IF YOU ARE NOT CORRUPT, OBEY THE COURT AND MAKE PUBLIC THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTS: APC TELLS ABIA GOVERNOR

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Abia State Chapter, stands firmly with the Civil Society Observatory for Constitutional and Legal Compliance (CSOCLC) in its legal action compelling the Abia State Government to disclose the accounts and expenditures of the 17 Local Government Councils. Uche Aguoru, Publicity Secretary of the party in the state made this known in a media statement.

According to APC, “If the Abia State Government is not endemically corrupt, it should open its books, demonstrate genuine transparency for once, obey court rulings, and let Abians see where the more than ₦800 billion that has been paid into the local government accounts has gone”.

The secrecy surrounding the management of local government funds is a loud testimony to the huge corruption going on in the local government system in Abia state. A government that cannot account for public funds has no moral right to preach good governance.

The litigation instituted by the CSOCLC is aimed at strengthening transparency and accountability in Local Government administration, particularly following the landmark Supreme Court judgment of 11th July 2024, which affirmed the financial autonomy of Local Governments across Nigeria. That historic judgment, alongside the determined efforts of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is intended to restore governance to the grassroots by ensuring that Local Government funds are utilized exclusively for the development and welfare of local communities, but unfortunately in Abia state under the present government the Local Government funds that is supposed to be deployed for the development and welfare of the rural communities is being brazenly stolen and mismanaged.

We commend the CSOCLC for their efforts in exposing how Local Government funds is being pocketed by one individual in Abia State.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu fought for Local Government financial autonomy to end the reckless hijack of grassroots resources. Yet, the Abia State Government has corruptly refused to implement that constitutional mandate, choosing instead to embezzle Local Government funds while peoples welfare are neglected and rural communities are left undeveloped.

The consequences are everywhere: abandoned rural roads, collapsed primary healthcare centres, dilapidated schools, unemployed youths, and neglected communities. Local Government money is disappearing, but development is nowhere to be found.

You cannot steal development from the people and expect applause. Every naira diverted from Local Government allocations is stolen healthcare, stolen education, stolen infrastructure, and stolen hope.

The APC therefore demands the immediate release of the Local Government accounts as ordered by the court. Abians deserve facts, no amount of propaganda can cover this, we demand accountability, not excuses; we ask for transparency, not secrecy.

The era of treating Local Government funds as political spoils must end,You cannot continue to steal from the people, underdevelop the rural communities, impoverish them and intimidate them into submission and at the same time expect them to clap for you.