Osita Okechukwu, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has criticized Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo for seeking to strengthen the state’s access to local government funds through the House of Assembly.
According to Gists9ja, Soludo claimed last week that the Supreme Court ruling did not invalidate Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution. He argued that full autonomy for the 774 local government areas would lead to “humongous chaos” and impede sustainable development.
In an interview with Punch, Okechukwu, the former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria, condemned Soludo for disregarding the Supreme Court’s ruling on local government autonomy. He described it as “pure banditry” for any legal or political adviser to suggest that Soludo ignore this significant judgment regarding the financial independence of local councils.
Okechukwu warned that any governor who fails to comply with the Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy will face serious consequences. He stated, “To be honest, I believe that Governor Charles Soludo is merely following a misguided path pushed by political bandits in his administration.
This is misguided because the Supreme Court’s ruling clearly stated that any law enacted by the state House of Assembly that violates multiple sections of the Constitution is unconstitutional and illegal. It also prohibited practices such as establishing caretaker committees or dissolving elected councilors.
“I think we need to clarify the term ‘bandit.’ In a general sense, a bandit is someone who takes unfair advantage of others. In this context, I would characterize our situation as being plagued by various types of bandits.
If a legal or political adviser is intentionally advising Governor Soludo to bypass the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on local government financial autonomy, isn’t that simply banditry? The Supreme Court ruling has exposed the banditry within local government administration.
I reiterate that any governor who fails to adapt will face significant repercussions, not only legally but also from the local populace.”
