The Ibaji Progressive Youth Foundation (IPYF) has notice the Chairman of the local government, WIlliam Obiora Iko-Ojo, of its intention to file a lawsuit against him over his continued refusal to relocate his office to the statutory premises in Onyedega.
In a letter signed by the IPYF National President, Comrade Apeh Kelvin and the General Secretary, Linus Egwu, the foremost group demanded for the relocation of the local government liaison office from Idah local government back to the seat of Ibaji local government, Onyedega.
The Ibaji local government area secretariat in Onyedega community is presently unkempt and overgrown with weeds as the LGA Chairman, Williams Obiora Iko-Ojo, has refused to work from the building.
The secretariat had been abandoned since 2014 due to the bad road connecting the community to other areas and seasonal floods.
During a political riot in 2011, the old secretariat was razed but the government built a new one around 2014. However, the secretariat has been abandoned since then.
Current chairman has been operating from a liaison office in Idah LGA. Ibaji citizens have to travel to Idah before they can see and conect with their elected council officers.
The group had earlier sent a protest letter to the council chairman with a demand to move his office to the local government headquarters within thirty days.
“It is a common knowledge that Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria clearly defines a Local Government and its role in development. Needless to say, part of the rationale for creating it is to address economic issues at the grassroots and to ensure the development of the area.
“In the earlier letter addressed to your office, the IPYF demanded the relocation of the liaison office from Idah back to Ibaji, and also gave a timeline of a month to perfect this relocation; we also stated that failure to do so within the stipulated time, would leave us no other option but to follow the due process of redress in the law court.
“We write to notify you that we shall be commencing a court action against you and your office on February 15, for denying the people of Ibaji their constitutional rights to fair political representation and access to economic opportunities, by shutting down all crucial local government offices in Ibaji Local Government Area, Onyedega, and unconscionably relocating same to Idah for no justifiable reason or reasons as the case maybe,” the letter read in part.
