Balikumbat DO, Mayor engage in a brawl over Youth Day budget

Youth Day celebration in Balikumbat Subdivision, Ngoketunjia Division of the Northwest Region turned out in a dramatic manner with the Divisional Officer Ngwa Martin Manjong and Mayor Wasum Augustine pulling the curtains over the celebration with a fist fight to resolve their differences over the amount allocated for youth day activities.

Reports say that the fight started when the mayor took the microphone to announce on the PA system that the council had given the sum of 200,000 FRS as council support for the activities of the day, circuitously exposing the DO who is chairman of the organizing community for having retained part of the money. The furious DO snatched the microphone from his hand leading to a fight between the two in the full view of a perplexed crowd and security officials.

According to some service heads in Balikumbat, the fight was the result of tension between both men that had accumulated to an unbearable level before yesterday and one of them needed to let the steam out.

The mayor reportedly arrived at the ceremonial ground 10 minutes after the DO. This was deemed a deliberate attempt to snub the DO who was received upon arrival only by the Inspector of Basic Education, the sub-delegate for Youth Affairs and Civic Education and other members of the constituted corps. Mayor Wasum, also hired a separate musical set for the event despite the organizing committee having secured another.

Prior to the D-day, the mayor had issued a radio announcement over the local radio, Chamber FM, informing the public that the council would disburse the sum of 450,000 FRS for the four youth day centres in the subdivision, with Balikumbat central to receive 200,000 Frs.

Though both men had maintained tight lips over the matter except for their confidant and collaborators, it has become common knowledge even amongst primary school pupils that the mayor is concern about how the previous amounts allocated for similar events were used, blaming the administration for not putting in use all that was allocated by the council last year.