TRACKING_____The lingering crisis of local government administration in Oyo State which has for about three weeks left the councils’ activities in a lull may end today as parties which have been exploring out- of-court settlement are poised to end the imbroglio.
The council bosses elected in March last year by ex-governor Abiola Ajimobi as well as the 35 chairmen of the Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) are angling to return to office and displace Governor Seyi Makinde’s appointed Caretaker chairmen following a directive by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami.
Both parties are at the Appeal Court over two different issues billed for February 24, 2020, but in order to avoid further crisis arising from the control of the councils as ordered by the Inspector General of Police, Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration has opted for out-of-court settlement.
A team of lawyers for the state government led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Otunba Kunle Kalejaye, met last Friday with the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the State, Professor Oyelowo Oyewo, to fine-tune how the matter would be resolved.
The team will meet with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Association of Local Government of Nigeria’s (ALGON) lawyers which comprise Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), Mr. Akin Onigbinde (SAN) and other junior lawyers in the noon.
The proposition for out-of-court settlement which appeared to be welcomed by the Ajimobi’s sacked council men would include among other palliatives, payment of the salaries and other entitlements of the sacked bosses for the period they should spend in office.
The resolution became necessary following the near non-functionality of the third tier of government presently as many of the secretariats have been put under lock and key by members of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE).
Their Chairman, Comrade Titlola Zodo had directed his members to stay away from offices lest they be attacked by the ex- council men ordered to take over.
Meanwhile, a Yoruba Group, Yoruba Youth Forum (YYF) has distanced itself from Chief Imam of Yoruba in Ilorin, Sheik Abdulraheem Aduranigba, saying the self-styled Imam had no link with it.
In a statement by its President-General, Comrade Abiodun Bolarinwa, YYF said that the group had nothing to do with the Chief Imam of Yoruba, who in his latest video made some alleged incendiary remarks.
It reads: “The attention of the Yoruba Youth Forum, YYF has been drawn to video making round about the Chief Imam of Yoruba in Ilorin, Sheik Abdulraheem Aduranigba in which he made some incendiary remarks and statement; we want to say that Yoruba Youth Forum, YYF is not in any way part of this and we want to tell members of the public that we don’t have anything in common with Sheik Abdulraheem Aduranigba.
“Yoruba Youth Forum, YYF is a civil society group whose mission is to
emancipate and also empower Yoruba youths all over the world. YYF is the new face of Yoruba activism.”
