Crisis looms in Niger State as the new local government chairmen are poised for a showdown with the state Governor, Alhaji Abuakar Sani Bello, over the non-release of funds to the Councils.
This is coming barely one month after their inauguration.
The chairmen have therefore threatened to relinquish their mandate if by June no fund is released to them to run their various councils.
They said the situation is capable of ruining their political careers.
It could be recalled that since the inception of the present administration in the state, only N20 million was released to each of the 25 local government councils in the state apart from the payment of salaries of the local government staff.
The N20 million was only released to the caretaker committee chairmen a week before the last local government election in the state, which produced the current chairmen.
It was gathered that civil servants in the 25 local government councils in the state are yet to be paid their February salary, a situation that has put further pressure on the chairmen.
Some of the council chairmen who spoke to selected journalists on the condition of anonymity, said since their inauguration, they have not been able to go to the office as there is no fund to run the council, describing the situation as unacceptable.
According to one of the chairmen: “Since after taking over, I have not gone back to the office again because there is no fund to run the office.
“This is not what the governor promised us.
“I don’t know what anyone can do without fund and all we keep hearing is that there is no fund.”Some of us may have no choice than to relinquish our mandate if the situation continues like this till June.
“To even make the matter worse, the governor asked the state House of Assembly to reduce our tenure from three to two years.
“We never knew about this until we were sworn in and the question now is that what will an elected officer do within two years in office?
“This will amount to killing ones’ political career because there is nothing you can do for the people in two years.”
It should be noted that the governor, during their inauguration, told the council chairmen to hit the ground running in their various local governments.
The chairmen however said they cannot hit the ground running because there is no money to embark on any activity, adding: “When ordinary salary cannot be paid, how do you hit the ground running?”
In an interview, the President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees in Niger State, Comrade Saidu Aliyu Kala, told our Correspondent that the issue of non-release of funds to the local government by the state government is a setback.
According to Kala: “We are not after only the payment of salaries of local government staff, but we are also after the development of the councils.
“When we look back to the time when the councils were getting their allocations from the Federation Account directly, when there was no joint account between the state and local governments, they were doing better than now.”
Comrade Kala admitted that only N20 million had been disbursed to the councils since the inception of this administration in the state, stressing: “I have not heard if they have been given any other money officially.”
Kala disclosed that he has requested for a meeting with the Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, Niger State chapter, with a view to proffering solutions to their predicament, but was yet to get any response to that effect.
He also described as unfortunate the reduction of their tenure from three to two years, pointing out: “I wonder what magic can someone perform within two years.
“So if that is true, I want the House of Assembly and the state government to consider and add one more year to their tenure.
“”Local government is the most sensitive tier of government because it is the closest to the people.
“The two years is too short for them to perform.”
Also reacting to this development, the Peoples Democratic Party in the state described the non-release of funds to the local government as an aberration, violation of Nigeria’s constitution and a contradiction to the administration’s “change mantra” slogan.
The Deputy Chairman of the party in the state, Barrister Tanko Beji, challenged Governor Bello to tell the people how much has accrued to the 25 local government councils in the last seven months, adding: “The governor should make public what has happened to the seven months allocations to the local government councils in the state and how much has been disbursed”.
All efforts to get the reaction of the state Commissioner for Local Government, Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Abbas Kabiru Musa, failed as he was said to be avoiding office because of pressure from local government staff who are yet to be paid their February salary.
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