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Supreme Court: Governors can’t sack elected local governments

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Local government administration got a landmark victory on Friday after the Supreme Court, in two separate judgments, declared that state governors have no power whatsoever to sack democratically elected local government chairmen and councillors.

The apex court said the 2015 dissolution of the 34 LGs in Katsina State by Governor Aminu Masari and the 2019 sack of the chairmen and councillors of the 33 LGs and 35 Local Council Development Areas in Oyo State by Governor Seyi Makinde were in breach of Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

The five-man panel was unanimous in the judgments.

Nigerians have hailed the judment as victory for local governent admiistration in the country.

Youth and Sports Development Minister, Sunday Dare, and the Chairman Senate Committee on Local Content, Chief Teslim Folarin, hailed the court for the verdicts.

The Supreme Court held that Masari and Makinde acted illegally and unconstitutionally by removing democratically elected Local Government Councils.

The two judgments were on the appeals filed by sacked LG chairmen and councillors from both states.

The LG chairmen and councillors from the 34 LGs in Katsina, led by Abubakar Ibrahim Yantaba, were elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but were sacked in 2015 by Masari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Those from the 33 local government areas (LGAs) and 35 local council development areas (LCDAs) in Oyo State, led by Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, were elected under the banner of the APC but were sacked in 2019 by Makinde of the PDP.

Justice Adamu Jauro, who read the lead judgment in the appeal on Katsina, ruled that Masari acted ultra vires by sacking the appellants on allegation of financial misappropriation of councils’ funds.

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Justice Jauro ordered the Katsina State Government to pay the appellants all their entitlements from the date of their illegal dissolution to the date they were supposed to lawfully vacate office.

In the case of Oyo State, Justice Ejembi Eko, in the lead judgment, said Makinde acted “invidiously and in contemptuous disregard of a High Court judgment” when he dissolved the democratically elected chairmen and councilors and appointed caretaker committees to replace them.

Justice Eko set aside the judgment by the Court of Appeal in Ibadan, which validated Makinde’s action, noting that the lower court was wrong when it held that there was no reasonable cause of action in the suit the appellants filed to prevent their sack.

He noted that the three-year tenure of the sacked chairmen and councillors has since expired, but he proceeded to hold that they deserved to be compensated for their tenure that was “illegally truncated” on May 29, 2019.

Justice Eko ordered the Oyo State Government to pay the sacked chairmen and councillors their accrued salaries and allowances.

He ordered the Attorney-General of Oyo State to file an affidavit before August 7 this year confirming the payment of the salaries and allowances to the appellants.

He equally awarded a cost of N20 million in favour of the appellants.

Other members of the panel, Justices Kekere Ekun, Inyang Okoro, Ibrahim Saulawa and Adamu Jauro, agreed with the lead judgment.

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had faulted Makinde’s decision in a January 14, 2020 letter.

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In the letter marked HAGF/OYO/2020/Vol.1/1, which was addressed to the Oyo State Attorney General, Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo, Malami drew Makinde’s attention to past decisions of the Supreme Court on the issue and advised him to reverse the dissolution.

But rather than heed the AGF’s advice, Makinde queried Malami’s jurisdictional competence, claiming, among others, that the issue was internal to Oyo State.

Youth and Sports Development Minister, Sunday Dare, hailed the Supreme Court’s judgment as a landmark achievement in the present government’s efforts to deepen democracy at the grassroots.

Dare noted that with the “unsparing, unequivocal and unambiguous” judgment by the highest court in the land, it has now become crystal clear that no state government has the power to sack any elected council chairman or councillor, as correctly envisioned by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He commended the gallantry of the local government chairmen under the leadership of Prince Abass Ayodeji Alesinloye, stressing that their steadfastness and doggedness eventually paid off not only for themselves but for democracy as an institution at the grassroots.

The minister also praised their legal team led by Chief Niyi Akintola for a thorough and painstaking legal battle fought almost gratis for the sake of the APC.

Dare praised the immediate past governor of the state, the late Senator Abiola Ajimobi, for his role in ensuring that due diligence was done in the conduct of the local government election and the profound leadership given to the local government executives in the pursuit of the case until his death.

The minister said he was particularly elated that the APC was able to “finally lay this issue bordering mainly on tyranny of power by state governors to rest.”

