PDP Asks Anti-graft Agencies To Probe Council Funds Use In Imo

Imo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to immediately probe how local government funds of the state are managed.

The publicity secretary of the party, Lancelot Obiaku, who made the call on Thursday in Owerri, the Imo State capital, said despite the receipt of N620 billion by the 27 local government areas, the state was grappling with decayed healthcare system, poor livelihood, education and road infrastructure.

Further, the PDP called on EFCC and ICPC to probe the local government chairmen, who they said were solely appointed by Uzodimma to explain the whereabouts of the local government funds as there were no projects to show.

According to the PDP, since the inception of Governor Hope Uzodimma’s administration, the 27 LGAs of the state had received at least N620 billion, which yielded nothing and has not been accounted for,

The party added that as of today, no council in the state receives less than N430 million monthly, with Mbaitoli and Isiala Mbano receiving the highest allocations for August at N625 million and N577 million respectively.

The PDP said it was astonished how the 27 Imo councils, on average, received a staggering sum of over N13 billion monthly in 2025, N9 billion in 2024, and N7 billion in 2023 from the federation account, yet remain in pitiable conditions with no proof of government presence to justify the receipt of such funds.

The party said “the PDP, therefore, urges the EFCC and ICPC to probe Imo LGA chairmen, who were literally appointed by Gov. Hope Uzodimma, to explain the whereabouts of the sums they receive monthly as federal allocations. This is especially critical since there are no projects such as schools, markets, construction or rehabilitation of roads, electricity projects, or community healthcare initiatives — nor is there any meaningful intervention ongoing in the name of any LGA in the state”.

The party called on the anti-graft agencies to beam their searchlight beyond the LGA chairmen, who according to them, have continued to collude with the state government by maintaining illegal accounts to swindle the state and plunder the commonwealth of its people.

According to the party, the EFCC chairman had in February, said local government Chairpersons were not immuned from investigation and prosecution for fraudulent activities due to their lack of immunity.

The Imo PDP welcomed the establishment of the Fraud Risk Assessment and Control (FRAC) Department in the EFCC and expressed hopes that the officials will visit local government councils to monitor the use of funds from the federation account.

Further, the party alerted the anti-graft agencies that primary health centres in various communities across the state, built decades ago, had become the dwelling place of rodents, reptiles, and snakes, while public schools in most LGAs had stopped functioning due to neglect.

According to him, the PDP “bemoans that the local government areas of the state are in a state of ruin, having no visible imprint of the government. It asserts that while local government was created to serve as the tier of government closest to the people and to attend to their needs, the LGAs under Gov. Hope Uzodimma’s regime have been worse than stagnant.

“Roads leading to many LGA council headquarters are impassable, with a number of rural communities rendered uninhabitable due to bad roads that the local governments cannot even grade. We insist that the anti-graft agencies must rise up now to tame this monumental corruption”, Obiaku said.