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Absence of cabinet not affecting governance – Sanwo-Olu has more days to appoint commissioners, says LASG

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The Lagos state government says the “wheel of governance is moving progressively” despite the absence of an executive council.

In a statement on Thursday, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, was running on “auto-pilot” without an executive council.

“Presently, Lagos state is operating without an executive council in place. The house of assembly has since been inaugurated and its officers duly elected,” the statement reads.

“Money is being spent daily without commissioners and without an executive council duly constituted.

“A state as cosmopolitan and complex as Lagos deserves a functional cabinet, for the certainty of administration and predictability of policies.”

Responding, Gboyega Akosile, chief press secretary to Sanwo-Olu, said the state has not broken any law by not yet having a cabinet in place.

He said the constitution allows for 60 days after oath-taking, noting that the governor has only spent 39 days in office.

Akosile added that governance in the state is moving progressively even without the cabinet members.

“Our attention has been drawn to an unsolicited counsel from Mr Ebun Adegboruwa, alleging that the Lagos state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu is running a one-man show, simply because he has not constituted his cabinet yet since he resumed office for the second term,” the chief press secretary said in a statement on Friday.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Nigerian constitution is very clear about the number of days required for a state governor to send his nominees for various cabinet offices to the state house of assembly for legislative approval.

“According to the fifth alteration (No. 23), the bill seeks to alter the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, 1999 to require the president and governors to submit the names of persons nominated as ministers or commissioners within 60 days of taking the oath of office for confirmation by the senate or state houses of assembly; and for related matters.

“Governor Sanwo-Olu has only spent 39 days in the office and therefore, has not flouted any law.

“Secondly, we must remind Mr Adegboruwa, that Lagos remains a model state, where governance issues are taken very seriously and as such, his comparison of the state with other states he used in his submission is laughable.

“We also need to remind the erudite lawyer that Osun state governor, Mr Ademola Adeleke was sworn into the office in November 2022, making it more than seven months before he sent his cabinet nominees to the Osun state house of assembly.

“We must also enlighten Mr Adegboruwa, that with or without the cabinet members at the moment, the wheel of governance is moving progressively in Lagos.

“The permanent secretaries are fully in charge as the chief accounting officers of their individual ministries and they are working tirelessly with governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in conjunction with the deputy governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, secretary to the state government, the chief of staff and deputy chief of staff to the governor as well as the head of the service, to achieve the administration’s vision of a greater Lagos rising anchored on the THEMES+ agenda.”

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Edo PDP opposes suspension of LG bosses by state assembly, says ‘It’s unconstitutional’

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo says the suspension of all the chairpersons and their deputies in the 18 LGAs of the state is “unconstitutional”.

The chairpersons and their deputies were suspended on Tuesday by the Edo state house of assembly for two months over alleged misappropriation of funds.

Blessing Agbebaku, the speaker of the house, said Monday Okpebholo, governor of Edo, had written a petition to the assembly regarding the chairpersons’ refusal to submit the financial records of their LGs to the state government.

In a statement, Anthony Aziegbemi, chair of the PDP in Edo, said the “illegal” suspension is a disregard to a supreme court decision that affirms the autonomy and independence of local governments.

“How can the governor direct the State Assembly to suspend democratically elected chairmen of the 18 local councils for insubordination when these elected officials enjoy autonomy and independence as enshrined in the constitution and are not subordinates of the governor, the state assembly, or any other arm of government?,” he said.

“We are also aware that the chairmen and their vices were not even given the opportunity to be heard in their detence and were suspended unheard on watery trumped up charges, in total disregard to the constitution.

“We want to restate that the constitution remains supreme, and any attempt to undermine its provisions or disregard the judiciary and its rulings is not only illegal but also a direct attack on democracy and the rule of law.

“The speaker of the Edo state house of assembly and the entire assembly have clearly overstepped their constitutional mandates with this illegal action and we urge them to immediately reverse its decision, in respect to the rule of law and democratic governance.”

Aziegbemi said the suspended officials should report to their councils on Wednesday and carry on with their normal duties.

Also speaking on the issue, Anthony Ehilebo, a PDP chieftain, said Okpebholo has no legal backing to request the financial records of the LGAs.

“In fact, the governor and the assembly members are in contempt of the supreme court,” Ehilebo said when he appeared on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.

“The purported suspension of the local government chairmen by the state assembly is as absurd as the president asking the national assembly to suspend state governors because they refused to submit statements of accounts to him.

“This is a witch hunt. The LGA chairmen are all PDP members.”

The lawyer said the suspension “is unknown to law and will be ignored”.

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Ex-sports minister Bolaji Abdullahi resigns from PDP

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Bolaji Abdullahi, a former minister of sports and youth development, has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He disclosed his intention to resign in a letter dated December 16 and addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Ubadawaki, Kwara state.

Abdullahi confirmed the development to TheCable on Monday.

The ex-minister also said he is yet to decide which political platform to pitch tent with.

“The decision of what to do and where to go will be taken in the future that’s left to God,” he said.

In the resignation letter, Abdullahi said he reached the “difficult” decision after days of reflection and introspection.

“I write to formally resign my membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” the letter reads.

“I have had ample time to reflect, and I have come to the difficult conclusion that this is the only tenable option for me at this time.

“Mr. Chairman, please permit me to express, through you, my gratitude to the leadership of the party for the opportunities that I have had to serve the state and the country on its platform, and for the great moments we have shared.”

Abdullahi was the PDP candidate for the Kwara central senatorial district election in 2023. He lost the race to Salihu Mustapha of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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PDP debunks inviting Jonathan to contest 2027 presidency

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has not extended an invitation to former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the presidency on its platform in the 2027 election.

Speaking with BBC Hausa, Ibrahim Abdullahi, deputy spokesperson of the country’s main opposition party, said no ticket has been issued to the former president.

Abdullahi said the party has many eligible people who can contest for the presidency on its platform, adding that a recent interview he granted was interpreted to mean that Jonathan he asked to run on the PDP platform.

“The report that PDP has issued its presidential ticket to former President Goodluck Jonathan or invited him to contest the 2027 presidential election is not true,” he said.

“What happened is this, I had an interview with a journalist where we discussed some issues.

“But in the course of the interview, he mentioned President Jonathan, asking about our opinion of him, because there are reports that he is being urged to run for the presidency.

“I responded by saying that he (Jonathan) is eligible to contest the election, because he is a Nigerian and has the right to do that by the provision of the law, and he still has one more term left.

“So, there is nothing wrong about him contesting the presidential election because he is eligible in the face of the law.”

The deputy spokesperson said the ticket would be given to someone who has shown interest in running for the presidency.

Jonathan, then in the PDP, lost the presidential election to former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

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