Osun‘s Change Of Name Illegal – Court

-
An  Osun State High Court  sitting in Ilesa  has  declared  that the change of  name to  “State of  Osun” by Gov. Rauf Aregbesola  is illegal, null and void.
Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Gov. Osun State
*Rauf Aregbesola
Delivering  the judgment  on Thursday, Justice Yinka Afolabi  ruled that the law and its makers  were unknown to the 1999 Constitution.
Delivering judgment which lasted more than one hour,  the judge chided Aregbesola for deliberately and singlehandedly renaming the state,  contrary to the known norms and the nation’s constitution.
He also declared that the makers of the law, who are currently serving as members of the State House of Assembly, were not sworn in as members of the “State of Osun House of Assembly” but as members of Osun State House of Assembly going by the seventh schedule  of the constitution.
The judge said that since the creation of the state in 1991, previous governments used the constitutionally  envisaged name of  Osun State.
All the other 35 states of the federation, he added,  had  not deviated from the constitutional names given to them.
“The executive governor of the state changed the name in 2011. The renaming of a state goes further and deeper for anyone to singlehandedly do.
“To re-order the name of Osun State  as “State of Osun” is hereby declared  as illegal, null and void.
“On the oath of allegiance, I want to state that the Seventh Schedule is part of the law.
“It is not a mere draft or mere oath. It does not give room for any alteration. After deposing to an oath of office, you cannot turn around to do otherwise,’’ Afolabi stated.
The judge threw out all  the arguments by the State Attorney-General, Dr Basiru Ajibola,  who stood in as counsel for the  governor and the state government.
He, however, granted all the seven prayers of the plaintiff.
The case was instituted by a human rights activist, Mr Kanmi Ajibola, who had challenged  the legality of the “State of Osun Land Use Charge Law.’’
Ajibola had gone to court in 2016, asking for certain reliefs after being served a notice by a private company known as “Interspatial Limited.”
The notice was christened “State of Osun Land Use Charge Annual Demand Notice”  and signed by one Mrs. A. Ogunlumade, Permanent Secretary in the  Ministry of Finance.
According to him, the notice was addressed to him as the property owner of No. 42, Onigbogi Street off Ibala, Ilesa West,  and  served on August 15,  2016.
Some of the reliefs he sought for included a declaration that the “State of Osun Land Use Charge Law 2016, ” having being enacted by a  legislative body that is not known to the constitution and  the state not known to the 1999 constitution,  be declared  illegal and unconstitutional.
Ajibola also asked the court to set aside the “State of Osun Land Use Charge Law, 2016” having been  enacted by a  legislative body that is not known to the constitution and the state not known to the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
The Attorney-General, however, said  the judgment would be appealed.
Credit: THE NATION

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hon. Benedicta Ebuehi Felicitates With Gov Obaseki On Fifth Anniversary

-
Image
  By Suleiman Ugbokhe His Excellency, Godwin Obaseki, Executive Governor, Edo State The immediate past Executive Chairman of Etsako East local government area, Hon. (Princess) Benedicta Ebuehi has congratulated His Excellency, Godwin Obaseki on the occasion of his fifth anniversary as the Executive Governor of Edo state. In a statement personally signed by her and made available to newsmen, Hon. Ebuehi stated that ”It is heartwarming that your coming into office as Executive Governor of Edo state five years ago has transformed the state into a viable tier of government whose policies and programmes have continued to attract admiration and consultancy from your counterparts in other states of the federation." The erstwhile council boss noted that even in the choice of personnel to help drive the policies and programmes of the administration of the 'Heartbeat of the Nation,' Governor Godwin Obaseki has been meticulous, which has resulted in a peaceful, harmonious and seam...
Read more

Imiegba And Children Of Pa Akubo Esuka Celebrate His Enthronement As Ódegbé

-
Image
  By Suleiman Ugbokhe Pa Akubo Yakubu Esuka, the Ódegbé of Imiegba Imiegba Community, Three Ivie Clan in Etsako East local government area was in a celebration mode on Sunday, December 27, 2020, when the indigenes both home and abroad joined the children of Pa Akubo Yakubu Esuka to celebrate his enthronement as the Ódegbé of Imiegba. Pa. Akubo Yakubu Esuka was born to the family of Mr. Esuka and Madam Ogenikho about 104 years ago in Imiegba. In his quest for a better life, he left his birth place, Imiegba, in 1944, with his maternal uncle, Pa Etsekhumhe Ogweli for Minna where he did manial jobs for some time before he left for Kaduna with a single mission: To join the army. But it turned out to be mission impossible as Pa Akubo was not accepted into the army "for reasons I don't know," he says. "I then proceeded to Kano from Kaduna with the hope of securing a job. I was still not able to get a job." As the saying goes, 'no place like home,' Pa Akubo had ...
Read more

One Year After ... Hon. Princess Benedicta Ebuehi Remains The Toast Of Etsako East People

-
Image
By Suleiman Ugbokhe Hon. Princess Benedicta Ebuehi, Former Executive Chairman, Etsako East Local Government Area It is one year now since Hon. Princess Benedicta Ebuehi left office as the Executive Chairman of Etsako East local government area, a position she stepped into when the then helmsman, Aremiyau Momoh (Mbakwe), under whom she was the vice chairman, was removed from office by the state government two years into the three-year tenure. On assuming office as Executive Chairman, Princess Benedicta left no one in doubt that she was coming into office to serve the people of Etsako East local government area, and not to canonise, imperialise herself as was the case before her. One of the first things she did to demonstrate her people-oriented policy was the purchase and installation of a transformer at Awuyemi (Ward 5), to end years of darkness in that part of Okpella. It is very easy to gloss over this achievement but when the socioeconomic ripple effects of restoring power supply t...
Read more