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Hon. Nigeria Mbachu who is the member representing Awka-South constituency 1 in Anambra State House of Assembly, has described the imposition of caretaker committees to run the local government councils in the state as evil.
He lambasted the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo for not making appropriate provision for the conduct of the local government councils election in the 2024 proposed budget he submitted to the state Assembly.
He pointed out that there is no way the sum of ₦150million provided in the budget for the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission, (ANSIEC) could take care of conduct of the local government election.
He stated that such an amount could only take care of the salaries of the commission’s staff members and other overhead expenses.
Mbachu, who spoke to newsmen in Awka on Friday, said apart from the dearth of basic infrastructures across the 21 local government areas in the state, non-democratisation of the local government administration was responsible for the various vices and disputes being witnessed in the communities.
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He said ‘All the violent crimes including armed-robbery, kidnaping, killings for rituals you witness in our communities are happening because of non-conduct of local government election in our state.
‘All the disputes over the traditional rulership, town union leadership, lack of roads, water, health facilities, electricity and general lack of development in all the communities are because of the absence of elected chairmen and councillors in the local government councils.
‘This is why I always say that the imposition of Caretaker Committees to run the affairs of the local governments, and, JAC (Joint Account) system is evil.
‘Democratisation of the local government system provides a veritable platform for acquiring the proper political tutelage and it helps the electorate at the grassroots to know the capacity of the people they want to vote into higher political offices such as Governor, State Assembly, National Assembly and even the Presidency.
‘In fact, as far as I am concerned, lack of a democratically elected officials at the local government system is responsible for everything happening wrong in our state, so the sooner the local government election is conducted in our state the better for us, so that all these problems we are witnessing will ease off’, Hon. Mbachu.
The state lawmaker task journalists in the state to join forces in the task to compel the state government conduct election in the local government system.
He stating that before he joined the Labour Party (LP) under which is currently a member of the state legislature, he was a member of the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state, and, that he was aware that the state governor, Prof. Soludo made a firm promise to the people during his campaign that he would conduct Local government councils election if he won.
