Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, maintains the suspension of the 23 Local Government council chairmen until the completion of investigations against them.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the chairmen had chosen to defy the governor’s directive for their suspension from office.
This newspaper learnt that the decision to suspend them was based on the recommendations of the state’s House of Assembly following investigations into their financial activities.
The Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs (BLGCA) had instructed the chairmen to hand over their responsibilities to the most senior staff in their respective councils. However, at a press conference, the chairmen, led by Mike Uba, Chairman of the Association of Local Governments Of Nigeria (ALGON) Benue State chapter, declared their refusal to comply, citing what they perceive as “illegality.” Uba argued that obeying the directive would be a disservice to the state.
The chairmen emphasised that they were lawfully elected, along with their councillors, for a two-year term on April 30, 2022.
Reacting to their defiance, Governor Alia stated that the chairmen would have the opportunity to defend themselves before the House of Assembly committee. He added that only those with clean hands would be reinstated, but until then, they remained suspended.
The governor expressed his astonishment at the chairmen’s reaction, stating that they were suspended for investigation purposes, not sacked. He denied knowledge of any court order preventing their dismissal and regarded any such claim as speculative, as no action had been taken in that regard.
The governor, through his spokesman, Tersoo Kula, said, “the recommendations were upheld by the state executive and the chairmen were directed to hand over their offices to the various DGSAs of their councils.
“So, even if there existed a court order not to sack council chairmen, at least there is none barring anyone from investigating them.
