1st June, 2017
The Ebonyi chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called for the immediate probe of the financial activities of local government councils in the state.
The acting Chairman of the party in the state, Mr Eze Nwachukwu, made the call while briefing newsmen at the end of a stakeholders meeting on Thursday in Abakaliki.
The chairman, who accused the state government of undermining the local government system through fund diversion, called for probe into how monies allocated to the councils were being utilised.
Nwachukwu said the party met to review the two years administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under Gov. Dave Umahi as well as deliberate on crucial issues affecting the party and the state.
He said his party was of the view that the government had no clear policy direction and was engaging in wasteful spending on non sustainable infrastructure.
The chairman alleged that illegal diversion of funds and unbridled government interference in the running of local governments had resulted in dearth of projects in all the 13 local councils in the state.
He called on the anti-graft agencies to investigate how the allocations accruing to the local government councils and internally generated revenue were being utilised.
“The local government system remains comatose as no project has been done by this tier of government.
“ Yet, their monthly allocations are being liquidated to the last kobo since the past two years.
“Who spends these monies and on what were they spent are questions agitating the minds of party members and other patriotic citizens of the state,’’ he said.
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He said the local government tier should be allowed to perform its statutory function of providing grassroots infrastructure and driving human development.
Nwachukwu also condemned the alleged deductions from the monthly salaries of civil servants as well as non-payment of gratuities and pension to retired civil servants.
He said that the party observed with dismay and sadness the plight of civil servants who were being owed leave allowance and other statutory benefits while there had been no promotion exercise in the last two years.
Nwachukwu also lamented youth unemployment and the challenges facing the state’s students on scholarship abroad in the last two years.
“While beautification is good, it is only done when the substance has been achieved; our priorities have unfortunately been distorted and buried in mundane cosmetology,” Nwachukwu said.