Many citizens of Edo State do not quite understand rationale and issues around the suspension and sack of some council chairmen in Edo State. Some have continued to bandy all sorts of insinuations, commentaries and allusions. Some say the governor is deliberately removing the council chairmen. Some others say some of the affected chairmen are hardworking while a few are of the opinion that all of them are guilty of the offence for which only some have been suspended or removed from office.
But looking at all the commentaries, one can only deduce lack of understanding of the issues involved in either suspension or removal of affected council chairmen.
First, Citizens must know that the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria vests the making of laws and management of the third tier of government on the state governments. The Edo State House of Assembly makes laws that govern the affair of the State local governments. This is what also obtains in all other thirty five (35) states of the federation.
The Edo State law governing the local governments provides that if there are allegations of wrong doings leveled against any council chairman, in contravention of the law setting up the local council, such a chairman has to be suspended for two months in the first instance while a probe of the allegations is launched. When the allegations of wrong doing as alleged are established and affected council chairman is indicted, the Governor is enabled to announce the removal or sack of such a council chairman.
It all started with Owan West Local Government. The Edo State House of Assembly after carrying out its investigations approved the sack of the suspended Chairman of Owan West Local Government Council, Mr. Godwin Aigbodion. The approval was sequel to the consideration of the report of the House Committee on Local Government’s Commission of Enquiry into Aigbodion’s alleged gross misconduct. The committee in its report said it discovered that the suspended chairman lacked the basic competence to head the council.
The committee also discovered that the suspended chairman’s financial recklessness plunged the council into huge debt. The committee, therefore, recommended that the suspended chairman be relieved of his position following his inability to exonerate himself from all allegations leveled against him.
But when he was sacked some people went to town to say all sorts of things about the Comrade Governor, not knowing what the issues are. The House Committee went into the matter and confirmed the wrongdoings leveled against him, hence his sack.
Then came the case of the Vice Chairman of Etsako West Local Government Mr. Alhassan Mohammed. Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state, suspended him for two months few minutes after swearing him in as Chairman. Mohammed was sworn-in as the new chairman, following the death of the former chairman of the Local Government, Alhaji Hassan Kadiri.
The Governor thereafter directed the new vice chairman of the Local Government, Mr. Busari Yusuf, to act as the interim chairman pending the findings of a panel of enquiry to investigate the allegations against Mohammed. What led to this situation? There were protests over the swearing-in of Mohammed as his boss was said to be ill. The following day after the suspected masterminded protest, the council chairman died.
Shortly after the death of the council chairman, some disgruntled elements masquerading as student union government officials and obviously hired by some persons organized the protest that was almost turning violent such that they had to bring in the police and even the army to intervene to restore peace in the local government. This was generally condemned as inhuman and un-African that somebody would just die, constitutionally you are to take over the reins of government in Etsako West, why hire thugs to go to the streets immediately the man died demanding that you be sworn-in? Can anybody blame Oshiomhole for acting the way he did at that time? The answer is an obvious no. The House of Assembly again launched a probe into the street protest and discovered that Mohammed was the mastermind. So, he was nailed appropriately by the House committee that recommended his removal. So he saw the Promised Land, but never entered because of his sins.
Not-too-long ago, the Edo State House of Assembly also approved the suspension of four local government chairmen in the state. Those affected and their respective councils are Osaro Obazee, Oredo; Victor Enobakhare, Egor; Roland Ibierutomwen, Orhiomwon and Emmanuel Momoh, Estako Central.
Their suspension followed a request by Governor Adams Oshiomhole following financial recklessness leveled against them resulting in their inability to pay council workers their salaries. According to the letter, Oshiomhole listed non-payment of salaries without proper explanation; illegal employment, diversion of funds, lack of due process in the award of contracts and inability to account for internally generated revenue, as the reasons behind the suspension of the four council chairmen.
The lawmakers approved the letter and suspended the chairmen for two months in the first instance. Edo people and their constituents currently await the outcome of the House’s findings.
LESS than 24 hours after the Edo State govern¬ment suspended four Lo¬cal Government council chairmen for two months over poor performance, the State House of As¬sembly announced the, sus¬pension of the chairman of Akoko-Edo Local Gov¬ernment Council, Mr. Akeredolu Folunrunsho, also, for two months over alleged misappropriation of public funds. The suspension fol¬lowed the recommen¬dation of the ad-hoc committee set up to in¬vestigate allegations leveled against him in a petition by one Sunday Bello to the House.
It is obvious that the Edo Comrade Governor who has held several meetings with the council chairmen have consistently requested from them probity, transparency and accountability. There is no responsible governor who wants to succeed that would condone financial indiscipline while his name is being dragged into their misdemeanor. Recall that for almost one month, local government workers were on the streets of Benin protesting almost on a daily basis and the name of the comrade governor was being dragged in the mud. The workers were calling on the governor not their chairmen who were not paying them salaries. Not even when the chairmen came out to say that they were responsible for their non-payment of salaries, the workers didn’t believe them. Now, the governor has wielded the big stick tongues are wagging again. So, what do people want from the Governor? He acts, you complain he acted, he chooses not to act, you complain he refuses to act.
But Edo people have forgotten that the Comrade Governor has always talked about zero tolerance to corruption. All these need be understood about our councils and the fate of suspended or sacked chairmen. Anyone who is guiltless will remain and those found wanting would have to face it.
• Mr. Dan Owegie is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Edo State.
