– By Innocent
Determined to ensure that they serve out their mandate of three years, elected chairmen of the 27 local government areas have gone to court to secure an injunction restraining the state government from going ahead to dissolve them by August 8, 2012 Led by Barr Enyinnaya Onuegbu and Mrs Ruby Emele, the Association of Local Government Of Nigeria (ALGON), Imo State chapter secretary and chairman respectively, the embattled chairmen who have been battling to retain their offices after the Appeal court judgment have again rushed to court to secure the injunction.
However, there are reports that the state government has plans to dissolve the elected council chairmen.
The confirmation of the dissolution plan by the Governor came at the weekend even as the chairmen are yet to settle down in their offices after a one year legal tussle with the state government for unconstitutionally dissolving them.
Since July 5th Appeal court Judgment, what has been under controversy is whether the tenure of the local government chairmen is two or three years.
However, while the local government chairmen argue that their tenure is three years,ImoStategovernment has insisted that the former governor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim signed into law a two-year tenure for the local government administration.
A top government official told Imo Trumpeta on condition of anonymity that Governor Ikedi Ohakim during his tenure signed the two year tenure for the local government administration on the 23rd day of July 2010.
According to him, “this alleged ambiguity in the local government administration could be sighted in the laws of Imo State 204 – 2010 of volume 2 and on pages 372 – 375 of laws ofImoStatelocal government administrations law 2009 as amended”.
He however disclosed plans by the embattled council chairmen to lobby on the amended laws which had flaws. According to him, they sought amendment was to “delete two years and replace with three years” accordingly.
The source argued that even if government wants to decide on which of the laws that is legal, common sense would prove that the signed law of 23rd June, 2010 supersedes any other if at all.
He added that there can only be contradictions if any of the two laws contradict the other in concrete terms with specifics.
Imo Trumpeta investigation has it that the state government is holding strongly on this laws which were allegedly compiled by the ministry of justice under Barrister Ken Njemanze (SAN) in 2010 who was then the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Imo State.
Based on the foregoing, investigations reveals the preparedness of Governor Okorocha to officially announce the dissolution of the local government councils on Thursday August 9, 2012 and immediately replace them with a new crop of Transition chairmen.
Meanwhile, chairmanship candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) have lashed at the 27 Elected Council Chairmen in the State, describing them as victims of retributive justice.
In a statement made available to Imo Trumpeta in Owerri and signed by Hon John Ucheoma (APGA Chairmanship candidate, Owerri Municipal) and Hon. Noel Kaji,(APGA Chairmanship candidate for Ngor Okpala) on behalf of APGA Chairmanship and Councillorship candidates in Imo State, said it is funny and strange that the PDP Council Chairmen can lay claim to the Chairmanship seats of the LGAs when they were not democratically elected.
It stated that the August 7th, 2010 Local Government election was a political abracadabra by the PDP in collaboration with the Emma Nwoye led ISIEC with the stamp of approval of former Governor Ikedi Ohakim.
They recounted that there was a Court Order that restrained the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) from going ahead with the election, noting that a faction of the PDP then, the Alliance for Good Governance went to Court, sought and obtained another Court Order which the party and ISIEC totally ignored.
The Chairmanship candidates contended that what has befallen the illegal Local Government Chairmen is the law of retributive justice, wondering why the PDP is seeking for legal protection when it has no regards for the rule of law.
‘Governor Okorocha should have invoked the Justice Gordy Anunihu Court Order instituted by Alliance for Good Governance and candidates of different political parties’ they declared.
They stated that the PDP Council Chairmen should be grateful to Governor Rochas Okorocha, his deputy, Sir Jude Agbaso and other APGA leaders for not sending to jail the Council Chairmen for disobeying a Court Order. They challenged the PDP to another round of political contest to ascertain which of the political parties in the State has the acceptability of the people.
Part of the Statement reads ‘ we, the APGA Chairmanship candidates in the 2010 Local Government election, hereby challenge the purported PDP candidates in that election to another election to prove to everyone that the PDP and their candidates are unpopular and only believe in the art of rigging to win elections. The PDP inImoStateand their so called Godfathers should know that the present Government in the State is ordained by God. Any person or group of persons who attempts to truncate the peoples government will not succeed and will face the wrath of God’
They also maintained that the law fixing the tenure of LG Chairmen in the State was limited to two years and was assented by former Governor Ohakim on June 3, 2010.
