Good News For Nigeria's Continued ''Nascent'' Democracy, As Supreme Court Strips Governors Of Power To Sack Local Government Officials

This sounds a very good news for the Nigeria's continued ''nascent'' democracy as Supreme Court on Friday described as “executive recklessness” the now rampant acts of governors dissolving democratically-elected local government councils in their states and replacing them with caretaker committees.

The apex court also nullified the provisions of the laws enacted by the states’ Houses of Assembly empowering governors to carry out such dissolution and replace them with caretaker committees.

A five-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, made the pronouncements, among others, in a unanimous judgment it delivered on Friday.

The appeal in which the Supreme Court made the pronouncements arose from the dissolution of 16 local government councils in Ekiti State by the then Governor Kayode Fayemi.

Fayemi, who is now the Minister of Mineral Resources, was said to have announced the dissolution of the councils in a radio announcement on October 29, 2010, when the chairmen still had up till December 19, 2011, to complete their three-year tenure.

But in the lead judgment delivered by Justice Chima Nweze, the apex court condemned the decision of the then governor.

The apex court adopted an earlier order made by the Court of Appeal on the case in its judgment delivered on January 23, 2013, directing the Ekiti State Government to compute and pay all the allowances and salaries accruable to members of the dissolved councils between October 29, 2010 and December 19, 2011, both dates inclusive