The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Council chairmen

  • Plateau PDP flays Lalong for sacking council chairmen

    Plateau PDP flays Lalong for sacking council chairmen

    The Plateau State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned Governor Simon Lalong for sacking 17 local government chairmen.

    The opposition party also faulted Lalong for the delay in the appointment of commissioners.

    The Acting Chairman, Raymond Dabo, said in Jos, the state capital that since the emergence of the APC government, good governance has ceased.

    Dabo lamented that, since the inauguration of the APC-led administration, Lalong has been very slow in taking off.

    He said: “Since this administration was sworn in, not one commissioner has been named to oversee any ministries responsible for providing specific needs of the state and it is this absence that has occasioned the blunders already been experienced in the wrongful abrogating of the law by an administration that ought to uphold same and give effect to it.

    “The recent dissolution of the elected local government chairmen is a case in point, I don’t know where a governor got such power from. We now know that the Lalong administration would do beyond breaking the law, if the people of Plateau State keep mum.

    “The APC government in Plateau has so far failed to live up to expectations of the people that gave them mandate, the dissolution of the council administration is definitely not in the interest of the people of the state.

    The party official, therefore, advised the administration to focus on the protection of lives and property.

    But, the government said the PDP’s statement fell short of constructive criticism expected of an opposition party.

    In a statement by Samuel Nanle, the Director of Press to Governor Lalong, the governor said: “It is imperative to state that Governor Lalong acted on the premise of the law in dissolving the 17 council chairmen.

    “Rather than castigating the government, the party should understand how remedy and relief can be sought in law the law court if the party feels government action was illegal.

  • Bayelsa: Council chairmen, workers clash over unpaid salaries

    Bayelsa: Council chairmen, workers clash over unpaid salaries

    Local government workers in Bayelsa State are at war with their eight council chairmen over arrears of unpaid salaries.

    It was gathered that though the Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, was meeting up with the monthly payment of civil servants’ salaries, the executive chairmen were owing their workers.

    Apart from the Brass Local Government Chairman, who was said to have paid May salaries to workers, others were said to be owing their employers for over three months.
    The workers, it was gathered, planned to shut down the councils in protest for their plight but the government intervened and prevailed on them to shelve their industrial action.

    The Secretary, Medical and Health Workers Union (MHWU), Mr. Lartan Bany and the Chairman of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) said the governor had no hand in their travails.

    He said the local government chairmen admitted that the governor never interfered in their revenue allocations from the Federal Government.

    He wondered why other chairmen could not toe the path of their Brass counterpart and warned of a looming strike if the matter is not resolved on time.

    Also the Bayelsa Democratic Watch Forum (BDWF) blamed the salary crisis on the inefficient management of finances by the chairmen.

    The group in a statement signed by its Chairman, Mr. Binaebi Femo and Secretary, Mr. Tari Oki, thanked the MHWU and the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) for calling off their strike.

    Femo, however, said the leadership of the groups resisted pressure from Dickson’s detractors to sponsor the industrial action as a campaign weapon against the governor’s second term bid.

    “The governor on many occasions including the monthly transparency briefing has said that he does not deduct any money from the allocations accruing to the local government councils.

    “So, he cannot be blamed by the mess caused by these chairmen. Workers should not allow themselves to be used by the enemies of the deserved second term project of the governor. They should hold the chairmen and officials of the local government areas responsible for their plight,” Femo said.

    The group accused the chairmen of using council funds to embark on personal projects including erecting massive structures in Yenagoa.

    He alleged that the chairmen were collecting loans and overdraft to finance such projects and called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to probe the council bosses.

    Also the State Government absolves itself from the crisis in the local government areas and directed the chairmen to fulfill their obligations to their workers without further delay.

    The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Esueme Kikile, said the government had intervened to ensure that the outstanding salaries of the workers were paid.

    He said: “The present administration in the state has demonstrated its commitment to local government autonomy and has the policy of zero deductions from local government allocations.”

    But the chairmen were said to have blamed their inability to pay salaries on the dwindling allocations from the federal government.

  • Cross River lawmakers quiz council chairmen

    Members of the Cross River State House of Assembly yesterday interrogated local government council chairmen on their finances since January, last year.

    The House had earlier directed chairmen of the 18 local governments to appear before it yesterday to explain their refusal to submit their financial statements.

    Fifteen chairmen showed up yesterday, the vice chairman of Ogoja stood in for his boss.

    However, only nine were questioned due to time constraint. Akpabuyo and Bekwarra local governments’ chairmen were absent.

    The lawmakers were mostly unsatisfied with the excuses given by the chairmen.

    Chairman of Calabar Municipality Eta Mbora was praised by the Speaker, Larry Odey, for being more compliant than the others.

    Chairman of Boki Jonas Otu admitted guilt, as did most of his colleagues.

    He promised to get the necessary documents to the House.

    Chairmen who were questioned yesterday included those of Akamkpa, Abi, Bakassi, Biase, Boki, Calabar Municipality, Calabar South and Etung.

    Odey said the remaining chairmen would face them on April 3.

    Odey said the exercise was not to witch hunt anybody but to get the chairmen to ensure that the right thing is done.

    He said the magnitude of abuse at the local governments was to the extent that “we can no longer close our eyes.”

  • Council chairmen endorse Ajimobi for second term

    Transition committee charmen in the 10 local government areas of Oke-Ogun, Oyo State, have endorsed Governor Abiola Ajimobi for a second term.

    The Chairman of the state chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), who is also the Chairman of Irepo Local Government, Mr. Yekeen Popoola, announced this during a solidarity rally at Saki Town Hall.

    Popoola lauded the governor’s achievements in health, education, transportation, environmental beautification, agriculture, poverty alleviation and security.

    He said Ajimobi is laying a good foundation for the development of the state and urged the people to support him.

    The Chairman of Saki East Local Government, Mr Olufemi Popoola, said the crowd at the rally attested to the good work of the Ajimobi administration and signified the people’s desire for his reelection.

    He said: “As we can see, attendance at the solidarity rally is not a stage-managed affair. It is a natural phenomenon. Ajimobi has done well. We appreciate him and are grateful for the rehabilitation of our roads ,which past administration neglected. Oke Ogun people enjoyed free healthcare services twice last year. Our children get free exercise books and there has been an improvement in electricity and water supply.”