PDP seeks probe of Imo councils, Okorocha backs state creation

WITH its members now in charge of the 27 local councils of Imo State, courtesy of the Appeal Court verdict, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to scrutinise the accounts of the councils.The PDP alleged that the state government had resorted to manipulating the councils' funds since the chairmen, who were sacked by Governor Rochas Okorocha, were reinstated by the appellate court.In a statement issued on Wednesday in Owerri, the state capital, PDP Publicity Secretary, Blyden Amajirionwu, accused the state government of using the Treasurers and Directors of Administration and General Services (DAGS) in the councils to tamper with the figures of the revenue allocated to the third-tier of government.Since the PDP council chiefs were recalled, there has been love lost between the party and the state government.In what looked like an attempt to frustrate the chairmen from having a smooth sail in office, the state government ordered the council workers to proceed on a three-day vacation as soon as the court verdict was enforced.When the chairmen reported for work last week, they met empty offices and had no access to vital documents to perform their duties.The state government claimed that the break was to enable the workers attend seminars and other training programmes.The PDP said it had discovered that since the historic judgment of the Court of Appeal in Owerri restoring the sacked chairmen to office, there had been intense manipulation of financial figures and urged the anti-graft agencies to wade into the matter.Amajirionwu said the PDP would take necessary steps to protect the interest of Imo people by ensuring that persons involved in the illegal acts were brought to book.But a senior official of one of the councils told The Guardian that the PDP's allegations were baseless.He said the absence of the workers from their duty posts in the state was due to the training programmes organised for them and had nothing to do with the recalled chairmen.Meanwhile, Okorocha has renewed his appeal to the National Assembly and the Federal Government to create an additional state in the South-East zone to ensure 'equity and fairness' in the polity.The governor told the Committee on the Creation of Additional States in Owerri on Wednesday that the proposed state should be created from Imo and Anambra states.He said a new state in the zone would boost the socio-economic status of the South-East and urged the stakeholders to close rank and ensure the actualisation of the goal to keep the South-East at par with other zones in the country.
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