Niger Assembly Orders Reinstatement of Suspended Shiroro LG Chairman

The assembly also directed that the Vice-Chairman who installed himself as the acting Chairman without due process be suspended from office.

The decision of the assembly followed recommendation of the House Committee on local government which was set up to investigate the crisis between the local government Chairman and his Counsellors.

The reports of the committee was submitted during the house plenary on Tuesday.

It would be recalled that the Chairman of Shiroro local government council, Suleiman Dauda Chukuba was suspended over a petition on the allegation of the misappropriation of N50 milliom tenement rate from Northgate power holding, among other allegations.

Consequently, nine out of the 15 Counsellors in the local government purportedly suspended the Chairman from office, a development which sparked off crisis in the council.

The state house of assembly immediately waded in by setting up a committee to among other things investigate these allegations.

However submitting the reports before the house on Tuesday, Committee Chairman, Honorable Shuiabu Liman Iya, while giving reasons for the reinstatement of the Chairman, said there was no minute to show that the Legislators sat to deliberate on the suspension of the Chairman before embarking on it and therefore make their resolution null and void.

According to him, “The activity of legislation is a serious business and due process must be followed to the requirement of the law. For any decision to be taken, a proper legislative siting must be convened and minutes were taken.

“However, on this matter, there was no minute of the council Legislators sitting, this shows that there is no evidence that they sat. This renders their resolution and action on the suspension of the Chairman illegal, null and void”, the Committee Chairman stated.

The Vice-Chairman and the nine Councillors were also suspended for their failure to appear before the committee for questioning during its sitting.

The House also directed that the N500,000 collected by the Councilors should be refunded back to the treasury of the Council.

The Assembly further frowned at the way the local government Legislators flaunt the law by not completing the requirement of meeting for at leas 90 days for a legislative year.

The Chairman was then directed to resume his official duties and all allowances lost during the period of the crisis be paid to him.

All attempts to get the Chairman’s reactions was not successful as his phones were not connecting after several trials.