Don’t Be Ignorant Of The Law, Lagos Assembly Hits Back At Suspended Chairman, Lawyer

– says law does not recognise sentiment, emotions

The Lagos State House of Assembly has asked suspended chairman of Alimosho Local Government Area, Jelili Sulaimon, and his lawyer, Dr. Abdul Mahmud, to recognise the place of law rather than sentiments and emotions as guiding principles of legislative practices in Lagos State.

The advice by the Assembly on Tuesday was in response to the purported reaction of the duo to the suspension of the council chairman by the House on Monday at plenary.

The House, in the reaction signed by Hon. Stephen Ogundipe,
chairman, Committee on Information, Strategy and Security, further advised Jelili against ascribing self-made meanings to the laws empowering the lawmakers act where necessary in the interest of the people.

Read the full reaction below:

JELILI SULAIMAN’S SUSPENSION BACKED BY LAW

The attention of the Lagos State House of Assembly has been drawn to a statement supposedly signed by Dr. Abdul Mahmud, counsel to the embattled Alimosho local government chairman, Mr. Jelili Sulaimon, claiming to condemn the unanimous agreement of the Assembly to suspend his client on Monday, October 7, 2024.

Beyond the sensational rhetoric and half-baked details in the statement that is replete with emotions rather than deep-thoughts, it is pertinent to break down the real situation and puncture arguments as to the powers of the House to suspend Mr. Jelili.

In his race to the public to ‘garner’ sentiments, Jelili’s lawyer forgot to remember that there are no local government areas that created themselves. In other words, the creation of a local government follows strict processes of the law and Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) creates the path to knowledge about this.

“The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this Constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the Government of every State shall, subject to Section 8 of this Constitution, ensure their existence under a Law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils.” Does this answer a question from the arguments of Jelili’s lawyer as to who has the power to create laws that regulate the activities of local government councils and their administration?

For better understanding, that section provides for the existence of: democratically elected system of Local Government to be guaranteed by a law of the State House of Assembly.

The same section provides that the House of Assembly is required to make provisions for statutory allocation of public revenue to Local Government Councils in a State. Section 8(3) highlights the procedure to be undertaken by a State House of Assembly in the creation of a new Local Government Area(s) in a State while Section 8(4) highlights the procedure to be undertaken by a State House of Assembly, through law, in the boundary adjustment of existing Local Government Areas.

Now, Section 162 (8) of the Constitution stipulates that a Law of the State House of Assembly shall provide for the distribution of monies standing to the credit of Local Government councils in a State.

Maybe we should remind him, his client and those travelling with him that Section 128 of the same Constitution further gives clarity to the powers of the House of Assembly.

“Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, a House of Assembly shall have power
by resolution published in its journal or in the
office Gazette of the Government of the State
to direct or cause to be directed an inquiry or
investigation into –
(a) any matter or thing with respect to which it
has power to make laws.

Here and based on the above constitutional provision, we are moved to ask again: who is legally guaranteed to make the law that creates the running of the local government? It is definitely not the National Assembly which is granted the constitutional powers to create states and not local governments.

This brings us to the Lagos State Local Government Administration Law (as amended) upon which the creation, administration and related activities of the local government system of Lagos State are based.

For better public information and effective knowledge, Section 24(a) of the amended law gives powers to the Lagos State House of Assembly to pass a resolution for the removal or suspension of any chairman, vice chairman, or official of any local government area (LGA) or local council development area (LCDA) after conducting an investigation. It states further that all that is needed for this resolution is a simple majority of the Assembly members. This emphasis is further highlighted in Section 5 of the law.

The amendment aims to ensure accountability and maintain order within the local government structure in Lagos State.

With this level of enlightenment as to the position of the laws guiding the administration of local government councils, it is further important to avoid misinformation or misrepresentation of the recent Supreme Court judgement concerning local governments in Nigeria. There is a marked difference between financial autonomy (upon which the lawyer’s argument rests) and administrative powers of the House. The rush to churn out a defence armed, albeit, with inferior understanding of the Supreme Court judgement does not give a sufficient case against the action of the House of Assembly.

The Local Government Administration law from which the council chairman and other elected officials of the local government system derive their powers is a product of the House of Assembly. The office of the Auditor-General for Local Governments that monitors the financial activities of this third tier of government is created by the law made by the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The Local Government Service Commission which handles issues relating to the officials of local governments is a creation of the House of Assembly. The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) that conducts elections into elective offices at the local government level is a creation of the House of Assembly. Therefore, jettisoning these facts will amount to a poor knowledge of the legislature. If you say the Lagos State House of Assembly does not have the power over local governments, it means all these laws created by the House should not be in place. If the laws should not be in place, then why would local governments exist?

We learnt that in a bid to protect the chairman, the councillors of the Alimosho Local Government Area hurriedly suspended the Vice Chairman, Akinpelu Johnson. To show how laughable this is, it is good to note that the law guiding them does not have a provision for suspension. The Local Government Administration law gives them the opportunity to remove a chairman or vice chairman but this also comes with a process. Thus, the suspension of Johnson is simply invalid. It is therefore necessary to remind the council leader that he can also be removed in line with the Local Government Administration law of Lagos State. If he does not know this, then, it is a pity.

