The state administration of Ondo State has suspended the recently appointed Caretaker Committee Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen for Local Councils and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).The government, acting through the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, suspended the 33 members of the caretaker committee and directed the Heads of Local Government Administration (HOLGAs) to assume control of the councils' operations right away.
The administration stated that the decision to suspend the caretaker committees was dependent on the ongoing legal cases regarding their nominations in a circular signed by Adewale Alonge for the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry.
The memo said that all government property was to be seized by the HOLGAs along with the caretaker chairmen and vice chairmen who had been suspended.
"The Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs has learned that some people holding these former positions are still displaying themselves in them, even after a court of competent jurisdiction suspended all recently appointed Caretaker Committee members for Local Government (LGAS) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAS) in the state.
As a result, I have been instructed to ask that, while all legal issues pertaining to this subject are being resolved, the Heads of Local Government Administration (HOLGAs) in each of the LGAs and LCDAs take on the role of acting heads of their respective local government areas and LCDAs immediately.
Additionally, I've been asked to ask all HOLGAs to promptly retrieve and safely store all of the LGAs' and LCDAs' assets and properties, along with those of these former caretaker chairmen, vice chairmen, and other members, within their respective local government areas and local council development areas.
The members of the caretaker committee were chosen earlier this year, before the passing of the late former governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, following which legal actions were taken to challenge the nominations.