Court grants injunction to uphold tenure of Oyo local government chairmen

An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan granted an injunction to uphold the tenure of 33 Local Government Areas and 35 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) chairmen, insisting that they were inaugurated for a three-year tenure.

Justice Aderonke Aderemi in her ruling argued that their tenure was statutorily set at three years with effect from the date of their election.

She added that dissolving the constitutionally elected council chairmen contravenes the spirit and letters of the 1999 Constitution.

In the suit NO: 1/347/19 filed at the federal high court in Ibadan, Justice Aderemi said seeking a dissolution of elected council chairmen by the governor, the state’s Attorney General, Commissioner for Local Governments, Accountant General, Speaker of the House of Assembly and Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) breached provision of Section 7 (1) of the constitution, thereby making the defendants’ application for dissolution null and void.

She that sections 7 (a) and 96 of the Local Government Laws of the State, Cap78 Laws of Oyo State 2000, which empowers the governor to dissolve Local Government areas, violates section 7 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Justice Aderemi, however, argued that violation of the section of Law made it unconstitutional for the council chairmen to be dissolved before the expiration of their three-year tenure.

She, therefore, ruled that any law, order or directive empowering the governor or any person whatsoever to dissolve councils and LCDAs or remove any person democratically elected into such office in the state, but whose tenures are yet to expire, was in conflict with Section 7 (1) of the 1999 Constitution and thus unconstitutional.