Saturday, February 6, 2010

Imo Assembly okays sole administrators for councils
From Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri

BARELY 24 hours after the Imo State government dissolved the 27 councils in the state, the State House of Assembly yesterday ratified the appointment of sole administrators to manage the local councils.

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Also the lawmakers okayed the appointment of members of some commissions which included Local Government Service Commission (LGSC), Civil Service Commission (CSC), Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC), Imo State House of Assembly Service Commission (IMHASC) and Imo State Oil Mineral Development Commission (ISOPADEC).

According to the statement signed by Cosmos Iwu at the weekend in Owerri, chairmen of the commissions include Robert Asuzu (CSC), Chief Frank Nwokolo, (LGSC) Emma Nwonye, (ISIEC) and ISOPADEC, E. C. Nnani, ISOPAEDC.

Other members include Maxwell Duru and Obiageri Ajoku.

The commissions had been dissolved by the Governor, Ikedi Ohakim following the resolution of the state House of Assembly.

The State House Assembly has passed a bill on the amendment of law 10 of 1970 on the handover of schools to their original owners.

Former lawmaker in the State, Mr. Oliver Enwerenem has faulted the appointment of sole administrators in the state.

Speaking to The Guardian in a related development, at the weekend in Owerri, Enwerenem expressed dismay that for some unsubstantiated reasons, some governors, including Imo State, allegedly continue to evade holding council polls to usher in democratically elected government at the third tier of government.

He called for immediate constitutional amendment to check such practices, and called party leaders to help check such "undemocratic appointments."

Continuing, he said: "Therefore, I am proffering if we must have peace in this country section 144 of the Constitution must be amended otherwise we should go over the system of regional government because it is the most appropriate thing to do.