Tensions have deepened in the Ughelli North Local Government Council as the three councillors recently suspended by the legislative arm have described their suspension as illegal and politically motivated.
They accused the chairman of the council, Jaro Egbo, of masterminding their removal to stifle legislative oversight.
The affected councillors, Festus Inana (Orogun Ward 9), Oke Isodje (Agbarho Ward 20), and Collins Arhiakpore (Agbarha Ward 1) were suspended for six plenary sittings over allegations of gross misconduct, abuse of office, and breach of oath of office.
However, two of the suspended councillors, Inana and Arhiakpore, have openly refuted the claims, describing the suspension as a “kangaroo” move orchestrated from outside.
Speaking to journalists, Inana alleged that the suspension was not only unconstitutional but a “coup” allegedly sponsored by the council chairman to silence vocal legislators.
“In the real sense, what they did was a kangaroo suspension because it did not pass through due process.
“In such situations, there ought to be investigation before suspension. If you suspend without investigating, how do you get the facts behind the allegations?” Inana queried.
He further accused the chairman of being behind the move, claiming that “the council chairman maybe has thought that we wanted to audit the revenue of the council, that was why we made such requests to the officer in-charge of revenue, which is not true,” he said.
Explaining the events leading up to the suspension, Inana said the legislators had sought to solicit funds from revenue sub-committee members for their anniversary celebrations, a move that was allegedly misrepresented to the chairman.
“We invited the officer in-charge of revenue of revenue to furnish us with the list of sub-revenue committee chairmen so we could reach out for support.
“Instead of cooperation, he went ahead to report a different story to the chairman. The chairman, in turn, invited us and started roaring and shouting without giving us the opportunity to defend ourselves,” he said.
He maintained that the reaction from the chairman was excessive and politically motivated.
“The essence of the suspension the next day was not something we envisaged would come from such a little misunderstanding. I only saw it as a coup by the executive to silence the legislature… to keep our voice in his pocket,” he added.
Also speaking, Arhiakpore expressed shock over the decision, saying the grounds for his suspension were vague and unsubstantiated.
“In the letter that was given to me, the reason was not well spelt out, just ‘gross misconduct and abuse of office. I only started hearing later that it was because we were planning to source funds for the anniversary celebration,” he explained.
He emphasized that he had no involvement in the fund solicitation process: “I was not even aware of it until the fracas began.
“They said I was part of those who distributed the letters. I wasn’t. Until this moment, I still don’t know why I have been suspended.”
Arhiakpore also alleged that the suspension was strategically timed and planned without their knowledge.
“On July 31st, we were informed in our WhatsApp group that the chairman would brief us, then later we were told the briefing was cancelled.
“Suddenly, another message came that there would be an emergency plenary by 10:00 am. I became suspicious,” he said.
“I later got a call from a colleague around 8:00 am that a meeting was ongoing and that we had already been marked for suspension, even before the plenary was scheduled to begin.”
He described the move as a plot to silence the most vocal members of the 8th assembly.
“The three of us that were suspended are very outspoken. From the feelers I’m getting, it seems the system doesn’t want people who ask questions or refuse to say ‘yes sir’. They want to teleguide the House,” he alleged.
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The councillors further alleged that the chairman induced the other members of the house with a cash reward of N200,000 each to endorse their suspension, a claim they say points to the interference of the executive in legislative affairs.
However, when contacted, the Chairman, Jaro Egbo, denied any involvement in the suspension, dismissing the allegations as baseless.
“How does it concern me? I’m not the leader of the house. You should call the leader of the house,” Egbo said.
“I did not induce anybody. We have worked very friendly for one year. If they have issues with their house, they should go and settle it. I don’t interfere with their activities. When they were doing their thing, I was in a meeting in Asaba.”
Meanwhile, efforts to reach the Leader of the legislative arm, Prosper Ajero for comments proved abortive as calls put to his mobile phone line were unanswered.