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While congratulating the chairmen and councillors, Dare urged them to remain totally committed and loyal to the party in order to collectively win back Oyo State for APC.

For Chief Teslim Folarin, Chairman Senate Committee on Local Content, the Supreme Court’s judgment is a defining judgment and a triumph for Oyo State and the APC family in general.

Folarin, who represents Oyo Central in the Senate, said the Makinde administration in the state “committed a constitutional blunder by unjustifiably sacking the validly elected council chairmen and councillors. It is an anomaly for the governor to dissolve elected council officials, just like the Federal Government cannot dissolve state government.”

He urged APC stakeholders in Oyo State to remain united “with a view to dislodging the PDP government in the 2023 general elections.”

He said: “With this Supreme Court victory, the late former governor Abiola Ajimobi has been vindicated. May Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant him Aljana Fridauz. Amin.”

Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), who led the legal team of ALGON in Oyo State, said: “This time around, the Supreme Court went further to drive home the point.

“What happened in Oyo State was not the first time. It had happened in several other states. The Supreme Court has given the judgment to correct the act of impunity perpetrated by some of our governors.

“This time around, the Supreme Court went further to set four different precedents that have never happened in the annals of Nigeria’s jurisprudence.”

 

 

 

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Two Oyo commissioner, special adviser resign

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Two senior officials in the Oyo State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning have resigned their appointments from Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration.

The officials are Ayobami Ojo, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, and Simeon Oyeleke, the ministry’s Special Adviser on Budget and Economic Planning.

In separate letters dated November 2, and addressed to Mr Makinde, both officials said their resignations would take effect immediately, while thanking the governor for the opportunity to serve but did not give specific reasons for their decisions.

In his letter, Ojo referred to his appointment letter dated 22 June 2026 and formally announced his resignation as commissioner.

“With reference to your letter dated 22nd June, 2026 (SP.S.662/2/VOL.IV/192), I respectfully write to formally resign my appointment as Honourable Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, with effect from today, 2nd November, 2026,” he wrote.

He described his time in government as an honour and said he appreciated the opportunity to serve the state.

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Oyeleke also tendered his resignation with effect from 2 November.

In his letter, he thanked Mr Makinde for the confidence reposed in him and the opportunity to contribute to the administration’s policies and development programmes.

He also expressed appreciation for the governor’s leadership, support and encouragement during his time in office.

“I remain grateful for the opportunity to have been part of this administration and to have contributed to its laudable achievements. I also remain committed to the peace, progress and development of Oyo State,” he wrote.

The latest resignations come amid a series of exits of political appointees and other officials from the Makinde administration in recent months.

It would be recalled that Segun Ogunwuyi resigned as the governor’s chief of staff on 12 October, a position he had held since July 2021. His resignation took immediate effect, although he did not state a reason for his departure.

A few hours after Ogunwuyi’s departure, Makinde appointed Bashorun Akinwole, popularly known as Wolekanle, as his replacement.

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On the same day, Tara Adefope, the Director-General of the Oyo State Due Process Office, also resigned from her position, while in late October, Kabiru Salami, the governor’s Executive Assistant on Security Coordination, also tendered his resignation.

Other officials who have left the administration include Funmi Arulogun, a Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Matters, who resigned in August, citing personal and political considerations.

Babatunde Oduyoye, a member of the Oyo State Advisory Council, also resigned in July, while Fatai Owoseni, a former Commissioner of Police who served as the governor’s Special Adviser on Security resigned in May.

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Good morning! Nigerian Newspapers Headlines: Campaigns: OK Movement insists on independence

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1. The OK (Obi/Kwankwaso) Movement has declared that it will maintain its independent identity while mobilising support for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and its candidates ahead of the 2027 general election. 

Movement’s leader John Ughulu said the group remained committed to its original mission of securing the election of former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and erstwhile Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Speaking in an interview, Ughulu dismissed suggestions that the movement’s decision to campaign independently would undermine its support for the NDC, insisting that the focus should be on achieving a common  political objective.

2. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid got a big boost at the weekend with endorsements from across the country. His achievement, the need for consolidation, national cohesion, and other reasons were adduced for the show of solidarity. The presidential election is billed for January 16, 2027

3. The Federal Government has vowed to crack down on inflated public contracts and procurement violations, warning heads of government-owned agencies, corporations, councils, authorities and commissions that they risk sanctions for breaching procurement regulations. The government raised the alarm over contract awards that exceed approved price benchmarks.

