Handover: Councilors to petition Warri South-West Chair to EFCC over perceived refusal of key Officers to defend 2024 budget

Barely five days to the end of the tenure of the political class of local government administration in Delta State, Councilors in Warri South-West Local Government, have threatened to petition the outgoing Chairman of Warri South-West Local Government Area, Hon. Taiye Duke Tuoyo, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over perceived refusal of the Head of Personnel Department, Treasurer to the Local Government and the Head of Works Department of the Council, to appear before the Council’s legislature to defend aspects of the year 2024 budget.

Chairman of Warri South-West Local Government Area, Hon. Taiye Duke Tuoyo, had on Monday February 26, presented a draft estimate of N5,283,091,891.00 (Five billion two hundred and eighty-three million, ninety-one thousand, eight hundred and ninety-one naira to the Council legislature, with a plea for the lawmakers to give the budget proposal, speedy consideration and approval’ “as the Administration is about winding up”.

A peep by Fresh Angle International into the budget proposal, revealed that Economic Empowerment through Agric, would gulp N50,000,000, N30,000,000 budgeted for Societal Re-orientation, with N100,000,000 going for Improvement of Human Health, while Housing and Urban Development, Information Comm. & Tech Literacy, Renovation/construction of primary school furnishing as well as Installation of solar/streetlight in the local government, will take N100,000,000, N5,000,000, N150,000,000 and N50,000,000, respectively.

Member of the now dissolved Ad-hoc Committee on Finance and Appropriation of Warri South-West Legislative Arm, Hon. Raymond Pira, who spoke to Fresh Angle International in Warri, in an exclusive chat this afternoon, Monday March 4, stated that the Head of Personnel Management, HPM of Warri South-West Local Government Council, Treasurer to Local Government and Head of Works Department of the Council, declined invitation of the now dissolved Ad-hoc Committee on Finance and Appropriation to appear before it Thursday February 29 and Monday March 4.

Hon. Pira, disclosed that as at today, Monday March 4, members of the Council legislature, received a single copy of the draft estimate, out of the 25copies that ought to have been presented to the House, saying even though the lawmakers were yet to pass 2024 budget into Law, the Chairman of Warri South-West Local Government Area, Hon. Taiye Duke Tuoyo, had allegedly commenced Installation of solar/streetlight in the local government, worth Fifty Million naira (N50,000,000.00).

Documents made to available to This Soaring International Online Newspaper, revealed that invites extended to the HPM, Treasurer to the Local Government and Head of Works Department of the Council, by Secretary of the now dissolved Ad-hoc Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Mr. Ndubishi F.C. on behalf of the Committee, were dated February 28 and March 1.

Hon. Pira, warned that if by Wednesday March 6 (2 days to the end of the tenure of the political class of local government administration in Delta State) the Head of Personnel Management, Treasurer to Local Government and the Head of Works Department of the Council, refuse to honour the invite by Committee of the whole House, with a view to defending capital votes of aspects of the proposed draft budget, they (the Councilors) will officially petition the outgoing Chairman of Warri South-West Local Government Area, Hon. Taiye Duke Tuoyo to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

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