Lawmaker representing Awka South Constituency 1, in Anambra State House of Assembly, Mr Nigeria Mbachu, has decried the omission of Local Government Areas (LGAs) election in the 2024 fiscal budget presented by the state government.
  
This followed Governor Charles Soludo’s presentation of the 2024 appropriation budget to the state House of Assembly on Tuesday. Mbachu said the omission meant there was no intention to conduct council elections in the state next year.
  
He described the development as worrisome, insisting that council elections are very important as it is the bedrock of governance in Nigeria and the third tier of government.  
  
He called on the state government to, as a matter of urgency, conduct the election. He said: “On page 475 of the budget, the budget for Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission for this current year was N89 million, while the projected estimate for the incoming year is N129 million.”

“You find out that there’s no feasibility or readiness for local government elections for the incoming year.
  
“I am so worried; this tier of government has suffered so much because of the lack of local government elections.”