News Investigators/ The Benue State House of Assembly has suspended five of its members for three legislative sittings for withholding vital information.
The suspended members were said to have given incomplete information in their report on the investigation of alleged financial misconduct of Otukpo Local Government Area Chairman, Maxwell Ogiri.
The decision was taken after the report of house ad hoc committee to investigate members of the House Standing Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs on Tuesday in Makurdi.
In a lead debate, a member of the ad hoc committee, Solomon Gyila (APC/Gwer West), said that members of the committee tampered with the report, stating that some useful information was excluded from the report.
Mr Gyila said that some of the issues that were not included in the report were the diversion of the council funds by the Otukpo LGA chairman.
He said that Mr Ogiri even sold government property, but the report that was presented by the committee was at variance with the collective decision of the members.
Also, Alfred Berger (APC/Makurdi North) said that the chairman of the committee, Mr Terna Shimawua (APC/Kyan), should be suspended for three months for tampering with the report.
Mr Berger said that Mr Shimawua hid some things which the ad hoc committee had uncovered.
Also, Mr Douglas Akya (APC/Makurdi South) said that security agencies should be directed to take over the premises of Otukpo LGA to forestall a breakdown of law and order.
Elias Audu (APC/Gwer East) encouraged his colleagues to be very careful with the issue of suspending members, stating it was demoralising.
Mr Audu said that members of the house should be suspended from the committee and not from the house for a period of three months.
Ruling, the Speaker, Hyacinth Dajoh, said that members of the committee would be suspended for three legislative sittings.
Mr Dajoh said that for the time being he would be the chairman of the House Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
He said that chairmen of councils do not have power to lock the chamber of the local government legislative councils.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the suspended members were Mr Terna Shimawua (APC/Kyan), Mr Matthew Damkor (APC/Tiev), Mr Cephas Dyako (APC/Konshisha), Mr Moses Egbodo (APC/Obi), and Mr Isaac Ochekyele (PDP/Ohimini).
NAN
