It is now five years and still counting. No council election has been held in Imo State and it is still uncertain when Governor Hope Uzodimma
will conduct elections into the local councils in the state.Typical of many states nationwide, democracy is suffering at the grassroots as governors prefer cronies-turned-administrators instead of conducting statutory local council elections. The case of Imo State is worsening with non-accountability and non-performance of local councils, which is impacting negatively on the welfare of the people, CHARLES OGUGBUAJA reports.
But Emeka Ihedioha, who stepped in as governor after Okorocha in May 2019, dissolved the elected executives and set up caretaker committees to continue to run the affairs of the councils. Findings by The Guardian from the National Bureau of Statistics show that over N88.3 billion was received as allocation for the 27 local governments in Imo State in two years . The local governments got N73.3 billion with each of them getting N2.27 billion on average in 2023. The monthly allocation since June last year has soared due to the removal of subsidies in petroleum products, which increased money into the federal, states and local councils’ purse.
The groups, Tax Justice and Governance Platform , and Christian Aid in partnership with Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre , stated that conducting elections in the councils will enable the citizenry to enjoy good governance and development at that level and reduce the influx of people from the rural areas to the capital city for greener pastures.
For instance, the National Vice Chairman , of the ADC Chilos Godsent, who dared the governor to conduct the election, stated that it would go a long way in ascertaining how concerned the government feels about the people. Godsent lamented that resources meant for the councils of the state had for several years been managed by appointees in the guise of caretaker committees, transition committees and sole administrators, saying the trend has provided an opportunity for arbitrary and reckless looting of the local government council funds.
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