Sacked local government chairmen and councilors in Oyo State, under the aegis of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), have reiterated their belief in the judiciary and particularly the highest court in the country, the Supreme Court, as the hope of the common man.
They also expressed what they described as unrivaled and unflinching confidence in the judges of the apex court, led by the Chief Judge of Nigeria, Justice Kayode Ariwoola.
The group made the remarks while addressing a news conference to react to a recent media chat by Governor Seyi Makinde.
It would be recalled that during the media chat hosted by the state-owned Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS), the governor threatened to deal with sacked council bosses, saying he would not abide by a recent court ruling until he gets another judgment from the apex court.
Fielding questions from reporters, the Chairman of the group christened Forum 64, Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, said the members have been inundated with calls and threats from those close to the governor that they will leverage on the personal relationship of the governor and the CJN to get an upturn of the judgment, which favoured the sacked council bosses.
However, Abass-Aleshinloye said the CJN just like other justices of the apex court and the entire judiciary had proved to be unbiased and an impartial umpire in every matter the group had taken before them and as such had no cause to be afraid of anything.
The council officials sacked by the governor asked the governor to obey the Supreme Court judgment, which asked him to pay their entitlements rather than threatening to deal with them.
The governor had also warned the former council officials against distracting him and fomenting trouble in the state.
It will be recalled that Governor Makinde had on his electoral victory in 2019 sacked the council bosses across the 33 local governments and 32 local council development areas on the grounds of illegality in the conduct of the election that brought them to power.
Abass-Aleshinloye, said it beats imagination that Makinde will go to a media chat to deceive the citizens of the state, saying, “It is no longer news that our governor, His Excellency Oluseyi Makinde, promised to deal with us in his media chat on Saturday, December 23, 2023.
“We are not in doubt that His Excellency is the Governor of Oyo State, but we wrongfully assumed that he was elected to govern and not to deal with any of the citizens of the state.
“Surprisingly, His Excellency’s priority now is to deal with everyone who is legitimately seeking redress for a perceived wrong. His Excellency promised to deal with the princes of Ogbomoso and now the ex-LG chairmen. We only hope this act of dealing with us doesn’t include killing or harming any one of us. We wish to say with all emphasis that we are proud to say that each and every one of us grew up with a training to fear Almighty God, respect the law and to always follow due process.”
