By DAYO JOHNSON

AKURE —THE Ondo State House of Assembly yesterday wielded the big stick by suspending indefinitely nine out of the 18 chairmen of local council caretaker committees for undermining their authority.

Subsequently, nine acting council chairmen have been named to take charge in the councils until the ousted council chiefs are recalled.

The same House of Assembly had few months ago renewed the tenure of the 18 caretaker chairmen for another three months pending the conduct of a council poll next year.

However, the house said that the decision was taken following the refusal of the council chairmen “to heed its directives on council administrations,” adding that it was in accordance with its mandate to ensure probity, accountability and good governance at the third tier of government.

The Speaker, Hon. Samuel Adesina in Akure listed the affected councils as Akure North, Ose, Owo, Ifedore, Idanre, Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo, Ilaje, Ese-Odo and Akoko North East.

Adesina directed the affected council chairmen to hand over the council’s property in their care to the Director of Local Government Administration, DLG.

According to him the law enforcement agencies have been put on notice to forestal any breakdown of law and order in the councils.

Shedding light on the offences of the chairmen, the Chairman of the House Committee on Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon, Afolabi Akinsiku, said the suspended chairmen, failed to respond to the directive of the Assembly to carry out a staff audit of their personnel.

Akinsiku said that “on January 5, this year, we wrote to all the council administrations to carry out staff audit because we heard information that there were ghost workers on their payrolls.”