By Simon Ebegbulem &  Gabriel Enogholase

BENIN—EDO State All Progressives Congress, APC, has denied the allegation by Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that the Governor Adams Oshiomhole  administration has collected over N200 billion meant for local governments in the state from the Federation Account.

Oshiomhole

Similarly, the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, Edo State chapter, also traced the inability of some councils in the state to pay salaries of their workers to the alleged mismanagement of the economy by the immediate past Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, led Federal Government and not the administration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

A statement by Prince Kassim Afegbua, Special Adviser, Media and Public Affairs to the governor, said that rather than criticise the local government administrations, Edo PDP chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, ought to cover his face in shame at the outright plundering of the economy by the last PDP-led government at the federal level to the extent that even the Federal Government could not pay salaries of workers.

He said: “For some time now, we have resolved to ignore Orbih and his PDP co-travellers, not because of his obstinacy but for his deliberate attempt to distract government in the discharge of its statutory responsibilities to the people. While we are of the opinion that constructive criticism is an integral part of the democratic order, doing so with ignorance creates more problem of misinformation for the larger society.

“The local government as the third tier of government has its own statutory functions expressly spelt out in the Fourth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). Part of those functions include payment of primary school teachers, payment of traditional rulers salaries, payment of pensioners in the local government, maintenance of vocational centres and adult education.”