Oyo Assembly Lifts Suspension On 13 Council Chairmen
Oyo State House of Assembly has lifted the suspension it placed on 13 caretaker chairmen in the state after it has received house committee report and an unreserved apology from the affected chairmen.
The Chairman, House Committee on local government and chieftaincy matters, Olusegun Popoola while presenting its committee report to the house during its Thursday plenary noted it was evident that the EndSARS protest disrupted many activities in the state including the affected chairmen inability to gain access to the house of assembly on or before the deadline required for submission of the report.
According to the report, the committee noted that failure of the 13 suspended caretaker chairmen to provide reports to the house on state of earth moving equipment in their various local governments was not an attempt to undermine the authority and powers of the house adding that it was borne out of exigencies beyond their immediate control as the time the reports were expected to be submitted by the house.
Also, some of the suspended chairmen affirmed that they were faced with administrative bottlenecks but indeed submitted their reports to the ministry of local government and chieftaincy matters as against submission to the house due to the EndSARS protests.
The house urged all heads of local government and LCDAs to embark on training to broaden their knowledge on local government administration in order to enhance its operations.
The house maintained that it will not in any way disrupt the smooth operation of local government administration stressing that its decisions and resolutions are always on the side of the people.
The Speaker, Rt Hon Adebo Ogundoyin, in his brief remarks before putting the vote to the house, expressed satisfaction at the report and stressed that the house of assembly will not compromise on delivering good governance to the people of Oyo state for any reason.
Ogundoyin added that the house will soon commence an extensive oversight function to all the 33 local governments and 35 LCDAs across the state to investigate projects implemented by the chairmen in order to ensure that efforts of the Seyi Makinde led government in providing good governance to the state is not subverted.
The house, however, accepted the report as presented and lifted the suspension on the 13 caretaker chairmen with immediate effect