Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has dismissed all 21 local government transition chairmen in the state. He has instructed the dismissed chairmen to hand over the administration of their councils to the Heads of Local Government Administrations (HLGAs).
This directive was communicated in a letter signed by the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Collins Nwabunwanne, dated May 17. The letter specifies that the chairmen must hand over to the HLGAs by Monday, May 20.
The letter states: “Following the expiration of your tenure as Transition Committee Chairman, you are hereby directed to hand over the affairs of your Local Government Council to the Head of Local Government Administration (HLGA) in your respective Local Government Councils. This directive takes effect from Monday, 20th day of May, 2024. Thank you for your service to the state. All replies should be addressed to the Honourable Commissioner.”
There have been public calls for Soludo to conduct local government elections in the state. In response, the governor recently instructed party stakeholders to nominate candidates for transition committees in their local government areas. Of the three nominees, one must be a woman from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
This message was conveyed to the transition committee chairmen by the governor’s special adviser on political matters, Dr. Alex Obiogbolu. The directive reads: “The party stakeholders in each Local Government are expected to meet on May 18th or 19th, 2024, to consider and recommend for his consideration three persons for the position of TC Chairman and three persons for Local Government Education Secretaries. The three recommendations for Transition Committee Chairmen shall include at least one woman, while the three recommendations for Education Secretary shall be two women and one man.”
Anambra State has frequently used transition committees for local government administration. The last local government election was held by former Governor Peter Obi, just weeks before the end of his second term. Opposition parties and key stakeholders have been advocating for local government elections, arguing that the reliance on transition committee chairmen undermines the local government system.
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