Ex-council chiefs vow to stop re-election of Obiano

Former deputy chairmen of local government areas in Anambra State have threatened to stop the re-election bid of Governor Willie Obiano owing to unpaid entitlements. The former council chieftains said their entitlements, about N80m, were withheld by the state government.

Rising from a meeting in Awka, the state capital, on Saturday, they said the debts being owed them included wardrobe allowances, 28-day hotel claims, furniture allowances and salary differentials for the two years they served. Speaking through their leaders, Chuks Obiwelozo and Emmanuel Enwerem, under the aegis of Deputy Chairmen’s Forum, they alleged that former local government chairmen and councilors who served with them had long been paid their entitlements.

“We want Governor Obiano to know what is going on. We are suffering and this is adversely affecting our families.  Governor Obiano is a good person but some of his aides are blocking us from seeing him and lodging our complaints.  There’s communication gap and we are not happy about it. It is obvious we won’t support the governor’s re-election bid,” they said.

The former council chieftains also alleged that the Chairman of Local Government/State Joint Account Committee, Mr. Tony Olih, was frustrating their payment. When contacted, Olih said the state government did not owe former council chiefs as alleged. He said the Anambra State Government had settled the payment of’ ex-workers as stipulated in their letters of engagement.

He said, “What they should consider is whether the contents of the appointment letters were fulfilled or not. Their appointment letters were clear and they accepted them, so why return now after they had completed their tenures?”

Olih added that during a meeting with the council chiefs, the government had placed its cards on the table and told them what it could afford unfortunately, the council chiefs are unwilling to be practical.