Sacked Oyo council chairmen return to negotiation table

Court urges amicable resolution, adjourns till Feb. 21

The warring parties in the crisis rocking the local council administration in Oyo State have gone back to the negotiation table with a view to exploring out-of-court settlement for peace to reign in the state.

This development came few hours after the initial meeting hit the rock and the parties accused each other of non-commitment.They reached the compromise to return to the negotiation table when they appeared before Justice Mashud Abass of an Oyo State High Court, sitting in Ibadan, yesterday.

Justice Abass has, however, adjourned the case to Friday, February 21, 2020, for the parties to return to court and give reports on the out-court-settlement.The judge, who lauded the parties for considering the option of amicable resolution of the matter, urged them to exercise maturity while discussing the option of amicable settlement.He also implored the parties to allow compromise so that they could reach amicable resolutions.

The court said the report that would be given by the parties on the next day of adjournment would determine whether the out-of-court settlement would work or they would have to go the whole hog of litigation, adding that judgment would be given according to the law, and in line with judicial precedents, especially of the higher courts.

The presiding judge maintained that parties in the matter were stakeholders in the Oyo State project, noting that they would have to take the most valuable decision in the matter with a view to amicably resolving the crisis in the interest of the state.He added that all parties in the matter must exercise a lot of maturity while discussing amicable resolution, noting that settlement “means a little compromise here and there.”

“I did say during the last adjournment that all parties in this case are stakeholders in the Oyo State project. So, all parties must exercise a lot of maturity. The only duty of this court is to listen to all facts as you bring them and apply the law. The law is there, nobody can change it. The court cannot change the law. But the most valuable decision in this case will be taken by the parties.”