Local Government Chairmen in Rivers State have accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of withholding funds meant for the third tier of Government.
This is a fallout of the political crisis in the state that has pitched the Governor against loyalists of his predecessor, Mr. Nyesom Wike.
Council chairman in Rivers State say they have been starved of statutory funds since April and in one case, March 2024.
They alleged that there has been no meeting of the Joint Account Allocation Committee for the purpose of disbursement.
They described as unconstitutional and promised to resist any attempt to bypass democratically elected leadership to release allocations for local government administration.
This controversy over money is seen as a major twist in the battle for the grassroot political structure of Rivers State.
The tenure of the 23 Local Government Chairmen elapses in June 2024 but they are not making plans to vacate office when that time comes.
They are hanging on to an Amendment of the Local Government Law by the state legislature which elongated their tenure by 6 months if elections are not conducted.
If they succeed this would be an upset to an alleged plan by the Governor to replace them with persons from his camp.
The Local Government Chairmen also joined the All Progressives Congress in calling on the House of Assembly to take urgent steps to remedy the situation.
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