The Association of Local Government of Nigeria, ALGON, has warned the Executive Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde, against the inauguration of ‘illegal’ council secretaries and caretaker members amidst the COVID-19 pandemic ravaaging the world.
ALGON members, in a press statement signed by their chairman in the state, Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, also expressed their displeasure that in spite of repeated warnings from them, distinguished senior lawyers, a reprimand and strong advisory letter from the AGF for disobeying the Supreme court, Governor Seyi Makinde has continued with his trademark reckless disobedience.
They stressed further that It has come to their attention that the Governor is not relenting in his serial disobedience to both the judgment of the Supreme court, and the extant substantive judgment of the Oyo state high court restraining all the actions of disband of elected council leadership, forbidding the appointment of caretakers over Local councils, striking down as unconstitutional any consequential act therefrom and injunctions restraining the Governor and the Oyo state government from embarking on these threatened acts.
Their statement read, ” In these financially hard times when citizens are barely able to feed, and no palliatives forthcoming from the state government despite the huge donations received into the Oyo state Covid 19 fund in billions, Governor Makinde continues to balloon the state recurrent expenditure with a total of another 500 plus political appointees into caretaker committees of local governments.
“Our isolation centers have no ventilators, and life is hard for the ordinary citizen,yet it is at this time Governor Makinde is creating illegal local government work for his PDP acolytes. Let no one be suprised if our dear state is unable to pay April and future salaries in view of its misplaced spending priorities, ballooning our payrolls with political appointments in defiance of court judgments.”
They wrote further that this is hardly the time for swearing in of kangaroo illegal caretaker Members/Secretaries at the various local government at this period of pandemic when Corona virus is ravaging the world.
They also asked that when Governor himself ordered the closure of mosques, churches and schools and directed that no gathering should exceed 10 people, in what gathering are these 500 plus appointees going to be sworn in?
They then requested the Governor to reverse himself on his illegal activities on the Local Government administration in the state and restore it because he has nothing to lose but more benefits to gain in making his efforts better felt at the local government tier, the real centre of people’s power and development.
They added, “The State Government has no excuse for not making provision for essential relief items to the citizens of Oyo State now that the Federal Government has been magnanimous enough to reduce the price of premium motor spirit, and offered federal palliatives to our state.
“It is advised that rather than embarking on another journey of illegality and insensitive fund allocations, Governor Seyi Makinde should try to be sensitive to our people’s needs by concentrating the government’s efforts on how to contain further spread of covid 19 beyond reasonable doubt and keeping the populace safe.”
