Valentine Ozigbo, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) governorship candidate in the 2021 Anambra State governorship election, has expressed support for a court order that restrains the state Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, from further accessing local government funds.
The order was issued by a High Court in Abuja, which also directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to summon and interrogate relevant officers of the Anambra State Government regarding the use of funds received between March 22, 2022, and April 30, 2024.
Justice Bello Kawo, who delivered the ruling, has restricted the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Minister of Finance from disbursing funds to Anambra State’s 21 local government areas from the federation account until the resolution of a suit brought before the court.
Furthermore, the EFCC was mandated to investigate the deployment and utilization of funds that had been allocated to the local governments from March 2022 to April 2024.
The court’s orders were based on an ex parte application filed by legal practitioner Mr. Chukwuebuka Mmeni. The defendants in the case include the Accountant General of the Federation, the Minister of Finance, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Anambra State Government, and the EFCC.
Justice Kawo granted all the requests presented by the applicant after reviewing the ex parte motion, a nine-paragraph affidavit, annexures, and oral submissions from the applicant’s counsel, N. O. Okpe, representing Chimezie Enuka.
In his reaction on Friday, Ozigbo released a statement emphasizing that Governor Soludo should conduct proper local government elections to alleviate the hardships faced by the people of Anambra State.
Ozigbo criticized the use of appointed caretaker committees to manage local government affairs, describing it as illegal. He pointed out that despite Soludo’s promises to end this practice, it has continued since his inauguration on March 17, 2022.
Ozigbo acknowledged that while the court’s decision to withhold funds meant for the local governments is not entirely positive, it is a necessary step.
He argued that the persistent use of caretaker committees, which are often associated with corruption, to manage local governments’ affairs is illegal. He further lamented that Soludo has perpetuated this practice despite earlier commitments to discontinue it.
Court documents revealed that in March 2024, N7,323,679,402.23 was allocated to Anambra State for the benefit of its 21 local governments. Over the past two years, approximately N175 billion may have been received by these local governments.
Ozigbo urged people to consider the positive impact such a significant amount could have had on education, healthcare, markets, and the overall lives of residents in local government areas such as Ayamelum, Ogbaru, Idemili South, and Ekwusigo, which have experienced minimal government presence.
