Human Rights Lawyer, Femi Falana waded into the local government crisis in Oyo State, on Monday, urging Governor Seyi Makinde to either allow the sacked elected Chairmen to serve out their tenure or pay them off if they won’t be allowed to complete their tenure.
According to the Nigerian Tribune, Falana who held that caretaker chairmen were unknown to the nation’s constitution, charged Makinde to rather speed up the process of conducting a local government election in the state.
These were some of Falana’s remarks during the maiden edition of Emeritus Professor Muyiwa Awe Annual Memorial Lecture, held at the University of Ibadan, on Monday.
Responding to journalists on way out of the local government crisis in Oyo State, Falana said: “The governor will have to speed up election of Local Government officials because the caretaker committees are unknown to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
“Once the Local Government chairmen have been elected, they have to serve their tenure and if at all you are not allowing them to finish their tenure, you will have to pay them. This is the position of the law.”
Meanwhile, Attorney General of Oyo State, Professor Oyelowo Oyewo, on Monday, said the return to office of the sacked Chairmen of local government and local council development areas in the state will be guaranteed by a court order to that effect.
This is as Oyelowo, who spoke on a Channels Television programme, noted that there was no particular court case instituted against the appointment of caretaker chairmen by the Governor Seyi Makinde led government.
Describing the local government crisis in the state as a combination of politics and legality, Oyewo, however, said it looked forward to the court rulings on its injunction filed against the Attorney General of the Federation and five others and its appeal against a court judgment obtained by the sacked Chairmen against Oyo State governor.
He said the state government will abide by a court judgment that declares its appointment of caretaker Chairmen as null and void and calls for a return to the status quo.
