The party said yesterday
that such action negated the spirit and letters of section 7 of the 1999
constitution and that of true democracy which guarantees administration of
local governments with elected executives.
APC in the statement signed
by its Publicity Secretary, Mrs. Kate
Offor, therefore called on the State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, to comply with the constitution
and section 34 of the provisions of local government law of Enugu state.
The party added: Although it commended the governor for the dissolution of the
elected council chairmen and Councilors at the expiration of their tenure on January
4, this year, the party noted that asking the heads of personnel management to
take over in each council was “glass half full. Therefore, we challenge
Governor Ugwuanyi to forthwith comply with the Constitution and Section 34 of
the Provisions of the Local Government Law of Enugu state, CAP 109, Revised
Laws of Enugu State 2004 (as amended); and sincerely hope he would jettison
Sections 11, 12 and 17 of the said Local Government Council law of the House of
Assembly, which abinitio is at variance with 1999 Constitution and hence
invalid, because it allowed the governor to appoint the obnoxious Caretaker
Committee.”
APC further said that her
candidates had been ready for the election, adding that though the statutory
period provided for the election had elapsed, stressing however that it was not
late for the governor to direct ENSIEC to retrace its step from the part of
wrong-doing, desist from further illegality and unconstitutionality by
appointing a date for the said election.
It assured the governor
that should a date be fixed for the election, “we shall
prevail on our members who are in court in suit No. E/362/2015:APC and Others v
Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC), pending before Hon.
Justice R.O. Odugu of High 6 Enugu to withdraw the said suit to show good faith
on our part. Failure of which we submit that no amount of carrot of antics and
manipulation of top APC members will stop the suit”
It insisted that the plot
to appoint caretaker committees for the seventeen Local Government councils
whose tenure as the elected chairmen expired was wrong and called on the
governor to avoid breaching the Constitution which he “swore
to defend and protect, on the pretext of lack of money or reference to states
where democracy is being mangled.” (Source: Guardian)
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