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The Abia State House of Assembly has debunked rumours claiming that the state intends to seize funds meant for the local governments.
Addressing the press on Thursday, Deputy Speaker Austin Nmeregini clarified the situation following speculations that the House passed a law to tamper with local government funds.
He stressed that the media briefing aimed to address misinformation regarding the legislative process.
“There is a bill before the House, but the rumours that we passed a law to form a ‘Central Management Agency’ for local government funds are entirely false,” Nmeregini said.
He explained that the bill in question, brought by the governor, is designed to benefit local governments without usurping their funds or violating Supreme Court rulings on local government autonomy.
Nmeregini further clarified that no bill was passed on Wednesday as claimed. He also dismissed allegations that members of the opposition walked out of the House session.
“There was no walkout. All members, including the opposition, were present during the session,” he stated.
The Deputy Speaker explained that the bill is for the establishment of the Abia State Rural Access Road Agency, which is part of the World Bank’s Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project.
He noted that similar bills have already been passed in states like Ebonyi, Kwara, and Sokoto, with RAAMP receiving funding from the World Bank, the International Finance Agency (IFA), and the French Agency for Development (AFD).
Nmeregini stressed that both state and local governments are expected to contribute counterpart funding for road construction, but assured that this does not mean the state will control local government funds.
“Local governments will still receive their funds, but they are required to contribute to road construction,” he said.
He also addressed rumours that current mayors would be barred from contesting the upcoming local government elections due to recent amendments to the local government law.
Nmeregini explained that the law requires appointees, like mayors, to resign 30 days before the election to qualify, as per Nigerian law.
He added that Governor Otti did not seek further amendments to accommodate certain mayors, showing his commitment to upholding existing laws.
On the rumours of Labour Party members defecting to the Zenith Labour Party, Nmeregini dismissed them as fake news, stating, “We are presently in the Labour Party. We are going nowhere, and for that worry, it is fake news. We are in the Labour Party, and our governor is still in the Labour Party.”
He attributed the source of the rumours to overzealous observers who wanted to create chaos in the state legislature, urging the public to disregard such misinformation.
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