By: Okoi Obono-Obla Is the Governor of Cross River State, Senator (Prince) Bassey Edet Otu, the appropriate authority to whom t...
By: Okoi Obono-Obla
Is the Governor of Cross River State, Senator (Prince) Bassey Edet Otu, the appropriate authority to whom the embattled Chairman of Bekwarra Local Government Area, Mrs. Theresa Akwaji Ushie, should tender her letter of resignation dated 8 December 2025— a letter that recently surfaced on social media after the Cross River State House of Assembly purportedly removed her from office on 10 December 2025?
The answer must be in the negative.
Under the Interpretation Act, 2004, particularly section 11, a person may only tender a resignation to the authority that appointed him or her. The law is clear that the power to appoint includes the power to accept resignation. In this case, Mrs. Theresa Akwaji Ushie was not appointed by Governor Bassey Edet Otu. She was elected by the people of Bekwarra Local Government Area, and therefore the Governor is not the competent authority to whom her resignation should be addressed.
In line with the Cross River State Local Government Law, 2018, an elected Local Government Chairman who wishes to resign must direct such resignation to the Secretary of the Local Government Council, or at the very least, to the Leader of the Local Government Legislative Council, which is the constitutionally recognized legislative arm of the Local Government. This is consistent with the autonomy granted to Local Government Councils under section 7 of the 1999 Constitution.
The same Local Government Law provides that where a Local Government Chairman resigns, dies, or is removed from office, the Vice Chairman automatically assumes office. This statutory succession mechanism underscores the fact that Local Governments are not appendages of the State Executive, nor are their elected officials appointees of the Governor. They constitute an independent tier of government within the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Consequently, the letter of resignation dated 8 December 2025 and addressed to the Governor of Cross River State is legally incompetent, null, and void, as it was directed to an authority lacking the legal capacity to receive or act upon it.
This position is supported by established Nigerian case law. In Macfoy v. UAC (1962) AC 152, the court held that:
“You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand.”
Similarly, in A.G. Federation v. Abubakar (2007) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1041) 1, the Supreme Court affirmed that a resignation must be directed to the proper appointing authority, failing which it is a nullity. The Court reiterated this principle in Balonwu v. Governor of Anambra State (2009) 18 NWLR (Pt. 1172) 13, emphasizing strict compliance with statutory procedures for resignation.
Applying these principles, Mrs. Ushie’s letter addressed to the Governor is a legal impossibility. It rests on no lawful foundation and therefore collapses under the weight of its own defect. The appropriate Latin maxim is:
Ex nihilo nihil fit — you cannot place something on nothing and expect it to stand.
Conclusion:
Given the provisions of the Interpretation Act 2004, the Cross River State Local Government Law 2018, and binding Nigerian judicial authorities, the Governor of Cross River State is not the proper authority to receive the resignation of an elected Local Government Chairman. Any resignation addressed to him is void and without legal effect. The only lawful recipients are the Secretary of the Local Government Council or the Leader of the Legislative Council.
@ Okoi Obono-Obla
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