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Tag: councillors

  • Five supervisory councillors take oath

    Five supervisory councillors take oath

    Chairman of Okpe Local Government and Association of Local Governments of Nigeria Chair in Delta State, Onoriode Esiovwa, yesterday sworn in five supervising councillors.

    The councillors are: Ukoloro Jimmy, Daniel Erumeji, Akporotu Roland, Joshua Umukoro and Mrs. Okomeyamono Esther.

    Addressing the supervisory councillors, Esiovwa said they were chosen for their dedication and commitment.

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     Esiovw urged them to be fair and just and bring their skills and experience to bear on development of the council,

    Earlier, executives of Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in  Okpe, led by Chairman, Endurance Odebala, assured the chairman of good working environment and cordial relationships in the council.

    Odebala said they will support the council chief in human resources, capital development, and good working synergy.

  • Ekiti Assembly suspends local govt chairmen, councillors for alleged corruption

    The Ekiti State House of Assembly has slammed an indefinite suspension on the 16 local government chairmen and 177 councillors for alleged financial misappropriation.

    This resolution was reached yesterday at the Assembly’s plenary, where it also ordered the Auditor General of the local government to begin forensic audit of all accounts of the local government areas.

    Addressing reporters in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, on the resolution of the Assembly, the Chairman of House Committee on Information and Leader of Government Business, Gboyega Aribisogan, said the action was in consonance with Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 82 of the Assembly’s Standing Order.

    Aribisogan said the reports submitted by the Public Accounts Committee, which is statutorily saddled with probing the finances of the local governments, in line with Section 82 of the 1999 Constitution, alleged misappropriation, diversion and contract inflation.

    The lawmaker said the Assembly could not overlook such infractions.

    He said: “We worked on the documents and we realised that the council bosses went on their way to use direct labour for projects that go beyond their approval limits, making them conduit pipes to siphon the third tier of government.

    “The ineptitude, corruption, misappropriation, diversion and outright looting discovered in the reports saddened us that the third tier of government was badly managed by these local government elected officials. They showed that they were there to promote their interests and not that of the people.

    “Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution stipulates that the House of Assembly shall make laws for the good governance and operations of the councils, including agencies not contained on the Exclusive List.

    “We hereby resolve that the chairmen of the 16 local government areas, their appointed officials and all councillors be placed on an indefinite suspension to pave way for a forensic audit of the accounts, for their continued stay in office will obstruct the course of investigation.

    “The suspended officials should hand over government properties in their possession to the Directors of Administration.

    “We also resolved that appropriate sanctions will be meted out to erring elected or appointed and career officers that are found culpable in the misapplication, misappropriation and diversion of public funds.”

    He added: “We saw cases of over-invoicing and contract inflation and there were evidence of how contracts were awarded to families and their cronies.

    “We are not going to spare anyone, including the career officers. Whoever is culpable will be sanctioned. But they have the liberty to go to court to challenge our action.”

    Aribisogan dispelled the rumour that the local government officials offered the Assembly N8 million bribe to stave off suspension.

    The committee chairman said only members of the committee carried out the oversight function.

    “On the issue of whether they were coerced or pressured or persuaded to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) does not concern the Assembly. What we are after is ensuring that government money is preserved and spent appropriately,” he said.

     

     

  • Councillors tasked on capacity building

    Councillors in the 20 local government areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in Ogun State have been urged to build and enhance the capacities and skills of parliamentarians at the local government level, as this would help achieve better democratic governance.

    Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Suraj Adekunbi spoke in Abeokuta while opening a two-day seminar organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, in collaboration with Olib Consult.

    According to him, the seminar, themed: “Enhancing the Legislative Powers for Socio-Economic Development”, is an eye-opener for the legislature to get it right at the grassroots.

    He said: “The collective imperative is for us to collaborate and enact enabling laws that will ensure deliverables to the electorate, and partner the Executive arms to aid socio- economic growth and development.”

    Adekunbi urged the 345 councillors to be prepared to use all techniques gained from the seminar to ensure the spread of dividends of democracy in their localities.

    Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Jide Ojuko said the seminar, was organised to improve councillors’ skills in local government administration, widen their horizon on quality and efficient service delivery and bring dividends of democracy closer to the grassroots for meaningful development.

     

  • LASIEC presents return certificates to two councillors

    LASIEC presents return certificates to two councillors

    The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission ( LASIEC ) has presented certificates of return to Messrs Imoleayo Oluwafemi Aderibigbe and Simeon Segun Olamoyegun of the Accord Party as councillors for wards F and H of Odi- Olowo/Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area.

    LASIEC said it was in compliance with the ruling of the Lagos State Elections Petitions Tribunal sitting at Ikeja, which ruled in favour of the duo.

