The Ndokwa West Local Government Council, Kwale, Delta State, has on Tuesday June 29, been locked up over a discrepancy between the National Union of Local Government Employees and the council’s chairman, Chief Goddey Obi Nzete.
The Union on Tuesday badged into the chairman’s office to request for release of fund approved for the funeral of her member.
It was verified that Obi Goddey Nzete asked the NULGE’s chairman, comr. Ikechukwu Opone to borrow an undisclosed amount of money for the funeral for the council to reimburse them.
Recall that the diseased, Mr. Iweagune Alex who died about two months ago was in Community Development Department at the local government council.
Africa Investigative Magazine gathered that the council chairman later invited the Head of Personnel Management (HPM) and the Leader of councilors to the meeting.
Quarrel and commotion started when the local government chairman mandated his aide to get a video coverage of the meeting which the NULGE chairman objected to saying; “Don’t video me.”
A source close to the local government council stated that the fund approved for the burial of the late council’s staff by the chairman was not released.
He further stated that NULGE chairman and a few members went to him to ask for reimbursement after the funeral.
He said that the meeting was however, disrupted as Chief Nzete asked his aide to tape them. There was tension as his men fought the council workers with different objects.
“There was turmoil in the council after they came out from the meeting. I don’t know whether to call them political thugs or council chairman’s boys; they were fighting everybody with sticks, blocks, spinners.
At a point, there was a gunshot. The ugly incident dissipated workers as well as the crowd at the National Identity Management Centre.”
The Local Government Service Commission has however invited the warring parties to the state headquarters to resolve the dispute.
At the time of filing this report, nobody was seen at the local government council as the offices remained shut.
