1 month ago
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The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has warned local government chairmen not to allow Governor Seyi Makinde push them to jail.
The party gave the warning via a statement made available to Naija News on Monday.
The Supreme Court had earlier granted autonomy to local government areas in the country.
However, the local government chairmen in Oyo state said they were not satisfied with the decision to grant autonomy to local government areas.
They also decided to pull out of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) and form their own umbrella association.
Reacting to the development, the APC warned the chairmen and career officers in all the 33 local government councils across the state to distance themselves from an attempt by Makinde to subvert the verdict of the Supreme Court.
Speaking via a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Wasiu Olawale Sadare, the party accused Makinde of covetousness and lack of respect for constitutional democracy and the rule of law.
The APC insisted that Makinde cannot claim to be a sovereign governor while depending on the federal government for handouts and allocations.
The statement read, “The whole world did not realize the magnitude of damage done to the third tier of government in Oyo State in the last 62 months until Gov. Makinde came out openly to castigate both the federal government and the Judiciary on the issue of financial autonomy.
“The governor has been fighting tooth and nail to promote an unpopular call for a reversal of the verdict which has been described, by most people, as a victory for the masses. Unfortunately for Gov. Makinde, his recent actions have confirmed the allegations of embezzlement of council funds being leveled against him by our Party (APC) and others.
“It is now crystal clear that the PDP governor had mapped out an 8-year plan aimed at looting LGA funds but got his dream truncated by the celebrated verdict of the Supreme Court. For the avoidance of doubt, the decision of the Apex Court remains sacrosanct even if he (Makinde) refused to agree to it. Meanwhile, Oyo state is a fraction of the nation called Nigeria and it is wrong for a governor to claim ‘sovereignty’ even as he depends on the federal government handouts and allocations to pilot the affairs of his state”.
