Oyo state chapter of the Socialist Party of Nigeria, (SPN), on Sunday rejected the extension of tenure for Local Government caretaker chairmen in the state by another three months as an extension of illegality.
The party in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan by its Oyo State Secretary, Comrade Ayodeji Adigun described tenure elongation “as an extension of illegality”.
SPN in the statement faulted what it called the claims by Oyo state House of Assembly that the “Caretaker Chairmen performed very well within the limited time and resources available and that there was no petition that warrant their removal”.
“SPN considers the two reasons to be untrue and a mere deceit. There is nothing significant in term of improvement both in the infrastructure and living condition of the people that can be said that the regime of the Caretaker Chairmen have attracted to all the 33 LGA and the so called LCDA across the state. Instead the parlous state of communities that should have been served by functional local councils has gone from bad to worse. Virtually all the intra local government roads in the state continue to be in a deplorable condition while most local council secretariats remain desolate and redundant””, it said.
The party added, “again, the claim that there was no petition that could warrant the removal of Caretaker Chairmen barely a month after 13 Caretaker Chairmen were suspended for financial misappropriation by the same Oyo State House of Assembly, though later reinstated, is laughable”.
“Even, if there was no petition that warrants their removal, the fact that they are not a product of democratic election shows that their existence as the head of the local government administration is an absolute breach and infraction of the necessary provision of the constitution which stipulates among other things that the system of local government must be governed by chairmen and chancellors who must be democratically elected by the people. Therefore their tenure elongation an extension of illegality and impunity.”
The party stressed, “in fact the decision by the Engr Seyi Makinde-led government to request the tenure elongation for the caretaker chairmen in the first instance exposes the lack of will and zeal by the regime like the discredited late Senator Abiola Ajimobi/APC-led government to conduct the democratic local government election”, adding,, “the plan by the Engr Seyi Makinde-led government is to continue to fasten its grip over the funds accrued to local councils which could have been used to carry out some developmental projects including meaningful improvement in both the life of workers and people in the respective local government areas through its appointed caretakers chairmen without any form of accountability to the people.”