Sunday Chukwuedo, the chairman of
Aniocha North local government of Delta
State was yesterday mercilessly beaten
up in a hotel by the transition
committee.
Also beaten up as they shared the
monthly allocation accruing to the
council were the secretary, one Mr.
Onwuka, as well as the council
treasurer and the Head of Personnel
Management (HPM)
Trouble, it was gathered, started when
the councilors were tipped-off that the
chairman, secretary, treasurer and the
acting female HPM were hiding in one
of the rooms at Dove Hart Hotel at the
Issele-Uku headquarters of the council
allegedly sharing the monthly allocation
without their participation.
An impeccable council source told our
correspondent that as soon as the
angry councilors arrived at the hotel,
they forcibly opened the door to the
room where the illicit deal was allegedly
taking place. The source said the four
council officials were seen seated
dismantling the allocation and the
visibly angry councilors gave them the
beating of their lives. In the process,
the Secretary received head injuries
and was rushed to a nearby clinic by
witnesses.
According to a member of the hotel
staff, shortly after the beatings were
suitably delivered, men of the Issele-
Uku police station arrived at the scene
and arrested the councilors along with
the chairman, treasurer and the HPM.
They were taken to the station and
statements obtained from them.
Our correspondent gathered that it took
the intervention of the Speaker of the
Delta State House of Assembly, Mr.
Victor Ochei who is still away in the
United States of America on a training
course, along with other prominent
indigenes of the local government, to
bring the matter under control and
taken from the police station.
It was also learnt that there had been
a cold war between the chairman and
some of the councilors who alleged that
the chairman was not carrying them
along in the scheme of things, especially
in financial matters.
Speaking to our correspondent on the
phone, one of the angry councilors
disclosed that the embattled
Chukwuedo, who was allegedly planted
as the transition committee council
chairman by Ochei, has fraudulently
introduced the concept of “built-in”
salary, the proceeds of which he
discreetly shares with the three council
officials.
Explaining what is meant by “built-in”
salary, the councilor described it as the
fraudulent smuggling of fictitious names
into the council’s pay roll. In practice,
as soon as the allocation arrives, the
chairman and his cohorts would deduct
the illegal salaries, running into millions
of Naira and shared it. He alleged that
the manipulation has been going on for
several months.
Also contacted on phone, the embattled
chairman denied the story, saying he
was at the police station for a different
issue.
Two councilors who simply gave their
names as Mrs. Egbe and Mr. Buggy
confirmed the story to our
correspondent on the phone and
promised to call back for more details
which they never did at as the time of
going to press.
Since the incident happened, the acting
Chief Press Secretary to the speaker,
Mr. Nkem Osu, have been mounting
pressure and pleading with a section of
the press to drop the story with a
promise that as soon as the speaker
returns from his leadership training in
the USA, they would be “appreciated.”


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