    Presenting the certificates to the councillors, LASIEC Chairman Justice Ayotunde Phillips (rted), represented by the commission’s Permanent Secretary Mr Olumide Lawal, praised the Accord Party’s  leadership, the councillors and their supporters for the confidence reposed in the judicial machinery set up by the government for prosecuting election petitions, rather than resorting to self-help which could lead to a breakdown of law and order.

    Phillips recalled the pledge she made at various pre-election stakeholders meetings that the commission would always uphold the rule of law and comply with any order  by any court of competent jurisdiction at any stage of the electoral process.

    The presentation of the certificates, she said, was a demonstration of the fulfilment of her promise.

    The Chairman appealed to the two councillors to join hands with their colleagues to make life better for the entire citizenry in their council, adding that elected political office holders must put service to the people first and make themselves accountable to the people to justify the confidence reposed in them.

    “If people who are elected into public office diligently serve the citizenry, Election Management Bodies, including LASIEC, would have little or no cause to worry about voters’ apathy as many eligible voters would enthusiastically participate in the electoral process,” she said.

    The Chairman revealed that 27 petitions were filed by different political parties and their candidates over disputes arising from the July 22 council elections, of which two were determined in favour of the petitioners.

    Lagos Chairman of the Accord Party, Mr. Olatunde Olugbenga Cole, thanked the commission for the support and cooperation rendered during the tribunal’s sittings.

    The experience, Cole said, had strengthened his confidence in the rule of law.

    Olamoyegun, who spoke on behalf of his colleague, thanked God and hailed the commission for its commitment to improve in the electoral process.

    He promised that they would work hard to make life a lot better for the people in their council, stressing that “out of the 27 petitions that were filed by different political parties, the only two successful ones came in our favour. Hence, we cannot afford to disappoint the electorate that gave us this chance. I have always known the chairman to be a woman of integrity, we all have respect for her.”

  • Niger Assembly Suspends LG Chairman and Councillors

    Niger Assembly Suspends LG Chairman and Councillors

    The Niger State House of Assembly has passed a resolution suspending the Chairman and Councillors of Mashegu Local Government over alleged unruly conduct.

    The Chairman and his Councillors were alledged to have been involved some misconduct on the construction of a road and moves by the legislators to get explanations from the Chairman and his Councillors led to insults and assault to the Legislators.

    After considering and delibrating the interim report of an oversight visit to the local government area by the Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Assembly resolved that the council shall remain suspended while a five-man committee headed by Honorable Malik Bosso to investigate the action of the local government council members, and report back in eight weeks.

    Presenting the nterim report, the Chairman of the Committee on Local government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Honorable Abdulmalik Kabir said that the committee observed that the contractors handling the Kawo-Mashegu road construction project did not adhere to specification.

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    He said that over N386 million have been expended on the road stating that the quality of the road did not meet the amount being expended on it.

    “After a careful inspection of the work done so far, we observed that the contractor did not adhere strictly to the engineering design. The width, in some areas, was short by 1.9 metres, making it impossible for two cars to pass freely. Culverts were also skipped and drains were not available to channel water,” he explained.

    Kabir said that the committee then recommended that the contractor should go back to the site and effect corrections in line with the engineering designs agreed upon.

    He then stated that the council chairman, Alhaji Saidu Kaboji stood up and told the contractor that the lawmakers were not the ones paying him and that the money was not for the Legislators.

    “Some of the councillors said unprintable things to the committee members while walking out, while others even hurled pebbles at us,” he said.

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  • ‘New chairmen, councillors ‘ll complement Ambode at grassroots’

    ‘New chairmen, councillors ‘ll complement Ambode at grassroots’

    • Tinubu says APC post-primary conflicts have been resolved

    All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has said the new local government chairmen and councillors, who were elected by Lagosians, will complement the efforts of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode at the grassroots.

    He said democracy will continue to thrive at the local government level through periodic election of leaders to serve the people.

    Tinubu, who voted at Polling Unit 447, Ward F, Sunday Adigun Street, Alaudsa, Ikeja around 12.15 pm, noted that the exercise was peaceful, judging by reports that reached him.

    He commended the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) officials and security for the peaceful exercise.

    The former Lagos State governor told reporters after casting his ballot that the poll was a significant leap in the APC’s quest to sustain the tempo of development across the 57 councils.

    The former governor acknowledged the participation crisis that engulfed the party ahead of the primary, saying that it was normal in politics and democracy.

    He said the high number of chairmanship and councillorship aspirants generated much conflicts which were later resolved by the party leadership.

    Tinubu said: “When we have 57 local government and there is an average of 13 people who want to be chairman in each council, that is the popularity of your party. They are entitled to their aspirations and intentions. But, you can only have one chairman; you can only have one vice chairman, you can oly have one councillor in a ward. You have to reconcile and resolve all the conflicts. And we have done so. When you are in politics, you should expect that level of anxiety.”

