According to reports, in the dead of night, at about 2am today, Governor Alia swore in 21 caretaker chairmen with a charge to them to take over the administration of the local government councils....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
PDP deems this action in contempt of court as it is in disregard of judgements of the National Industrial Court and the Benue State High Court, all of which are subsisting and uphold the mandate of democratically elected council administrations in the state.
Governor Alia’s action is also in blatant snub and confrontation against the Senate which on Friday, 1st December, 2023, ruled in favour of a motion by its Minority Leader, Senator Patrick Abba Moro for Benue-South, that the suspension of 23 local government councils in Benue be reversed.
The Senate had further ruled that all local government areas run by councils that are not democratically elected will henceforth be denied access to financial allocations from the Federation Account.
We recall that 23 Council Chairmen in Benue State were elected on the platform of the PDP at the April 30, 2022 local council elections conducted by the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC), and they were sworn into office on June 29, 2022 to a definite tenure of 2 years as enshrined in the Local Government Establishment Law of the state, with that tenure expiring on June 28, 2024.
In spite of a purported suspension of those councils by Governor Alia, a series of judgements by the National Industrial Court and the Benue State High Court quashed the said suspension, upholding the tenure of the councils.
Our great party maintains that the caretaker committees sworn into office by the governor late last night are an aberration and unknown to law.
The party urges Governor Alia to retrace his steps from the ‘evil forest’ of contempt for court judgements and disdain for constituted authority, and embrace adherence to due process and respect for rule of law.
The Benue State Governor should be mindful that nothing sustainable can be built on lawlessness and anarchy which are his preferred order.
Chief Bemgba Iortyom (Vande-U-Mbaiwer)
State Publicity Secretary,
PDP, Benue State.
