The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has ordered the removal of the state joint accounts from banks that gave unauthorised loans to some local government chairmen in the state.

Wike gave the directive while swearing in the Chairman of the Asari-Toru Local Government Area, Mrs. Alaso Obi, at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Wednesday.

A statement by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, said Obi was the vice chairman of the council, but the death of the elected chairman, Chief Odiari Princewill, on May 27, 2020 created a vacuum that needed to be filled.

The statement said Wike directed the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice to take legal action against the defaulting banks, saying both the banks and the councils that defaulted would suffer the consequences of the illegality.

The statement quoted Wike as saying, “We have taken a decision that for all those loans taken without approval, the affected accounts must leave the defaulting banks.

“I have told the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice to take necessary steps. The banks cannot seek refund from the local government areas. When you break the law, you suffer for it.

“Council chairmen who want to take loans from banks must get official approval. You cannot take loans that will mortgage the future of the people,” Wike said.

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Wike suspends joint account over unapproved LG chairmen’s loans