TYRANNY!: Nsit Atai Councillors to impeach Chairman, Vice Chairman
… Reveal details of their plight
… How Chairman presented controversial budget in a Cabin biscuit pack to councillors
…Councillors snub Children’s Day, Thanksgiving Service in protest
The Executive Chairman, Nsit Atai Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Hon. Emem Ibanga has again fallen out with councillors in the council.
Hon. Ibanga, who broke the jinx to become the first elected two-term council chairman in the area, has drawn the ire of the 10 Councillors representing the 10 Wards in Nsit Atai.
Towards the end of her first term in 2020, she was suspended by the Akwa Ibom State House Assembly over alleged mismanagement of funds and poor welfare of councillors. The Assembly acted on a petition filed by the then councillors. She was, however, reinstated by the Assembly following alleged intervention by the powers that be.
Amidst severe dissent, Ibanga went on to clinch the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the council chairmanship race, stood election and was declared winner of the general election by the Akwa Ibom State Independent Electoral Commission (AKISIEC).
Now, it is apparent that the current batch of councillors elected alongside the council boss in December 2020 are having a taste of their predecessors’ plight.
The councillors who have refused to hold plenary for two months due to poor welfare told this reporter that the council chairman has subjected them scorn and penury.
According to them, “the chairman’s flagrant abuse of power” worsened about a month ago when she tried but failed to force them into passing the 2021 budget which they said was singlehandedly drafted by her without any input from the councillors.
“She brought the budget in a CABIN biscuit pack and tried to force us into signing it. She did not care to follow laid-down procedure of writing to us (councillors) before the presentation. We were never consulted in the drafting process of that document (budget),” they alleged.
They further alleged that when the chairman discovered that she has met a brick wall, she convened a meeting with 5 Councilors alongside the Head of Service and Director of Finance, telling the 5 LG legislators to dance to her tune. She also convened another meeting with principal officers of the legislative council, directing them to go convince the rest of their colleagues to sign the budget.
When the strategies failed, Ibanga allegedly resorted to threatening to influence the stoppage of payment of councillors’ salaries. This reporter, however, learnt that the salaries of councillors in the state are paid via a consultant contracted by the state government.
“No threat can make us sign a budget whose appropriations are made using fake subheads,” the councillors vowed while speaking with this reporter.
They further complained that “our woes are compounded by the fact that there is nothing like urinary and toilets for councillors”, adding that “even our offices do not have tables and chairs, the keys to our offices are in bad conditions, and since coming into office, we have only received security votes for a single month.” The claim was verified as true by this reporter.
To protest against their plight, all the 10 councillors boycotted the May 27 Children’s Day celebration organized by the council. They also snubbed a thanksgiving service held at
The Apostolic Church, Ndon Ikot Itie Udung, Nsit Atai.
The councillors have, however, promised to commence impeachment process against the chairman, and vice chairman, Hon. Idorenyin Inyang, if their demands are not met within 14 days.
The chairman was not available to comment on the matter, but her ally, Mrs. Theresa (not real name), a staunch grassroots mobilizer for the PDP in Nsit Atai directed this reporter to tell the councillors that the chairman is equally a victim like them: “the councillors should take their complaints to the governor who keep slashing Local Government council funds. A situation where as little as 2 Million Naira is sent to some councils per month, what kind of magic do they expect the chairman to perform? The chairman has done well with the resources made available to her; this is not the first time councillors are fighting her, it always end in victory for her, this one would not be an exception.”
