Supreme Court Nullifies Makinde’s Dissolution of Oyo LGs

By Alex Enumah

The Supreme Court, yesterday held that Oyo State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde, lacked the constitutional powers to dissolve the tenure of elected Chairmen and Councilors of the Oyo State Local Government Councils.

Similarly, the Supreme Court at a virtual sitting, yesterday, held as illegal and unconstitutional the dissolution of the Katsina State Local Government Councils.

Delivering judgment in the appeal brought by the Association of Local Government Councils of Nigeria (ALGON) against Oyo State Government and Makinde, the five-man panel of Justices of the apex court, held that Makinde lacked legal powers to dissolve the councils.

Makinde had on May 29, 2019, ordered the dissolution and sack of chairmen and councilors of all 33 Local Government Areas (LGAs), as well as 35 Local Council Development Areas, (LCDAs), in the state.

The chairmen and councilors had approached the apex court to challenge the judgment of the appellate court which nullified the ruling of a trial court in their favour.

Justice Aderonke Aderemi of a High Court in Oyo State had in a judgment in a suit by the plaintiffs, restrained the state government from dissolving the tenure of the elected LG chairmen and councilors, but the appellate court in its own judgment set aside the restraining order.

However in their own decision in the matter yesterday, the apex court held that a governor cannot terminate illegally the tenure of democratically elected LG Chairmen and Councilors.

Justice Ejembi Eko, who delivered the lead judgment of the apex court, observed that the dissolution of the Oyo State LGs was carried out despite a subsisting court order.

According to the judgment, Makinde acted “invidiously and in contemptuous disregard of a High Court judgement”, by dissolving a democratically elected Chairmen and Councilors, and appointed Caretaker Committees in their place.

While stating that the dissolution was in breach of section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution, Justice Eko said that it was the duty of governors to preserve democratically elected Local Government Councils.

The Supreme Court subsequently invoked its original jurisdiction under section 22 of the Supreme Court Act and set aside decision of the Ibadan Division of the Court of Appeal in Ibadan, which earlier nullified the restraining order on the Oyo State Government on the grounds that the appellate court erred in law when it held that there was no reasonable cause of action in the suit the appellants filed to forestall their sack.

Though the apex court in the judgment observed that the three-year tenure of the sacked Chairmen and Councilors had since expired, it held that they deserved to be compensated for their tenure that was “illegally truncated” on May 29, 2019.

Justice Eko subsequently ordered the Oyo State Government to pay each of the sacked Chairmen and Councilors their accrued salaries and allowances.

He further directed the Attorney-General of Oyo State to file an affidavit showing payments of such salaries and allowances to the appellants before August 7, 2021.

Justice Eko in addition awarded a cost of N20 million in favour of the appellants.

Other members of the five man panel are; Justices Kekere Ekun, Inyang Okoro, Ibrahim Saulawa and Adamu Jauro.