Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state, has ordered the immediate reinstatement of all local government chairmen that were relieved of their positions by the administration of Idris Wada, his predecessor.
Edward Onoja, chief of staff to the governor, announced this in a statement issued on Friday.
The statement said Bello was committed to his contract with the people of the state “to promote the rule of law and ensure that no one is oppressed based on political beliefs or any other reason whatsoever”.
Bello directed that all vice-chairmen who have been acting in the capacity of chairmen, should to revert to their original positions.
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He said his directive had nothing to do with chairmen who were impeached, emphasising that were considered to have been “legally removed and are bound to the legal status quo”.
The governor asked the ministry of local government and chieftaincy affairs and the local government service commission to comply with the directive immediately.
Wada was alleged to have dismissed the chairmen for defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
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Bello has also dissolved the boards of the state’s parastatals and agencies.
Onoja disclosed this in a statement, directing the chairmen and directors-general of the affected agencies to hand over government’s property in their possession to the most senior officers.
It explained that the dissolution was to pave way for the restructuring of the boards and to take stock of their state with a view to positioning them for greater efficiency and performance.
However, the statement added that the office of the accountant-general and three statutory boards are not affected by the order.
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They are: judicial service commission, civil service commission and the State Independent Electoral Commission.
Bello thanked all the chairmen and members of the dissolved boards for their services to the state and wished them well in their future endeavours.
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