Sen. Ifeanyi Ubah Condemns Anambra State’s 18-Year Absence Of Local Government Elections

Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial district, Ifeanyi Ubah has condemned the refusal of past and current administrations of the state to conduct local government elections in the state in the last 18 years.

Ubah a Chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) stated this during Wednesday’s plenary making his contributions to a motion sponsored by Senator Kawu, Suleiman Abdulrahman (Kano South) which called on President Bola Tinubu to revive the local government system.

Ubah lamented that Anambra State has not conducted local government elections in the last 18 years.

Profering solutions he asserted that the non-implementation of the 1999 framework has become a major impediment to the independence of the Nation’s third tier.

The Anambra Lawmaker called for full autonomy to be granted to the local governments in the country to curb insecurity, rural-urban migration, decaying infrastructure, and widespread unemployment.

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He said; “If we want to promote good governance in this country, we need to look at section 7 of the 1999 constitutional framework so we can start having value for democracy in our respective states.

“In a state like Anambra state has not counted elections in the last 18 years. When you look at 6he decadence of governance , poor infrastructure, non employment of youths and other economic problems is due to the non implementation of the 1999 constitutional framework

A mild drama however ensued as efforts by Senator Victor Umeh to interject Ubah’s submission was overruled by the Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin who presided over the sitting.

Earlier in his lead debate, the Bill’s sponsor , Senator Kawu raised concerns that some governors play in crucial role in frustrating local government autonomy in Nigeria via constitutional alteration processes

According to him the situation has resulted in limited financial and operational autonomy, and local governments might struggle to effectively address local security concerns like community policing initiatives, intelligence gathering, and infrastructure maintenance.

He said; “Without the power to initiate and manage local economic development initiatives, like attracting businesses, investing in skills training, and promoting local entrepreneurship, local governments might be less equipped to address unemployment”.

“Nigeria’s current security challenges are deeply concerning, and the lack of adequate financial autonomy for local governments poses a significant obstacle to effectively addressing them.

The senate minority leader, Senator Abba Moro, recalled that over 17 states are currently operating a caretaker committee in the local government, creating an impasse in the administration of the LG.

He insisted that no effort should be spared in investigating the abuse of the system.

Other lawmakers, who described the local government as the most abused system, equally called for an amendment of the 1999 constitution to catalyze such independence.

In their resolutions the Senate asked President Tinubu to kick-start advocacy for full autonomy of local governments in the country to curb insecurity, rural-urban migration, decaying infrastructure, and widespread unemployment.

The upper chamber also asked the President to convene a national dialogue involving governors, state legislators, local government officials, civil society organizations, and community leaders to discuss the road map towards achieving full local government autonomy.

They also urged Federal agencies to fully comply with existing legal provisions that empower local Governments, ensuring timely release of allocated funds directly to their bank accounts and streamlining administrative processes.