Don’t aid Makinde on illegality, APC tells Oyo Assembly

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has urged the State House of Assembly members to steer clear of aiding Governor Seyi Makinde on any actions or inactions that could be in contrast with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.

The Hon. Debo Ogundoyin-led House of Assembly took its stand on Tuesday on some critical issues as it announced the endorsement of Makinde’s earlier dissolution of the local government council officials and the Board of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC).

In a statement issued today and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital by its Deputy Publicity Secretary, Prince Ayobami Adejumo, Oyo APC alleged that the House, which was dominated by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  has left no one in doubt of its readiness to operate as an appendage of Governor Makinde’s Office.

“The governor clearly demonstrated his mission to disregard the provisions of the nation’s Constitution on his first day in office when he announced, by fiat, the termination of the mandate of those validly elected to man the Third Tier of government across the state and followed it up with the sacking of some statutory Boards which included OYSIEC.

“This drew condemnation from many quarters and some pundits had hoped that the State Legislative arm would prevail on the governor to reverse his decisions and encourage him to always toe the line of rationality and rule of law in his official activities so as not to throw the state into unnecessary chaos.

“As a matter of fact, the Legislature is an independent arm of government just as we have the Executive and the Judiciary. In the last dispensation, we saw a desirable departure from what was obtained in the state between 2003 and 2007 when the State Assembly weaned itself completely from the Executive governor and thus served the overall interest of the people of the Pacesetter State.

“The implementation of the legal template which created local council development areas (LCDAs) by the last Ajimobi administration was done in good fate considering the realities on ground. It was never to serve the interest of the former governor or his party but that of the good people of the state as conceived by the administration of late Alhaji Lam Adesina close to 20 years ago.

“As the public is aware that the wronged party are already in court to seek redress on the selfish and vindictive decision to sack all elected local government officials, we urge the state legislative arm to stay clear of the matter and allow the Judiciary arm to do its work.” APC said.