Controversy has continued to mount over last week’s declaration by an Ibadan High Court that the council caretaker committees in Lagos State are illegal and constitutional.
Even though the judge ordered that the state electoral commission to conduct elections into all the affected local governments in the state immediately, the state government has given indication that it would appeal against the judgment.
Justice Abdulfatai Lawal of Lagos State High Court at Igbosere last week Thursday declared the appointment of caretaker committees to run local government councils in Nigeria by state governments as illegal and unconstitutional.
Consequently, Justice Lawal directed Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) to conduct elections in all local governments within 30 days.
“I also call upon all state governments where the local governments are being manned by administrators to conduct elections immediately,” Justice Lawal stressed.
Justice Lawal, made the declaration while delivering judgment in a case filed by the National Conscience Party (NCP) seeking an order nullifying the appointment of caretaker committees to administer local governments by the Lagos State government.
In the judgement, the court held that no governor is constitutionally empowered to take over the administration of local governments through sole administrators or caretaker committees.
The court also held that the system of local government can only be managed by democratically elected people and if the state house of assembly should make any law validating sole administrators for local government, such a law will be invalid and unconstitutional.
The judge ruled further that the Lagos State Local Government Law, which allows for the appointment of caretaker committees, is illegal and unconstitutional.
Moreover, the court held that Section 1(3) of the Constitution stipulates that Nigeria should not be run in any manner that is contrary to the Constitution.
“I call upon the Lagos State Government to immediately implement the judgment of the court by dismantling all the illegal structures of local government caretaker committees.
The court rejected the argument of LASIEC that it was waiting for voters’ register from INEC since the same voters’ register and polling booths were used for the April, 2015 elections.
The applicant, NCP, through its national general secretary, Comrade Ayodele Akele, had filed the action for a declaration that the local governments in Lagos State can only be run and managed by a democratically elected administration.
The party had sought for an order directing Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to supply voters’ register to Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission.
Besides, the applicant is seeking for an order of mandamus compelling LAISEC to forthwith conduct local government elections in Lagos State and to declare the caretaker committees as illegal.
In response, Lagos State government and LAISEC said that upon the expiration of the tenure of the last local government administration in October 2014, Lagos State governor, by executive order appointed interim caretaker committees headed by executive secretaries, to run the affairs of all the local governments, in order to avoid a vacuum.
The NCP contended that this is in contravention of section 7 of the 1999 Constitution which states that only a democratically elected government can be allowed to run the local governments and section 1(2) of the 1999 Constitution which states that no part of Nigeria shall be governed in any method that is contrary to the Constitution.
But counsel to Lagos State, Lawal Pedro, SAN and counsel to LAISEC, Yemi Adesina, submitted that unless INEC has given the voters register to LAISEC, elections cannot be conducted.
They argued further that the delay in the conduct of local government elections could not be blamed on the Lagos State government and urged the court to dismiss the case.
But the Lagos State Government on Friday said it would appeal the ruling of a Lagos High Court which declared the appointment of caretaker committees of local government councils in the state illegal and unconstitutional.
Reacting to the judgment, the new State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, faulted the judgment, saying the state will file a Stay of Execution and Appeal against the verdict immediately.
The Attorney General, who expressed confidence that the State Government will prevail on Appeal, also urged residents to remain calm as there is no cause for alarm.
Already, a Lagos State based group, Save Lagos Group (SLG) has hailed the Judiciary over the landmark Judgment delivered by Justice Abdulfatai Lawal of the State High Court division sitting in Igbosere on the issue of controversial appointment of illegal Caretaker committees to man Local council in the State, instead of democratically elected officials as stipulated in the Constitution of Nigeria.
The group also warned the State governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode against illegal and unlawful arrest of the Market men and women that were going about their lawful business in the areas like Oshodi, Mile 12,
Ojota, Berger, Mile 2, and host of other places across the State, alleging that the officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency(LASTMA) and Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) had cultivated the habit of arresting any relation of those arrested that came for their release/bail by extorting more money from them illegally.
