Abia ALGON defends local govt funding, praises Otti’s leadership

The All Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Abia State chapter, has dismissed claims that funds allocated to the state’s local government areas are being misappropriated.

Addressing journalists on Friday after a meeting held on Thursday in Umuahia, the state ALGON chairman and Mayor of Isuikwuato LGA, Chinedu Ekeke, clarified that the state government, not the local governments themselves, manages the allocations.

“We are not aware that any fund is being hijacked. The government is the one that shares our allocation,” Ekeke said. “Funds have not been coming directly to local governments from the federal government. So, if there is any mismanagement, it is because the state handles the distribution from the JAAC accounts.”

On the Supreme Court’s judgment on local government autonomy, he added: “I believe the federal government is still figuring out a way to handle that. But at the state level, there is strong collaboration, and under the leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Alex Otti, the local governments are properly funded.”

Ekeke assured that all 17 local government chairpersons are performing well and that the JAAC accounts ensure timely and transparent distribution of funds.

In a communique read during the meeting, ALGON also responded to recent political statements targeting Governor Otti, describing them as efforts by “architects of a failed past unsettled by present progress in Abia State.”

The association commended Otti for “demonstrating clear commitments to good governance, fiscal responsibility, and service delivery,” highlighting improvements across the state’s 17 LGAs in areas such as road rehabilitation, healthcare, education, prompt payment of salaries and pensions, and prudent management of public resources.

“In a democratic system, leadership is determined by performance and the freely expressed will of the electorate through credible elections, not by declarations, pronouncements, or political gangos,” ALGON stated, urging public discourse to be based on facts rather than falsehoods or exaggerations. The body concluded by passing a vote of confidence on Governor Alex Otti.