Makinde’s Reaction To Supreme Court Judgment Deceptive – Sacked Oyo LG Officials

The local council chairmen, dismissed in Oyo State by Governor Seyi Makinde, have asserted that the governor’s response to the Supreme Court judgment regarding their unpaid allowances is “a clear deception and deliberate misinformation.”

The group of ousted chairmen and councillors, led by chairman Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye, made this assertion in Ibadan on Wednesday while addressing the media in response to the governor’s recent statements on the issue.

Recalling Makinde’s statement on Saturday, where he claimed that the former local government officials were causing distractions to his government, Abass-Aleshinloye argued that this should not be the case, especially when their group has lost 27 members to death in the last four years.

He attributed these unfortunate losses to a lack of funds to address their health challenges, resulting from the non-payment of their entitlements.

Abass-Aleshinloye said, “The court that ordered Makinde to pay our money is the Supreme Court of Nigeria and not any other court.

“So, his contention that he is going back to the Supreme Court is a clear deception and deliberate misinformation.

“The court gave its judgment on May 7 2021, a day on which it equally gave a similar judgment against the Governor of Katsina State. It suffices to say the latter has since complied with the judgment of the apex court.

“Makinde knows that the Supreme Court, which ordered him to pay in the first place, can no longer order him not to pay. This is just an exercise in futility.”

Abass-Aleshinloye revealed that the total entitlements, which were initially N7.2 billion, were reduced to N4.8 billion.

He further noted that the government under Governor Makinde only disbursed N1.5 billion in two instalments, falling short of the amount owed to the dismissed local council chairmen.

“The actual entitlement is N7.2 billion, but they pleaded, and we agreed that we would collect N4.8 billion in the interest of our dear state.

“They only paid N1.5 billion in two batches. One in 2021 and the other in 2022. Since then, they have refused to pay.

“As law-abiding citizens, we will continue to explore all legal means to get our entitlements. We are engaging our legal and technical advisers to get the entitlements as good citizens.