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How ‘power-drunk’ Otti illegally appropriated Abia councils – PDP

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More missiles have been launched against Alex Otti, Governor of Abia State from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is now accusing him of taking over the running of the local government councils directly in total disregard of the law of the land, which made the third tier of government a distinct level of government from the state.

In the latest attack, the party, which lost power in 2023 after 24 years in the saddle, bewailed a situation in which Otti, allegedly collected the official seals of the 17 Local Government Areas in the state from the local governments’ Heads of Service (HoS), infused their affairs firmly in his office after the dissolved immediate past council chairmen handed over.

Abraham Amah, Abia PDP Vice Chairman/Acting State Publicity Secretary, who relied on “credible, reliable and authentic intelligence,” while describing the development as “blatant act of illegality,” also accused the governor of becoming too power-thirsty that he had now assumed the roles of a governor and chairman of the councils at the same time, adding that the act was not only unconstitutional, and usurpation of the powers of the local councils, but also actionable by law.

Arguing that no bill had been passed into law by the Abia State House of Assembly which mandates the governor to run the local governments as one of the Ministries in Abia State, he said: “This novelty, unfortunately, is one that puts the governor as the arrowhead of those in breach of the Constitution they swore to protect and defend at all times.

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“For the purpose of clarity, the local government is a creation of the Constitution of the Federal Government of Nigeria and is in no way an appendage of the State government.

“Though the Constitution mandates the States House of Assembly to make laws for the good governance of the local governments, in no section of it did it make the local government an arm of the State government and its running should therefore not be at the whims of the State governor as we are seeing in Abia today?

“The local government’s finances are run with the states through the process and operation of a Joint Account Allocation Committee, (JAAC), between representatives of the State and the local governments and both tiers are signatories to the local government accounts as funds from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) and other accruals are received monthly and at other times into the joint account.

“The PDP, therefore, finds it curious and strange that Governor Otti would bypass legal procedures and run the 17 Abia local governments as if it were one of the Ministries in the State. By confiscating the Seals of the local governments as it were, the state governor now acts not only as the state governor but also as the Chairman-General of the Abia Local Government system, a system that is very strange and unaccommodated by the letters of the Nigerian laws.

“This unholy effort makes the running of the local governments not only undemocratic, cumbersome and complex but also opaque because there is no check as would ordinarily have been when all the signatories are in the know of how the finances of the local governments are run.”

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Contrasting the current situation with that of Otti’s predecessor, Okezie Ikpeazu, whom he said never emasculated or usurped the powers of the councils, he added: “In the absence of elected local government Chairman and Councillors, the convention has been to appoint local government Transition Committees; made up of an appointed Chairman and Councilors to oversee the affairs of the local governments.

“Instructively, the former governor Dr Okezie Ikpeazu never allowed any vacuum in the administration of local governments as he always ensured that the local councils were manned by capable hands, and it is on record that he is one of the few governors across the country that conducted local government elections twice in their eight-year tenure and was committed to conducting the third one before it was scuttled by the Labour Party and its agents, all in a bid to diminish the glowing popularity of former governor Okezie Ikpeazu who brought peace and prosperity to Abians.

“ The danger of running the state outside the confines of the law, is that such ugly precedents being set by Otti with every of his action since he was sworn into office would one-day boomerang and consume everybody including those cheerleaders who are nudging him to act recklessly even in the face of known illegalities.

“We call upon the governor to retrace his steps and allow the Abia local government system to function within the ambit of the law, return the seals to the Heads of Service of local governments, who are by law, custodians of the authority of the local governments in the absence of elected or appointed political heads of the council.

“He should allow them to do their constitutionally assigned duties or at best, appoint Transition Committees to oversee the affairs of the local governments before the conduct of local government elections.

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“And to the elders of Abia State, members of the Labour Party and the good people of Abia State, we remind everyone once again, that eternal vigilance is still the price of liberty and that we should collectively prevail upon the state governor, Dr Alex Otti to do what is right before our dear state descends into autocracy as it is gradually, but manifestly tending to with every action of the governor that is condoned by those that should speak up.”

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BREAKING: Entire PDP structure in Delta empties into APC

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Sheriff Oborevwori, Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, his predecessor and all members of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, on Wednesday emptied into the All Progressives Congress (APC), ending months of speculations about the political development in the oil-rich state.

James Manager, Senator formerly representing Delta South at the National Assembly, who announced the move in Asaba, the state capital, shortly after a meeting that lasted over six hours at Government House, Asaba, said the state could not afford to allow itself drift away.

“All PDP members in the state, including the governor, former Governor Okowa, the Speaker, the state party chairman, all the local government chairmen and others, have agreed to move to the APC. We cannot continue to be in a sinking boat,” he said.

Aniagwu Charles, Delta State Commissioner for Information, who confirmed the development, said the defection, was a collective decision of Delta PDP leaders and stakeholders, adding: “There is a need for us to adjust our drinking patterns. And in adjusting that drinking pattern, we needed to make a decision that would further help to cement the development in our state, to build the court of law that has existed in our state, to further advance the cause of security and the welfare of our people, and, to a large extent, ensure that development in Delta is not truncated.

