By DADA AYOKHAI
The face-off between the 18 elected council chairmen and the Edo State Government may be entering a new phase, potentially leading to a prolonged confrontation.
The state government has issued a directive to council workers instructing them to sever all ties with the suspended council chairmen and their deputies.
This directive follows the recent jubilation in the camp of the suspended council chairmen over a court judgment that reinstated them
According to a government source, the directive to cut ties with the suspended council officials was communicated through a circular from the Local Government Service Commission.
Titled “Re: The Suspension of the Local Government Executives” and dated December 19, the memo ordered local government staff to immediately cease all official communication with the suspended council chairmen, secretaries to the local government, and supervisory councillors.
The circular specifically warned that any Head of Department, Director of Finance and Accounts, or Head of Administration who fails to comply with this directive will face sanctions.
Sources with knowledge of the situation informed *Borderline News 24* that the state government was dissatisfied with the court ruling and sought ways to undermine it, ensuring that the suspended council chairmen would not regain their authority.
The source also mentioned that the state government’s directive took the suspended council chairmen by surprise, as they had been relatively quiet while trying to understand the implications of the directive.
In a related development, the suspended council chairmen have criticized the state government, claiming that their suspension was driven by a desire to seize control of the council’s funds.
They expressed this concern in a letter warning financial institutions against altering the signatories on the council’s accounts without the explicit consent of the council chairmen.
The letter through a paid advert in a National Daily, signed by the chairmen’s legal counsel, Uzzi Law Firm, reminded banks and other financial institutions that dealing with anyone other than the council chairmen would be illegal and considered contempt of court.
It further emphasized that such actions would violate the existing court order, as well as the injunctions of both the Supreme Court and the Edo High Court.
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The upcoming days and weeks will certainly shape the direction of the conflict between the state government and the suspended council chairmen.
