The All Local Governments of Nigeria, Abia State, has debunked the insinuations that the monthly funds for the local government areas in the state are being misappropriated.
Briefing newsmen on Friday after their meeting held on Thursday in Umuahia, the state ALGON chairman and Mayor of Isuikwuato LGA, Chinedu Ekeke, said, “We are not aware that any fund is being hijacked. So, the government is the one that shares our allocation.
“Funds have not been coming to local governments from the federal government. You can say that they (state) hijack that if the Federal Government sends money (directly) to the local government.”
On the question of their feelings about the Supreme Court’s judgment on local government autonomy, Ekeke said, “So, I believe that the federal government is still trying to figure out a way to deal with that.”
“There is a strong collaboration between the local government and the state government. So, for us, at the state level, I will tell you clearly that the state government, under the leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Alex Otti, has been funding the local government.
“The local governments are funded from the JAAC accounts, because the funds go to the JAAC accounts. They don’t come to the local government straight.
“The federal government is probably trying to look for a way to handle that. But at this time, the local governments are properly funded,” he said, and assured that all the 17 LGA Mayors are performing well.
Earlier in their communique he read, the association noted the recent public statements and political meetings “convened by architects of a failed past who are unsettled by the present progress in Abia State, including some former governors and their associates, wherein declarations were made concerning the tenure and political future of the governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti.”
While recognising Otti’s record, they said he has “demonstrated clear commitments to good governance, fiscal responsibility, and service delivery, with verifiable improvements recorded across the 17 local governments in recovery, rehabilitation, and construction of roads, healthcare and educational facilities, prompt payment of salaries and pensions, clearing backlogs of salaries, and prudent management of public resources.”
“In a democratic system, leadership is determined by performance and the freely expressed will of the electorate through credible elections, and not by declarations, pronouncements, or political gangos. Public discourse must be approached with facts, not falsehoods, exaggerations, or revisionist narratives,” they advised and passed a vote of confidence on Alex Otti.