The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Abia State, has raised an alarm on the alleged ploy by the Governor Okezie Ikpeazu-led government to further loot and fraudulently divert public funds, by using the newly-inaugurated 17 transition committee chairmen of the local government areas, as conduit pipe.
APGA, in a statement issued to newsmen by its State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ebere Uzoukwa, on Tuesday, claimed that the transition chairmen were allegedly recruited as stooges, to allegedly criminally sustain what it termed as looting spree that had denied Abians and residents of the state to drive the developmental needs of the people in rural areas.
The party opined that the people of the state expected the governor and his government to initiate legitimate actions that would transparently instil proper utilization and deployment of local government allocations, remitted directly to the local government coffers, for purposes of driving development at the rural areas.
Parts of the statement read, “The reappointment of the immediate past TC Chairmen whom in Ikpeazu’s hollowed calculation, believed to have contributed to the massively flawed and disputatiously election returning him as governor, is to say the least, designed to extremely loot and divert Abia local government funds under the guise ‘security votes’ and phantom projects.
“This calls for serious concern; hence, it negates the whole essence of direct funding to the local government councils in the country. It is also disheartening upon remembering the past when local government councils meaningfully embarked on infrastructural and developmental projects, regularly paid salaries and veritably sustained micro and socio-economic programmes at the grassroots.
“The financial malfeasance as committed by the governor and his hirelings in government have hellishly deepened the sufferings of the people in all facets hence it reinforces government failures. The inherent danger is that the fact that local government workers will be perennially owed. Development will also remain a mirage in the local communities that populate Abia.
“Given the above scenario, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Abia State, wishes to invite the anti-graft agencies especially the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to beam its searchlight on Abia council funds to henceforth monitor closely all financial activities in the 17 local government areas of Abia State.
“We also enjoin all relevant authorities including the National Assembly to urgently put every constitutional arrangement in place; abolish the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIECs), so as to pave way for Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct credible and acceptable elections that will usher-in responsible and responsive government at the local government areas of Abia and Nigeria. It is our fervent belief that this audacious step, if taken, will guarantee local government financial autonomy being implemented by President Muhammadu Buhari.”
Responding in an interview with DAILY POST, the Chief Press Secretary to the Abia Governor, Onyebuchi Ememanka dismissed APGA’s claims, adding that: “APGA and its governorship candidate, Dr. Alex Otti and his party, are bad losers. There is no iota of truth that the present Ikpeazu-led government is using Tc chairmen for the seventeen Local government Areas of the state to milk the state.
“APGA is crying woeful, because of its poor outing in the last election. Abia people rejected them – (APGA) and overwhelmingly, transparently reelected Governor Ikpeazu, for a second term, so as to enable him consolidate the gains made so far, during his first term.”
