Engineer Seyi Makinde, the Governor of Oyo State has dismissed the allegation by the Association of Local Governments (ALGON) in Oyo State that he contravened court order by inaugurating caretaker committees for the 33 local governments and 35 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), saying that the aggrieved members can seek redress in court.
The governor, who reacted through his spokesman, Taiwo Adisa who interacted with journalists on Thursday, stated that there is no violation of any court order by the state government.
He said: “As far as the administration of Engineer Seyi Makinde is concerned, the illegal ALGON has gone to the winds because it has been dissolved right away and that is the treatment that it deserves. So, there is no violation of any court order by the government of the day in constituting the councils as they are presently put in place. Our position is, if the team believes that any wrong was committed by the current administration in putting in place a properly constituted local government system, they are free to put their complaints forward to court to hear their case.
He further explained that the matter they took to the court, in the first place, looks like a slap on the face of the Judiciary because the election that brought the chairmen into the office was conducted in contravention of a court order.
“The issue of local government is something that should be carefully looked at and that was why it took Governor Makinde six months to closely look at the runnings of local government in the state properly and come into a conclusion that we cannot continue to have a gap in the system of local government in Oyo State.
“So, concerning the sacked local government chairmen, the government has looked at every aspect of the case they claimed to be in court, which means there is no restraining order on the government of Oyo State to run the local government, despite the fact that there is a case pending in court. A case that is pending in court will be determined by the court one day. And whatever the court says the government will contend with and follow the dictates of the court,” he added.
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