Court restrains Kwara Governor from removing Auditor General

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria sitting in Akure, Ondo State has granted order restraining Kwara State Governor AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman from forcing the State Auditor General to hand over the duties of his office.

The Auditor General, Mr. Samuel Omoniyi Adeyeye has dragged Governor AbdulRazaq, Speaker of Kwara House of Assembly, Kwara House Public Accounts Committee Chairman, Kwara State Civil Service Commission and the Kwara State Head of Service before the court asking among others that his earlier purported removal from office was grossly unconstitutional and a breach of his constitutional rights.

Adeyeye had in his suit before the court asked that his removal from office of Auditor-General by the defendants in his suit was a breach of Section 127 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended be declared that such was in consequence null, void and of no effect.

He also asked that his letter of removal from office of the Auditor-General of Kwara State by the Chairman, Civil Service Commission dated 28th January, 2022 was incompetent, null and void.

He prayed for the order of the court declaring that he remains the Auditor-General of Kwara State without a loss of his full salary, emoluments, privileges and entitlements.

However, Adeyeye also approached the court, asking for an order of interim injunction restraining the governor from removing him from office or forcing him to hand over the duties of his office as Auditor General of the state, pending the determination of his Motion on Notice which has been granted by the industrial court.

Hearing in the suit has been fixed for Thursday, 10th March, 2022.

Edited by Felix Ajide

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