TheCable

The Supreme court has declared the dissolution of local government councils in Oyo state as illegal.

In a ruling on Friday, the apex court said the replacement of the council chairman with caretaker committees is also unlawful.

Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo state, had in May 2019 sacked all the local government chairpersons in the state and appointed caretaker chairmen.

The action of the governor was met with widespread criticism, particularly from the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).

The Oyo state chapter of ALGON had described the development as “unconstitutionally unwise, unexpected and too hasty for a new government that is yet to find its feet”.

Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), had subsequently declared Makinde’s action as unconstitutional.

Mohammed Adamu, former inspector-general of police (IGP), had asked Shina Olukolu, Oyo state commissioner of police, to help reinstate the sacked local government chairpersons in compliance with the directive of the AGF.

Two months ago, Makinde dissolved the council caretaker committees following the expiration of their tenure.

The governor had asked heads of local council administration to take over pending the assumption of elected officials.