The governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has come under fire from the Peoples Democratic Party for allegedly disobeying a court order by appointing interim local government chairmen.
Bemgba Iortyom, the state publicity secretary for the party, made the accusations in a statement that was released and provided to media on Thursday in Makurdi.
A list of caretaker committees, consisting of eight members in each of the state’s twenty-three local government districts, was made public by Governor Alia.
Recall that Governor Alia had approved the suspension of the 23 council chairmen who were elected under the immediate past administration of Samuel Ortom based on the recommendation of the state assembly which probed into their activities.
The chairmen were sworn in for a two-year term on June 29, 2022, after they had previously gone to the National Industrial Court in Makurdi and obtained a judgement prohibiting the state government (through themselves, their agents, their successors, or privies) from removing them from office before their terms ended.
The state PDP expressed sorrow that the rulings of the state high court have been ignored, despite the fact that the state government did not file an appeal against the court’s judgment.
“The council chairmen through their lawyers had proceeded and commenced contempt of court proceedings against the government of Hyacinth Alia and the Benue State House of Assembly, serving on them variously and separately Notice of Consequence of Contempt Proceedings, on 27th June 2023, and had also approached the High Court of Benue State seeking through an ex parte application and a substantive suit to have the Benue State Government restrained from interfering with their lawfully vested mandate and tenure of office, both of which I’m addition to other recent orders of court recently in same vein were granted.
“All of those orders of court did not deter the Benue State Governor from going ahead in impunity to order the suspension of the duly elected local government council administration
“PDP decries this open showing of contempt for the rule of law which is the open preference of Governor Alia in his dealing with the local government tier of administration, as it bodes grave ill for the quest to sustain and deepen constitutional democracy as the lawfully adopted form of government in Nigeria,” the statement read in parts.
The party described the moves by the state government as not only an affront to the judiciary but also a direct attack on the democratic rights of the people of Benue State.
“PDP reminds Governor Hyacinth Alia and the Benue State Government that the judiciary is a fundamental pillar of our democracy, and its decisions must be respected and upheld by all.
“The appointment of caretaker committees in open disregard of subsisting court orders is not only illegal but also negates the principles of democratic governance, which he swore on oath to uphold,” Iortyom said in the statement.
