Abia State local government law not in conflict with Supreme Court autonomy judgement

Abia State governor, Alex Otti, has said that the local government law passed by the Abia State House of Assembly will not conflict with the Supreme Court judgement on autonomy and the payment of allocations to local government areas.

He explained that the law was rather intended to ensure that the objectives of the legislation are fully realised.

Otti, who made this known at Government House, Umuahia, during his monthly chat with journalists, stated that some local government areas in Nigeria would be unviable if they were left to pay salaries and handle security matters independently.

“Strictly speaking, if you say that local governments would pay teachers, pay primary healthcare workers and deal with the issues of security without assistance from the state, some local governments would be unviable.

“So, the law we passed is in no way in conflict with the Supreme Court judgement.

“What we tried to do is to ensure that it is implementable without hitches,” Otti said.

He also dismissed claims that the local government chairmen who were elected in November 2024 are performing below expectations, stating that the council chairmen are performing well.

He disclosed that government security forces had destroyed a camp erected by criminal elements in the Ugwunagbo area of the state, noting that many exhibits were recovered.

“We recovered so much, unfortunately, we lost a soldier but the casualty on the part of the criminals was a whole lot including the people that we arrested and brought down the camp,” said Otti.

The governor, who said that many completed projects were recently commissioned for use by his administration, noted that he is taking steps to tackle bad roads and erosion sites in Lodu, Okpo, Ariam Usaka, and Umuchime Ossah parts of the state.