A chieftain of Labour Party (LP) and former governorship candidate, Mr Valentine Ozigbo, has described the use of appointees by Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, to run the local government areas of the state as ‘corruption’.
Ozigbo was reacting to a recent court order in Abuja, which restrained the Accountant General of the Federation and the Federal Minister of Finance from further remitting funds due to the 21 local government areas of Anambra State to the Soludo-led state government.
In a post he made on his verified X handle, Ozigbo described the use of appointees as chairmen of local government areas as not only corrupt but also illegal.
Ozigbo said: “While this news is not entirely cheerful, given that it involves funds due to the local government areas of Anambra, it is a welcome development.
“The corruption-laden use of appointed caretaker committees to manage the affairs of local governments has been consistently deemed illegal.
“It is unfortunate that Anambra’s Governor Chukwuma Soludo has continued this practice since his inauguration on March 17, 2022, despite promises to the contrary.
“Over the past two years, approximately N175 billion may have accrued to these LGAs. Now, imagine the impact this substantial sum could have had on schools, healthcare institutions, markets, and the lives of the people in LGAs like Ayamelum, Ogbaru, Idemili South, and Ekwusigo, which have felt little to no government presence.
“Consider that this approximated N175 billion is not part of the State Government’s allocation or the internally generated revenue in Anambra.
“Given the heightened insecurity that has plagued Anambra since this administration took office, continuing to remit these substantial funds without elected local government councils is counterproductive.”
He applauded Chukwuebuka Mmeni Esq., who dragged Soludo to court over the development, for taking steps to expose the Anambra State Government’s malfeasance.
He also urged the Anambra State Government to avoid wasting resources on legal fees to overturn the order, as it clearly serves the interests of Anambra people.
“The illegality of the caretaker committees cannot be overstated, and no sophistry-cloaked legal argument can defend the indefensible.
“Our state would benefit more if the state government redirected funds towards conducting genuine local government elections. Should the governor persist in contesting the order without conducting these elections, I advise my party, the Labour Party, to join the suit to ensure that the right thing is done.”
It’s corruption for Soludo to use appointees to run Anambra LGs – Ozigbo