In response to the erosion of democracy in Benue, the Senate has passed a resolution urging the Federal Government to withhold statutory allocations from local government councils governed by unelected officials.
This call to action comes after the democratically elected councils were dissolved by the Benue Government, replacing them with caretaker committees.
Senator Abba Moro (PDP-Benue) sponsored the motion, highlighting the constitutional violation of replacing elected councils with caretaker committees.
He emphasized that such committees are alien to the 1999 Constitution, and there are existing court rulings against tampering with the tenure of elected local councils.
Senator Victor Umeh (LP-Anambra) stressed the constitutional guarantee of democratically elected officials at the local government level.
Emphasizing that the replacement of elected officials with caretaker committees violates the Constitution, he called upon the National Assembly to defend these fundamental laws.
Senator Adams Oshoimole (APC-Edo) referenced a Supreme Court ruling that denies state governors the power to dissolve elected local government councils.
He urged the Senate to intervene, preventing the Minister of Finance from releasing statutory allocations to unelected councils.
Senator Ali Ndume (APC-Borno) emphasized the constitutional nature of the issue, urging dissolved councils to seek redress through legal channels.
President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, declared the dissolution of elected local government councils by state governments as illegal.
In a unified stance, the Senate called upon Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue to restore the elected local government councils in adherence to constitutional provisions.
