By Joseph ETTA in Calabar
A Calabar High Court (No. 4) presided over by Hon. Justice E. Ita has given judgement in favour of the State Chapter of the APC in Suit No: HC/514/2018 filed by the APC through their Lawyer, Chief (Barr) Utum Eteng against Gov. Ben Ayade and the State Attorney General, ordering the state government to conduct elections into the local council.
The claim of the APC against Gov. Ayade and the CRSG was that the Governor has no constitutional power rather than conduct elections into the 18 Local Government Councils of the State, or to constitute Caretaker Committees and or Security Committee or any other out-fit to run the affairs of the Local Government against the spirit and letter of the constitution and Judicial authorities.
The Court held that it is a breach of section 7(1) of the 1999 constitution for Gov. Ayade not to conduct election to usher in a democratically elected Local Government as stipulated by section 7(1) of the constitution and section 2(1) of the CRS Local Govt. Law 2007.
The Court frowned seriously on the action of the defendants and stated that there is no alternative to obeying the constitution and the law in the matter of this nature.
Chief Utum Eteng, who led 2 other lawyers from his chambers, Barr. Jude Otakpor and Ihua-Maduenyi complemented the Court of being on the side of the clear and unambiguous provision of section 7(1) of the 1999 constitution.
The Court frowned at the fact that more than 3 years after the expiration of the tenure in December 2018 of the democratically Local Government Councils put in place in December 2015 by the Gov. Liyel Imoke led administration, the Ayade Government has not found it proper to do the needful by conducting Local Government elections into the 18 Local Government Councils in the State.
