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LG Autonomy: Alex Otti Disobeys Pres. Tinubu, Supreme Court – APC Chieftain
A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, In Abia StatE, Prince Paul Ikonne, has alleged that Governor Alex Otti is one of the governors prominently disobeying President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive on the functionality of local government administrators in Nigeria.
Ikonne specifically accused the Abia State governor of “trying to amend and find a way to create new laws in the state that will empower him to continue using the local government funds at will.”
Recall that President Tinubu at the recent National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the APC lamented the refusal by the governors to obey the Supreme Court judgement on the Local Government Autonomy.
President Tinubu, however, threatened the state governors with an executive order, saying, “I have the knife, and I have the yam.”
Speaking on the development during an interview on Television Continental (TVC), Ikonne, who is the immediate-past Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), said unlike Abia State, Local Government Areas in Lagos State are executing projects.
“In Lagos State, you see local government building health centers and building schools. They are also council-elected chairmen and councillors. So, the issue of knowing them may not be the issue, but the governor should know that local government is another tier of government that is closer to the people, closer to the farmers, closer to the less privileged, closer to the widows, and closer to the disabled people.
“But in some other states, like in Abia State, for example, the governor of Abia State is trying to amend the laws and find a way to create new laws that will empower him to continue using the local government funds at will, at his pleasure.”
According to Ikonne, local government is an arm of government that ought not to be played with.
“You can see how passionate Mr President is in trying to drive the point that governors should let local governments handle their funds and implement projects that will positively impact the lives of people. You know, it was really great and interesting to see Mr President address that issue because it was looking like the President was not prepared to confront these powerful governors who are also key political allies.”
While commending President Tinubu for demonstrating sincerity, Ikonne added that “anybody playing politics with Mr. President’s statement is being misleading. If the president doesn’t speak to his party members, the governors that are within his party, who will he speak to? How well does this expose a deeper crisis of constitutional obedience among governors? It’s really a challenge.
The APC chieftain said, “In Enugu State, local governments are building schools and building hospitals. Lagos State is an example also. Lagos State local government council chairmen are also implementing projects. But there are states that are not. Where I come from, we must have to look at it from both sides to understand the weight of not allowing local government to have the autonomy.
“Abia State local government, 17 local governments, receives an average of 7 to 8 billion Naira every month. Now, people are crying that there are hardships out there as a result of subsidy removal. But the president makes sure that money goes back to the local government. Money that would have cushioned the effect if these funds were properly utilized. If facilities are provided in the state at the local government level. If infrastructures are in place, hospitals and schools are put in place by the local government authorities. But they don’t see their funds.
“My local government, for example, receives an average of 4 to 500 million every month, but the local government chairman gets 8 million naira only from the government,” Ikonne stated.
Ikonne challenged the Alex Otti-led administration to come out openly and tell Nigerians how he has utilized LG funds in the state.
He said, “One would have imagined that being a Labour Party, they would have used this as an example to show what they would do. But unfortunately, if you get to Abia State, you find out why Abians, Nigerians in general, will not let anything labor come up again. Because the party in power in Abia State has ruined the local government system, in the sense that you cannot lay hands on any single project executed by the local government authority.”
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POLITICS: Wike-led PDP Faction Takes Over Party Secretariat In Oyo
Members of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, loyal to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, have taken over the secretariat of the party in Oyo State.
The secretariat, located in the Molete area of Ibadan, was in the custody of the faction loyal to Governor Seyi Makinde of the state until Thursday when the members loyal to Wike took over the premises.
DAILY POST gathered that the PDP members stormed the secretariat on Thursday and occupied the premises with hundreds of members of the party in attendance.
PDP chairman in the state, Professor Abdulrahman Akinoso, confirmed the development to DAILY POST.
Akinoso in a telephone conversation with DAILY POST on Thursday, insisted that the real owners have taken over the premises.
He said, “It is true. It is not faction. It is PDP. We have taken over the premises. It was in the morning. We were there in the morning. We just left the premises. We are now in control. We have taken over the premises.” .…For more, Complete your reading.
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POLITICS: Foreign Recognition Won’t Secure Re-election – ADC Tells Tinubu
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has told President Bola Tinubu that foreign recognition will not secure him another term in office, insisting that Nigerians will judge his administration by its performance, not by diplomatic gestures from other world leaders.
In a statement issued on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party reacted to the Presidency’s celebration of a purported letter from United States President Donald Trump to Tinubu.
The ADC said presenting the letter as an endorsement of Tinubu’s administration was misleading, stressing that diplomatic correspondence between world leaders is a normal part of international relations.
“The Presidency’s attempt to present President Donald Trump’s letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as though it were a referendum on the state of the nation is not correct,” the party said.
According to the ADC, countries cooperate, leaders exchange views and letters regularly, adding that such communication does not amount to an endorsement of a government’s performance.
The party accused the Tinubu administration of being desperate for international validation instead of focusing on solving Nigeria’s challenges.
“It is apparent that this administration is desperate to seize upon any gesture of international recognition as proof of success at home,” the statement said.
The ADC maintained that “a letter from a foreign president, however well-intentioned, cannot substitute for the verdict of the Nigerian people.”
It added that the true measure of any government is not what foreign leaders say about it, but what citizens experience daily.
The opposition party argued that Trump’s letter had not changed the reality facing millions of Nigerians, especially those affected by insecurity.
“For the millions of Nigerians still living with the consequences of this government’s failures, President Trump’s communication changes nothing. It did not say that insecurity has been overcome or that Nigerians can once again travel freely, farm safely and sleep without fear,” the party stated.
The ADC also pointed to the continued captivity of hundreds of women and children in parts of Borno State and Kaiama in Kwara State, while many communities in Benue and other parts of the country still live in constant fear because of insecurity.
The party further noted that, despite the Presidency’s celebration of the letter, the United States Department of State has not changed its travel advisory for Nigeria.
According to the ADC, several Nigerian states remain under Level 3 and Level 4 travel advisories, with American citizens still being urged to reconsider or avoid travel because of crime, terrorism, kidnapping and civil unrest.
“We therefore wonder how correspondence from a government that designates several Nigerian states as ‘Do Not Travel’ areas can be regarded as an endorsement,” the party said.
It argued that the travel advisory shows the international assessment of Nigeria’s security situation remains different from the image the Presidency is trying to project.
The ADC said Nigerians are more concerned about their safety than diplomatic exchanges between presidents.
“The daily reality of Nigerians is shaped not by diplomatic correspondence, but by the guarantee that they can go about their lives without falling victim to violent crime or terrorism,” it said.
The party stressed that Trump’s letter was simply communication between two presidents and “does not amount to an endorsement of this government’s overall performance.”
It urged the Tinubu administration to focus less on celebrating diplomatic courtesies and more on delivering measurable improvements in the lives of Nigerians.
“Ultimately, Nigerians will not judge this government by the letters it receives from foreign capitals. They will judge it by whether .…For more, Complete your reading.
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