Oyo Assembly declares election into 35 LCDAs unconstitutional, null and void

The gavel was sounded in favour of the decision of Governor Seyi Makinde to dissolve the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) at the plenary of the state Assembly held on Tuesday.

This followed the Assembly’s declaration of the election into 35 local council development areas (LCDAs) conducted by OYSIEC in May 2018 as unconstitutional, ultra vires, null and void.

The Assembly held that the election negated the provisions of section 4(a), part II, third schedule of the nation’s 1999 constitution (as amended) which recognised the conduct of election into local government areas.

In the same vein, the Honourable Adebo Ogundoyin-led Assembly held that the election contravened section 5(a) of the OYSIEC law 1999, that empowered the electoral commission to organise elections into local government councils, not LCDAs.

Consequently, the Assembly averred that Makinde’s dissolution of OYSIEC was in public interest and in the preservation of the sanctity of the nation’s 1999 constitution.

The Assembly’s positions were its resolutions from a matter of urgent public importance brought up by majority leader, Honourable Sanjo Adedoyin on “Need to Review the Activities of OYSIEC over the Conduct of Local Government and Local Council Development Areas Election in Conformity with Provisions of the Laws.”

Majority of members also voiced loud ayes asking the executive to urgently reconstitute the OYSIEC to organise fresh election into local government councils.

They argued that the powers of the OYSIEC were limited to conducting election into local government councils.

In his contribution, Honourable Dele Adeola of Iseyin/Itesiwaju constituency, maintained that section 201 of the constitution recognised only 33 local government areas in the state, hence conducting election into 35 LCDAs amounted to illegality.

He further avowed that conducting election into the LCDAs amounted to legalising illegality which should be corrected.

While accepting that LCDAs served the purpose of bringing government closer to the people, Adeola said administrators should rather have been appointed to manage LCDAs rather than they having elected Chairmen.

Furthermore, the Assembly adopted Adeola’s prayers that the activities in the local government areas in the past year be investigated.

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Consequently, Speaker of the Assembly, Ogundoyin announced the setting up of an eight-man ad hoc committee headed by Honourable Ademola Popoola of Ibadan South East II.

Raising objection to the resolutions, Minority Leader, Honourable Asimiyu Alarape had argued that the Assembly had in 2002, during the Lam Adesina administration, approved of the creation of additional local government areas and its nomenclature was only changed to LCDAs during the eighth Assembly.

To this end, Alarape said the law creating the LCDAs had not been repelled hence its creation should not be rubbished.

However, both Honourables Fatokun of Akinyele 1, Mabaje Rasaq of Ido constituency, Honourable Babatunde Ganiyu of Akinyele II constituency and Abiodun Fadeyi of Ona Ara constituency held that the dissolution of OYSIEC should stand.

Meanwhile, the Assembly in a motion by Honourable Alarape and Honourable Wumi Oladeji of Ogbomoso North constituency has expressed displeasure at the dearth of teachers in public schools sited in rural areas of the state.

The Assembly consequently urged the ministry of education, science and technology to ensure equitable distribution of teachers to schools based on student population.

To discourage rural-urban drift of teachers, the Assembly said the state government must ensure that teachers in rural communities get ‘inducement allowance’.

The motion also stressed the need for government to fix rural roads, equip health centres, provide potable water and other social amenities to discourage rural-urban drift of teachers.

Especially, the Assembly urged the leadership of the education ministry to ensure that teachers serve in schools they are posted to for five years before they are transferred elsewhere.