It stated that the State government action and its agencies are contrary to the protection of citizens rights as entrenched in Chapter (1V) of the amended 1999 Constitution and Section 98,99,& 494 of the criminal code Cap “C38” with cases and materials, extracts: ICPC, Money Laundering Act 2010, Laws of the Federation, 2010 & also Section 172,209 and Fifth schedule, part (1), section 6 & 8 of the 1999 “FRN”
Constitution as amended.
The group described the government’s action as illegal, unlawful, unconstitutional, unwarranted, ungodly, evil, barbaric and satanic, adding that it has concluded arrangement to fight against any anti-masses policies of the present administration in the state and would not allow any government to return any part of the country into despotic dark days of military era.
The group, while reacting to the judgment through its Convener, Comrade Adeniyi, Sulaiman in a statement, in Lagos commended Justice Lawal for his uncommon courage to deliver the landmark
judgment that affected the local government administration in Nigeria, which governors in the land have turned the local governments to conduit pipe where the council funds were siphoned into the private purse of the illegal caretaker committee members.
Comrade Sulaiman stressed that the judgment has reposed confidence of Nigerians in the ability of
the Judiciary as the last hope of the common man and sustainer of the country’s democratic experiment, noting that “ Justice Abdulfatai Lawal of Lagos division will go down memory lane and Guinness Book of
Records as a Nigerian judge who developed a bold spirit like Justice Olamide Folahanmi Oloyede of Osun State High Court, in delivering the landmark judgment to save the local government system in Nigeria, particularly, in Lagos State from collapse and under-development.
He added that the only way to restore the lost glory of the Judiciary among Nigerians as the last hope of common man, is for judicial officers to discharge their duties in transparent and honest manner and without fair or favour.
“State governors in Nigeria, have turned the third tier of government into their baby which they can collect its funds and spend it the way they want and this is seriously affecting the objectives and constitutional roles of the council areas in the land. But with this landmark judgment, President Muhammadu Buhari should be able to summon emergency meeting of state governors by making inquiry on the rationale behind the appointment of Caretaker Committees, Executive Secretaries or whatever names they may call it in many local governments in Nigeria. President Buhari should also have the courage to tell the governors to conduct local government elections in their various states, as he promised in his inauguration speech on May 29th, 2015, that the Federal Government would properly monitor the 774 local governments in the nation for entrenchment of democracy in order to play its role in democratic governance”.
On the unlawful arrest of Lagos State citizens by the state government, he faulted Mr. Ambode on the illegal herding of people inside the Black-Maria without trial which is tantamount to the violation of their fundamental human rights and also against the principle of natural justice of fair hearing and justice. He supported his position with Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, in his treatise on ‘Human Rights in the political
and Legal Culture of Nigeria’, that “……Why are these rights inalienable? The simple answer is that they attach to man because of his humanity. Without them, there is automatic diminution of his humanity”.
Sulaiman added that Honourable Justice Kayode Eso in Ransome Kuti v. Attorney –General of the Federation (1985) 2 NWLR (Pt.6) 211,229-230, also noted: “But what is the nature of a fundamental rights? It is a right which stands above the ordinary laws of the land and which in fact is antecedent to the political society itself. It is a primary condition to a civilized existence”, adding that His Lordship also in
Saude v. Abdullahi(1989) 4NWLR (Pt.116) 387,418-419 said: ” …. Not just mere rights. They are fundamental. They belong to the citizens. These rights have always existed even before orderliness prescribed rules for the manner they are to be sought”.
It would be recalled that the 7th National Assembly had intervened in the non-conduct of local government elections by state governors, giving them a deadline within which to conduct the election or face sanctions which included them running of the councils by the National Assembly. While many of them complied before the deadline expired, quite a good number of them did not and the National Assembly failed to make good its threat to sanction the defaulters until its own tenure expired last June.
source for Honeyland News