In a two hour-eight minutes judgement delivered by Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye, the court issued a consequential order for the council chairmen in the 21 Local Government to handover the affairs of the councils to the most senior directors.
Omolaye-Ajileye affirmed the contention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that the commission was not properly constituted to conduct the election in the suit with the State Government, KOSIEC and seven others as codefendants.
The jurist held that the constitution of members of the commission contravened section 200 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As amended).
He said prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the chairman, Barr Ayo Olaniran, Mr David Apeh and three other members of the commission were card-carrying members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in contravention of the provisions of the constitution.
NAN reports that the defunct All Nigeria People Party (ANPP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) on April, 2013 approached the court to stop the conduct of the election.
The claimants, now APC, raised for consideration, four fundamental questions including whether the commission was properly constituted in consonance with section 200(1) of the court.
Omolaye-Ajileye held that the commission as an umpire must “manifestly” be seen to be neutral adding that it would be inappropriate to interpret section 200 (1) of the constitution (As amended) in his favour.
He described as shocking the way the chairman of such a commission went “completely out of his way not only to join a political party but proceed to contest the primaries of an election under the umbrella of a political party and come back to organise an election involving his party and other political parties.
“Any claim to neutrality, integrity, transparency and fairness in favour of such body headed by such a person goes to no issue. The truth is that, the constitution has, by that singular act, been violated with a tincture of impunity”, he said.
Omolaye-Ajileye held that the membership of Olaniran and Apeh as well as conduct of the election under the PDP compromised “irredeemably” the integrity of the commission “given the centrality of these notions of centrality and transparency embedded in the works and functions of a state SIEC.
“From the foregoing, I hold that as at 4th May, 2013, the 3rd defendant was not properly constituted in accordance with section 200(1). The direct consequence of this is that all the acts and actions of the defendants on May 4, 2013 become a nullity.
The judge there was no way the chairmen and councillors elected under the voided election could be allowed to benefit from such flagrant breach of the constitution.
He therefore issued an order directing the most senior directors of the councils to assume responsibility pending the conduct of a fresh council poll by a properly constituted commission. (NAN)
Most workers restrenched now are not ghost workers, i’m surgesting that those affected should be call back for a revisit screening to unvail the truth.
Your comment…Those retrenched, some are not ghost workers onestly speaking, i’m surgesting that those affected be re-screened to proof the truth.
MORE CLARIFICATIONS:- Your article generates more questions than answers. 1)Why is it that only Igala lecturers are resigning in the eve of Civil Servent screening in Kogi State, 2) You refused to mention their specific reasons of resigning. 3) is the first strike action the University is em-backing on ? etc The truth has to be said, those that are leaving are those without qualifications. If they think they would be labelled as ghost workers wrongly, resigning will be the option. I think they are resigning because of fear of prosecution. It is when people like Amudu Ali, Ibrahim Idris, are talking then we give them considerations. Not poor people like you looking for money from Gov AYB
Mr – Usman Okai Austin, i dont need to read this ur arrticle, but i would tell u that this piece u wrote about tribalism and ethnicity is goin to crash down to u some time in the future. If u have no work doing that doesnt mean u should be writing a dead article about the state govt who is trying hard to revive kogi state after wada and the rest igalas that ruled the state put it in a state of penury.
Please are we discussing Kogi State University or Kogi East University?