Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports.
The sacked Oyo State local government chairmen and councillors, who were elected on the APC platform, are heading to court to force Governor Seyi Makinde to pay them the N6 billion ordered by the Supreme Court.
Makinde fired them on May 29, 2019, just two hours after his inauguration, citing the illegality of their election. He claimed that his predecessor, the late Abiola Ajimobi, did not have the authority to hold elections for the 35 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) established in the May 2018 election.
Makinde asserted that the state constitution only recognized the state’s 33 local governments, emphasizing that election to the LCDAs rendered their election null and void.
The sacked chairmen, on the other hand, sought legal redress in the Supreme Court.
However, the Supreme Court overturned their dismissal on May 7, last year, ruling that no elected official could be fired by the fiat of another elected official.
The Supreme Court ruled that Makinde’s actions constituted executive recklessness and ordered the governor to pay the sacked officials’ full salaries and entitlements for the remaining two years of their tenure, as well as an additional ten months’ salary as a special penalty for his actions. The total amount, according to the politicians, was N7 billion. The governor was given until August 7, 2021 to carry out the decision by the court.
Makinde, according to the former chairmen, has only paid N1 billion of the total, with a promise to pay the balance in installments.
The council members who were fired were elected to three-year terms in May 2018, but were fired after only one year in office.
According to a source close to the former chairmen, their frustration with the governor’s unfulfilled promises pushed them to return to court to force Makinde to pay the N6 billion balance.
The governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, responded, saying, “Oyo State Government has complied with the judgment, which says the state government should compute what is due to them and pay them.”
“After the government paid the first installment, they began to express concern about the total amount, which differed from what was stated in the judgment.” The figure should be calculated by the state government, according to the ruling. The government agreed and began making payments. After paying the first instalment, they came up with a different figure, indicating that they did not agree with the government’s figure. This is the source of contention and the impediment to progress.
“The government has shown goodwill by beginning to pay their entitlements,” says the statement, “but the government is open to dialogue with them.”
