Sacked Osun LG chairs, councillors to remain in office-House of Assembly

Osun State House of Assembly on Wednesday said since the judgement nullifying the last October 15 local government elections in the state had been appealed, the elected officials would remain in office.

The lawmakers passed a resolution to that effect at plenary and was contained in a statement by the Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Assembly, Kunle Alabi.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Timothy Owoeye visited Governor Ademola Adeleke on Wednesday, where issues pertaining to the pronouncement of the new governor were discussed.

It would be recalled that the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSICE) had, through its Executive Secretary, Adedapo Adejumo, withdrawn Certificates of Return issued to the elected officials of councils, after the chairman and other members were relieved of their appointment by the governor,

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Adejumo also said OSIEC will not appeal the judgement of an Osogbo Federal High Court which sacked the council chairmen.

Owoeye, while briefing members of the Assembly on the outcome of his meeting with Adeleke, also stated that there was a mutual understanding that the House would henceforth be carried along on matters that concerns the legislature.

The statement reads in party: “On the issue of LG administration, Owoeye informed the plenary of a notice of appeal against the decision of a Federal High Court judgment served on the 7th Assembly.

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“The House thereby resolves that the issue of local government administration should be left to the court of law, ordering a status quo on all local government administration pending the exhaustion on all legal means.”

Quoting Owoeye while addressing his colleagues, the statement said: “This is the Osun State House of Assembly, anything we are doing has to be to the development and progress of this state, we have not done anything wrong or foul of the law.

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“As an institution, we x-ray and scan whatever we disseminate because as far as the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is concerned, we are performing legislative duties and our functions as legislators.

“When Aregbesola (Rauf, former governor) took over the mantle of leadership in 2010, the PDP-controlled local government was still in place and the status quo remained. Nobody dissolved the local government until all legal processes were completed.”