Ex-councillors from the 16 local gov­ernment areas in Kwara State have protested to Gov­ernment House, Ilorin, over the non payment of their N2.25 billion severance allow­ance.

The aggrieved councillors, under the aegis of “Ex–local government political office holders 2007–2010, Kwara State”, who arrived the State House, located along Ahmadu Bello Way, in the state capital, disrupted state executive coun­cil session presided by Gover­nor Abdulfatah Ahmed.

The former councils’ leg­islators prevented vehicular movements in and outside the Government House for about two hours, until the interven­tion of Governor Ahmed, who came out from SEC meeting to pacify them.

The councillors were al­legedly aggrieved that their immediate successors in of­fice who had three months to complete their three-year ten­ure were fully paid off their severance allowance, leaving them that fully served their term out to wallow in poverty.

They ex-councillors chanted various solidarity songs and carried placards with inscrip­tions condemning govern­ment for allegedly reneging on its promise to pay them off.

One of the placards read: ‘What is good for the geese is also good for the gander’.

It was gathered that the governor had earlier sent his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Alhaji Usman Bibire Ajape, to dialogue with the aggrieved councillors, which did not yield fruitful result.

Daily Newswatch also learnt that the Special Adviser was re­buffed and chased away by the protesters, insisting on meeting Ahmed himself.

It is recalled that a similar protest was staged by the aggrieved ex-councillors six weeks ago, precisely July 28, 2014.

The governor, who later sus­pended the council meeting to address them at the gate, was accompanied by Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Isiaka Gold, Head of Service, Alhaji Dabarako Mohammed, some commissioners and per­sonal aides.

The governor, however, in­vited six officials of the forum to a two-hour closed door meeting.