Anambra LG allocations and playing the Ostrich

By Okey Maduforo

At the peak of the fight against the the perpetual rule of the apartheid government in South Africa, there was this clamour for the imposition of economic sanctions against the embattled Country.

While other Countries of the Western world had insisted on the imposition of sanctions against South Africa, Britain had it’s objections contending that those economic sanctions would adversely affect the masses of that Country.

Britain was as it were profiled as being in support of the apartheid regime and all manner of knocks trailed their position.

The fate of South Africa was deepened when other Countries imposed those sanctions as her citizens felt the harsh gravel hands of economic blocked.

Britain was indeed vindicated by that ugly turn of events and Counties that had imposed those sanctions had to have a rethink.

History is about to repeat itself in Anambra state as a Federal High Court recently ordered Gov Charles Soludo not to touch the allocations of the twenty one local government areas.

The Court according to reports ruled that the allocation should be paid into a money yielding account until the conduct of local government elections.

The litigants may have lost sight of the grave implications of withholding local government allocations as it would certainly deepen the fate of the twenty one Council Areas.

Reasons from quarters are that socioeconomic development at the local government level is being stagnated due to the use of local government allocations by state governors .

However credible reports between 1999 and 2023 have it that the then local government Council Chairmen misappropriated those funds hence the allocation did not reflect in the Infrastructural and economic development of the local government areas and most Chairmen as it were became guests to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC.

But what has become a paradox of fate is that with this Court pronouncement , the perceived stagnation of those Council areas have been made worse as it is a case of from fry pan to fire.

It is being canvased that with the allocations in a money yielding account what becomes of the fate of Infrastructural development in the Council Areas?

Similarly non of the twenty one local government areas has ever lamented their frustration of the introduction of Joint Accounts Committee JAC or had gone to Court to institute a matter in that regard.

It is being feared that the Court actions may have some clandestine political under tone to ultimately distract Gov Charles Soludo and possibly scuttle his second term ambition.

Though the governor is yet to make a public statement on this recent development and also has a right of appeal, it had indeed been established that the litigations are related to that act of one cutting off ones nose the spite ones face .

The litigants may have ran away with a bogus impression of protecting the local government system but failed to appreciate the necked fact that they have only succeeded in playing the ostrich by exposing their nativity on the alter of rational and sound judgement.

They may be celebrating at this point for cutting a pound of flesh from the Anambra state government but the stream of blood that trails the Court ruling is similar to a poisoned chalice during consecration and every partaker must certainly drink from it.