Updated: Dissolution of LG chairmen, councillors: S’Court declares Govs Makinde, Masari actions illegal

…orders payment of salaries, allowances of sacked officials

Andrew Orolua, Abuja

The Supreme Court, on Friday, declared the dissolution and sack of elected Local Government Chairmen and Councillors in Oyo State by Governor Seyi Makinde, as unconstitutional and illegal.

Also on Friday, the Apex court declared the dissolution of the duly elected Local government Council Chairmen on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State as unlawful.

The Supreme Court, in a unanimous judgement by a five-man panel of Justices, held that Governor Makinde acted beyond his powers, when on his assumption of office on May 29, 2019, he sacked the Chairmen of the 33 Local Government Areas (LGAs), as well as 35 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state.

Stating that no governor has the constitutional power to illegally terminate the tenure of democratically elected LG Chairmen and Councillors, the Supreme Court, in its lead verdict read by Justice Ejembi Eko, observed with pain that Governor Makinde took the action despite a subsisting court order.

It held that Governor Makinde acted “invidiously and in contemptuous disregard of a High Court judgement”, when he dissolved the democratically elected Chairmen and Councillors, and appointed Caretaker Committees in their stead.

It held that his action was in breach of section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

The Supreme Court held that governors were duty bound to preserve democratically elected Local Government Councils.

Consequently, it invoked its original jurisdiction under section 22 of the Supreme Court Act and vacated the judgement of the Court of Appeal in Ibadan, which earlier validated Governor Makinde’s action.

It held that the appellate court was wrong when it held that there was no reasonable cause of action in the suit the appellants filed to forestall their sack.

Though the Supreme Court acknowledged that the three-year tenure of the sacked Chairmen and Councillors had since expired, it held that they deserved to be compensated for their tenure that was “illegally truncated” on May 29, 2019.

It therefore ordered the Oyo State Government to pay each of the sacked Chairmen and Councillors their accrued salaries and allowances.

The Supreme Court further directed the Attorney-General of Oyo State to before August 7, file an affidavit attesting to the payment of such salaries and allowances to the appellants.

Besides, it awarded a cost of N20 million in favour of the appellants.

Other Justices that concurred with the lead judgement the apex court delivered during a virtual session it held on Friday, were Justices Kekere Ekun, Inyang Okoro, Ibrahim Saulawa and Adamu Jauro.

The LG Council bosses who were elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and sworn in at the twilight of the administration of late former governor of the state, Abiola Ajimobi, had before Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, took over, filed a suit to secure their positions.

Following their suit, Justice Aderonke Aderemi of Oyo State High Court, in a judgement on May 6, 2019, restrained the state from dissolving the elected LG Chairmen and Councillors.

However, immediately he assumed office on May 29, 2019, Governor Makinde, lodged an appeal against the high court judgement, even as he sacked all the Local Government Chairmen and Councillors.

The appellate court subsequently dismissed the case of the LG Council bosses on the premise that it was “pre-emptive, premature, speculative and failed to disclose reasonable facts”.

Also, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Adamu Jauro, the Supreme Court on Friday directed that the unlawfully dissolved council officials in Katsina State be paid all their entitlements from the date of their illegal dissolution to the date they were to vacate office.

The Apex court with its decision, set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal and allowed the appeal marked SC 244/218, filed by Abubakar Ibrahim Yantaba and others V Governor of Katsina State.

Governor Masari had, on assumption of office in July 2015, dissolved the duly elected state Council and sacked its officials on allegation of financial misappropriation of councils funds, a decision which the apex court also declared as illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.

The Supreme Court also awarded costs against the defendants in favour of the Appellants and insisted that it should be complied with within a time frame.

The Katsina State chapter of PDP and the affected chairmen and Councillors had instituted the action and dragged the state governor, Aminu Bello Masari and the state House of Assembly to court over alleged move to dissolve the 34 local government councils in the state.

Joined in the suit were the Attorney-general of Katsina State as second defendant while Masari and the state assembly were the first and third defendants respectively.

In a writ of summons with reference number: KTH/38/2015, dated July 1, 2015, the PDP sought the court to restrain the defendants from dissolving the council chairmen.

The PDP also sought a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from “suspending or in any other way removing all or any of the 34 local government councils officials in Katsina State before the expiration of their tenure.

The party also asked for a declaration that upon declaration of relevant laws including the amended Katsina State local government law, the tenure of the 34 local government councils in the state is two years.

It alleged that Masari has no legal right to dissolve, suspend or remove any of the 34 local governments before expiration of their tenure.

The PDP insisted that its move was informed by an announcement by the governor, indicating the intention of his administration to dissolve the local government councils.

Meanwhile, notable members of the APC have been responding to the Supreme Court judgment that declared the dissolution and sack of elected Local Government Chairmen and Councillors in Oyo State by Governor Seyi Makinde, as unconstitutional and illegal.

Minister of Youths and Sports, Chief Sunday Dare, said in his reaction to the development that “with the unsparing, unequivocal and unambiguous judgment by the highest court in the land, it has now become crystal clear that no state governor has any power to sack any elected council chairman or councilor, as correctly envisioned by President Muhammadu Buhari.”

He commended the “gallantry of the local government chairmen under the leadership of Prince Abass Aleshinloye, stressing that their steadfastness and doggedness eventually paid off, “not only for them, but also for democracy as an institution at the grassroots.”

The minister also praised their legal team, led by Chief Niyi Akintola, for a thorough and painstaking legal battle.

Chairman of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Adeolu Akande, who also congratulated the APC in Oyo State and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) over the judgment, said: “This is the distinctive feature of democrats and history will be kind to you all for your principled stand.”

In the statement he personally signed, Professor Akande said Governor Makinde should learn from “the misadventure of dissolving the councils against the laws of the country and extant judgments of the Supreme Court.

“He should begin to conduct himself in accordance with the laws of the country.

“It is most unfortunate that Engineer Makinde went clearly against extant judgments of the Supreme Court to dissolve the elected councils. It is also unfortunate that poor tax payers in the state would have to cough out N20 million to pay for the cost awarded by the Supreme Court against the Oyo State government.

“It is advisable that the Governor Makinde views every such money from the state coffers as funds that could have been better utilised for development, instead of assuming that it is at no cost to him personally.”

Also, the Chairman of Senate Committee on Local Content who also represents Oyo Central Senatorial District, Chief Teslom Kolawole Folarin, while congratulating the chairmen and councilors, described the Oyo ALGON’s victory as a defining judgment and a triumph for Oyo State and the APC family in general.

In a congratulatory message signed by his Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Mr. Y. S. O. Olaniyi, the lawmaker extended appreciation to the people of Oyo State, the APC and other stakeholders for their “unwavering support throughout the period of the legal battle.”