THE Edo State House of Assembly on Tuesday imposed a two-month suspension on the chairmen and vice chairmen of all 18 Local Government Ares (LGAs) in the state.
The decision followed a petition submitted by Governor Monday Okpebholo, accusing the council heads of refusing to submit their financial records to the state government, according to PM News.
The governor described their actions as insubordination and gross misconduct, urging lawmakers to address the matter.
During deliberations, Isibor Adeh, representing Esan North East 1, moved the motion for suspension, which was seconded by Donald Okogbe, representing Akoko-Edo 2.
The House Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku, directed the clerk, Yahaya Omogbai, to do a head count of the members who supported or opposed the suspension of the council chairmen and their deputies.
Out of the 23 lawmakers present, 14 voted in favour of the suspension, six opposed it, and three abstained.
Following the decision, the House directed leaders of the legislative arms in the affected councils to assume interim leadership.
This development came after Governor Okpebholo, on December 3, directed all 18 council chairmen to submit their account statements of their respective LGAs from September 4, 2023, to date.
According to the governor’s spokesperson, Fred Itua, the LGA leaders were instructed to forward the records to the assets verification committee through the office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) within 48 hours.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M