Waiting to Die!

'Some of our members are dead while some are languishing in accident pains as they took to Okada ridding to sustain their families’.

These were former local government councilors of Enugu state lamenting over their unpaid salaries and allowances.

The 340 elected ex-council legislators, who served the state between 2004 and 2006 during the tenure of Senator Chimaroke Nnamani as governor, are being owed N5.6million (N5, 541,220.2) each. This brings the total indebtedness to the former legislators to N1.7 billion. This debt comprises claims on severance, accommodation, furniture, constituency and wardrobe allowances among others.

Vowing not to engage the state government in any legal tussle over the matter, the councilors, in a peaceful protest in August last year, marched to Governor Sullivan Chime’s office. Chime’s government, consequently, set up a committee, headed by Professor Frank Asogwa, Commissioner in Charge of Local Government Matters, to look into the law makers’ agitation. Other members of the committee included Casmir Ugwoke, Special Personal Assistant to the Governor on Conflict Resolution and Inter-party Affairs and Jerry Eneh, a prominent legal practitioner in the state.

Unfortunately, nothing fruitful seems to have come out of the law makers’ quest since then, as they continue to wallow in abject suffering and hopelessness. This is even so when the councilors had accepted the position of Chime government that it would, in the meantime, not pay them all the claims.

The legislators’ ordeals are made worse by the fact the state government is yet to respond to any of their several reminders on the issue. And like the patient dog, the ill-fated councilors say they are waiting on Governor Chime as their last hope in getting the entitlements paid to them.

It is worthy to note that these claims are not peculiar to Enugu state, as governments of the neighboring states and even beyond have all paid their past councilors their own entitlements.

Just to cite but a few instances: Ikedi Ohakim’s government in Imo state, late last year, paid past councilors in the state their own severance allowance of N5.9 billion. Ohakim’s government was, particularly, touched by the sufferings of the law makers. However, the N5.9 billion Imo debt had accrued from 1999 to 2002 and 2004 to 2007.

And the story was the same for past councilors of the rest of the southeast states of Abia, Ebonyi, Imo and Anambra. Not only that the entitlements of these council elder statesmen were paid to them, their governments have, occasionally, extended some assistance to them in recognition of their contributions, no matter how minimal, to the development of their various states.

Similarly, ex-councilors in Benue state who were, in 2004, forced out of office, had been paid their own N800 million entitlements.

Still keeping hope alive, the embattled Enugu past councilors, urged Governor Chime to come to their aid so as to save them from hunger, starvation and early death.

The councilors, in a letter to Chime, signed by Honourables Richard Mgbechi (Enugu North Zone); Geoffrey Ogbu (Enugu East Zone) and Philip Chiaha, Leader/Coordinator (Enugu West) respectively, maintained that payment of the entitlements would have a positive ripple effect on their children, families and electoral wards.

“We have no capacity to drag issue with the government. Rather, we do hope that at the end, we should be able to smile home with adequate figure capable of compensating and cushioning the effect of our sufferings and patience”, the letter adds.

Hon. Chiaha, leader of the councilors, pledges the support of his colleagues to Chime government, expressing the hope that, sooner or later, the Governor would alleviate their sufferings by ordering the payment of their entitlements.

Will Governor Chime listen to the cries of agony by these ex-councilors of his Coal-City state of Enugu?