Anambra State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has hailed President Bola Tinubu and the Supreme Court justices following Thursday’s judgment granting local government autonomy in Nigeria.
According to Anambra State APC Chairman, Chief Sir Basil Ejidike in a statement he signed, said it took President Tinubu’s ingenuity and commitment towards grassroots development to deepen democracy in the local governments.
The State Chairman, Ejidike added that the ruling by Justice Emmanuel Agim-led seven-man panel was a definitive decision, taken with courage, on a vexed national issue.
The state party chairman said the local government autonomy was a significant stride to the restructuring of Nigeria since its fourth republic.
The statement read in part, “On behalf of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Anambra State, I heartily congratulate the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Aswiaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, on this landmark judgement by the Supreme Court on the contentious issue of Local Government autonomy.
“This yet another giant stride of the Aswiaju administration is a manifestation of Mr President’s sincere and genuine interest towards full restructuring of the Nigeria federation.
“We sincerely appreciate Mr President’s intrepid disposition towards confronting these monsters that threatened the growth and development of the federation by taking the bull by the horns, which his predecessors shed away from.”
“This affirmation of autonomy by the Supreme Court has put to rest this debate, and thus rescued the Local Government from perpetual strangulation in Nigeria. This verdict will stimulate the Local Government system, as the third tier of government, and as well engender Rural development.”
Ejidike congratulated Nigerians especially Ndi Anambra on yet another opportunity to witness giant development strides at the grassroots levels.
He added,” We reiterate our earlier call on the APGA administration in Anambra State to set the state on the path of progress by conducting Local Government election, which it has vehemently and fraudulently refused to conduct in its over 18 years at the helm of affairs in Anambra State, save for just two (2) years; and used unelected persons, thereby denying Ndi Anambra the right of having democratically elected officials to run the affairs of this very important stratum of government.
“In furtherance, they have continued to misappropriate the funding accruing to the Local Government system. The huge funds that accrued to the Local Government in recent years do not reflect the level of infrastructure in our local Government and rural areas, hence the stunted growth and development process at the grassroots.
“We call on Prof. Chukwuma Soludo-led APGA administration to do the needful now that the Supreme Court has ended the debate on Local Government autonomy. The APC in Anambra implores the people of Anambra to hold the APGA government accountable if it fails to conduct Local Government elections to energise this very important tier of government immediately.”
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