No fewer than 176 councillors from 16 local government councils of Ekiti State have approached a Federal High Court, Abuja, praying it to nullify and set aside the appointment and subsequent inauguration of caretaker executives by Governor Kayode Fayemi.

The plaintiffs, through their counsel, Chief R.A Lawal, SAN, urged the court to determine whether having regard to the combined provisions of section 1 (1) and Section 7(1) of the 1999 constitution, the Ekiti state government can appoint caretaker committees in place of democratically elected officials.

But the state government, through the Attorney General, Mr. Dayo Akinlaja (SAN) asked the Court to dismiss the suit for lacking in merit and constituting an abuse of court process.

In a preliminary objection against the suit, Akinlaja said a High Court in Ekiti State has decided the same issues canvassed by the plaintiffs.

The Plaintiffs are asking the court to determine whether the Accountant General of the Federation either by himself, agents, privies or howsoever, has the powers to allocate funds to LocalGovernment councils whose executives are not known to law, not being democratically elected.

Should the answers to the questions be in the negative, the Plaintiffs claimed they are entitled to a declaration that under and by virtue of the provision of section 7 of the constitution, the action of the state government dissolving the 16 Local Government Council in Ekiti state amounted to an act of illegality and therefore null and void and of no effect whatsoever.