Maduako Igbokwe l Thursday, March 18, 2021
ONITSHA, Anambra, Nigeria – A group known as Recover Nigeria Project (RNP) has vowed to disrupt Anambra state 2021 governorship election, if governor Willie Obiano refuses to conduct local government election before that election.
The coordinator of the group comrade Osita Obi in a chat with our reporter in Awka Anambra state capital said that it was wrong for the governor to deny the people at the local government right to participate in governance .
” How comes in the last seven years of Obiano administration ,nobody is talking about local government election . I want to be a councilor in my ward because I have potential I want to display . Others in the various local governments have their potentials also to showcase and why denying me and others the right to participate in governance ?
“If election cannot be conducted at local government , why must there be election for Soludo , Andy Uba, Dr. Godwin Maduka ,Dr Obiora Okonkwo and others . If the governor thinks that the only thing that is good for the third tie of government is caretaker , there must also be caretaker governor in Anambra state . In fact, what we need now in the state is the caretaker governor and not elected governor .
“These people are denying me my right to be local government councilor in my ward . I written and I want the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC not to conduct the Anambra state governorship election until Obiano conducts local government election in the state .
“We will disrupt the election and we are ready to lay our lives for this project .For the governorship election to be conducted without local government election Obiano will have to kill us first .There is no basis to conduct governorship election and deny others their political rights to participate in the politics” he said .
On the excuse by the government that some people are challenging them in court he asked if the president or INEC refuses to conduct governorship election in the state, will there not be crisis in the country .
“We are talking about third tier of government ,for good sake . I am from a community . I am from Awka south local government of the state and the local council receives federal allocation every months and the state government pockets it leaving my people without any money to do works” he said .
According to him ,non engagement of the youths at the local government is majorly responsible for the high rate of crime in the state ,noting that if there is local government election , jobs will be created for the youths and crime rate will be reduced .
He said that the state government has taken over the functions of local government ,collecting money in the parks ,motorcylists thereby leaving the people at the local level without any consideration .
“Today in Anambra state government is collecting money from the parks, shops and since the inception of the present democracy in 1999,Anambra state had conduct only one local government election at the end of Peter Obi administration . My finding shows that they refused to conduct the local government election because of the federal allocation to council which they have hijacked .
“It is the money interest and not the court they always cite as reason for the non conduct of local government election. We will still demand for them to account for all the local government money they collected .Nigeria is changing and they must account for it one day ” he said .
Also in a letter written to INEC commissioner ,Awka and copied to Anambra state Commissioner for Police ,Director , Department of State Security DSS,Obi who is also the coordinator of Movement for Conduct of Local government Election in Anambra state said his members will disrupt the conducted of governorship election in the state if no local government election was conducted .
” We warn that the governorship election will not take place in Anambra state until local government election is conducted . We are ready to lay down our lives for this cause. Democracy must be for all and not only for the few ” he said .
The Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment Mr. C. Don Adinuba said that government cannot conduct any local government election when the case is before the supreme Court of Nigeria . According to him, the state government must respect the law of the land and would not do anything that is pre-judicial . He said that the government is not afraid of conducting local government election.
Mr. Uche Nweke said that he has been hoping to contest for a councillorship election in his ward and cannot because of the government refusal to conduct the local government poll.
” I graduated from the University since five years ago and there is no work . I hope to start my political career from the local government but the government is not opening up the space for us. They only use their cronies to run the affairs of the council ” he said.
