Vice chairmen and councillors of the 16 local government areas of Kwara state recently suspended by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq have described stoppage of their salary as illegal and unconstitutional.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Monday, the people, led by the chairman, forum of vice-chairmen and councillors in the state, Alhaji Yusuf Mohammed, said they had approached the court of law to seek redress over the matter.
Mohammed, who said members of the forum decided to seek redress in court following extension of the suspension order slammed on the council chairmen by the governor, argued that the recommendation made by the state House of Assembly, demanding suspension of 16 council chairmen was only for the suspended chairmen and was not supposed to affect them in the first instance.
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“Although we were not happy with the illegal suspension, we chose to sacrifice six months from our tenure in the interest of peace in the state of Harmony. We are (and still are) certain that we (vice-chairmen and councillors) did not commit any offence that could warrant suspension or other disciplinary action. We, therefore, decided to remain calm, confidently expecting our return to office after the expiration of six months.
“As the six months of our suspension was coming to an end, we gathered from the grapevine that the governor did not want us to return to our offices until the expiration of tenure in November 2020. And that he was likely to extend our suspension if he did not rightly dissolve the councils.
“This disclosure forced us to seek another way out as against our resolve to remain calm; hence our decision to go to court. We are now in court believing that the judiciary, which is the last hope of the common man, will wipe our tears for us. The hearing will start on January 17, 2020”, he said.
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