By Vincent Ujumadu
AWKA — HUMAN rights activist and chieftain of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Mr. Jezie Ekejiuba, has dragged Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State to court over what he called continued use of appointed caretaker committees to run the 21 local government areas of the state.

Also joined in the suit No: N250/2010 filed at the High Court sitting in Awka are the state House of Assembly and the state Attorney General.

Ekejiuba said as a member and duly nominated candidate of APGA for the position of a councillor for Owerri Ezukala Ward 11 in Orumba South Local Government Area since 2003, he had suffered so much as a result of continued postponement of the local government election.

Essentially, Ekejiuba is asking the court to declare that in view of sections 1(2) and 7 (1) of the 1999 constitution, the appointment, setting up, dealing with or recognition of the local government transition committees or caretaker committees or sole administrators or heads of local government administrations or whatever name so-called in any of the 21 local government areas of the state by the governor or any of the defendants from May 29, 2003, to date was illegal, unconstitutional, null and void ab initio.

He also wants the court to declare that it was illegal and unconstitutional for the governor of Anambra State or any of the defendants to appoint, deal with or recognise such committees at the local government level.

According to Ekejiuba, the court should also declare that it is unconstitutional and illegal to dissolve democratically elected local government councils guaranteed under the constitution when fixed tenure of office of such councils had not expired by law.

He said that in view of the provisions of the constitution, the court should declare null and void any law passed by Anambra State House of Assembly and assented to by the governor which empowered him, the governor, to dissolve democratically elected local government councils which tenure had not expired.

He also urged the court to declare that it is illegal for anybody who is not an elected local government official to perform such functions reserved for democratically elected officials.

Another relief sought by the plaintiff is a perpetual injunction restraining the governor or other defendants from further appointment of such committees, adding that such appointments constitute grave threat to the existence of local government system in Anambra State and continuance of grass root democracy in Nigeria.

In a 25_ point affidavit deposed to by Ekejiuba, he said that as a human rights activist and lawyer, he owes it a duty to the public to seek the interpretation of any section of the 1999 constitution for the advancement of peace, democracy, rule of law, order and good governance in the country.

He argued that while there had not been any local government election in the state since the one conducted by the administration of General Abdulsalami Abubarkar in December, 1988, other elections had been taking place in the state at which successive federal and state legislators and governors for the state were elected with full complements of security and political will, adding that it is therefore not enough to site insecurity as reason for not conducting the local government election

He said since the constitution of Nigeria guarantees elective constitutional democracy at the three tiers of government, it is illegal to be operating constitutional democracy at the other two tiers, while undermining that of the local governments.