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By Madu Obi
THE ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Anambra State and the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, are blaming each other over non conduct of local government election in the state.
While APGA said APC was the cause of non conduct of the election following a court case it instituted against the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission, ANSIEC, APC regretted that Anambra is the only state in the South East that has neither formed democratically elected local governments, nor set a date for the exercise.
Since the return of the current democracy in the country in 1999, Anambra had conducted LG election only once and that was towards the end of Mr Peter Obi’s tenure as governor of the state in January 2014.
A chieftain of the APC, Okelo Madukaife, expressed surprise at the reason being given by APGA, insisting that there was no court restraining conduct of local government polls in the state.
Referring to a statement credited to the state chairman of APGA, Barr. Ifeatu Obi-Okoye that it was the APC court action that is delaying the local government election, Madukaife said: "Obiokoye did not mention the parties, the subject matter of the suit(s), or the specific orders, if any, tying the hands of the Anambra State government on local government election.
"Gov. Peter Obi of APGA used that excuse until it suffered self-expiration. Gov. Wille Obiano applied that excuse to corner the resources of LGs. Now Gov. Soludo,who was emphatic about holding LG election in September 2022, as part of election promise, has failed and is finding a leeway in the latest APGA umbrage.
"APGA is only trying to defend an unjustifiable plunder that is putting Zik's home state down in the comity of Nigerian states, to the extent that in time, the state may become the last in Nigeria.
"Come September 02, 2023, Edo State will repent from the sin that Anambra is older at by electing LG officials.
"Yet Anambra State is wasting money paying a set of near unproductive staff of ANSIEC for doing next to nothing, having no board and draining the resources of the state under the colourless leadership of Chukwuma Soludo's APGA."
Reacting to Madukaife's comment, the coordinator of APGA Media Warriors Forum, Mr. Chinedu Obigwe said it is a well known fact that the suit instituted by APC that was dragged to the Supreme Court, is the clog on the wheels of Anambra State government's desire to conduct local government election.
According to Obigwe, if APC is sincere about its clamour for the conduct of local government election in the state, it should first withdraw the cases it instituted in that respect in the court so that the state government would no longer have any legal impediment in that direction.
He said: "Anambra APC cannot use litigation to stop Anambra State government from conducting local government election and turn around to act as if it wants the election to be conducted.
"As long as the case is not yet decided by Supreme Court, any conduct of local government election in Anambra is an exercise in futility because it will be declared null and void at the end of the day.
"Governor Chukwuma Soludo is a believer of the rule of law and for that reason he will not indulge in a sub -judice action."
"In Anambra of today, Governor Soludo has drastically reduced the cost of governance and managing the lean resources at his disposal judiciously."
"The resources accruing to Anambra State coffers are being channelled to projects being executed across the state by the Soludo administration".
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