Abia Local Gov’t Administration law not in conflict with Supreme Court Judgement Gov. Otti

By: Imo Thomas -Umuahia.

Amid nationwide discourse on Local Government Autonomy, and the constitutional roles of State Government in supporting Local Councils to deliver essential services to the people, Abia State Governor, Dr.Alex Otti, has come out with a verdict that the recently passed Abia state Local Councils adminstration law is not in conflict with the Supreme Court Judgement on local government financial autonomy.

He gave this verdict over the weekend during his monthly media chat with newsmen tagged “Governor Otti speaks with Abians”, at the banquet hall of Government House, Umuahia.

He said that the Supreme Court Judgement and the local council law have an intention to ensure the smooth implementation of the court’s decision without causing disruption to governance and service delivery at the grassroots level.

“The Supreme Court Judgement has an intention, and the intention of any law is not to ensure a breakdown of service,so whatever we did with the law we passed, was to ensure that the intended objective of the law is achieved.”

The Governor further stated that while the judgement places certain responsibilities squarely on local government councils, such as payment of teachers, primary healthcare workers, environmental and security issues, there is a practical need for continued collaboration between the state and the councils to ensure viability and effective service delivery.

“It will be irresponsible for the state government to completely detach itself from the affairs of local government in the name of autonomy, given the interconnected nature of governance.

“So strictly speaking, if you say that local government which there job is to pay teachers, primary healthcare workers, environmental and security issues without assistance from the state, some local governments would be unviable.

“It would be irresponsible of the subnationals to sit tightly and fold their hands and say let them work, because it is a combination of the local governments that make up the state, just like a combination of states make up the national” Gov. Otti added.

Gov. Otti stated that the law is consistent with the Supreme Court ruling and designed to facilitate its implementation in a manner that avoids administrative hiccups.

“The law we passed is in no way in conflict with the Supreme Court Judgement, what we tried to do is to ensure that it is implementable without creating hitches,” the Governor affirms.

Asked to confirm whether the local governments are getting their allocations directly from the federal government as directed by the Supreme Court Judgement, Governor Otti, has this to say; “I am not the right person to answer the question, better direct the question to local government chairmen or the federal government for the answer”, Governor Otti replied.

He used the occasion of the media chat to pass a vote of confidence on the elected Local Government Council Chairmen in Abia state, stating that all the achievements noticed in the state are in collaboration with the local council, adding that the recorded Infrastructural development in the state is done in local government areas.

He called on them to continue to think out of the box to achieve more in their various local council to meet the expectations of their people.