The
Ekiti State House of Assembly on Tuesday refused to deliberate on the
motion seeking approval for the constitution of local government
caretaker committees’ chairmen and members.
The assembly said
the request by Governor Ayodele Fayose was sub judice as the sacked
caretaker chairmen of the 16 Local Government Areas and 19 Local Council
Development Areas had gone to court to challenge their dissolution.
The
35 caretaker chairmen were sworn in on August 5 by the immediate past
Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi. But Fayose, on assumption of office
dissolved them on October 18.
The assembly also refused to
consider the list of commissioner nominees submitted for screening by
the governor because it was not included in the Tuesday’s Order Paper.
It,
however, granted approval to the state to access N2bn out of the N220bn
Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises’ Development Fund of the Central
Bank of Nigeria.
The assembly said accessing the loan would bring about development to the state’s economy.
The
motion moved by the Majority Leader, Churchill Adedipe, and seconded by
Mr. Tope Agidi, was unanimously approved by the members present.
The
Chairman, House Committee on Legal Matters and Local Government
Affairs, Mr. Adedeji Odu, called the attention of members to a writ of
summons in a case instituted by the sacked caretaker chairmen of the 16
LGAs and the 19 LCDAs.
He cited Order 54(5) of the Standing Order
of House, which stated that the Assembly could not deliberate on a
matter pending in court.
According to him, the aggrieved chairmen
are asking the state High Court to interpret certain aspects of the law
regarding their constitution and tenure.
Odu, therefore, advised that the matter be set aside until the court decided the pending suit.
Credit: Kamarudeen Ogundele/Punch
No comments:
Post a Comment