The Government of Ondo State, under the embattled Governor Mimiko, made the Residency Card compulsory for people in the State, especially the workforce in its civil service.
A human rights activist and lawyer, Morakinyo Ogele, has brought the Ondo State government to the High Court sitting in Akure over mandate that all State citizens have a Residency Card, known as Card Igbeayo.
Ogele made the charge through case file number: Ak/44M/2015 exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters.
The case file revealed that the beleaguered Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, and his Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Eyitayo Jegede, were joint defendants in the suit.
Already the High Court has fixed Tuesday, September 22, 2015, for the case hearing.
The Government of Ondo State, under the embattled Governor Mimiko, made the Residency Card compulsory for people in the State, especially the workforce in its civil service.
The government said without the card no resident would be able to enjoy or access the dividends of democracy, especially healthcare service and basic infrastructures.
However, in his suit, Ogele argued that it is unlawful for the State Government to impose the Residency Card on the residents of the State.
He declared the actions of the Governor Mimiko-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government as null and void.
The suit obtained by Sahara Reporters reads in part:
"A declaration that the demand for Residency Card (Kadi Igbeayo) by the respondents from all residents residing in Ondo State before having access to government utilities, infrastructures and amenities to Wit: Primary schools, secondary schools, secondary schools, state polytechnic, state universities, hospitals and maternities is unconstitutional, null and void, crude, unprogressive and retrogressive and is contrary to section 18 (1) 42 (1) of 1999 constitution as amended.
"A perpetual injunction restraining the 1st and 2nd respondents from demanding Residency Cards from residents of Ondo State before having access to public utilities and amenities and all category of hospitals maternities and schools.
"That the introduction of this Residency Cards met with a sundry of criticism from all residents of the State as they viewed the Residency Cards as oppressive, retrogressive, and crude.
"That the State government further came out and announced that unless the residents obtain this card they will be deprived of having access to government utilities infrastructure and amenities built with the peoples' money.
"That equally when the pupils and students resumed on September 14, they were not allowed to resume to their classes as they failed to produce the Residency Card of their parents.
"That the cost of a Residency Card is ₦2000 is unaffordable to the majority of parents. The respondents are only out to oppress and place another burden on the poor masses.
"That Residency Cards have nothing to do with the population of Ondo State as the census has provided for the population of each state in Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, sources told our correspondent that pupils and students in public primary and secondary schools in some local areas of the state were being denied registration.
According to these sources, the action was as a result of a failure to produce the duplicate of their parents’ Residency Card at the point of entrance.