Local government elections in Abia will hold in January 2013, baring unforeseen circumstances, Gov. Theodore Orji, has said.
The governor said this on Monday in Umuahia while briefing newsmen on some of the landmark achievements recorded by his administration.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that local councils in Abia have been administered by Transition Committee (TC) Chairmen over the past four years.
But Orji said that it was time to conduct elections in that tier of government, adding that?“the transition system is not perpetual''.
“I intend to conduct elections at the local government areas by January next after due consultation with the Chairman of Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC),” he said.
Orji said that all political parties in the state would be given a level playing ground to vie for offices during the polls.
He said that the state was constrained to administer the Councils with TC chairmen due to large debts incurred by immediate past elected executives at the Councils.
“They left us with the burden of N2.9 billion being unpaid salaries and other emoluments, including the N29 billion debt I inherited from previous administrations,” he said.
The governor said “now that the security situation has improved, we should be ready to conduct the polls''.
“We are now blocking the loopholes through which revenues where siphoned and before January, our finances would have improved,” he said.
Orji warned partisan civil servants and other political appointees that were already angling for one position or the other against such actions.
“My attention has been drawn to activities of civil servants and political office holders that are now aligning themselves to one structure or the other.
“I don’t see why people should leave governance and start talking of what they will be.
“Our priority should be to deliver on our promises.
“If I notice that your attention is divided on such alignment, be you a civil servant or political office holder, I will relieve you of your duty,” he said.
He said that the ruling party in Abia already had a formidable structure capable of withstanding any opposition.
“All these mushroom structures people are building will collapse when our structure takes-off,” Orji said. (NAN)