LP guber candidate, Achonu knocks Imo govt over timing of LG polls

<p>Sen. Athan Achonu, the Labour Party candidate in the November 11 governorship election in Imo State, has faulted plans by the State government to conduct council polls a few months before the guber election.</p>, <p>Achonu made his stance known while addressing newsmen in Owerri, on Wednesday.</p>, <p>DAILY POST reported that the Imo Governor, Sen. Hope Uzodimma had in a meeting with leaders of the All Progressives Congress last April, promised to conduct local government elections not later than July 2023.</p>, <p>The timetable for the elections has, however, not been announced, four days to the end of July.</p>, <p>Achonu, represented by the Director-General of his campaign organization, Mr Chime Nzeribe, argued that council polls should be conducted by governors upon their assumption of office rather than months to a governorship election.</p>, <p>He decried the delay in the conduct of the council polls, describing it as a “betrayal of the real motive” behind the election.</p>, <p>According to him, the timing of local government elections should reflect, not a desperate desire to groom supporters at the grassroots level for the ruling party, but a sincere desire to empower the local governments and make them work in the interest of the masses.</p>, <p>“We are at a loss why a government that has almost exhausted its constitutionally guaranteed four years in office, has woken up on the eve of its exit, to perform a very crucial task it bluntly ignored when it had all the time in the world to do so.</p>, <p>“The choice of this seemingly odd hour to conduct local government elections underscores the fact that it’s being motivated by re-election desperation, and not the collective welfare and well-being of the Imo electorate, especially the millions of rural dwellers.</p>, <p>“As your governor, I will conduct local council elections upon assumption of office and not weeks to the next election as seen today.</p>, <p>“Local government autonomy will solve some of our problems ranging from insecurity to grassroots d