Group Urges Tinubu to Stop Alleged Plot to Suspend Bayelsa Council Chair

The Centre for Women's Rights and Development Initiative has called on President Bola Tinubu and the Attorney General of the Federation to intervene over an alleged plan to suspend the Chairperson of Sagbama Local Government Area in Bayelsa State, Alice Tangi.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the group's Executive Director, Marilyn Okoro, alleged that the Bayelsa State Government, working through the State House of Assembly and the Sagbama Legislative Council, was planning to suspend and remove Tangi from office.

Okoro described the alleged move as unconstitutional, anti-democratic, and a threat to local government autonomy, women's political participation, and the rule of law.

She noted that Tangi is the only woman currently serving as an elected local government chairperson in Bayelsa State and the second female to occupy the position in the state's history.

According to the group, any attempt to remove the council chairperson on the basis of political affiliation would violate her constitutional right to freedom of association.

"No citizen is under legal or moral obligation to join any political party. Political affiliation must remain a matter of personal conviction and free will, not compulsion, coercion or the threat of removal from office. "It cannot be a ground for the impeachment of an elected official with a legal tenure," Okoro said.

She argued that neither the governor nor the State House of Assembly has the constitutional authority to remove an elected local government chairperson before the official's tenure expires.

Okoro also referenced the Supreme Court's July 11, 2024 judgment granting financial and administrative autonomy to Nigeria's 774 local government councils, noting that the ruling directed that federal allocations be paid directly to local governments and barred the dissolution of democratically elected councils.

The group urged the Attorney General of the Federation to intervene and prevent any action it described as unconstitutional.

It also called on the Federal Government to ensure the continued payment of statutory allocations directly to Sagbama Local Government Area in line with the Supreme Court judgment.

The organisation also appealed to security agencies to guarantee Tangi's safety and urged Bayelsa women and other Nigerians to resist what it described as politically motivated intimidation against female political office holders.

The Bayelsa State Government, the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and the Sagbama Legislative Council had not responded to the allegations at the time of filing this report.