Abia State governor, Dr Okezie Victor Ikpeazu has spoken on the planned local government elections in the state, saying it is in fulfillment of his contract with the people of Abia as well as efforts to entrench rich democratic culture.
According to the governor, there is no time to do what is right, as the planned chairmanship and councillorship poll is coming at the tail end of his administration, noting that there is no difference between his first day in office and now.
The governor who is expected to wind down his second term in office May 29 featured in ABN TV’s Political Perspective where he said he remains the governor and will continue to serve the state till his last day in office.
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Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC) had fixed April 28 for the conduct of council elections, an exercise that has since been shifted indefinitely.
He reminded his interviewer that he promised to conduct at least three local government elections, with two already conducted and only one outstanding.
If you council poll succeeds, the incoming administration of Labour Party will inherit loyalists of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) calling the shots at the grassroot level.
“It is still within my purview to decide, in collaboration with major stakeholders of this administration to do so.
“I think part of why we need to conduct this local government election is to deepen democracy, we allow the youths participate, we include them in what is happening, we begin to groom them as leaders.
“If they run elections at the local government level, they take the destiny of their various communities in their hands. They are also part of my critical strategic partners in terms of security, because every local government chairman becomes the chief security officer of their various domains“, he stated.
The governor maintained that he has the final decision on when to hold the local government elections, a decision he will make in coming days.
He also dismissed insinuations that the state has backlog of unpaid salaries, making it clear that about 29,000 out of 31,000 core civil servants are not owed.
He said the rest 2000 are drawn from parastatals and revenue-generating agencies of government and are expected to play a role in fulfilling their salary obligations.
A particular agency claiming to be owed 12 months of salaries have not worked in the last eight months, the governor alleged and insisted that only those who work deserve to be paid.
He gave his administration a pass mark with payment of salaries, assuring that steps are being taken to manage wage bill in the state which he said gulps nearly 85 percent of federal allocation.
