Newly sworn-in Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has reinstated 15 Local Government chairmen sacked by his predecessor, Idris Wada, for decamping to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
This is contained in a statement issued in Lokoja on Friday by Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Kingsley Fanwo.
The statement quoted Mr. Bello as saying that the action was informed by the need to promote the rule of law and ensured that no one was victimized based on political belief.
The statement said that the governor directed those that have been occupying the positions in the absence of the chairmen to hand over immediately and revert to their former positions.
“Governor Bello expects the normalisation to be carried out without rancour, regardless of political differences.
“Chairmen who were removed via impeachment are considered to have been removed legally and are bound to the legal status quo”, the statement said.
The governor directed the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and the Local Government Service Commission to comply immediately and accordingly.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the affected council chairmen elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were banned from occupying the office after decamping to the APC in November, 2015 by then Governor Wada.
