Uvwie councilors pledge support for “suspended” chairman

In a last bid to stand in union with their chairman, 13 councilors of Uvwie Local Government Area, Delta State, have passed a vote of confidence and rejected the suspension order on its chairman, Hon Henry Baro describing the actions of the State House of Assembly as illegal and unconstitutional.

The councilors in a statement made available to newsmen, stated that they were amazed that such a far reaching decision about the suspension of their Chairman could be contemplated by the legislative arm of the state government without following laid-down procedures, due process and the rule of law.

They stressed that they were shocked that Delta State lawmakers would refuse to abide by the provisions of a bye law which was enacted by the same House in the suspension of the Uvwie Local Government Council Chairman.

The statement signed by thirteen councilors explained that for the avoidance of doubts, Section 31 subsections 2, 3 and 6 of the Local Government Bye Law which was enacted by the same House of Assembly clearly states the processes and circumstances that may lead to the suspension of a Chairman of a Local Government Council.

The statement reads in part: “We are aware that part of the provisions of the Bye Law is that disciplinary action against the Local Government Chairman may be taken by the House of Assembly upon receipt of the resolution from the Legislative Arm of the Council.

“But in this case, the Legislative Arm of Uvwie Local Government Council did not pass any resolution against the Chairman, there have been no charges leveled against the Chairman, we have never had any problem with our chairman. There have been no cases of misappropriation of funds or maladministration against the Uvwie local Government Council Chairman.

“It is therefore strange that the House of Assembly would decide to bypass the Legislative Arm of the Local Government Council and take a decision probably based on issues outside the council and which was apparently ill-conceived and has smacks of political witch-hunting and vendetta.

“We the undersigned members of the Legislative Arm of the Uvwie Local Government Council reaffirm a vote of implicit confidence on our Chairman. Indeed, as far as we are concerned as members of the Legislative Arm, the Chairman has performed creditably well in spite of lean resources accruing to the Council. The chairman has not done anything that would warrant the purported action taken by the House of Assembly.

“We state emphatically that we reject the purported suspension in its entirety on the basis of its illegality. The House of Assembly should reverse the strange action immediately in the interest of the state and Uvwie LGA. There should be no action whatsoever by any individual or group that would be capable of threatening the continued peace we have been enjoying in Uvwie.”

While calling on the people of Uvwie to remain calm, law abiding and go about their normal duties, the councilors appealed to the people of the area to continue to be supportive of the council as they are exploring everything within the ambits of the law towards seeking redress.