The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has condemned the unlawful removal of democratically elected local government chairpersons by state governors, calling it a treasonable act.
Fagbemi, speaking on Wednesday in Abuja at a Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) event, expressed concerns over the growing interference of state governors in local government affairs, which he said is a direct violation of the constitution and a Supreme Court ruling.
Represented by Tijani Gazali, the Director of Civil Appeals in the Ministry of Justice, the AGF condemned what he described as the “unconstitutional connivance” between governors and state houses of assemblies to remove elected local government officials and replace them with their own appointees.
According to Fagbemi, this practice has undermined the role of local governments in Nigeria and eroded the democratic structures that should be in place to serve citizens at the grassroots level.
“It is unfortunate that over the last few decades in Nigeria, in plain contradiction of the constitutional mandates of state governments, local governments have now seen a great decline, existing as nothing more than an appendage to the state governments, merely serving as a means to supply extra funds,” Fagbemi remarked.
He further explained that the growing disregard for constitutional provisions on local government autonomy had reached a point where local government structures were at risk of becoming extinct.
He pointed to President Bola Tinubu’s intervention through a suit filed at the Supreme Court in 2024, following repeated illegal sackings of elected LGA officials.
Despite the high court’s judgment that outlawed such actions, Fagbemi lamented that several states continued to defy the ruling, allowing state governors to illegally sack local government chairpersons.
He warned that this continued disregard for the rule of law is tantamount to treason.
“Any state governor or assembly that engages in the illegal removal of locally elected officials is committing treason, and such acts must be dealt with accordingly,” he asserted.
Fagbemi’s comments come at a time when the controversy over the sacking of local government chairpersons has escalated in Osun State.
The dispute stems from a recent Court of Appeal ruling on February 10, 2024, which addressed the removal of LGA officials in 2022.
The ruling has triggered confusion, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) arguing that it did not reinstate the sacked officials, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) insists it did.
Tensions have flared in the state following violent clashes between APC and PDP supporters in LGA secretariats.
The violence, which erupted on Monday, resulted in the tragic deaths of several individuals, including Remi Abbas, the former chairman of Irewole LGA.
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