23 Benue LG Chairmen Vow To Resist Gov Alia’s Suspension Order
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Following a directive by Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ordering 23 local government chairmen elected in March 2022 under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration to hand over the reins of power and proceed on suspension as recommended by the state House of Assembly, the council chairmen has vowed to resist the move to remove them from office.
According to reports, this development may be setting the new administration and the council chairmen on a collision course.
Vowing to resist Governor Alia’s directive, while addressing journalists on Saturday on the Assembly’s resolution and the directive by signed by the Permanent Secretary, Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ode Ochelle, the council bosses said they are remaining in office.
The chairmen said they had briefed their lawyers to file a contempt suit against the state government for failing to respect an earlier injunction restraining it from sacking them from office.
Reacting to the position of the chairmen, Governor Alia, through his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, said it was not a sack order but a suspension.
He added that it would allow for thorough investigations into the income and expenditure of the councils which allegedly showed traces of misappropriation based on audit reports received so far.
The 23 local government chairmen elected on the platform of the opposition PDP had met with the governor on June 20 to turn in their reports of income and expenditure.
After the meeting, which many of the chairmen feared would be their last, Alia surprisingly said dissolving them was not on his mind.
But the situation appeared to change days later when he received audit reports from the local councils, which he forwarded to the state assembly for investigation, leading to the resolution of the house to suspend them from office.
But the chairmen at a press conference, said they would not obey the directive to hand over before their tenure elapsed in 2024, adding that they had prepared a suit against the state government for contempt of court.
The standoff between the local government chairmen and the governor appears to be the latest episode in an ongoing political battle between both parties in Benue, following the PDP’s loss in the March 2023 governorship election to the APC.
The suspension letter reads in parts, “Sequel to the approval of the Executive Governor of Benue State, His Excellency, Rev. Fr. Dr, Hyacinth I. Alia on the resolution of the Benue State House of Assembly suspending you and all Council members from office as
contained in a letter from the Office of the Secretary to the State Government Ref. NO. CAB/B5/SsG/ADM/35/T/XX dated 23rd June, 2023, you are hereby directed to proceed on an indefinite suspension with
immediate effect.
“You are to hand over all Government properties in your possession to the Director Gerneral Services and Administration and Clerks of Legislative Councils respectively.
“You are advised to strictly adhere to this directive.
“This letter is copied to the Director, General Services and Administration and the Clerks of the Legislative Councils for information and compliance on or before Tuesday 27th June, 2023 unfailingly, please”, the letter read.
