Five Councillors in Kaura-Namoda Local Government Area of Zamfara have accused the could management of refusing to pay their allowances for three months.
The local government officials, at a news conference on Thursday in Gusau, urged the State House of Assembly to intervene on the issue.
“We are paid our salaries but we do not get funds to run our offices.
“The local government Chairman, Alhaji Lawali Abdullahi, has withheld our imprest from Feb. to April. We want the lawmakers to intervene,” their spokesman, Sani Ibrahim, alleged.
He listed others affected to include Sagir Sani (Galadima Ward), Kasimu Nura (Kungurki Ward), Babangida Ibrahim (Yankaba Ward) and Kabiru Sani (Kagara Ward).
The Council Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi, and 11 councillors of the area were elected into office in April, 2019 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Abdullahi and six councillors however defected from APC to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), last months, a situation that created intra-party distrust among members of the two political parties.
“We are appealing to the Zamfara State House of Assembly that has the responsibility of monitoring the affairs of local government councils in the state to intervene and fight for us
“We have been consulting with the council chairman over this issue but he has refused to listen to us.
He has chosen to pay only councillors who defected along with him to the PDP,” they alleged.
Reacting to the allegations, the Council Chairman, Alhaji Lawali Abdullahi, said they had no merit. “I cannot withhold any body’s imprest or allowances because of any political differences.
Sometimes we face financial difficulties, that is why aside councillors, I, as chairman, has no allowances to run my office.
“I have reported the paucity of funds to the highest authority with the aim of resolving it.
It is not right for my colleagues to start making wild allegations,” he said. “The councillors are getting wild.
Yesterday (Thursday), they attacked me in Gusau at the Secretariat of the Ministry for Local Government. This is very unfortunate and worrisome,” the council chairman lamented.
