The battle for the control of the 17 local government councils in Plateau State took a new turn on Saturday as Governor Caleb Mutfwang swore in chairmen of the interim transition committees of the councils.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Josephine Piyo, said at the ceremony that the exercise followed the suspension of the chairmen by the government.
Governor Mutfwang had on June 1 announced the suspension of the chairmen of the councils and the councillors.
In a statement by his special assistant on media, Mr Gyang Bere, the governor hinged his decision on the recommendation of the state house of assembly which accused the chairmen of failure to account for the income and expenditure of their respective councils.
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“In the light of the foregoing, His Excellency hereby approved with immediate effect the suspension of the 17 local government areas structures to pave the way for the investigation being carried out by the house. Furthermore, all properties belonging to the local government areas should be immediately handed over to the directors of personnel management,” the statement said.
Our correspondent reports that the legislature had passed a motion asking the governor to suspend all political structures at the local government level pending the conclusion of investigations into petitions it received bordering on alleged financial impropriety by the chairmen.
Sensing their possible removal following the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18 governorship election, council chairmen who were elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on May 26 approached the state high court asking it to determine, among others, whether the governor has the power to terminate, suspend, truncate, or disturb their tenure in light of Section 7 of the constitution.
The embattled chairmen also sought an interlocutory injunction restraining the governor, either by himself or his privies, from disturbing, disputing, terminating, suspending, or truncating the tenure of the local government chairmen and the legislative council.
The court granted an interlocutory injunction stopping the governor from taking any decision pending the determination of the motion scheduled to June 23.
In their reaction to their suspension, the chairmen, at a news conference on Friday, said the House of Assembly has no power to suspend them.
The state chairman of the Association of Local Government in Nigeria (ALGON), Alex Naantuam, said the governor had also no constitutional right to suspend them, stressing that they were still the legal chairmen of their respective councils because they were elected and not appointed by the past administration.
“The governor did not cite any constitutional or statutory support, enabling him to suspend the17 local government area structures. If we do indeed understand the actions contemplated by the House of Assembly it was a mere resolution, which is advisory to the governor. In any case, such advice will not override existing legislations establishing the local government councils, as enshrined in the constitution, which is domesticated by relevant laws on the same subject matter in Plateau State.
“In any event, the power to remove the chairmen for any gross misconduct does not reside with the House of Assembly or the governor. The procedure for removing a local government council chairman is explicitly set out in Section 37 of the local government council law. Just like the governor, who cannot be suspended from office because he is the chief executive of the state, so it is with the chairmen of local government councils.
“In the eyes of the law, we remain chairmen and councillors, respectively, until the court determines otherwise,” he said.
In solidarity with their bosses the 325 councillors across the state, at separate news conferences, also rejected the action of the governor and urged him to follow the path of honour and allow them to complete their tenure.
Similarly, the state chapter of the APC has said the decision was politically motivated and capable of generating political instability and bad blood in the state.
“We condemn in its totality the controversial issues involved in the purported action of both the governor and the Plateau State House of Assembly which smacked of executive recklessness and legislative impudence if not impunity against established legal, constitutional and legislative procedures.
“The local government councils are established by law and due process ought to be followed in tampering with their structures and operations.
It is battle for survival
Political analysts say the renewed political tension is a battle for survival between the two parties – APC and PDP – as each is looking for the soul of the state.
According to analysts, the push by the now opposition APC in the state couldn’t be unconnected to the contest of the governorship election by the party which often says it is confident of winning at the tribunal, especially with the recent Supreme Court judgement that refused to entertain an application by the state PDP seeking to upturn the judgement nullifying the election of its officials.
They, however, said PDP, which is at the helm of affairs in the state, believe since it has fairly won the election, no court case will deter it from taking action it feels would favour its members.
The analysts say the governor’s action is aimed at restoring the political relevance of the PDP which had been in opposition in the past eight years.
They said APC, on the other hand, is fighting in order not to lose political relevance.
What does the law say
Professor Namdi Aduba, a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Jos, said the state assembly has the right to carry an oversight function and make recommendations to the governor on action to be taken.
He said: “The LGAs are not on their own. The state assembly can oversight them and if it finds out that they are not doing what they are supposed to do, it can advise the governor on the action to be taken.
“So, there should be check on them. Even if the governor misbehaves, he can be checked by the house. That is why there is check and balance in the constitution. There is no organ that is absolute.”
On whether the governor was right in suspending the chairmen after being served with a court order stopping him from taking such action, Aduba said: “If the government or the governor has been served with an order stopping him from taking any action against them, he should stop. He is supposed to obey the court order.
“The court order is usually temporary pending the determination of hearing of the motion.”
Let’s work towards peace in Plateau – CSO
A member of the General Civil Society Coalition in the state, Comrade Shammaki Gad, has called on both the government and the suspended LG chairmen to play the game by the rules and allow peace to reign.
He said the state is not at peace, and therefore everyone should put hands on deck to ensure peace, advising the chairmen to go to court if they are not satisfied with the government’s decision.
“What does the law say? Has the law been broken? From the civil society perspective, we always need to be on the side of the law. There is a law that guides the existence of humanity. Let us ensure that we abide by that law.
“As an individual, I am against a situation where every governor that comes will dissolve the councils because they are not from the same party and start bringing caretakers. The constitution of the land does not recognise caretakers.
“The way we condemn it when former governor Simon Lalong dissolved them that is how we will condemn it now or by any other government. I advise the caretakers to go to court.
“The chairmen should not do anything that will result in the breakdown of law and order. Plateau now is not at peace, and therefore, we need to have all stakeholders working towards peace. The suspended chairmen should go to court and challenge any act of illegality they think has been done against them,” Gad said.
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