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“In taking that decision, we concluded that leaving the PDP was very necessary for us to be able to collaborate and build a state that every Deltan will be proud of. We believe that what is happening, and the state of the PDP, is akin to that palm wine whose taste has changed — and there was a need for us to change the drinking party. By the grace of God, on Monday next week, we will be able to make a very big statement confirming that we are moving into the APC.”

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Edo community in protest: Fulanis still killing, raping, destroying our farms

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Agbede community in Etsako West local government area of Edo State, rose in protests on Wednesday, complaining of continued kidnapping and killing by Fulani herdsmen, who they say have taken over their bushes and those of the surrounding neighbours.

Accusing the alleged marauders of killing and maiming those who could not pay ransom, as well as raping women and dislodging farmers from their farmlands, the community, who took to the streets in demonstrations, lamented that help had refused to come from anywhere including security agencies.

Agbede, and surrounding villages, including Odighie, Egono and Awain, they said, had been under siege in the past two months while efforts to get the assistance of the police in the area had ended in futilities, accusing them of complicity, with senior police officers from the northern part of the country covering up the criminals.

“Farm destruction, killings, rapes, and kidnappings for ransom have become disturbingly common and the police, instead of protecting the communities, they seem to be aiding and abetting the Fulani herders against the aborigines.

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“The DPO at the Agbede Police Station, the Police Area Command in Auchi, and the Zone Five Office in Benin are not helping matters as we are suspecting them to be backing the herders with lining orders which is now creating fear amongst the people over their genuine protection and safety.”

Vanguard quoted a member of the community who did not want his name on the print as accusing the police of using blackmail, harassment, and detention to intimidate vigilantes and hunters who dare to challenge the Fulani invaders, while forcing the locals to sign undertakings not to confront the herders.

Still maintaining the allegation, he also claimed that those arrested in connection with the atrocities were usually promptly released within a few hours of arrest, adding: “Mamudu Momoh was attacked on his farm after he met some herdsmen taking over the farms, uprooting his cassava to feed their cows and in the process, he was attacked and injured.

“He went to the Agbede Police Division to report the case. The case was later turned against him, he was arrested and taken to Zone 5, where he was detained, and the community spent a lot of money to secure his release.

“There is another farmer in the community, Idris, who has been kidnapped by the herdsmen for over a month now and ransom has been paid, the man is yet to be released up till today. We are asking the inspector general of police to withdraw the DPO of the Agbede Police division who is a Northerner without which the Agbede community will never know peace in the hands of the herdsmen who are everywhere in our bush claiming to be hunters.

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However Moses Yamu, Chief Superintendent of Police, and spokesman of the Edo State Police Command, was quoted as debunking the allegations, saying that the officers and men of Agbede Police division have been working round the clock to deal with the herdsmen situation in the area.

Narrating how the police from the division, with a backup from Auchi Area command, had already arrested over 10 suspected kidnappers in that axis who were currently being investigated, he said the community were not fair to the police in their protest, especially to the zone 5 Command.

He was quoted as saying particularly that the protest coming less than two weeks after the Inspector General (AIG) in charge of the zone had just assumed duties, was not a good welcome package by the community for him, especially with the allegation of abetting the said crimes.

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Benue: Alia wants Fulani chased out from seized land, rejects emergency rule  

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What Benue State needs now is to secure its boarders with its neighbours and to assist it in flush out Fulani herdsmen and bandits from the land they have taken over after chasing away the original owners, who are now in various Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s) camps.

Hyacinth Alia, Governor of the state, declared this stance on Wednesday, while appearing as a guest on The Morning Show, the breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS Network.

The governor, who spoke on a range of issues regarding the attacks with close to 100 persons slaughtered by invading armed groups, he identified as Fulanis from foreign lands, Alia, a Reverend Father of the Catholic Church faith, rejected the idea of imposing state of emergency in the state, saying what the people of needed at the moment was help from the Federal Government.

Stating how he was able to contain the activities of the killers in the state from 17 to just six local government areas, he said his administration had the capability to end the killings, if only it could get the needed support to further deal with the situation.

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He said: “What we need is emergency help for now. We need absolute support. The federal government is supported. They sent two armoured tanks that came in. Our situation had changed. We had a better narrative, but what we need to do is to get our people back home, to drive out the invaders, the armed invaders who have brought in people who do not even speak the Nigerian languages we speak. Let them move back to wherever they came from and allow us farmers to go back to our ancestral land. Calling for any emergency does not occur here.”

Dismissing the contention that the situation had overwhelmed him, he said his ability to scale down the spread of the attacks, was indicative that he had the capacity to tackle the incessant killings and destruction of properties in the state by killer herders, some of whom he believes are not Nigerians.

“We couldn’t have trimmed it from 17 local governments in the front lines of the attacks to nine and then now to six, which means we have the capability to do this, but we need help. And that is a fact,” he added.

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