Governor Ademola Adeleke has successfully gained approval from the State House of Assembly to appoint Caretaker committees for various administrative units in Osun state, including Local Government Council Areas, Local Government Development Areas, and the Area Office.
This move follows the Governor’s formal request to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly.
According to a statement from Mallam Olawale Rasheed, the Governor’s spokesperson, a portion of Adeleke’s letter reads as follows:
“In view of the urgency of need for a functioning local government system and the arising necessity due to non-existence of legitimate and democratically elected Local Government Executives across the Local Government Councils in Osun State, I hereby forward the attached list of Caretaker members for all the Local Government Council Areas, Local Government Development Area and Area Councils across Osun State, for your consideration, pending the holding of Local Government elections in line with the relevant provisions of the law.
“I seek your expeditious approval so as to properly re-shape and direct the administration of the third tier of government in Osun State”, the letter partly read.
Subsequently, the legislators reviewed the letter, leading to the evaluation and endorsement of the nominees.
In the meantime, the inauguration of the Caretaker members occurred on August 16th, Wednesday, at 10AM, specifically at the Car park of the Bola Ige House in Abere, Osogbo.
Last week, former local government chairmen who were relieved of their positions in Osun State, approached the Federal High Court in Osogbo. They sought the court’s intervention to deem the endeavor by the administration led by Governor Ademola Adeleke, which aimed to establish a caretaker committee for all 30 local government areas in the state, as unlawful.
The chairmen, who were elected during Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s tenure, submitted a writ of summons. Saheed Onibonokuta, Ayegbayo Muyiwa, and eight others, acting on behalf of their fellow chairmen, endorsed the document, which was presented by their legal representative, Muhydeen Adeoye.
A writ of summons is a legal document issued by a court to notify an individual or entity (the defendant) that a lawsuit has been filed against them and that they are required to appear in court on a specified date to respond to the claims made by the plaintiff (the party initiating the lawsuit). It outlines the nature of the legal action, the claims being made, and provides instructions for the defendant on how to respond. Essentially, a writ of summons serves as an official notice to the defendant that legal proceedings have been initiated and they are being sued.
The Chairmen appealed to the court to assert that the actions taken by the state government to appoint a caretaker committee for the local government councils contravene the plaintiffs’ rights as safeguarded by the Electoral Act 2022.
