MEMBERS of the legislative arm of Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State were on Tuesday denied access to the legislative chambers for plenary.

UGAMATV gathered that the lawmakers had arrived at the chambers in the council’s secretariat in Aboh, but could not gain access to the auditorium as the door was under lock and key.

Speaking to our correspondent, the Leader of the Legislative Arm, Prince Onuah, said the lawmakers were shocked when they discovered that the door was locked with no council staff around to open it for legislative business.

Onuah told our correspondent on the telephone that at the last sitting, they summoned the Head of Department of Works in the council as well as the Treasurer of the council to appear before the lawmakers on Tuesday.

He said, “Surprising to us, when we got to the chamber today (Tuesday), it was locked; nobody was found there. All the civil servants that were supposed to be here before our arrival were not found. After waiting for two to three hours, we now went to brief the press.

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“The chairman of local government is aware of the situation because as we were going, we saw the Clerk, who presented a letter from the chairman to my office.

“The chairman is writing to my office that he is the Chief Executive Officer of the local government, that the Legislative Arm has no right to summon the HOD, Works or the treasurer, but that we should write to him.”

He said the Legislative Arm had no issue with the chairman, adding that “we are just doing what we were elected to do”.

When contacted, the Council Chairman, Juan Governor, said, “What played out on Tuesday morning was a script that was well written and well dramatised. As far as I am concerned, I don’t have any issue with them.

“Tell them to scan their letter and my own letter and send to you. Otherwise if somebody can stage a drama for something that didn’t happen, I wonder what else they will tell you,” he added.