R
Richard Ogunsile
Guest
The Mayors representing the 17 Local Government Areas of Abia State have refuted claims circulating on social media that they have made arrangements to switch allegiance to the All Progressives Congress (APC) upon the conclusion of their current terms.
Speculations are that these mayors, who were appointed by Governor Alex Otti last year, intended to abandon the Labour Party due to their exclusion from participating in the upcoming Local Government elections scheduled for November 2.
However, in a statement issued by Elelenta Nwambuisi Elele, the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Abia State Chapter, along with Chief Eric Achi Egwuibe, the Mayor of Obingwa, and fifteen other mayors, the group firmly asserted that the allegations are entirely unfounded.
They further clarified that the supposed meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where the decision to defect to the APC was allegedly made, was merely a fabrication of the “news peddler’s” imagination.
The statement read, “To clarify once again, there was never a time when Chioma ndi Abia, Governor Otti, sacked mayors.
“The authors of the publication have exhibited a complete lack of knowledge of the laws of the land, knowing fully well that Governor Otti is a staunch advocate of democratic and legal norms.
“The outgoing 17 mayors were invited by His Excellency to assist in rescuing our state and to lay a solid foundation for effective and efficient local government administration in the state.
“There was never a time any agreement whatsoever was brokered to railroad them into elected chairmen. It is therefore fallacious to simulate deceit for a process that has successfully met the provisions of the extant laws of Abia State.”
The statement added, “The mayors are busy joining hands with Governor Otti in taking Abia closer to the desired destination of becoming a model state while preparing for a seamless handover to the incoming chairmen and will not allow themselves to be distracted by unfounded social media rumours.
“We are aware that there are desperate politicians lurking around to see whom they can devour. Fortunately, the present crop of mayors are not mercantile politicians and are, therefore, not transactional in their quest to serve the people of Abia State.
“We are indeed grateful to His Excellency for the opportunity given to us to serve, and we pledge our unwavering support to him in the delivery of the Abia project.”
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