Kogi State House of Assembly has directed its Committee on Local Governments to investigate alleged sack of 450 workers of Adavi Local Government on the recommendations of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission.
The directive followed the adoption of a motion, under urgent public importance, presented by Abdullahi Lawal (PDP-Adavi), at a plenary session in Lokoja.
Lawal urged the House to intervene in the matter, to ascertain its true position.
He said that the ICPC had in a letter dated July 31, 2012, recommended that the affected workers should be sacked based on a petition it received.
The petition, he added, was based on allegations of fraudulent accounting system, irregular and wrong appointments, among others.
Lawal said that the council’s leadership implemented the recommendations and laid off 450.
He said the situation had snowballed into political and communal hostilities in the area.
Lawal said that the hostilities required quick intervention and might degenerate into an uncontrollable one, if adequate measures were not taken to nip it in the bud.
“I therefore humbly call on this House to intervene by setting up a committee to look into the matter fast, so as to prevent a likely volatile situation,” he said.
Supporting the motion, Alhaji Abdullahi Bello (PDP-Okene I), said it was timely to forestall possible breakdown of law and order.
The Speaker of the House, Alhaji Momoh-Jimoh Lawal, gave the committee three weeks to report back to the House.
