Council Chairman Kicks over Removal by Councillors in Niger

Council Chairman Kicks over Removal by Councillors  in Niger

By Laleye Dipo

Eleven out of the 15 councillors in the Legislative House of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State yesterday removed the Chairman, Alhaji Sulaiman Dauda Chukuba.

However, the chairman has declared that his removal from office was “illegal, null and void.”

The councillors, who effected Chukuba’s removal, accused him of alleged diversion of N7million meant for the organisation of a workshop for the lawmakers after the money had been approved three months ago and withdrawn from the council’s purse.

The chairman was also alleged to have unilaterally been withdrawing and spending the council’s internally generated revenue (IGR) without recourse to the legislative chamber for approval.

Other allegations levelled against Chukuba included “gross misconduct and his refusal to lay before the legislative council for a whole year the estimate of revenues and expenditure of the local government area.”

The meeting where the chairman was removed was presided over by the House Leader, Alhaji Yussuf Aliyu.

Meanwhile, the embattled Chairman, Chukuba, has dismissed his removal as illegal null and void, saying nobody served him with impeachment (removal) notice as provided for by the law.

“I have not been informed officially; I only saw it on the social media,” he said.

Chukuba said the proposed workshop was designed to commence last Monday in Minna, with everything put in place, only for the councillors to arrive and refuse to participate in the programme.

THISDAY learnt that both the state government and the state House of Assembly leadership have stepped in to find a truce to the problem.

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