THE ILLEGAL COMPOSITION OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTION TRIBUNAL IN ONDO STATE
I have read media publications reporting the constitution of the Ondo State Local Government Election Tribunal today, Thursday 16th January 2025, ahead of the local government elections scheduled for this Saturday, 18th January.
Though I do not doubt the aptitude and competence of the appointees, I have a few critical observations on the composition of that Tribunal.
Section 88 (4) of the Local Government System, Establishment and Administration of Local Government Councils of Ondo State, Cap 87, Volume 2, Laws of Ondo State, 2006 empowers the Governor (acting in consultation with the Chief Judge of the State) to appoint the Chairman and other members of the Electoral Tribunal.
However, Section 88 (3) prescribes the qualifications of such appointees:
“The Chairman shall be a Judge of a High Court and other members shall be appointed from among the members of the judiciary not below the rank of a Chief Magistrate”
I have noticed that out of the six appointees, two are practicing lawyers (members of the Nigerian Bar Association and not the judiciary) and of the four remaining, two are below the prescribed rank of “Chief Magistrate”, based on their details published in the 2024 diary printed and distributed by the Ondo State Judiciary. Furthermore, the High Court Judge who would head the Tribunal as Chairman has also been omitted.
I submit humbly, on the premise of the statutory provisions cited, that the Tribunal is illegal, having been constituted in a manner fundamentally different from the mandatory prescriptions of the Law. Regrettably, it appears that my lord the Honorable Chief Judge and His Excellency the Governor were not properly advised as to the statutory requirements of constituting the Tribunal.
I hereby call on my lord the Honorable Chief Judge and His Excellency the Governor to dissolve and reconstitute the Tribunal, in order to avoid a constitutional crisis.
Adebayo Solagbade
(Legal Practitioner, Akure)
