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orth Sumatra councilors have submitted an interpellation petition against Governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho in relation to several issues, including the provincial budget and the graft suspect status of the provincial secretary.

At least 57 councilors from eight factions filed interpellation rights against Gatot through North Sumatra Legislative Council (DPRD I) speaker Ajib Shah on Tuesday afternoon, based on five issues.

'€œThe five issues are quite serious so we have the right to ask the governor via the interpellation petition,'€ Gerindra Party faction head Yantoni Purba told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Yantoni said the first issue was related to a Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) audit of North Sumatra'€™s financial report in 2013, which had produced a negative result.

The second issue, he said, was a mistake in determining assumed provincial resource revenues (PADs) that had led to debt.

Third, he said, was Hasban Ritonga'€™s appointment as provincial secretary, despite his suspect status.

Hasban was named a suspect by the National Police'€™s Criminal Investigations Directorate (Bareskrim) in March 2014, in a land dispute.

The fourth and fifth issues, Yantoni went on, concerned alleged violations of a ministerial decree regarding the 2014 provincial budget, as well as the provincial administration'€™s alleged lack of an attempt to deal with debts that had reached Rp 400 billion (US$30.7 million) to contractors, as it had failed to achieve revenue targets in the 2014 fiscal year.

Among the 57 councilors that signed the interpellation petition, 14 were from the Democratic Party, 12 from Gerindra, 10 from the Hanura Party, seven from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), five from the NasDem Party, two from the National Mandate Party (PAN), one from the Golkar Party and six from joint
factions.

Yantoni said the petition was expected to be immediately forwarded to the consultative board and scheduled for a plenary session.

He added that the formal right to submit the petition met the requirements, as it had been endorsed by 75 of a total of 100 councilors.

Speaker Ajib said council leaders would immediately propose the petition to the consultative board to schedule a plenary meeting.

'€œWe will immediately follow up with the proposal,'€ said Ajib after meeting with the faction leaders.

Student executive boards from across Medan staged a rally at the council building on Tuesday to support the interpellation petition against the governor, a politician from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

The students urged councilors to file the petition and be aware that it was not just a means of '€œthreatening'€ the governor.

Earlier, students also rallied at the North Sumatra High Prosecutor'€™s Office and urged prosecutors to immediately investigate various alleged corrupt practices implicating Gatot.

Rally coordinator Bobby Purwadi identified several corruption allegations in the North Sumatra administration that he said should be thoroughly investigated by prosecutors, especially a case regarding the alleged marking up of subordinate regional assistance (BDB) from Rp 1.5 trillion to Rp 2.828 trillion in 2013.