Civil society organisations (CSOs) in Imo State have given Governor Hope Uzodimma a three-month ultimatum to conduct local government elections in the state.
The CSOs also urged the state’s House of Assembly to pass a resolution compelling the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission to begin the process of conducting the elections before May.
The groups, which included Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Christian Aid and the Tax Justice and Governance Platform, made the call at a joint news briefing in Owerri.
In a statement, titled: “Imo State Economic Challenges and Debt Management amid Economic Uncertainties in Nigeria,” the state coordinator of Tax Justice and Governance Platform, Chibundu Uchegbu, said the need for the local government elections was long due.
In his reaction, the chief press secretary to the governor, Ogwuike Nwachuku, said the governor has put machinery in place to conduct the LG polls.
According to him, the exercise would take place soon.
Uchegbu stressed that the people of the state are no longer progressing as they should due to the absence of leadership at the LG level.
“The last time Imo held LG election was in August 2018 with the set of elected LGA officials disbanded in less than one year in office – specifically in May 2019 – by a successive government.
“Since that time to date, the affairs of LG system in the state are being run by unelected officials, therefore, denying the people their democratic rights, aspirations and privileges.
“This is a clear violation of Section 7 (1) of 1999 Constitution as amended, which says ‘The system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under this Constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the government of every state shall subject to Section 8 of this Constitution, ensure their existence under a Law, which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance functions of such councils’,” he said.
Chibundu highlighted that in spite of the huge sums of money injected into their treasury from the Federation Account Allocation Committee on monthly basis, LGs are not living up to their responsibilities to the people at the grassroots.
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