Amidst the ongoing situation in Anambra State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has formally called upon Governor Prof. Chukwuma Soludo to step down from his role. This request arises from the prolonged delay in conducting elections across the 21 local government areas within the state, which has persisted for over a year since his inauguration.
In light of this circumstance, the APC has proposed that the Federal Government should designate a “caretaker” governor to oversee the state’s affairs. This declaration was articulated through a statement issued on Wednesday, as endorsed by the state Publicity Secretary, Okelo Madukaife.
The tensions surrounding the non-conduct of local government elections in Anambra have spurred exchanges between both the APC and the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). This issue has persisted since 2014.
Highlighting the historical context, Okelo emphasized that since the restoration of democracy in 1999, Anambra State has organized just two local government elections. These instances occurred during the early stages of Late Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju’s administration and towards the conclusion of Peter Obi’s administration in 2014.
While Mr. Ifeatu Obi-Okoye, the state chairman of APGA, previously attributed the lack of LG elections to a “litany of litigation” in court, Okelo’s statement urged both Anambra residents and the wider public to actively engage APGA on the pressing matters involving the local government system in Anambra State.
The statement read, “Evasion of issues will not cure the angst and disappointment of Ndi Anambra over the inability of the government of the day to hold local government elections, within six months as was promised in their campaign during the Anambra governorship elections in 2021.”
On the contrary, APC promised to hold the APGA government, which seems to have lost initiative so soon to account and is doing so.
“For the second time in one week, APGA chairman, Ifeatu Obi-Okoye, has failed to mention the particular suit which he claims APC has in court that has stopped the government controlled by his party from holding LG elections and no one seemed to have returned him to the brass tacks.
“He failed to allude to the fact that Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission is paying workers who do nothing and has also failed to acknowledge that as of today, ANSIEC has no board, which has a serious duty in election planning and execution.
“On one hand, Obi-Okoye cites an apex court judgment that, according to him, empowers Anambra State Government to appoint caretaker committees while on the other, he says the case is pending and no one has taken him up for the glaring contradiction.
“Interestingly, this is coming from a party that ignored specific court orders to hold its conversation without worrying about the implications, only to invoke uncited and unreferenced cases stopping LG elections.
“We are interested in saving Anambra LGs from the state government and allowing our people to feel the impact of government at the grassroots rather than being treated to vocabularies from Awka. APGA can only tell a blind man that there is no oil in the soup, not that there is no salt.
“Anambra State citizens and residents are well advised to demand for 21 elected local governments that will be accountable to them and not to be schooled on dictations that seek impossible legitimacy through legality.”
He explained that whatever APGA members impose on the LGs lacks the legitimacy to be regarded, adding that neither APC nor Anambra people will offer them any recognition.
“Henceforth, the recognizable steps to register our non-recognition of those stooges from one party will become clearer.
“If Soludo insists on defending the lack of democratic governments in Anambra LGs directly or in proxy, a full year after the time he gave to hold elections has passed, he should resign as governor to enable President Bola Tinubu to appoint a Caretaker governor for Anambra State to and later find a legal justification for it.
“Ndi Anambra should be prepared to reclaim their right to elect their leaders after 24 years of continuous rape, 17 of which have been executed by APGA,” the statement added.