The Court of Appeal in Ibadan on Wednesday set aside the Oyo State High Court judgment nullifying the state govermment’s alleged plan to dissolve the 33 Local Government Council executives.
The court also nullified the alleged plan by the government to dissolve the 35 Local Council Development Authority (LCDA) executives in the state.
The chairmen of the councils and LCDAs had approached the High Court, alleging plans by Gov. Seyi Makinde to sack them immediately after his inauguration on May 29, 2019.
In his judgment on May 6, 2019, Justice Aderonke Aderemi had stopped the governor from carrying out the dissolution.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, the state government had approached the Court of Appeal, seeking to overturn Aderemi’s judgment.
Delivering his judgment, Justice Haruna Tsammani, said the judgment of the lower court was based on speculations.
Tsammani also said that the respondents were not dissolved before approaching the court.
He said that a cause of action could only arise when the right of such a person had been violated.
The judge said that no cause of action happened at the time the respondents approached the lower court.
He further said that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the case which, according to him, was premature.
The judge said that the appellant denied having any plan to dissolve the council executives.
He said that the onus was on the respondents to provide facts that the government planned to dissolve them.
The judge said the court could not rely on speculations, adding that ” no documents or facts were pleaded by the respondents” to show that there was a planned dissolution.”
” This case is incompetent and is hereby struck out.
“The judgment of the state High Court delivered by Justice Aderonke Aderemi on May 6, 2019 is hereby set aside,” he said.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), counsel to the respondents, Niyi Akintola (SAN), said he was not satisfied with the judgment.
Akintola, however, said that the decision of his clients would determine the next line of action.
But counsel to the appellants, Kunle Kalejaye (SAN), applauded the judges “for the well delivered judgment.”
NAN recalls that the councils and LCDAs were dissolved shortly after the governor’s inauguration as speculated
