Benue State House of Assembly on Monday approved three months suspension of six local government councils chairmen and two vice chairmen in the state on allegation of gross misconduct, misappropriation of funds and abuse of office.
Daily Trust reports that all the affected council chairmen belonged to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
They include; Austin Okwoche of Oju local government council, Mrs Juliana Audu of Makurdi, Terdoo Kenti of Kwande and his vice, Andrew Orvande as well as Francis Ogwuche of Okpokwu, Mrs Beckie Orpin of Gboko, Mrs Comfort Echioda of Agatu LGC and her vice, Joseph Ngbede.
The affected chairmen were ousted during plenary session by the lawmakers who acted on a correspondence from Governor Samuel Ortom, requesting the House to grant the approval for the suspension.
The correspondence was said to be accompanied by petitions allegedly written by councillors from the councils mentioned against the affected chairmen and the vice chairmen.
Speaker of the House, Titus Uba, who read the correspondence before members said the request for the suspension was based on the advice of the State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Michael Gusa, that the action was necessary to enable investigation into the allegations against the affected chairmen and vice.
Meanwhile, the suspended Chairman of Oju LGC, Austin Okwoche, told our correspondent in Makurdi by telephone that the action taken against him appeared sudden.
Okwoche said there were no processes or invitation served him, stressing that, the suspension was rather a show of might against those of them who refused to decamp to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) along with the governor of the state and an indication that they as opposition have no place in government.
