Information reaching IGBERE TV from a reliable source has disclosed the real reasons why Honourable Chidiebere Nwachukwu the embattled Council Chairman of umuahia North was suspended by the Abia house of assembly.
Information reaching IGBERE TV from a reliable source has disclosed the real reasons why Honourable Chidiebere Nwachukwu the embattled Council Chairman of umuahia North was suspended by the Abia house of assembly.
Our source, a member of the Abia State House of Assembly (ASHA), who spoke to us on condition of anonymity, said that they acted on the orders of the governor. He said that since Honourable Nwachukwu was elected into ALGON at the federal level, he began to seek for full release of their allocation so as to offset salaries of council workers and also to deliver on the promises they made to their constituents during the election.
Honourable Nwachukwu also intimated his fellow chairmen on the need to work against the governor’s 2nd term ambition if the governor continues to hold on to their money and keeps on releasing less than 20% of what is due to them from JAC, stating that what is being given to them is never enough to service their office talk more of undertaking infrastructural development in their LGAs.
The governor on getting to know about this secret meeting held with selected council bosses decided to use some members of the house that are close to him to ensure that he is removed from office.
Some LGA workers in the state are being owed between 4 to 7 months salaries.
Meanwhile, the Abia State House of Assembly (ASHA) has denied the allegation that they were manipulated by the governor to sack Honourable Nwachukwu.
Speaking to Abia Facts Newspaper, the Honorable Member Representing Umuahia North State Constituency Honorable Kelechi Onuzuruike said “the suspension of Umuahia North Local Government Area Chairman, Hon. Chidiebere Nwachukwu, was due to a petition of financial misappropriation sent to the House of Assembly by an Indigene of Ibeku in Umuahia. ASHA is an independent body and we cannot be manipulated by anybody, including the governor.”
Recall that few weeks ago, there was a newspaper report alleging widespread fraud involving the state government in the running of LGA funds. The story, which was published in a local newspaper circulating mainly in Umuahia the State Capital, alleged its investigation revealed that the Councilors were been owed backlog of salaries and allowances.
The story which was published on the page 15 of the newspaper on February 5, 2018, also revealed that LGA councilors in the state were being fraudulently under-paid N89, 000 against their statutory allocation of N189,000 monthly salary.
The story, with a screaming headline: ‘Abia LGA Councilors elected under PDP Turns to Hunters and Beggars’, also stated some of the Councilors are now on the run because of the loans they collected to execute their elections campaigns, which they are unable to service. It accused the Councilors of inability to execute projects in their various political wards due to lack and no payment of their statutory allowances.
As at the time of this report, all efforts to get the reaction of the governor proved abortive as phone calls and sms sent to the State Commissioner for Information, John Okiyi kalu and the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Enyinnaya Appolos were neither picked nor replied.
