commentators grasp the current situation, the state government is upending the status quo.
In a more profound letter to the State House of Assembly, the governor requested that elected chairmen and their deputies be removed by suspension in accordance with Section 10, sub-section (1) of the Edo State Local Government Law 2000 as modified in 2022. This resulted in wild dogs sunbathing with a new perspective.
Unexpectedly, while considering the governor’s letter, the State House of Assembly, which is led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), struck down the section of the law and changed Edo Local Government Administration’s daily operations in an attempt to clean up the allegedly depressing legacy left by the previous administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki.
Nevertheless, the House of Assembly requested relief under Section 10 (20) of the same law, which addresses the Legislative Arm’s authority to suspend Local Government chairmen. On December 17, 2024, the House of Assembly declared the 18 Local Government chairmen and their Deputies suspended for two months due to alleged serious misconduct and insubordination.
The governor got what he wanted after the legislators’ voices against the suspension were silenced by the gavel. When the petition was debated at plenary, many interest groups began to perceive danger, a memory that will undoubtedly become tough to erase in Edo State’s democratic adventure.
It’s interesting to note that when Obaseki was in power as governor of the state, the same House of Assembly, led by the present Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku, passed the Edo State Local Government Law in 2000 (2022 as amended).
Governor Okpebholo, acting through State Deputy Governor Dennis Idahosa, had called the Council chairmen to a meeting in Government House, Benin City, prior to the Assembly’s resolution, and instructed them to submit their financial accounts and Council receipts to the government.
In the midst of controversy, this daring journey summarized the terms of some Local Government Council chairs and their deputies who were impeached by their respective legislative assemblies.
The situation prompts people to wonder if the governor’s goal is to potentially increase his authority and break apart coalitions formed by leaders of the several Local Government Councils with the PDP, the state’s main opposition party.
Once more, there are worries that political actors’ use of subtle coercion and power plays threatens the rule of law with a strong feeling of accountability rather than merely postponing the arrival of the truth.
Does the House of Assembly’s reliance on the Local Government Law conflict with the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended?
Does the governor have the constitutional authority to interfere in local government issues as we have witnessed it in Edo, and what may be the motivation for his request that the various administrators of the Local Government Councils open their records for inspection?
Some of the questions that beg for answers are these ones. The inability of certain Council employees to get their 13th month’s wage from their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) at the end of 2024, as agreed by the State government, has created its own difficulties as a result of these developing circumstances.
Some would contend that grassroots governance is deteriorating daily as a result of the ongoing family conflict, which is fueled by hazy political boundaries between the hunter and the hunted.
Suspected political thugs with ties to the government violently eject suspended chairmen who tried to retake their seats after receiving a judicial reprieve, while their supporters and translators, including party loyalists, persist in spreading false information about griots on social media.
In an attempt to gather support for his harsh stance, Governor Okpebholo feels that drastic steps must be done to address certain abnormalities. He asks for understanding from those who are impacted, either directly or indirectly.
As a result, he decides to avoid outside distractions while simultaneously taking note of the reasonable criticism aimed at him.
Similarly, the state’s civil society organizations tried to play the role of Ombudsman, a voluntary watchdog that aims to steer the state toward peace, and urged the governor to reinstate the suspended local government chairmen.
In order to promote development at the local level, they urged the governor to honor President Bola Tinubu’s recent advice to Nigerian governors to work with the 774 Local Government Administration.
In their own delusions, the majority of council chairmen who are falsely or correctly accused of embezzling public monies ignore the alleged governor’s order, while others view it as a ridiculous pursuit by “the Governor.”
Furthermore, it is thought that the escalating crisis stems from a solidarity visit made by some suspended Council chairmen two weeks ago to Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate for the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election. This visit was likely intended to cause political upheaval.
The officials used the meeting—which the APC called cynical—as a launching pad to question its legitimacy and consider their legal options.
Governor Okpebholo would concur that the haze of pretense has prevented them from seeing the obvious: on a balanced political chess board, financial autonomy for the third tier of government does not imply or ensure a preference for financial irresponsibility by transactional leaders.
Unfortunately, their respective Councilors and acting chairmen have impeached the majority of the troubled chairs, replacing them.
Some of them who have managed to speak up have maintained that the Governor and the State Assembly lack the authority to remove duly elected Local Government officials from their positions in the Councils.
However, in an effort to reshape the new order, Tony Aziegbemi, the irate Chairman of the Edo PDP Caretaker Committee, and other stakeholders are expressing their confidence and solidarity with those who are being impeached.
By pushing back the other telling indictment against the removal of elected chairmen, especially in Oredo Local Government Council where Dr. Tom Obaseki’s impeachment was a difficult nut to crack after the initial uncompromising posture of most of the Councilors in the LGA, Aziegbemi said at a press briefing that he believes no one will be silenced by fear in the pursuit of justice.
