Plateau State House of Assembly has suspended all seventeen local government chairmen and councillors in the state with immediate effect.
Speaker of the HouseNuhu Abok Ayuba, handed down the suspension following a Motion of Notice presented to the House by a member representing Langtang North-North, Porta Jingfa Tyem, alleging financial misconduct against the council chairmen.
Presenting the motion during plenary yesterday, Tyem sought the suspension of all political structures at the local government level pending the conclusion of investigations into a petition bordering on financial impropriety against them.
The mover of the motion noted that the House is in receipt of a petition against the 17 councils of Plateau State bordering on financial impropriety and misuse of office.
Pirfa said: “And whereas the leadership of the House requested the 17 local government councils via a letter dated May 25 and routed through the ALGON Chairman to submit for scrutiny all income and expenditure profiles of the councils on May 30, none of the 17 councils honoured the said request to make submission.
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“Given the foregoing, therefore, I call on this honourable house to resolve to request the Executive Governor of Plateau State to direct the suspension of all political structures at the local government levels pending the conclusion of investigations into the said petition.The suspended council chiefs should handover all government properties in their possessions to the Directors of Personnel Management in their respective councils,” he added.
The motion initially polarized the members along party lines; members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) posited that the council chairmen must go on suspension for flagrant disobedience to the earlier directive request for financial reports of the council.
However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) members pleaded that the chairmen should be given more time.
At the end session, the chairmen and their councillors in the 17 local governments were suspended for disobedience to the House directive.
In a related development, the House has screened and confirmed Philemon Daffi Audu as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.
The screening followed a request by Governor Caleb Mutfwang, seeking for the House to confirm the nominee as read by the Speaker, Abok Ayuba, who presided over Thursday’s plenary.