The appellate court which maintained that the case that was brought before it by the appellants had merit, went ahead to set-aside an earlier verdict of a High Court in Kogi State that okayed the replacement of all the LG chairmen and their councillors.
Justice Mohammed held that the appellants were wrongfully removed from office before the expiration of their tenure.
It would be recalled that Justice Alaba Omolaye- Abilene of the Kogi High Court sitting in Koton Karfe had in a verdict he delivered on December 9, 2014, cancelled the May 4, 2013 local government election that produced the appellants.
The court had said the sack of the local government officials was based on the improper composition of the state Independent Electoral Commission (KOSIEC) and declared its activities as null and void.
The decision of the trial court followed a suit that was filed by the Kogi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
APC had dragged the state government, KOSIEC and the council chairmen before the court, contesting the composition of KOSIEC and subsequent conduct of the local government elections in the state.
It was the contention of the party that the former Chairman of KOSIEC who conducted the election that produced the appellants, was a card-carrying member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
In his judgment that was set-aside yesterday, Justice Omolaye- Ajileye, ordered the local government chairmen to hand over to most senior directors in each of the 21 local government areas of the state with immediate effect.
Justice Ajileye had explained that the action of KOSIEC, its chairman and other members, ran contrary to section 200(1) of 1999 Constitution as amended.
He also declared the composition of KOSIEC as unconstitutional, illegal and void.
According to the trial judge, the aforementioned section of the constitution, was designed by the lawmakers to promote the principle of fairness, independence and transparency, stressing that it was also to express the notion of neutrality.
He said: “As an umpire, KOSIEC must not only be neutral, but manifestly be seen to be neutral.
“Given the neutrality of these notions of neutrality and transparency, embedded in the work and function of KOSIEC, it will be inappropriate to interpret section 200(1) of the Constitution as amended in a way suggesting that the chairman of such commission can go completely out of his way, not only to join a political party but proceed to contest the primaries of an election under the umbrella of a political party and come back to organise an election involving his party and other political parties as it happened in this case.
“And this is after the constitution had been amended in terms of section 200(1) of the constitution as amended, he pointed out the truth is that the constitution has by that singular act been violated the tincture of impunity.
“I therefore hold that the membership of 4th and 5th defendant of 3rd defendant including the contest of primaries by the 4th defendant under the platform of the 9th defendant (PDP) compromised, irredeemably, the integrity and neutrality of 3rd defendant to hold May 4, 2013 local government election in Kogi State,” he had ruled.
Justice Ajileye was however overruled by the appellate court yesterday which further nullified the dissolution that was carried out by Governor Wada in 2014.
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