- Accuses Obiano of killing LG system
David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka
The Inter-party Advisory Committee (IPAC) has called on the Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano, to conduct local government elections into the 21 local government areas of the state without further delay.
The group gave the governor three months to conduct the elections, saying that when the period of the ultimatum elapses in March 2017, they would have no other option than to drag him to court.
It also called on the governor to immediately put the sum of N21billion refunded to local governments in Nigeria from over deductions of London and Paris Club debts from the federal government to use to better the lives of the people of the state, wondering why the state received the money in silence without telling the citizens.
IPAC state acting Chairperson, Oby Kate Okafor of ACD party, in a statement said Obiano has enough money to put the state on high pedestal especially the 21 local government areas and should not make any excuses.
The statement released by the group noted: “Anambra State IGR is about N29 billion for the year 2016, federal allocation to Anambra for the month of September 2016 alone is N3.43 billion, July 2016 above N2.5billion, So, federal allocation for Anambra in 2016 is approximately N35billion.
“This is apart from support funds from all foreign donor agencies and financial institutions towards health, education and environment among others. So, to blame non-performance or zero performance on economic recession, devaluation of the naira or insufficient fund is an excuse that is unacceptable and does not hold water.
The group said projects in the state are stagnated, giving instances of abandoned projects in the 21 local government areas to include construction of access road to Civil Servants Housing Estate, Isiagu; reconstruction of access road to AUSCO farms Ltd, Agu – Awka, and many others.
It said: “The unseriousness of the government of Chief Willie Obiano was shown in the 2017 Appropriation bill presented to the Anambra State House of Assembly, where no budgetary provision was made for the Anambra State local government elections.
“Therefore, in the effect that the government of Anambra State refuses to take necessary steps toward the conduct of the local government election, political parties in the state will be left with no other option than to employ all necessary legal actions against the government of Anambra State to compel the government to do the needful.
“Political parties in Anambra State which are the major stakeholders in the Anambra political business cannot continue to keep silent while our state government continues to violate the laws of the land with impunity.
“In the event of the negligence of this important demand, we shall appeal to the National Assembly and the Federal Government of Nigeria to stop the release of all federal allocations meant for Anambra State local governments, pending when duly elected local government executives will emerge.”
