Abia Govt Blasts NLC, Denies Demanding 90% Of LG Funds, Warns Against Fake News

Abia State Government has denied sending a Bill to the state House of Assembly demanding the ceding of 90% of local government funds to it, leaving LGs with just 10%.

This is in response to a letter sent to the state House of Assembly by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Abia State in which it urged the Speaker to reject the purported Bill by the Executive and not allow the governor the “mislead” him.

Angered by this, the state government through the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma took a swipe at the leadership of NLC in the state for acting on hearsay without getting the fact of the matter.

Ekeoma in a state denied the existence of such Bill from the Executive before the State Assembly, wondering why NLC did not seek and obtain the right information.

“That at no time did the Executive arm of Government led by Governor Alex Otti send any Bill to the House of Assembly seeking to get 90% of LGA allocation ceded to the state. We challenge the NLC leadership who obviously fell prey to the mischievous and unsubstantiated fake news being circulated by some opposition elements in the state, to provide any documentary evidence to back up its claim”, the statement reads in part.

The state government accused the leadership of NLC in the state of exhibiting unprovoked hostile disposition and acting maliciously and irrationally based on misinformation from rumour mongers to the point of distorting or challenging government’s noble policies and programmes geared towards advancing the welfare of all Abians.

Explaining what transpired, Ekeoma noted, “Before the NLC wrote its letter, the Deputy Speaker of the House who also doubles as the House Committee Chairman on Information, Rt. Hon. Austin Okezie Meregini had while addressing the press on Thursday, October 24, clarified this, following speculations that the House passed a law to tamper with local government funds. The Deputy Speaker emphatically explained that the rumour is false and went on to explain that the bill, brought by the governor, is designed to benefit local governments without usurping their funds or violating Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy.

According to him “The bill is for the establishment of the Abia State Rural Access Road Agency, which is part of the World Bank’s Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), and noted that similar bills have already been passed in states like Ebonyi, Kwara, and Sokoto, with RAAMP receiving funding from the World Bank, the International Finance Agency (IFA), and the French Agency for Development (AFD).

“The Deputy Speaker further explained that both state and local governments are expected to contribute counterpart funding for road construction, but assured that this does not mean the state will control local government funds. He also dismissed the false claim that some members of the House staged a walkout, and made it clear that there was no walkout, as all members, including the opposition, were present during the session.”