EKITI IPAC FAULTS ASSEMBLY DECISION TO EXTEND LG ADMINISTRATION TENURE

Read Time:2 Minute, 1 Second

EKITI IPAC FAULTS ASSEMBLY DECISION TO EXTEND LG ADMINISTRATION TENURE

The Inter Party Advisory council IPAC in EKiti State has faulted the decision of the EKiti state House of Assembly to extend the tenure of the local government administration from two to three years without proper consultation with stakeholders.

In a statement, the state chairman of IPAC Mr Owoola Daramola said such idea could be deemed an affront and embarrassment to all the political parties in the state under the umbrella IPAC.

Mr Owoola said since the local government administration is closest to the grassroots, IPAC as the representative body of registered political parties in the state ought to have been consulted, invited to make input and carried along during the amendment and passage into law of the tenure of council officials.

He alleged that IPAC is being deliberately isolated and not recognized in the governance of the state under Governor Biodun Oyebanji. This is undoubtedly against the Governor’s promise of ensuring participatory governance in the running of his administration.

Mr Owoola noted that it was obvious that the present administration has a well scripted sinister motive behind the coming Local government election in the state and cautioned against any manipulation. He vowed to mobilize registered political parties to resist the attempt at pulling the wool over the people’s eyes.

“Those deregistered political friends of some appointees masquerading as political parties shall soon be revealed as conduit assembly of internal sponsors. IPAC has a responsibility to ensuring that democracy is entrenched especially at the grassroot level and that the government so that peoples votes must count, always”.

“On financial autonomy to the local government, IPAC believed the allocation from federation account still goes into the state government account under the Joint Account Allocation Committee. This is against what was painted to the people by governor Abiodun Oyebanji. If truly we are to encourage transparent governance, how difficult is it for government to publish it’s monthly accruals from the federation account and internally generated revenue with clear itemisation of disbursement to each of the 16 LG areas and other state expenditures?”

“IPAC however promised to be law abiding and always ready for engagement stressing that democracy would thrive when there is citizen engagement and proper consultation with political parties on policies that affects governance for the general good of Ekiti people. We shall resist pseudo representation of political parties in matters that concerns political stakeholders henceforth.”