Osun: Court sacks 30 LG caretaker commitees
- Written by Oluwole Ige- Osogbo
- Wednesday, 06 February 2013 00:00
- Nigerian Tribune
Delivering his ruling in a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the composition of the State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) and members of the caretaker committees in the local government areas, Justice Oyejide Falola averred that the constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria recognised only five caretaker committee members to be constituted at the third tier level of government.
He also held that the 14-member caretaker committees piloting the affairs of all the local government areas in the state were illegal and unconstitutional.
The court also affirmed that fresh election could not be held without the constitution of a new electoral body in the state, maintaining that since the suit against the composition of OSSIEC was before the Supreme Court, the state must wait until the determination of the case before constituting new OSSIEC.
According to Justice Falola, the OSSIEC had the constitutional responsibility to conduct elections into the local government areas in the state.
He said the amended law, which increased the caretaker committee members from five to 14, contravened the constitution, adding that the tenure of the caretaker committee members should not be more than six months.
Reacting to the ruling, the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Wale Afolabi, described the judgement as a beauty of democracy.
Also, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Sunday Akere, said it was a welcome development, as the Aregbesola-led administration believed in the rule of law.
However, the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in a statement by its director of publicity, Bola Ajao, expressed its readiness for the local government election once the case before the Supreme Court was over, adding that the judgement was explicit about the issue of local government caretaker committee.
