Kogi State deputy governor, Simon Achuba, has threatened to sue Governor Yahaya Bello for withholding his salaries and all other financial benefits from 2017 till date.
In a letter addressed to the governor, Mr Achuba’s lawyer, Femi Falana, said if the allowances are not paid within seven days, he would be left with no option other than to approach the court.
“In particular, the statutory allocations approved for the office of the Deputy Governor have been withheld by the state government since 2017,” the letter read in part.
According to the letter, the backlog of travel allowances, hotel bills, pledges and outstanding monthly imp rest and salaries entitled to him amounts to N819,709,980.
Mr Falana described the governor’s refusal to release funds for the deputy governor’s office as an aberration and negation of the country’s constitution.
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“The office is statutorily entitled to the prompt release of all allocations due to it as appropriated by the Kogi State House of Assembly and signed into law as the budget by your Excellency,” Mr Falana said.
The senior advocate of Nigeria also alleged that Mr Bello had consistently refused to give approval for the release of funds for the smooth running of Achuba’s office despite approvals in memos.
He maintained that the “statutory allocations are duly captured in the Kogi state appropriation laws of 2017, 2018, and 2019 supported by various memos sent to the office of governor Bello.
However, the governor through his media aide Kingsley Fanwo said he has no comment to make on the issue.
