By SULAIMAN, Abdulwaheed Olamilekan
As it is widely believed, governance and politics are more of a siamese twins-they ever inseparable. But when politics overruns the former, most especially dirty polity, that means governance is obviously thousand miles far away.
As the tenure of the suspended Local Government chairmen in Kwara State creeps to an unfortunate end, every Tom, Dick and Harry won’t be perturbed by the impending announcement of the Transition Implementation Committee (TIC) helmsmen, but the burning question is, how long will the report of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission probe of the alleged financial malpractice perpetrated by the embattled chairmen hang between heaven and earth? Well, no Jupiter can tell.
It should be recalled that between June 18 and December 18, 2019 the 16 Local Government chairmen in Kwara state were suspended for six consecutive months by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on the resolution of the Kwara State House of Assembly for misappropriation of public funds. His statements reads thus;
Dec. 18, 2020:
“In furtherance of the powers conferred on me by the said resolution of the Kwara State House of Assembly of 18th June 2019, I, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the Governor of Kwara State, hereby extend the suspension of the executive and legislative committees of all the 16 local government areas for another six months with effect from 18th December 2019, pending the outcome of the investigation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),” according to a legal instrument signed by the Governor.
“The report of the State House of Assembly indicting the executive and legislative committees of the local government areas for misappropriation of public funds has been sent to the EFCC for necessary action and possible prosecution,” the instrument added.
“The members of the executive and legislative committees of the 16 local government areas are currently under investigations by the EFCC.”
Initially, One would have thought the investigation is yet to be concluded, but the worrying issue is the sheer silence of the EFCC and the hidden agenda at the behest of the Governor to first have them in his political vanguard and then use them as sacrificial lambs at the end of their tenure.
They said justice delayed is justice denied – pending the publication or pronouncement of the EFCC findings, the long lingering suspension of the Local Council administrators is deemed a broad daylight rape on the ideals of democracy except they are found culpable of the financial infringements brought against them.
The looming announcement of the TIC helmsmen has been an unquantifiable threat to democracy and considered as impunity of the highest pedigree embarked upon by Governors in Nigeria to granstand on illegality against the set law of the land.
However, despite claims by the office of the AGF confirming that it had sent letters advising states to comply with the supreme Court’s judgement forbidding governors and legislatures from dissolving elected council officials as it also placed ban on the appointment of caretaker chairmen by state Governors, only Oyo State has acknowledged receipt of the memo.
Abubakar Malami’s letter was titled, *”Unconstitutionality of dissolution of elected local government councils and appointment of caretaker committee:* The urgent need for complaince with extant judicial decisions.”
“The need to immediately disband all caretaker committees and restore democratically elected representatives to man the local governments has therefore become obligatory,” the letter partly read.
“In view of the decision of the Supreme Court on the matter that is binding on all 36 States of the Federation.
“The common practice by some state governors in dissolving elected local government councils is unconstitutional, null and void.
“So also any system of local government run by Caretaker Committees are outrightly illegal and unconstitutional.”
In lieu of the above, I would love to urge Mr. Governor not to try veil, that which has been unveiled by pulling wools over our eyes. In a candid term, the Kwara State Government should swiftly address much speculated litigation placed on the dissolved KWASIEC by constituting a new KWASIEC to allow for a proper conduct of the Local Government election to reflect the yearning of the masses to elect their choice of political servants and bring government closer to the people.
I fear posterity will question Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as to why he failed to engender constitutionality and denied the voiceless their political franchise.
May Kwara be great again!
Sulaiman, an opinion writer based in Ilorin, can be reached via [email protected]
