Liverpool Council inquiry: Mayor Ned Mannoun on CEO John Ajaka’s sacking
Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun claims he was upset when the council’s chief executive told him to “shut the f--k up’’ despite sending funny Facebook clips about it afterwards, an inquiry has heard.
Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun insists he was trying to de-escalate a situation after a tense meeting about the budget that led to the then-chief executive telling him to shut the f--k up” weeks before he was sacked.
Mr Mannoun was questioned about the exchange and his decision to oust Mr Ajaka while he took the stand for the second day at the Office of Local Government’s public inquiry into the organisation’s dysfunction and maladministration.
Mr Ajaka, a former Liberal minister who Mr Mannoun headhunted for the job with a $550,000 annual salary, previously told the inquiry he was blindsided when Mr Mannoun moved to sack him at a council meeting last April.
He went on leave before he was officially terminated on May 29, 2024, on Mr Mannoun’s casting vote.
On April 16 that year, a disagreement about the budget during a four-person meeting, led Mr Ajaka to tell Mr Mannoun to “shut the f--k up”.
On Monday, the inquiry heard how councillor Fiona Macnaught, who was also in that “swearing meeting” along with corporate services director Farooq Portelli, sent Mr Mannoun a funny “Facebook musical” post bearing the message “shut the f--k up”, which Mr Mannoun then forwarded to his assistant Lauren Myers.
Counsel assisting the inquiry Trish McDonald SC suggested to Mr Mannoun he was not very upset about Mr Ajaka swearing at him if he sent the joke.
Mr Mannoun said he was de-escalating” the situation and “it was obviously extremely disrespectful” but agreed he was more upset about not receiving an apology in the following days from Mr Ajaka.
On the April 24, 2024, mayoral minute Mr Mannoun said he and Ms Macnaught were concerned for their safety after the incident caused “significant distress and anxiety”.
A mayoral minute is a statement or motion a mayor submits for a council meeting but does not always have to be submitted the same time as the regular agenda.
The mayoral minute Mr Mannoun wrote stated how United Services Union organiser Sandie Morthen told Mr Mannoun to “get a thicker skin”.
A day before the meeting, Mr Mannoun said he discussed Mr Ajaka’s leave with fellow Liberal councillors at a catch-up at Lily’s Prestons, but his termination was not discussed.
Mr Ajaka was the council’s 10th chief executive to be ousted in eight years.
Ms McDonald asked the mayor if mayoral minutes were appropriate for “complex and substantial” subjects such as terminations.
Mr Mannoun said some councillors raised concerns about the quantity and the lack of notice.
Mr Mannoun was also grilled about tensions between mayors and other bosses, including Mr Portelli in December 2013, when he was the chief executive.
At a council meeting 12 years ago, Mr Mannoun asked councillors to vote on a mayoral minute to axe general manager Mr Portelli following a disagreement they had about signing a tender for a new council building following the 2010 fire at the old chambers.
“My view is I would have been in breach of the act had I signed off on it and had I taken the advice of the CEO, I would be in trouble,’’ Mr Mannoun said.
The inquiry heard Mr Mannoun also wanted Mr Portelli to go because other councillors were displeased with his performance and that he failed to arrange a tour of the council building when he was first elected as the mayor in 2012.
“It led to numerous awkward situations ... and it created a very awkward environment, so that was the beginning of it,’’ Mr Mannoun said.
Mr Mannoun’s motion to sack Mr Portelli, in December 2013, failed to get quorum but it was resolved to terminate his employment during a confidential session of the council’s March 26 meeting. Mr Portelli decided to retire before that meeting.
In July, Mr Portelli told the inquiry his relationship with Mr Mannoun became fractured after he decided to terminate planning director Matt Daniel’s employment in 2013 after learning he was bankrupt.
In February 2022, the council voted six to five to terminate chief executive Eddie Jackson’s contract during a council meeting.
The inquiry before Commissioner Ross Glover continues.
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Originally published as Liverpool Council inquiry: Mayor Ned Mannoun on CEO John Ajaka’s sacking
