Former Governor of Edo State and current Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, has expressed his support for the suspension of 18 elected local government chairmen and their deputies in the state.
Oshiomhole made the statement while speaking with newsmen at his residence in Iyamho, Estako West Local Government Area.
The former governor backed the decision made by the Edo State House of Assembly, which suspended the chairmen and their deputies for two months on charges of insubordination and gross misconduct.
Oshiomhole emphasized that the local government chairmen had been making large payments to the immediate past governor, Godwin Obaseki.
He praised the current Governor, Monday Okpebholo, for taking action to halt such practices, which he described as detrimental to the state, according to Politics Nigeria.
Oshiomhole referred to Governor Okpebholo as “the new Sheriff in town,” adding that the governor was putting an end to the financial mismanagement that had been ongoing. He further explained that the new administration intends to redirect funds toward local development rather than continuing the financial practices of the previous government.
The suspension of the local government chairmen followed a petition by Governor Okpebholo to the Edo State House of Assembly, accusing the council executives of failing to submit their financial account statements to the state government.
He said, “People already know that there is a new Sheriff in town. He is stopping all the bad guys and stopping the bleeding that Edo was going through.
“It is not a secret that Local Government Councils were paying huge amounts of money to his predecessor (Godwin Obaseki), and he says ‘stop’, not while I am here. We want the money to be used to develop the localities.”
