The Enugu State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lampooned the All Progressives Congress (APC) over its mischievous comment against the plan by the State Government to constitute Caretaker Committees to run the affairs of the 17 Local Government Councils.
The state chapter of the PDP said the APC lacked the moral grounds to speak on the matter because most states controlled by the APC administered council affairs through caretaker committees.
The party maintained that there was nothing constitutionally wrong with the setting up of the committees under the present circumstances which the state found itself.
The PDP was reacting to a statement issued by the State Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Mrs. Kate Ofor, which alleged that the party had instituted a legal action against the planned Caretaker Committees in the Councils.
But in a statement signed by the State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Dr. Okey Eze, the party called on the APC to appreciate the new tempo of democratic experiment in Enugu State being championed by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi aimed at advancing good governance in an atmosphere of peace, civility and rule of law.
Dr. Eze stated that the decision to set up the caretaker committees was a collective one by all stakeholders cutting across political divide, civil society organizations, organized Labour Unions, among others, wondering why the APC should be the only body that would raise such a baseless objection to the plan.
The state chapter of the PDP said that it strongly aligned itself to the genuine reasons adduced by the state government over the non-conduct the Council electionsthis year, assuring the public that the exercise would be conducted in 2016 as promised by the governor.
It added that no impartial body would fault the on-going Local Government staff audit and its inherent benefits towards an efficient and corruption–free Local Government administration which was one of the major reasons why the exercise was deferred till next year, even as inadequate budgetary provision of funds in this year’s budget hamstrung the conduct of the council polls.
The PDP therefore called on the APC to direct their vituperations to their sister states that had deliberately refused to conduct council polls for many years even when the nation’s economy was in good shape.
