In one fell swoop, the Edo State House of Assembly on Tuesday sent packing the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the 18 local government councils in the state. Acting on a petition by Governor Monday Okpebholo, the 8th Assembly passed a resolution suspending the councils’ leadership for two months for alleged corruption and insubordination. The House mandated leaders of the legislative arms to take over leadership of their respective councils. In a swift reaction however, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in a statement by its caretaker committee chairman, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, directed the suspended chairmen to stay put in their offices, stating that both the legislature and the governor lacked the power to suspend them. He called on the federal government to seize the allocations to the 18 local government councils in line with the Supreme Court judgement granting autonomy to the 774 local government councils in the country. The suspension of the councils’ chairmen and their deputies was sequel to a motion moved by the member representing Esan North East 1, Isibor Adeh and seconded by the member representing Akoko-Edo 2, Donald Okogbe. The state governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, had earlier written a petition to the House over refusal of the chairmen to heed his directive to submit their financial records to the state government, and demanded the dissolution of the councils. In the letter, the governor, who described their action as an act of insubordination and gross misconduct, requested the House to look into the matter. The lawmakers, majority of them members of the PDP, however opted to suspend the chairmen to allow for an investigation into the governor’s allegations. Recall that Governor Okpebholo had on Tuesday December 3, 2024, ordered the council chairmen to withing 48 hours, submit their financial statements to the Assets Verification Committee through the office of the secretary to the state government. The instruction was handed down to them when the chairmen paid a courtesy visit to the governor who was represented by his deputy, Dennis Idahosa, where they all pledged their loyalty to him. The chairmen however spurned the directive and instead approached the court seeking to restrain the governor from compelling them to obey his order. When the matter came up for debate at plenary, there was rowdiness following a motion and counter motion. While Emakhu Isibor Adeh moved the motion for the suspension of the councils’ leadership, seconded by Donald Okogbe, Asonsere Nicholas Friday moved a countermotion, arguing that the allegations should not be used against innocent individuals. Asonsere, whose counter motion was seconded by a member representing Oredo East Constituency, Frank Uyi Omosigho, emphasised that if there were issues of misconduct and corruption, everybody couldn’t be corrupt at the same time. The Majority Leader of the House, Charity Aiguobarueghian and the Deputy Speaker, Edeko Maria Omozele, were to intervene, suggesting that the issue be referred to the House Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. The speaker of the House, Blessing Agbebaku, insisted that all the members must speak on the matter. Speaking after various remarks, Agbebaku, who insisted that all the members must speak on the matter, directed the clerk of the House, Yahaya Omogbai, to do a head count of the members who supported or opposed the suspension of the council’s chairmen and their deputies. The outcome was that 14 out of the 24 supported the governor’s request while six of them opposed the motion while three members abstained from voting. Denouncing the suspension of the councils’ leadership, the PDP recalled that prior to “this illegal suspension”, the state Chief Judge, Daniel Okungbowa had told the assembly that they lacked the powers to unilaterally tamper with the affairs of elected local government councils following the financial autonomy granted the local governments by the recent Supreme Court ruling. Aziegbemi said there was a subsistent restraining order obtained by the councils against any form of suspension or dissolution handed down by the state lawmakers, contending that whatever action they may have taken remained unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect. According to the PDP, “What the Assembly did today cannot stand because of the Apex Court ruling granting financial autonomy to elected local government councils in the country. “We therefore call on the Federal Government to obey the latest judgement which it sponsored, by seizing allocations meant for the 18 local government councils as the Supreme Court said until the Chairmen and Vice Chairmen return back to their seats.” Aziegbemi further argued that following the apex court’s ruling, local government councils were not answerable to either the state governor and state assembly but to elected councillors, a position affirmed by the Attorney General of the Federation, (AGF) Lateef Fagbemi.