Suspended local government chairmen in Kwara State have said that they were not pressurised to withdraw their lawsuit against the state government and the state House of Assembly over their recent suspension.
It would be recalled that the council bosses had approached the state high court when the House recommended their suspension over alleged financial misappropriation which Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq went ahead to okay.
In a statement signed by chairman and secretary of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in the state, Hon. Joshua Omokanye and Hon. Abubakar Abdullahi Bata, respectively, the council chairmen said that they withdrew the case willingly to enable them to clear their names by attending to the invitation of the state House of Assembly.
“We the Local Government Council Chairmen in Kwara State dissociate ourselves from the Statement that emanated from the Office of the State Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that we were pressurized to sign off our legal case with Kwara State Government.
“We state categorically that we were not forced and not under any parochial sentiment to step down the Legal Suit against the state governor and others.
“It is pertinent to reiterate our position that we considered it expedient to withdraw the case willingly and it was done to enable us to clear our names by attending to the invitation of the Kwara State House of Assembly.
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“It must also be noted that Kwara State House of Assembly is the arm of government that has the constitutional responsibility to invite Local Government Council Chairmen for questioning. We can not afford to decline the invitation because it is not advisable to throw away the baby with the bathing water.
“The action taken was out of volition to ensure statesmanly solution on the suspension impasse for the overall benefit of the good people of the state.
“It is also important to state without mincing words that our case is premise on the opportunity offered to clear our names which will subsequently promote speedy socio-economic progress of the state.
“It will be good for anyone to desist from linking the development with the betrayal of a political leader because no one influences our decision to use legal means in the first instance.”
It would be recalled that when a similar incidence happened in Ekiti State, there were opportunities created for addressing the state legislative arm during the impasse and resolution was reached for the good of the state.
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