A member of the Edo State Local Government Administrative Panel of Inquiry, Prince Kassim Afegbua, has described the comment of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi on the suspension of the chairmen of the 18 Local Government Councils in the state by the State House of Assembly, as misleading and injurious to the collective psyche of Edo people.
Afegbua stated this in a statement in defense of the suspension.
Recall that following a petition by the state Governor, Monday Okpebholo, wherein he accused the council chairmen of gross misconduct and insubordination, the State House of Assembly on Tuesday, 17 December, suspended the council chairmen and their deputies for a period of two months.
But, Fagbemi, while speaking to journalists on Thursday in Abuja, described the suspension of the chairmen and their vice as illegal and unconstitutional.
He stated that only councilors have the prerogative to either remove or suspend from office, any elected LG official in the country.
He, however, said his initial reluctance to react to the development was because of the fact that he wanted to know the basis upon which the officials of the LG councils in Edo state were reportedly suspended.
According to the AGF, his position was based on the 11 July judgement of the Supreme Court that granted autonomy to the 774 LGAs in the country.
“One thing that I know and can say without fear is that under the present dispensation, the Governor has no right to remove any local government chairman,” Fagbemi had said.
But, Afegbua, in his reaction to the submission of the AGF, noted that the Local Government Law of the state empowers the State House of Assembly and the Governor to check activities of its elected officials.
He said: I read the Attorney-General of the Federation’s elocution about the suspension of the Local Government Chairmen in Edo state, in line with the relevant provisions of the Edo State Local Government Law 2000.
“I picked holes in the hasty manner the AGF issued a fiat without considering the implications of the law. The Judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on autonomy of the Local Government particularly financial autonomy, does not expressly cede the powers of the Houses of Assembly to the Local Government and that of the Legislative house.
“There are existing Laws for Local Government Administration across the country enacted by the State Houses of Assembly, whose powers to make such Laws derive from the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Edo State Local Government Law was enacted in the year 2000, in exercise of the powers vested in the House of Assembly as expressly stated in the 1999 Constitution. Therefore, in the discharge of their responsibilities, Local Governments are guided by the relevant provisions of such law.
“In line with the provisions of section 20 of the Edo state Local Government Act and other provisions, the Governor in consultation with the House of Assembly expressed concerns over the untoward activities of the Chairmen and reported same to the House. In exercise of the powers vested in the Assembly, as contained in the Local Government Act 2000, (as amended), the Assembly subjected the issue to debate at its plenary, and a majority vote supported the SUSPENSION of the Local Government Chairmen for a period of two months in line with the provisions of the law whilst allowing the Speaker of the Legislative House to take over in Acting capacity.
AGF moves to take over trial of #Endbadgovernance protesters
“The use of the word REMOVE by the AGF is most ambiguous and unfortunate. What the Edo Assembly did was to SUSPEND the chairmen to allow for investigation of their finances while allowing their Speakers to act in the various LGAs. “Suspension” is different from “Removal” and the imputation of the AGF that the chairmen cannot be removed contradicted what the Edo Assembly has done. Mr. AGF sir, the Chairmen have not been REMOVED, but SUSPENDED.
“In line with the law, the suspension is to last for two months in the first instance whilst the investigation into their financial activities by the Administrative Panel of Inquiry subsists.
“It is misleading therefore for the AGF to rush to town without taking a judicial notice of the rationale for this decision as well as the raison d’etre for the action, in the first place. What we have done in Edo state does not offend the verdict of the Supreme Court with respect to financial autonomy. The law is what it is; factual, evidential and instructive.
“The Legislative Houses serve as checks and balances for Local Government chairmen and its administration. After the investigation, depending on the outcome and findings, some of the chairmen will be restored to their position while others may lose their position.
“It is injurious to our collective psyche for the AGF to hurriedly conclude that we removed the chairmen instead of stating the real status of what we have done; suspension. This clarity becomes instructive to correct the negative impression created by the misplaced outburst of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
“It may interest the Attorney-General of the Federation to take note of the following observations:
“Are there no laws governing the relationships between the State Government and the Local Governments? The answer is yes. Has the SC judgment on financial autonomy of the LG come to destroy all such laws? The answer is no.
“To the extent that the Constitution as an organic law cannot cover every conceivable area of governance, should there not be other laws to cover areas that the Constitution cannot possibly and practically cover? The answer is yes.
“Is it not a time-honoured principle that the Constitution has not come to destroy other laws but to preserve them, as long as such other laws do not run contrary to the grains of the Constitution? The answer is yes,” he said.
Afegbua argued that the contention that only the Legislative arm of the LG that can check the Council’s financial recklessness is nebulous and therefore unconvincing.
He stated further that those who try to equate the relationship between the FG and a State government with that which exists between the State Government and a Local Government are “merely engaging in mischief”.
“The AGF is merely playing to the gallery. Let those who are not comfortable with what the EDSG has done in the matter of suspensions go to court and challenge the step.
“The AGF is not the court, and his opinion remains his opinion. The Local Government Chairmen remain suspended until we are done with the investigation. Procuring an invalid and nebulous injunction will not stop our action,” he said.
