The Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has ordered the audit of the accounts of the 23 Local Government Areas for the past three years. This is coming on the heels of expiration of tenure of the Local Government Chairmen in the State.
The Governor gave the order to the Auditor General of the State on Wednesday at the occasion of the swearing in the Caretaker Committee Chairmen. The event took place at the Executive Council Chamber of the Government House in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Capital.
Giving the directive, Fubara said, the audit of the accounts is intended to serve as a check for the incoming Caretaker Chairmen. The Governor stated that audited accounts also serve to help the State Government to the Caretaker Chairman accountable.
While swearing in the Caretaker Chairmen, Fubara urged them to protect the interests of their people. He cautioned them against seeing themselves as superheroes. But to demonstrate that the Government was right in appointing them.
The Governor cautioned that their tenure would not be excessively long. This, he said, is because the process for Local Government Area elections would commence soon.
Fubara, also ordered a probe into the tenure of the outgoing Local Government Chairmen. He pointed that the current events in the State are a product of democracy.
He, therefore, warned against violence in the State. Stating that it is not his approach.
The Governor also mandated the officials to sort out the salaries and entitlements of the outgoing Chairmen.
He used the occasion to explain that the fight against tenure elongation is not just about the State, but the entire country. He noted that allowing it in one State could lead to it being replicated nationwide.
The governor, therefore, pointed out that Rivers State was not doing anything unusual by constituting Caretaker Committee.
He noted that most States in the country are also run by caretaker committees.
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