- Senator Dino Melaye asked Federal High Court Lokoja to stop the release of statutory allocations to the state’s 21 local governments
- The senator said he has interest in becoming Councillor in Ijumu Local Government Area
- He said and the refusal of the state government to conduct election into the councils was affecting his ambition
The Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Dino Melaye has prayed to a court to stop the release of statutory allocations for local governments in Kogi state.
NAIJ.com learnt that the Senator said he is interested in contesting for the Councillor seat of Ijumu local government but the government's refusal to contest election is affecting him.
Melaye alleged that the the government of Kogi state is handpicking people for the post of local government Councillor.
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He added that the absence of democratically-elected officers at the local government level has made the state government spend and dissipate the funds meant for the 21 councils.
Melaye is asking the Federal High Court, Lokoja to restrain the Minister of Finance, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) from remitting the funds meant for the local governments until election is conducted into the councils, according to a report by The Nation.
In an affidavit, which he personally sworn to, Melaye averred as follows:
“That I was informed by my lawyer, Mr Ajayi Jaiye Samuel, on the 5th day of May, 2017 at about 8pm while discussing the facts in this suit and my predicament arising from the refusal of the 6th defendant to conduct Local Government Elections in Kogi State, I verily believe him to be true and correct as follows:
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(i) That it is improper to put in charge the administration of the 8th to 28th defendants, persons including civil servants, who are not democratically elected.
(ii) That it is not proper for the 6th defendant to have refused to conduct Local Government Elections before and after the expiration of the tenure of the elected Local Government Councils of the 8th to 28th defendants.
(iii) That there cannot exist validly constituted Joint Local Government Account Allocation Committee of Kogi State without democratically elected chairmen and councillors of the 8th-28th defendants.
(iv) That is not proper for the 29th (CBN), 30th (the Minister of Finance) and 31st (the FAAC) defendants to continue to release monies accruing to the 8th -28th defendants from the Federation Account to the 7th defendant without democratically chairmen councillors of the 8th-28th defendants.
Melaye said he filed the suit because: “As an astute politician, I am interested in contesting for a councillorship position in my Local Government Area, Ijumu and I am also interested in the outcome of the local government elections in all the local government areas of Kogi State, the 8th-28th defendants in this suit.”
Melaye lawsuit is coming after Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ijumu Local Government Area, Mr. Gbenga Bright, in a press statement alleged that there was “desperate move” by the state government to stop work at the Kogi-west constituency office being built at Kabba, the headquarters of Kogi-west by Senator Dino Melaye, according to a report by Sahara Reporters.
NAIJ.com earlier reported that Melaye ridiculed the Kogi state governor Yahaya Bello for commissioning his first project since his assumption of duty in the state.
Melaye in a tweet mocked the governor for showcasing the commissioning of one project - a transformer - in Koton Karfi, Kogi state.
"It was a serious party at koton karfi as GYB commissioned his first project since he became the kogi state governor, one transformer kai!!!" Melaye tweeted.
Watch this NAIJ.com video of Kogi West Senatorial District making plans to recall Senator Melaye:
