Liverpool Council CEO John Ajaka granted paid leave amid Mayor Ned Mannoun’s bid to terminate contract

An independent inquiry will be launched after Liverpool Council chief executive John Ajaka was stood down with pay despite Mayor Ned Mannoun’s bid to terminate his contract following a heated budget meeting.

Liverpool Council CEO John Ajaka.

An independent inquiry will be launched after Liverpool Council chief executive John Ajaka was stood down with pay despite Mayor Ned Mannoun’s bid to terminate his contract following a heated budget meeting.

After more than two hours behind closed doors, Mr Ajaka was granted leave with pay “until the concerns raised in Ned Mannoun’s mayoral minute have undergone an independent investigation.”

Once the council meeting resumed around 5.30pm, Liverpool Council director of operations Jason Breton sat in Mr Ajaka’s chair and was appointed as the acting chief executive in the interim.

Council further resolved for an investigation to be launched into Workplace Health and Safety concerns “impacting the organisation’s culture” and to notify the Office of Local Government.

This included issues raised by the United Services Union (USU) representatives with council on April 23 about safe and acceptable workplace culture.

Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun. Picture: Daily Telegraph / Monique Harmer

A further investigation will look into offensive, racist and religious chants made by attendees - including council staff - during a USU rally before the meeting.

USU members rallied to “not stand for Ned sacking another CEO” as protestors brought signs that read “Keep John (Ajaka) Erase Ned (Mannoun).”

When attendees returned to the chambers, former Liverpool councillor Peter Ristevski said from the gallery: “You’re a joke, you’re a coward, come over here”.

Mr Mannoun and Mr Ristevski filmed each other outside the chambers as Mr Mannoun questioned him on why protesters chanted “Put some pork on your fork” outside the council building.

Mr Ristevski yelled back: “you’re a racist against Christians” and “you will be sacked” to Mr Mannoun.

Police were called as tensions simmered at the meeting.

The motion was not passed unanimously. Mayor Ned Mannoun, deputy mayor Fiona Macnaught, Cr Peter Harle, Cr Mel Goodman, Cr Mazhar Hadid and Cr Richard Ammoun voted for, while Cr Betty Green, Cr Karress Rhodes, Cr Kaliyanda and Cr Ali Karnib voted against the motion.

The resolution came after the meeting descended into chaos with Mr Mannoun labelled a “coward” by a former councillor in the chamber.

Police were called to the council chambers at 3:15pm to remove union members and attendees – including Peter Ristevski – after councillors closed the meeting to discuss Mr Ajaka’s potential sacking.

Mr Mannoun faced a barrage of opposition from members of the public and was called a “coward” and a “disgrace” by Mr Ristevski.

A protest sign outside Liverpool Council.

“You’re a coward, you don’t want to do it in front of everyone you have no guts,” he said.

Sources told this publication Mr Mannoun initially planned to terminate the contract of Mr Ajaka after the pair, deputy mayor Fiona Macnaught and Farooq Portelli had a meeting on Tuesday April 16 about 4pm, at the request of the chief executive.

This publication understands the meeting was about the upcoming budget and consideration of modelling different scenarios, where tensions between the mayor and chief executive reached boiling point.

Mr Risevski, alongside more than 20 union members, refused to leave the chambers before police were called to the scene.

Former Liverpool councillor Peter Ristevski (in suit) with union members eating pizza outside the chambers.

“No one leave, this guy is a coward, remember this in September (for the local council elections,” he said.

Police told the crowd “we need you guys to leave them room” and to “step outside” of the chambers.

Mr Ajaka spoke to the crowd and told them: “I can’t respect you more for what you’re doing… but if anything happened to any of you it’d be on my head”.

Wednesday’s developments come after the United Services Union held an urgent meeting at Discovery Park in Liverpool on Tuesday “due to the potential threat to a large number of council jobs”.

“We cannot let Mayor Ned Mannoun think that our members’ livelihood can be bartered off to deliver election promises,” a flyer stated.