The Kogi State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged that Governor Usman Ododo and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are plotting to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling on Local Government Autonomy.
In a statement signed by Alhaji Ibrahim Dansofo, the PDP accused Governor Ododo of planning to install his loyalists as local government chairmen to maintain control over local government accounts. The party claimed that Ododo’s declaration that the Joint Allocation Account (JAC) is constitutional shows his ignorance of the Supreme Court’s ruling, which abolished JAC.
The PDP also recalled the era of Yahaya Bello’s administration, where local government chairmen would withdraw funds and deliver them to the government house. The party alleged that Ododo, as the then Auditor General of Local Government, was complicit in this practice.
The PDP expressed no surprise at Ododo’s stance on Local Government autonomy, given his past record. The party accused Ododo of already rigging the upcoming local government election to impose his loyalists and compromise local government authority.