Imo State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Soronnadi Njoku has said that the state government may appeal Thursday’s judgment which ordered Gov. Rochas Okorocha to reinstate the 27 elected council chairmen and their councilors.
Njoku added that the state government is still studying the judgment and would decide on the next line of action.
Recall that the Appeal Court sitting in Owerri, on Thursday reinstated the ousted council officials who were sacked by the governor in a state broadcast on June 6th, 2011. The ousted challenged the action but the state Chief Judge; Justice Benjamin Njemanze delivered a controversial judgment on the matter. Justice Njemanze held that the governor has no right to sack democratically elected council officials but at the same time ruled that the ousted officials could not prove their sack.
On the strength of his ruling, the affected officials resumed work the following day at their various secretariats, but were chased out by security operatives.
In the unanimous judgment, the court declared that going by Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 23(1) of the Local Government Law 2000 (as amended), the governor has no power to dissolve democratically elected councils. The court presided over by Justice V.
Abba- Aji also stated that  Gov. Okorocha ahas no powers to set up transition committees to replace elected copuncil adminstrators and added that the appellants were still the democratically elected chairmen of their councils starting from August 7, 2010 when they were elected until their tenures expires.
One of the ousted council chairmen who ere elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Mrs Ruby Emele of Isiala Mbano expressed happiness that they have finally won the case.Her counterparts were no less happy promising to work with the governor.
Political analysts opine that the governor should reinstate the victorious officila without furthee delay as the Supreme Court is likely to acquiesce to the decision of the appelate court