From Tony John, Port Harcourt
RIVERS State Councillors’ Forum has raised the alarm over an alleged planned protest by chairmen of the local government areas to disrupt peace in the state because of the payment of salaries by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Its outcry was contained in a communique issued by the Councillors in Port Harcourt at the weekend.
The communique was signed by five councillors from five local government areas. They included Reginald Promise, Leader, (Omuma); Larry Ibaningo, (Bonny); Christian Ewah, (Ahoada West); Samuel Manilla, (Opobo/Nkoro) and Bernard ThankGod, (Ahoada East).
They condemned the uncomplimentary utterances of some political leaders at the local government areas against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The Forum alleged:
“The chairmen whose tenure is winding down in a few days, have resorted to making unwarranted and unguided statements to sabotage Fubara’s government.
“It is on record that the governor has paid all civil servants as well as political class, hence, any kind of political sabotage in the guise of protests amounts to nothing but nuisance by the chairmen and the councillors.
“Fubara, governor of Rivers State, is passionate, dedicated and committed to service delivery to the people of the state.
“It can only take those that do not mean well for the state to oppose the proactive and peace driven policies of his administration.
“The governor has paid promptly and has projects and programmes that are very viable and people-oriented. In fact, there is no better time to speak than now on how greedy and self-centred these chairmen have been in their ill-mannered treatment meted out on councillors and LGAs at large.
“These council chairmen receive timely huge amounts of allocations and IGRs, yet, they have done little to show for it, except one or two LGAs that actually used the funds judiciously to the benefit of their.
“Some local government chairmen, up till this moment, have refused to present their budgets, yet, they have been appropriating funds without following due process. That is how high-handed and corrupt they have become.
“This is the reason they are illegally clamouring, through the back door, to elongate their tenure in office, which we (councillors) are not part of, and dissociate ourselves from such.”
The Forum, however, called on the governor to ask the security agencies to beef up security in the state to forestall breakdown of law and order.