    The party leader defended the automatic tickets to former 18 local government chairmen, saying that they had lived up to expectation in their first term.

    He said no aspirant was disqualified or edged out of the primary, stressing that the APC cannot abrogate the political rights of its members.

    He added: “There is no state that is more secure than Lagos. Take that one. You should score Lagos excellent. Score Southwest excellent. And for development, you can see it yourself. Otherwise, I will loan you my glasses. You can see that development going on at the grassroots level. That is why the apex leadership rewarded the exceptional 18 local government chairmen that concentrated well on scholarship, school rehabilitation and problem of sanitation. That is why the leadership endorsed them for the second term.

    “And we were very transparent about it. We said it openly. That is leadership; the apex leadership of the party. We didn’t say don’t contest. We didn’t say don’t run. We didn’t say don’t vote. We didn’t say that you are either disqualified or you have no right. No. Nobody abrogated anybody’s right to vote.

    “Where you have complaints, you watch out for personal interest or complaint. You find individuals who had been indulged in personalising their local government. When you take that opportunity from them, you see the combustion. That is the problem. You have to live with it in any democratic exercise. You have to be patient, be tolerant and leadership blame must occur. That’s leadership in earnest. But, this is Lagos too.”

     

  • ‘Elected Rivers councillors never defected to PDP’

    The Rivers State Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Davies Ikanya, has said councillors elected on the party’s platform in the 23 local government areas have not and will not defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Ikanya spoke at the weekend in Port Harcourt, the state capital, during a meeting of elected councillors.

    The meeting was also attended by leaders and members of the 8th Assembly of the local government areas.

    The APC chairman noted that besides the leader of the Asari-Toru Local Government Area’s Legislative Assembly, Orolosama Amachree, who recently defected to the PDP, the other 318 councillors are still in APC.

    He said the defected leader had been replaced.

    Ikanya said: “Recently, Governor Nyesom Wike mobilised people from Aba in Abia State and everywhere else, claiming they were APC defectors to the PDP.

    “PDP leaders said you, our elected councillors, who are still at the Supreme Court challenging their removal from office, have defected to the PDP.

    “Out of the 319 councillors, only one defected to the PDP and it is nothing to talk about. This is because he has been replaced with the deputy leader.

    “Today, we have proven to the whole world that the PDP in Rivers State manufactures lies. We want the world to know that nobody is leaving the APC to the PDP.”

    The chairman admonished the councillors and other members of the party to always support President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

  • Vacate your offices immediately, Akeredolu tells sacked LG chairmen, councillors

    Following  the court order setting aside the local government election conducted by the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission, under the Chairmanship of Prof Olugbenga Ige, on April 23, 2016, Ondo State governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu,  has directed that all persons occupying the positions of chairmen and councilors in all the 18 local government areas of Ondo State should are to vacate such offices, forthwith.

    According to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary, Mr Segun Ajiboye: “They are directed to hand over, immediately, all government properties in their possession to the director of Local Government Administration in their respective local governments.”

    The directive is predicated on the order of Honourable Justice Adesola Sidiq of the State High Court, Akure, which found that the 1st and 2nd Defendants, Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission and Prof Olugbenga Ige, the Chairman, conducted the election of 23 April, 2016, “in violation of the mandatory provisions of Sections 1(1) (3), 40, 42, 287 of the Constitution Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, and Articles 2, 3(1) (2), 10(1), 11 and 13 (1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap. A9, the Laws of Federation, 2004,” and, consequently, dissolved all local government administrative set up across all the 18 local government areas of the state.

    “The state government hereby enjoins all citizens to remain law-abiding as this directive is solely based on strict adherence to the order of the court and our unyielding insistence on observing the rule of law at all times and in all situations.

    Elections into all the Local Government Areas shall be conducted as directed by the court as soon as possible,” the statement added.

  • Supreme Court voids law empowering governors to sack LG chairmen, councillors

    Supreme Court voids law empowering governors to sack LG chairmen, councillors

    THE Supreme Court yesterday voided laws enacted by the states’ Houses of Assembly which allow governors to sack elected Chairmen of Local Governments and Councillors and replace them appointed administrators.

    It has of recent become a tradition among governors to dissolve the Executive Councils of the states’ LGs and replace them with their appointees, who they call caretaker committees. In a unanimous judgement of five Justices of the Supreme Court described the practice as “executive recklessness”, which must not be allowed to persist.

    The judgment by the five-man panel, led by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour was on the appeal in relation to the dissolution of the 16 Local Government Executives in Ekiti State, during Kayode Fayemi’s tenure.

