Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the suspension of all elected chairmen and vice-chairmen across the 18 local government councils by the Edo State House of Assembly.
This is just as the party described the suspension as “unconstitutional” and “null and void.”
The assembly acted on a petition submitted by Governor Monday Okpebholo, who had earlier demanded that the local government chairmen submit statements of accounts.
In a strongly worded statement, the Edo State PDP caretaker chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, described the suspension as an abuse of power.
“This suspension is nothing but a desperate attempt to silence opposition and undermine local government autonomy. It is politically motivated, unconstitutional, and dead on arrival.”
The statement further called on the judiciary to intervene and uphold the rule of law, urging civil society to resist what the party described as a “reckless assault on democratic institutions.”
The PDP also vowed to challenge the suspension in court, calling for an immediate reversal of what it describes as a “brazen assault on the Constitution and the rule of law.”
Also lending his voice to the condemnation, Barr. Anthony Ehilebo, a PDP chieftain and Special Adviser on Media to Barr. Asue Ighodalo lambasted the suspension as both illegal and politically motivated.
Speaking on a Lagos-based television programme on Tuesday night, Ehilebo remarked: “This all started when the governor asked the LGA chairmen to submit statements of accounts to him.
“Of course, he has no legal backing to make such a demand; and everyone will recognize that it flies in the face of the recent Supreme Court judgement on the financial autonomy of local governments.
“In fact, the governor and the assembly members are in contempt of the Supreme Court.
“The purported suspension of the local government chairmen by the state assembly is absurd.
“This is a witch hunt. The LGA chairmen are all PDP members. The suspension is unknown to law and will be ignored.”
