Councillors suspend Niger LG chairman over alleged constitutional breaches

By Wole Mosadomi, Minna

Councillors of Chanchaga Local Government Area in Niger State have suspended the council chairman, Aminu Ladan, from office over alleged breaches of constitutional guidelines and misconduct.

The suspension, which took effect on Monday, was signed by eight out of the ten councillors in the legislative council. The majority leader, Ibrahim Isah Gommna (Minna South Ward), and Mohammed Mohammed (Nasarawa Ward) declined to sign the resolution.

The development comes barely one week after the embattled chairman filed a lawsuit against the Niger State Government and four others at a Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the enforcement of a Supreme Court judgment on the funding and tenure of local governments.

When the case came up last Friday, it was referred to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) for assignment to a vacation judge.

In the letter of suspension obtained by our correspondent in Minna, the councillors accused Ladan of gross misconduct, mismanagement of council resources, and failure to present income and expenditure statements to the legislative council, as required by law.

Additional allegations include violations of due process in land sales within the council area, illegal award of contracts, incompetence, disregard for the rule of law, and failure to constitute the Finance and General Purposes Committee, a key statutory body for local government administration.

The councillors stated that the decision has been communicated to the Niger State House of Assembly, and the chairman has been given five days to respond in writing to the allegations leveled against him.

Efforts by our correspondent to reach Ladan for comment were unsuccessful, as all attempts to contact him via mobile phone were futile; his lines were switched off as of press time.

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