Sanwo-Olu, three others taken to court over panel of enquiry composition

• ‘Disregard falsehood of pension laws’ repeal’
• Ikorodu youths petition gov over exclusion from commission

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Chairman of the state’s Judicial Panel of Enquiry and two others have been dragged before the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, over likelihood of bias in setting up the panel.

The plaintiffs, Adekunle Augustine and Simeon A. Akogwu, are praying the court to disband the panel on the ground that the state governor, being a party in the matter, did not exercise his power in public interest by setting up the panel.

Defendants in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/1572/20 and dated November 11, 2020 include the Lagos State governor, judicial panel of enquiry, chairman of the panel and the attorney-general of Lagos State as the first, second, third and fourth defendants respectively.

The plaintiffs, in the suit, filed through their counsel, Samuel Adams, are asking the court for a declaration that Lagos State governor, being a party to the matter under investigation, cannot set up a panel to investigate self as the outcome of the panel will be in his favour, among others.

MEANWHILE, Lagos State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged residents of the state to disregard the falsehood surrounding Sanwo-Olu’s move to repeal the pension laws as they affect the past governors and their deputies.

In a statement, yesterday, Spokesman of Lagos APC, Mr. Seye Oladejo, said such allusion was false, malicious and anti-development.

“Our attention has been drawn to the widely circulated falsehood about the purported truth behind the proposed repeal of the pension laws in Lagos State as they affect the past governors and their deputies,” he said.

The party said Sanwo-Olu’s decision had been widely applauded by a cross section of well-meaning people.

IN another development, a group, the Concerned Youths of lkorodu Division, has petitioned Lagos State governor for excluding the division from the newly-constituted Lagos State Local Government Service Commission.

In the petition, signed by Mr. Kunle Adelabu, the group said that the action did not only expose a presumed resentment against the division, but also berates some extant laws, especially Section 14 (4) of the constitution.

The youths, therefore, appealed to the governor to correct the injustice by reconstituting the commission to include a representative from Ikorodu Division before sending it to the House of Assembly for screening and approval.