By Tunde Olamilekan
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof. Mike Ozekhome, has urged the federal government to release the withheld allocations meant for local governments in Osun State to the council officials elected under the Peoples Democratic Party.
This was as he urged the Federal Government to separate the office of the Attorney General of the Federation from that of the Minister of Justice, warning that combining the two undermines justice delivery.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday, said the Attorney General, as the country’s Chief Law Officer, should remain impartial.
Ozekhome faulted recent actions of the AGF over the disbursement of local government allocations in Osun State.
He recalled how a High Court nullified the elections that brought All Progressives Congress council officials to office, yet the Attorney General still wrote a letter directing funds to them.
“He knew very well they had been sacked from office and never reinstated by any court of law.
“So as of today, after the court gave the go-ahead for a new election and the PDP councillors and chairmen won, there should be nothing stopping them from receiving the funds,” Ozekhome said.
He also said President Tinubu’s administration must learn from history, adding that, “The Supreme Court held that the federal government could never withhold the funds made for local governments in the state,” he reminded, referencing the 2004 case between Lagos State and the federal government during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure.
“If the Attorney General failed to give the President the right advice, it is a failure on his part. And if he did give that advice, and Mr. President refused, all he needed to do was resign from office,” he stated.
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