Benue Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia has said that there was no time he dissolved the local government’s democratically elected council in the state.
He said that he was aware that the State House of Assembly which was vested with the constitutional powers to legislate over the third tier of government dissolved the council members.
He cited sections 7 and 8 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended as the law that empowers state assembly.
The Catholic priest-turned-governor stated this through his media aide, Kula Tersoo at a press conference in Makurdi Saturday night in reaction to the resolution of the Senate on Friday calling for the withholding of statutory allocations to non-democratically elected local government councils in the country.
The resolution of the senate followed the motion raised by the Senate minority leader, Abba Moro, who represents Benue South senatorial district, on affront on democratic structure in Benue State Local Government administration system.
Governor said that Senate to rescind its decision that ordered the withholding of allocation to non-democratically elected local government chairmen in the country.
Governor Alia said he only appointed Caretaker Committees to avoid lacunas that would have been created following the recommendations of the Benue State House of Assembly who investigated, indicted and sacked the 23 elected chairmen who were found to have perpetrated monumental fraud in their councils in active connivance with various councilors.
He explained that the senate minority leader, Moro misled the Senate that his administration did not appeal the earlier court judgment.
He said, “Benue state Government appealed the judgment of the Industrial Court. The appeal was filed on the 24th November, 2023 and numbered, Appeal No. CA/MKD/155/2023
“We are calling on the Nigeria senate to always properly scrutinize their motion papers to avoid a repeat of what Sen. Moro led them into.
“It will be a gross disservice for our distinguished senators to allow some selfish ones amongst them to drag them to becoming a laughing stock.”
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