Masari, PDP at loggerhead over entitlements of dissolved LG chairmen

The Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has said his administration has paid all the emoluments of the dissolved Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) local government chairmen and their councillors.

Governor Masari, who disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Katsina, also accused the main opposition party in the state of delaying the conduct of the local government elections through litigation.

Barely a month after he was first sworn-in six years ago, Masari sacked the 34 local government council chairmen and their 361 councillors over what he termed financial misappropriation by the dissolved officials.

The sacked council officials, all from the former ruling PDP, ran to court to challenge what they described as illegal removal from office by Masari where they got a judgement in their favour by the Supreme Court.

The Apex Court, in a unanimous judgment in May last year, declared the sack of the council officials as “illegal, unconstitutional, null and void” and ordered the state government to pay the sacked officials their entitlements for the remainder of their tenure.

Masari, at the media chat, noted that all the entitlements of the dissolved local government chairmen and their councillors have been paid in accordance with the directive of the Apex Court of the land.

He said: “In May last year, there was a decision by the Supreme Court that we should pay the sacked local government chairmen and councillors all their entitlements.

“In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Court, I set up a committee and the committee has completed payment of those that are affected and we are ready to conduct the local government election in the first quarter of 2022.”

But the state PDP Chairman, Hon. Salisu Yusuf Majigiri, in a separate press conference, challenged Masari to bring evidence of payment of the entitlements of any of the dissolved local government officials.

He said: “You know there was a consequential order from the Supreme Court that he (Masari) should pay the salary allowances and other emoluments of the dissolved local government officials before or on 30th of August 2021.

“But up to now, our lawyers that represented us at the Supreme Court that secured the judgement in our favour do not have any document to show that Masari has paid a Kobo to any of the dissolved local government officials.”

The PDP chairman equally dismissed speculations in some quarters that all the dissolved local government officials have decamped to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).(Courtesy THISDAY)