LG Chairmen may pay Ex-councillors by compulsion
By Alice Micah
Local Government Chairmen in Rivers State who have refused to pay ex-councillors' their severance benefits would have to pay through deductions from their monthly allocations from the Joint Committee on Accounts/Allocation.
This is coming as a result of a motion moved on the floor of the Rivers State House of Assembly at its resumed sitting yesterday by the member representing Andoni Constituency, Hon. Ikuinyi Owaji Ibani.
Hon. Ibani who is the House Committee Chairman on Local Government, in his motion sought that deductions be made at source, all severance benefits due to ex-officers of local governments in the state, saying he wants the matter to be laid to rest once and for all.
He said having received various petitions from those owed over the refusal of Council Chairmen to pay, and all directives by the House Committee had fallen on deaf ears, it was necessary for the House to take a decision that would compel the chairmen to pay.
Hon. Ibani prayed the House to direct the Joint Account/Allocation Committee to deduct at source and pay directly to the affected persons, adding that deductions and payments should be done starting from this January.
In their submissions, House members agreed with the motion, but demanded that substantive amounts being owed by made known.
Supporting the motion, Hon. Golden Ngozi Chioma, representing Etche II argued that the affected persons have written severally but nothing was done by their LG chairmen, maintaining that the ex-councillors have been made to live in poverty.
He prayed that the motion be passed immediately so that the money could be deducted at source and paid the ex-councillors.
However, Hon. Itotenaan Henry Ogiri, representing Abua/Odual Constituency said there was need for concrete evidence to be established as no motion could be passed in vacuum.
According to Hon. Ogiri, it was necessary to make available, details of amount owed each of the ex-councillors to House members for them to study before the motion was passed.
This was also the notion of Hon. Hope Ikiriko, Deputy Leader of the House who described the motion as timely and important.
Hon. Ikiriko representing Ahoada West Constituency demanded that the Committee comes up with a report detailing amounts owed by various local governments, stressing that other political officers who are not owed could also come up with false claims so as to benefit from the payments.
Leader of the House, Hon. Chidi Lloyd in his submission expressed disappointment that despite the fact that the matter had been a subject of litigation in most of the councils, some Chairmen had become adamant to pay even when the courts have directed them to do so.
Hon. Lloyd who is representing Emohua Constituency said those who refused to pay were testing the powers of the Assembly and would be made to regret their actions.
He therefore called for a special committee to be set up to that effect, saying that the money being demanded by the ex-councillors were salaries due them and not bonuses.
Commenting, Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Tonye Harry said it was necessary to determine the level of indebtedness by the debtor chairmen so as to inform the joint committee on Accounts and Allocations appropriately.
He appointed Hon. Henry Ogiri to join the Committee on Local Government and charged them to invite council HPMs, treasurers, ex-councilors as well as the chairmen of the various LGAs for confirmation and submit their findings to the House as fast as possible.
