Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has reinstated 15 Local Government chairmen sacked by his predecessor, Idris Wada, for defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
This is contained in a statement in Lokoja on Friday by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Kingsley Fanwo.
Bello was sworn-in on Wednesday.
The statement quoted the governor as saying that the action was informed by the need to promote the rule of law and ensured that no one was victimized based on political belief.
The statement said that the governor directed those that have been occupying the positions in the absence of the chairmen to hand over immediately and revert to their former positions.
“Governor Bello expects the normalisation to be carried out without rancour, regardless of political differences.
“Chairmen who were removed via impeachment are considered to have been removed legally and are bound to the legal status quo, “the statement said.
The governor directed the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and the Local Government Service Commission to comply immediately and accordingly.
Fifteen Local Government chairmen elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were banned from occupying the office after decamping to the APC in November, 2015.