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4. The African Democratic Congress has rescheduled its presidential campaign kick-off in Sokoto State to Wednesday, November 4, despite alleging threats, attacks on its members and attempts by the state government to frustrate the event. The party said its decision to proceed with the campaign was a demonstration of its determination to exercise its constitutional rights despite what it described as growing political intimidation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

5. Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have neutralised four leaders of the Islamic State West Africa Province, including two Arabs, a commander and several of their foot soldiers in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State. The Army said they were neutralised on October 31, 2026, by combined troops of the Joint Task Force deployed to Kukawa following a massive ISWAP terrorists attack on their locations.

6. United States President, Donald Trump, has agreed to grant an immediate visa to the mother of a 15-year-old Ghanaian boy shot dead in New York, following a request by the city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani announced the development on Saturday after speaking with Trump, saying the visa would allow the teenager’s mother to travel to the United States and attend her son’s funeral.

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7. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested two Nigerians based in Europe after they allegedly ingested 200 wraps of cocaine weighing 3.46kg while attempting to travel from Abuja to Paris, France. The suspects, identified as Aliocus Odife and Sam Blackborn, were arrested on Wednesday during the outward clearance of an Air France flight, AF 832, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

8. Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted a 100-level female student of Plateau State University, Bokkos, while another person sustained injuries during an attack on off-campus student residential areas in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State. It was learnt that the incidents, which occurred on Saturday evening at about 8:40pm, had heightened concerns over the safety of students residing outside the university campus.

9. An early-morning fire outbreak at the weekend destroyed no fewer than 110 buildings and structures at Kofar Ruwa Timber Market in the Kano metropolis. The Kano State Fire Service, while confirming the incident in a statement on Sunday, said the inferno razed 75 permanent buildings and 35 temporary structures across different sections of the market.

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10. The immediate past National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, has declared his readiness to align with President Bola Tinubu or former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 presidential election, while ruling out support for the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi.

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Relief as suspected Ebola cases in Adamawa tested negative

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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said that there are currently no laboratory-confirmed cases of Ebola  in Adamawa.

The NCDC had on Saturday said that there were two suspected cases of Ebola in the north-east state, adding that the individuals had been isolated while contact identification was ongoing.

But in a statement on Sunday, the director-general of NCDC, Jide Idris,
said samples collected from the two individuals, who had symptoms suggestive of Ebola, tested negative after two rounds of testing.

“The report was received by the Adamawa State Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) in the early hours of 30 October 2026, following the identification of two individuals presenting with symptoms suggestive of Ebola, requiring further investigation,” the statement reads.

“Hence the alert that was released early this evening. The individuals have been isolated, and appropriate public health measures have been initiated.

“Samples were collected for laboratory testing to establish the cause of the illness. Fortunately, the samples turned out negative for EBV after two rounds of testing.”

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Idris commended the Adamawa health commissioner and his team for their “proactive approach”, adding that the NCDC was working closely with the state government to investigate the report of suspected Ebola cases.

“Currently, there is no laboratory-confirmed Ebola case in Adamawa state,” he said.

“The index case previously confirmed in the Federal Capital Territory remains the only confirmed case reported in Nigeria to date.”

He urged the public to remain calm and avoid sharing unverified information or speculating about the situation.

“The public is encouraged to obtain information from official government and public health communication channels,” he said.

Idris described Ebola as a serious infectious disease that requires prompt identification, appropriate clinical management and effective infection prevention and control measures.

“Anyone experiencing symptoms such as fever, severe weakness, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea or unexplained bleeding, particularly following relevant exposure, should seek immediate medical attention and inform healthcare workers of any relevant travel or contact history,” he said.

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“Individuals should avoid self-medication and follow the advice of healthcare professionals.”

Nigeriaconfirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade on October 20, after a 42-year-old Swiss woman tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain in Abuja.

The patient, who had travelled from Uganda to Nigeria, was subsequently isolated and treated by Nigerian health workers.

On Monday, the federal governmentevacuated the patient to Switzerland aboard a medical plane.

Her husband, who was identified as a close contact, was also evacuated to Switzerland.

Ali Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare, said the patient was clinically much improved, stable, conscious and communicating, with her laboratory test results approaching baseline levels.

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