For the few trying to juxtapose the functions of the National Assembly with those of the House of Assembly in this case, they should take a chill pill and request to be tutored. The National Assembly cannot interfere with the runnings of a State. It is not a part of its duty. On the other hand, the constitution grants the State House of Assembly powers over the local governments.

It is to be noted that this is not the first time the Lagos State House of Assembly would be suspending the same council chairman. In May 2021, he was suspended with two others by the House for their total disregard for the local government guidelines created by the State Legislature.

While we urge against mawkishness, we would also like to task residents of the council and members of the public not to allow themselves be swayed by positions and opinions that are opposite the law in this regard.

Hon. Stephen Ogundipe
Chairman, Committee on Information
Lagos State House of Assembly.

Group to Kogi Governor Ododo: Stop Undermining Anti-corruption Fight

Sahara Weekly Reports That A Non-Governmental Organisation, Vanguard for Credible Representation (VCR), has reiterated its call on President Bola Tinubu and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to prevail on Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo to stop obstructing the fight against corruption.

In a statement issued in Abuja by VCR’s Head of Mission, Onche Ugbabe, the group frowned at the activities of one of the pro-Yahaya Bello’s groups known as Africa Media Roundtable, which said Governor Ododo “should be celebrated.”

The statement reads in part, “We restate our position and demand that the Presidency, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, and the Progressive Governors’ Forum should wade in and save Nigeria from further embarrassment by calling Governor Ododo to order.

“The so-called Roundtable even insulted our collective intelligence by touting that Governor Ododo should be celebrated! Celebrated for his obstructive roles? Celebrated for housing a man already declared wanted by the EFCC based on the summons issued by the court of law? That Ododo be celebrated for shielding a man away from the arms of the law? For leading a show of bravado to the EFCC car park on September 18, 2024, in a flagrant display of what an executive governor should not be?” the group asked rhetorically.

The non-governmental organization restated its earlier position that the protection so far given to former Governor Yahaya Bello by Governor Ododo “undermines the renewed fight against corruption by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, making the President and the country a laughing stock.”

“That is why we are calling on the President, Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum, and the Progressives Governors Forum to intervene and call Governor Ododo to order,” it added.

With the issuance of another court summons last week by another court, VCR urged Governor Ododo to accompany his predecessor to honor the court summons since the Media Roundtable said Ododo was “helping EFCC” by accompanying former Governor Bello to the EFCC car park.

Breaking: Lagos Assembly Suspends Alimosho Council Chairman

Sahara Weekly Reports That The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday handed down an indefinite suspension to the chairman of the Alimosho Local Government Area, Jelili Sulaimon. The suspension is with immediate effect.

Sitting at plenary, the lawmakers resolved that the vice chairman of the council, Mr. Akinpelu Johnson, should take over the running of its affairs.

The House further instructed the management of the council, including the manager and treasurer, recognizes the authority of the vice chairman and accord him all the support to make him work effectively.

The chairman was suspended in a unanimous vote by the lawmakers over an alleged non-compliance, defiance and unyielding attitude to the legislative House.

Moving a motion for his suspension, the Chairman of the House Committee on Local Government Administration and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Sanni Okanlawon, recalled that in April 2024, pandemonium broke out in the Iyana-Ipaja axis of Alimosho Local Government leading to the death of one Mr. Micheal Ajayi.

Hon. Okanlawon, whose committee was saddled with the responsibility to investigate the cause of the pandemonium, said that it was discovered that Jelili masterminded the chaos.

According to Okanlawon, all stakeholders involved in the issue were invited, but Jelili had continued to show acts of misconduct to the committee of the House.

He highlighted the council chairman’s failure to adhere to the Assembly’s directives and his mismanagement of public funds. He, therefore, called for Jelili’s immediate suspension in line with relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

“He should be suspended immediately while the vice chairman, Akin Johnson, takes over with immediate effect,” he prayed.

Majority Leader of the House, Noheem Adams, while supporting the call for Jelili’s suspension, added that the action would make other local government chairmen sit well.

“The Alimosho council chairman does not follow procurement processes or the budget. There has been a lot of misconducts from him and I support that the chairman be suspended indefinitely,” he said.

In his contribution Hon. Nureni Akinsanya, Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts for Local Government, referred to the report submitted by the State Auditor-General concerning the activities of Jelili. The report underscored the council chairman’s consistent non-compliance with financial regulations, with significant irregularities in his records.

Akinsanya, emphasising these discrepancies, suported Okanlawon’s call for Jelili’s suspension.

Similarly, Hon. Ladi Ajomale expressed surprise that the council chairman had been recalcitrant despite previous reports detailing his alleged financial mismanagement.

Hon. Sa’ad Olumoh, while echoing his concerns, also prayed the House to invite Mr. Kolade Alabi and Mr. Rasak Ajala, chairmen of Bariga LCDA and Odi Olowo LCDA respectively, as heads of the Conference 57, to explain the widespread disregard by council chairmen for governance protocols.

The Speaker, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Mudashiru Obasa, who presided over the sitting, directed the Clerk of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko, to communicate the Assembly’s resolution to all relevant authorities

Eromosele Ebhomele

Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.