    The appeal marked:SC/120/2013 was filed by the Ekiti State Government. It had Prince Sanmi Olubunmo (Chairman of Ido Osi LG and Chairman of Association of Local Government’s of Nigeria – ALGON, Ekiti Chapter and 13 others as respondents. Fayemi, now Minister of Mineral Resources reportedly announced the dissolution of the councils in a radio announcement on October 29, 2010, when the elected council officials still had up till December 19, 2011 to end their three-year tenure.

    The Supreme Court, in faulting the law purportedly relied on by Fayemi, held that Section 23(b) of the Ekiti State Local Government Administration (Amendment) Law, 2001, which empowered the governor to dissolve local government councils, whose tenure was yet to expire, violated section 7(1) of the Constitution from which the state House of Assembly derived the power to enact the local government law. Justice Centus Nweze, in the lead judgment, said: “There can be no doubt, as argued by the appellants’ counsel, that the Ekiti State House of Assembly is empowered to make laws of Ekiti State.

    “However, the snag here is that, in enacting section 23(b) of the Ekiti State Local Government Administration (Amendment) Law, 2001, which empowered the first appellant to bridge the tenure of office of the respondents, it overreached itself. “In other words, section 23(b) (supra) is violative of, and in conflict with section 7(1) of the Constitution (supra). “Hence, it is bound to suffer the fate of ll laws which are in conflict with the Constitution, section 1(3) thereof.”

    The judge Said Section 7(1) of the Constitution seeks to guarantee “the system of local government by democratically-elected local government councils and conferred “sacrosanctity on the elections of such officials whose electoral mandates derived from the will of the people freely exercised through the democratic process”.

    “The implication, therefore, is that section 23(b) of thethe Ekiti State Local Government Administration (Amendment) Law, 2001, which was not intended to ‘ensure the existence of’ such democratically-elected councils, but to snap their continued existence by their substitution with caretaker councils, was enacted in clear breach of the supreme provisions of section 7(1) of the Constitution.

    “To that extent, it (section 23(b) supra) cannot co-habit with section 7(1) of the Constitution (supra) and must, in consequence, be invalidated. “The reason is simple. By his oath of office, the governor swore to protect and not to supplant the Constitution.

    “Hence, any action of his which has the capacity of undermining the same Constitution (as in the instant case where the first appellant, ‘Governor of Ekiti State and others’ dissolved the tenure of the respondents and replaced them with caretaker committees) is tantamount to executive recklessness which would not be condoned,” the judge said. Justice Nweze said the the tenure of the local government councils could not be abridged without violating the supreme constitutional provisions.

    “Simply put, therefore, the election of such officials into their offices and their tenure are clothed with constitutional force. They cannot, therefore, be abridged without breaching the Constitution from which they derive their force. “The only permissible exception, where a state governor could truncate the lifespan of a local government council which evolved through the democratic process of elections, is ‘for overriding public interest’ in a period of emergency.”

    He upheld the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal on the issue and adopted the orders made by the Court of Appeal on the case in its judgment delivered on January 23, 2013. The Appeal Court had among others, ordered the Ekiti State Government to compute and pay all the allowances and salaries accruable to members of the dissolved councils between October 29, 2010 and December 19, 2011, both dates inclusive. Justice Nweze directed the Attorney- General of Ekiti State to ensure that the orders of the lower court (Appeal Court) affirmed in his judgment, are complied with.

  • Tension heightens in Rivers over planned dismissal of elected LG chairmen, councillors

    Tension heightens in Rivers over planned dismissal of elected LG chairmen, councillors

    The recently elected local government chairmen and councillors in Rivers State yesterday warned that alleged desperation by Governor Nyesom Wike to dissolve the councils is not in the best interest of the state.

    The 23 council chairmen, operating under the aegis of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Rivers State chapter, said the governor would be violating the law of the land should he make good his threat to  dissolve the councils at all cost.

    A high court in the state has already restrained the governor from moving against the councils, but tension has heightened in the state following speculations that the Governor is keen on having his own supporters in control of the local governments which are currently being manned by members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The Mayor of Port Harcourt and ALGON Chairman, Chimbiko  Akarolo, insisted yesterday that Wike cannot bend the law to remove them from office.

    He said the way Wike is going about the annulment of their election is capable of sparking a breakdown of law and order in the state.

    Akarolo urged President Muhammadu Buhari and other well meaning Nigerians to intervene before the matter gets out of hand.

    “To tell you how desperate Wike is, he has already selected caretaker committee chairmen to replace us. We were democratically elected by our people and any action against the legitimate will of the people is unjust,” he told The Nation in Port Harcourt.

    He added: “Rivers people cannot afford to experience bloodshed like the sham called the governorship election in the state.”

    Chairman, Emohua Local Government, Lucky Worluh  asked Wike to respect the law as the case is already in court and accused the governor of going all out to obliterate the achievements of his predecessor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.