The chairman of the State PDP caretaker committee also blasted the government, which is run by the All Progressives Congress, for its conscious efforts to wrest victory from the mouths of Council officials in the never-ending wave of misfortune.
However, Aziegbemi remained silent when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) invited some of the suspended Council executives to discuss the finances of Local Government Councils.
“What you see in Nollywood movies is what is happening in Edo State,” he said. First and foremost, it must be stated that the Governor’s letter to the House of Assembly is unlawful.
“The Governor shouldn’t have ordered that letter to be written,” he stated.
“What did he do? He posed a rhetorical question.
“At the time he wrote that letter, the Chief Judge of the State had ruled that the Supreme Court’s decision, which gave the Local Government Councils financial autonomy, had revoked and annulled Section 10, sub-section (1) of the 2000 Edo State Local Government Law (2022 as amended).”
The chairman of the PDP further charged that the Assembly’s leadership was gullible for giving in to the whims and fancies of the executive branch.
Additionally, he agrees that Governor Okpebholo is responsible for the anti-democratic actions in the Edo Local Government Administration.
He questioned the Governor’s decision to disregard a ruling by Justice Efe Ikpomwonba of the Edo High Court, which invalidated the resolution passed by the State House of Assembly suspending the chairmen of the Council.
However, the PDP chairman’s assertions were pierced by Barrister Andrew Adaze Emwanta, the State’s former Commissioner for Communication and Orientation during Goodwin Obaseki’s government.
Emwanta, who is currently Governor Okpebholo’s ally, acknowledged in a conversation with this correspondent that “we operate a Constitutional democracy in Nigeria.” And the governor’s actions were, in a sense, directed.
The second section of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, served as the governor’s guide. Naturally, the first section states that this Constitution guarantees the term of the democratically elected Local Government Councils.
The second section states that the House of Assembly, on behalf of the State Government, must guarantee the existence of local government and enact legislation that addresses its formation, composition, structure, and funding.
“The Edo State House of Assembly passed the Edo State Local Government Law in 2000 in accordance with those provisions of the 1999 Constitution,” he said.
Additionally, he referred to Edo State Local Government Law section 20 sub-part (e), which states that “a Governor in consultation with the House of Assembly may suspend an erring Local Government chairman for two months.”
“That is for a maximum of two months.” Additionally, the elected Local Government House Leader serves as the interim chairman of the Local Government Council during the time that the Governor is required under sub-section (c) of that statute to establish an inquiry, in lieu of the chairman or a chairman and his Vice (Deputy) being suspended.
The constitutional lawyer and law professor, who takes satisfaction in being one of the talent-development centers in Governor Okpebholo’s government, which prioritizes growth and enhanced production, asserts that “and the Governor of Edo State followed these procedures as stipulated by the law.”
Hon. Damian Lawani, the chairman of the Edo State Local Government Service Commission, has also offered his thoughts on the dispute.
Lawani, a former Edo State Commissioner and member of the State House of Assembly, justified the 18 Local Govt Council Chairmen’s suspension by pointing to the importance of openness and accountability. Lawani emphasized that no one can keep the Edo State Government hostage, but he also pointed out that the suspended chairmen did not respond to demands, especially when it came to suspected misappropriation of funds.
According to Lawani, the governor first requested a family meeting with the chairmen. However, when the chairmen refused to accept the cordial invitation and take the required steps, the governor decided to involve the State Assembly and EFCC.
Lawani emphasized the legality and constitutionality of the suspension, stating that parliamentary leaders filling in as acting chairs is a constitutional provision and that the law forbids power vacuums. The governor reportedly acted on reports from the State Accountant-General, who accused the 18 local government council chairs of wasting approximately 12 billion naira in 15 months on a phony item they call the “environmental security fund” and receiving 83 billion allocations in the same time period without any real progress, according to the chairman of the local government Service Commission.
Lawani went on to say that the Chairmen were suspended by the State House of Assembly, not the Governor.
Until the outcome of the substantive challenge by the resentful suspended Local Government Council chairmen, a Federal High Court has ordered the parties to the issue maintain the status quo and placed an injunction on Edo Local Councils’ finances while the crisis continues.
For local government employees and pensioners, as well as institutions that receive funding from local government allocations, the law imposed on the Councils’ accounts by the court order has had far-reaching consequences. As a result, they will not receive their December 2024 salaries and other benefits that are due from local government funds.
Now, it is up to the constitutional interpreter and the Supreme Court to make a final decision and find a long-term solution to the Edo State dilemma. Until further notice, the decent people of Edo State will have to endure the suspension of federally allocated cash.
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