By Chidi Nkwopora

OWERRI-Twenty six of the 27 local government chairmen in Imo State, who were recently sacked by Governor Rochas Okorocha through a radio and television broadcast, have dragged the state government to court.

Apart from the governor of Imo State, other juristic persons mentioned in the suit are the State Attorney-General, Imo State House of Assembly and Imo State Independent Electoral Commission, ISIEC.

The aggrieved local government chairmen are praying the High Court in suit number HOW/312/2011, to determine whether the purported dissolution of the local government councils and sacking of  democratically elected chairmen by Okorocha on grounds of corruption and indiscipline, without giving them hearing, was not in breach of Section 33 of Nigerian Constitution.

They are seeking a declaration that they were still the democratically elected chairmen of their respective local councils until their tenure of office expired.

They also prayed for an order “setting aside the purported dissolution of the 27 local government councils in Imo State wherein the claimants are respectively the democratically elected chairmen for being unlawful, illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.”

… as vandals invade Owerri-West secretariat, steal files

Owerri West local government secretariat, Umuguma, have been vandalised by unknown persons and files allegedly stolen by the invaders.

Vanguard investigations revealed that some of the offices broken into were that of the chairman, treasurer and  cashier.

Confirming the incident to Vanguard in Owerri, the council Chairman, Mr. Ikenna Elezieanya, appealed to the security agencies to look into the matter

He said: “I was in my house when the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in charge of Owerri West came to inform me that the council headquarters was broken into. I appeal to the security agencies to properly investigate the issue.”

Elezianya recalled that the DPO posted some of his men to the council headquarters and wondered why the policemen left their beat to visit their sick colleagues in an undisclosed hospital.

Elezieanya said some mischief makers were at work, recalling that it was the third time this type of thing was happening.