The Edo State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has said it will take legal action against Governor Godwin Obaseki, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for setting up liaison officers in the 18 local government areas of the state.
The state publicity secretary of the party, Barr. Peter Uwadiae, said this when speaking with newsmen on Monday, January 10, 2023, in Benin City.
He said the position of liaison officer is alien to the Nigerian constitution but has been imported to Edo State by the state governor.
Uwadiae said the governor was democratically elected and should replicate the same in the local governments by conducting the local government elections.
“Going through the constitution from the first word to the last word of the 1999 constitution, there is nowhere it is so captured that a local government should be manned by a liaison officer.
“And what we have discovered, is that those appointed have taken over the various local governments as if they are the chairmen duly elected.
“It is a legal aberration, it is an affront to democratic practice in Nigeria and Edo State, people are worried that the present government is leading us into a state of political dictatorship.
” If the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria did not make provision for a liaison officer, where is the governor drawing his power and authority to appoint liaison officers when we are under a democratic practice?
“This governor was elected into office through a democratic process and he swore to uphold the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria but today, what we see him do in Edo State is to tell the Edo people that it was a mistake to have voted him in as the governor of Edo State.
” We are saying as a party that we detest, it is not only illegal, we ask that the governor, forthwith, reverse that appointment and conduct local government elections in the 18 local government councils so that the integrity of democratic practices will be restored in Edo State otherwise, we will not fail as a party to approach the court to give legal interpretation to what has happened in Edo State.
“I am putting my legal team together and in no distance time if the governor fails to reverse this ugly trend that he has foisted on Edo people we will approach the court for a legal interpretation”, he said.
The APC publicity secretary appealed to the Edo people to be calmed because they as a party, APC, are looking at all the legal apparatus to be explored so that they can be taken away from this shackle of dictatorship being foisted on them by the governor.