House Assembly backs Makinde on sack of Oyo Council Chairmen

Oyo state House of Assembly on Tuesday unanimously gave an ‘aye’ votes to the decision of Governor Seyi Makinde to dissolve the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC).

The lawmakers also declared the election conducted into the 35 local council development areas (LCDAs) by the state electoral umpire on May 12, 2018 as “unconstitutional, ultra vires, null and void.”

Justifying the decision, the lawmakers during the plenary presided over by Speaker Adebo Ogundoyin, held “the election negated the provisions of section 4(a), part II, third schedule to the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which recognised conduct of election into local government areas.”

The Assembly also held that the election contravened section 5(a) of the OYSIEC law 1999 that empowered the electoral commission to organize elections into local government councils not LCDAs.

Consequently, the Assembly averred that Makinde’s dissolution of OYSIEC was in public interest and preservation of the sanctity of the nation’s 1999 constitution.

The positions of the lawmakers form parts of the day’s resolutions from a matter of urgent public importance presented by the House majority leader, Sanjo Adedoyin entitled: “Need to Review the Activities of OYSIEC over conduct of local government and local council development areas election in conformity with provisions of the laws”.

Majority of members also voiced loud ayes, asking the executive to urgently reconstitute the OYSIEC to organise fresh elections into local government councils.

They argued the powers of the OYSIEC were limited to conducting election into local government councils alone and not LCDAs.

In his contribution, Mr. Dele Adeola (Iseyin/Itesiwaju constituency) maintained that section 201 of the constitution recognized only 33 local government areas in the state, hence conducting election into 35 LCDAs amounted to illegality.

He further avowed that conducting election into the LCDAs amounted to legalising illegality which should be corrected.

While accepting that LCDAs served the purpose of bringing government closer to the people, Adeola said administrators should rather have been appointed to manage LCDAs rather than they having elected Chairmen.

Furthermore, the Assembly adopted Adeola’s prayers that the activities in the local government areas in the past one year be investigated.

Consequently, Speaker Ogundoyin announced the setting up of an eight-man ad hoc committee headed by Mr Ademola Popoola (Ibadan South East II state constituency.)

Raising objection to the resolutions, Minority Leader, Asimiyu Alarape, had argued the Assembly had in 2002, during the Lam Adesina administration, approved of the creation of additional local government areas and its nomenclature was only changed to LCDAs during the Eighth Assembly.

To this end, Alarape said the law creating the LCDAs had not been repealed hence its creation should not be rubbished.

After a series of argument, lawmakers Ayotunde Fatokun (Akinyele 1), Mabaje Rasaq (Ido), Babatunde Ganiyu (Akinyele II) and Abiodun Fadeyi (Ona Ara) in their separate remarks held that the dissolution of OYSIEC should stand.