Senate to FG: Withhold allocations to LGs without democratically elected chairmen

The Senate has urged the federal government to withhold statutory allocations to local government councils without democratically elected chairmen.

This followed a motion by Senator Abba Moro (Benne South) titled, “Urgent need to halt the Erosion of Democracy: Dissolution of Elected Councils in Benue State” during plenary on Friday.

The governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, had sacked the local government chairmen in the state and appointed caretaker committees for the councils.

The Red Chamber condemned the arbitrary dissolution of democratically elected local government councils in Benue and other states in Nigeria and urged the Benue State governor to adhere to his oath of office, obey the rule of law and defend the constitution.

Moro, in his motion, said placing caretaker committees to replace elected councils was an aberration and alien to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

He quoted section (1) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees a system of local government by democratically elected councils, saying the law placed the responsibility on every state to ensure the existence of local government councils.

He noted that there were subsisting court rulings directing the governor, the House of

Assembly, their agents and privies not to tamper with the tenure of the elected councils.

He said the governor or government of Benue State had not appealed these judgments.

Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North) said about 16 states in Nigeria were currently without democratically elected council officials and that Senate should direct the finance minister to stop funding them.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio frowned at the establishment of multiple federal agencies, but advocated the creation of the National Electoral Commission for Local Government so that governors would no longer have overbearing influence on council polls.