LG chairmen suspension: Court orders Okpebholo, Edo assembly to maintain status quo

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State, the House of Assembly, and other parties involved in a suit filed by the 18 suspended local government chairmen to maintain status quo.

Justice Emeka Nwite issued the order after the plaintiffs’ counsel, Anderson Asemota, presented an ex-parte motion.

Earlier, Asemota had informed the court that his clients, who are local government chairmen, were suspended by the Edo State House of Assembly, with the resolution subsequently communicated to Governor Monday Okpebholo.

He explained that the motion sought an order directing all parties involved to maintain status quo as of December 15, 2024.

In a suit filed by 18 local government chairmen and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the Edo State government and other defendants, plaintiffs’ counsel, Asemota, argued that a July 2024 Supreme Court judgment had affirmed that governor’s lack the authority to suspend elected local government officials.

He claimed the suspension resulted from the chairmen’s refusal to operate a joint account with the governor, which aligns with the court’s decision.

Asemota emphasised that the plaintiffs sought to protect their constitutional rights and prevent self-help, requesting an order for all parties to maintain status quo as of December 15, 2024. Justice Nwite, acknowledging the urgency of the matter, ordered all parties to maintain status quo pending the hearing of the substantive suit on January 20, 2025.

The ex-parte motion, filed on December 24, 2024, lists the Edo State House of Assembly Speaker, the Assembly, the Governor, and other state and federal officials as defendants. The plaintiffs sought an interim injunction to restrain the defendants from implementing the suspension order until the case is resolved.

The plaintiffs sought an interim injunction to restrain the 3rd to 5th defendants, along with their servants, agents, and representatives, from implementing or acting on the assembly’s resolution suspending the plaintiffs and their deputies, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit filed alongside this application.