Citing Court Rulings, Edo PDP Declares Okpebholo’s Letter to State House of Assembly Illegal

Chuks Okocha in Abuja  
The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Anthony Aziegbemi, has condemned the letter written by Governor Monday Okpebholo to the state House of Assembly seeking the dissolution of elected local government chairmen and their deputies, describing it as illegal. 

Aziegbemi contended that the letter from the governor violates the judgment of the Supreme Court ruling and existing judicial orders.  
 He made this claim during an interview with ARISE NEWS Channels yesterday, explaining that the governor’s letter, premised on Section 10(1) of the 2000 Edo State Local Government Law, 2022 (as amended), was invalid since that section had already been annulled and repealed by the Supreme Court. 
 According to the PDP chairman, “First, it has to be made very clear that the letter in the first instance was illegal. That letter shouldn’t have been written in the first instance if the governor knew what he was doing because at the time he wrote that letter, the Chief Judge of Edo State had given a ruling that section 10(1) of the Edo State Local Government Law has been annulled and repealed by the judgment of the Supreme Court. So, he has no business writing that letter in the first instance.” 
 The PDP chairman also criticised the House of Assembly for their subsequent resolution based on Section 20 of the same law, which led to the suspension of the council officials.  
 “The assembly in their naivety I would say, didn’t rely on that section that he premised his letter on. They relied on Section 20, which talks about suspension. It is after that resolution by the House of Assembly that all hell has been let loose in Edo State. 
 “Even after the suspension was overturned by Justice Efe Ikponwonba of the Edo State High Court, incidents of lawlessness ensued, including alleged illegal impeachments by a few councillors aided by security forces.”  
 He said: “You cannot dissolve the local government councils because they were elected by the people—Edo citizens. You cannot. The Supreme Court has said so, the Attorney General of the Federation has said so, and the Chief Judge of Edo State has said so.  
 “Even after the suspension, the council chairmen went back to court, and a judge in Edo State High Court 2, Honourable Justice Efe Ikponwonba, set aside the illegal suspension done by the House of Assembly. You would have thought that everybody with some level of conscience or sense would stop at that, but no. Even after the High Court judge gave his judgment, that was when the whole matter snowballed into what we are now witnessing in Edo State, where one councillor, and two councillors—led by the police and the DSS—go into a council hall and claim they have impeached an elected local government chairman.” 
 Aziegbemi further affirmed: “For us as a party, we think that there has never been any impeachment in this state. All the council chairmen that we elected and their vice, as far as we are concerned, are still in their seats. We have directed that they should go back to their offices. Nobody has impeached them. 
 “We are taking remedies. We need to try some people for contempt of court. We cannot allow this brazen act of illegality to happen in our dear state.” 
 He accused Governor Okpebholo of undermining judicial authorities and attempting to impose his will in defiance of court rulings.  
 “We just think that Nigerians should be aware of what is happening in Edo State. We think that what is happening, all the fingers point to the governor of the state, Monday Okpebholo who has decided to disregard court judgments, to disrespect court judgments, to think that he can just wake up one morning and say ‘I want this to happen’ and it will happen. We are telling him it will never happen in Edo State,” Aziegbemi added.