17 hours Ago By Usman Bello
By Usman Bello Top officials of the Edo State government yesterday said the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) does not represent the constitution, insisting that the 18 local government chairmen and their deputies in the state remained suspended. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government had secured a Supreme Court judgement affirming the financial and administrative independence of local councils. But this suffered a setback when the Edo State government announced the suspension of local government chairmen and their deputies recently.
The crisis began when Governor Okpebholo issued a 48-hour ultimatum for local council chairmen to submit their financial statements directly to him. Following their refusal, the governor petitioned the state assembly to suspend the chairmen, citing “gross misconduct” under Section 10(1) of the Edo State Local Government Law (2000). The Edo Assembly subsequently suspended the chairmen and their deputies for two months.
But the AGF recently reaffirmed that only local councillors—not governors or state assemblies—hold the constitutional authority to suspend or remove elected local government officials. Yet Edo officials, including Barrister Emwanta of the governor’s administrative panel of inquiry dismissed this. Featuring on Channels Television, Emwanta declared that “The Constitution has placed local governments under state control, and that remains the law.
Financial autonomy is about giving them access; but that does not mean state governments do not have control over how they use that money. The Supreme Court cannot amend the constitution.” Kassim Afegbua, another member of the governor’s panel of inquiry, said, “Lateef Fagbemi might be the law officer of the federation, but he does not represent the constitution of the country and he does not represent other laws made validly under the provisions of the constitution by the Edo House of Assembly.
” The governor’s spokesperson, Fred Itua, echoed this saying, “The decisions by the Edo State House of Assembly, vis-a-vis, the governor of the state, Senator Monday Okpebholo, are entirely justified.” He argued that “The House of Assembly has the powers to oversight the activities of the governor, and similarly, the governor has the right to exercise oversight over local government chairmen.” But a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon.
Ose Anenih, described the unfolding events as “A shocking rebellion against the rule of law and the President’s authority.” Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You..
