By Mmaduabuchi Onwumelu
Following the recent court judgement on the autonomy of local governments, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Anambra State Chapter, has congratulated the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a release signed by the Anambra State Chairman of the APC, Hon (Sir) Basil Ejidike, and made available to newsmen in Awka, the party commended the President over what they described as a bold and audacious step.
‘On behalf of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Anambra State Chapter, I heartily congratulate the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, on this landmark judgment by the Supreme Court on the contentious issue of Local Government Autonomy.
‘This yet another giant stride of the Asiwaju Administration is a manifestation of Mr President’s sincere and genuine interest towards the full restructuring of the Nigerian Federation. We sincerely appreciate Mr. President’s intrepid disposition towards confronting these monsters that threatened the growth and development of the federation by taking the bull by the horns which his predecessors shied away from.
‘This affirmation of autonomy by the Supreme Court has put to rest this debate and thus rescued the Local Government from perpetual strangulation in Nigeria. This verdict will stimulate the Local Government System as the third tier of government, and as well engender rural development.
‘May I seize this opportunity to congratulate Nigerians, especially ndi Anambra, for yet another opportunity to witness giant developmental strides at the grassroots level.
‘We reiterate our earlier call on the APGA Administration in Anambra to set the state on the path of progress by conducting Local Government Elections, which it has vehemently and fraudulently refused to conduct in its over 18 years at the helm of affairs in Anambra, save for just 2 years; and used unelected persons, thereby denying ndi Anambra the right of having democratically elected officials to run the affairs of this very important stratum of government.
‘In furtherance, they have continued to misappropriate the funding accruing to the local government system. The huge funds that accrued to the Local Governments in the recent years do not reflect the level of infrastructure in our Local Governments and rural areas, hence, the stunted growth and development process at the grassroots level.
‘We call on the Prof. Chukwuma Soludo-led APGA Administration to do the needful now that the Supreme Court has ended the debate on local government autonomy. The APC in Anambra implores the People of Anambra to hold the APGA government accountable if it fails to conduct Local Government Elections to energize this very important tier of government immediately,’ Ejidike said.
