From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Caretaker Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Chief Akin Oke, has called for the postponement of the local government election in the state slated for Saturday, May 22, 2021.
He made the call at a press conference organised by the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) in Ibadan, yesterday.
Oke explained that the postponement was to allow the APC participate in the election, adding that the party decided not to be part of the election process initially based on the Supreme Court judgment that the party expected on the sack of all council chairmen by the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019.
However, the Supreme Court delivered its verdict on Friday and faulted the sack of the chairmen. The apex court then held that the tenure of the sacked council chairmen, elected in 2018 had expired, and ordered the state government to pay all salaries and allowances of the sacked chairmen from May 2019 to March 2022, apart from awarding a cost of N20million against the government as damages.
His words: “We could not be part of the preparation for that election at the initial stage because we felt the dissolution of democratically-elected chairmen and councillors was illegal. Now that we have been vindicated, it is thus right for the government to give a level playing field in order for us to test our popularity.”
Earlier in his address, the former ALGON chairman, Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, who was a former chairman of Oluyole local government, expressed appreciation to all those who contributed to the victory at the apex court. He dedicated the victory to the memory of immediate past two-term governor of the state, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, who was instrumental to the victory based on the support he gave.