RAYMOND OZOJI reports
With the increasing spate of insecurity in Anambra State especially with the most recent brutal killing of 8 persons at Chigbonu village Umuike Ubahuekwem Ihiala including 2 security personnel, past and present Presidents-General of the 179 communities in the state have unanimously called on Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo to recognize town unions as 4th tier of government inorder to fight the menace of insecurity in the communities to standstill.
Some of the community leaders who spoke to HEADLINE NEWS at the ASATU national secretariat Government House Awka during an event, said it was time Governor Soludo ascribed real governmental powers to town unions because they are closest to the grassroots and they know the terrains very well.
Former President-General of Nteje Development Union in Oyi Local Government Area of the state, Chief Chidiebele Obika said he wants the Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU) to be the 4th tier of government because Presidents-General, according to him, are the administrators of their various communities. Obika maintained if the PGs do well in their various offices, then the governor will have lesser work to do as PGs will lead the fight against insecurity in their respective communities.
The immediate past President-General of Isuaniocha Development Union in Awka-North Local Government Area Amb. Frank Ofobuike stated that ASATU is the grassroots of every politics and that no meaningful development can occur without its foundation from the grassroots. That the need for ASATU to be officially gazeted as the 4th tier of government in Anambra State can not be overemphasized.
Also the President-General of Ifitedunu town union in Dunukofia Local Government Area Prof. Steve Ofuaro, said he subscribed to ASATU being officially recognized as the 4th tier of government in Anambra because its very closeness with the grassroots which he described as the cradle of every meaningful and sustainable development.
Ofuaro noted that both state and federal government policies and programmes can be effectively executed at the grassroots with Presidents-General as intermediaries to ensure the success of such initiatives. He equally added that ASATU should be backed by laws to enable allocations come to PGs directly for community development purposes.
Meanwhile the PG emeritus of Enugwu-Ukwu community in Njikoka Local Government Area comrade Bonny Ozo Nkwoaku, told HEADLINE NEWS that ASATU had already advocated for it to be officially recognized as the 4th tier of government in Anambra State. Nkwoaku noted that although they are operating unofficially now a body but expressed confidence that in no distant time, there would be an official legislation to back ASATU, stressing that government rely so much on the communities for whatever they do.
The state president of Ohaneze-Ndigbo in Anambra and former President-General of Oraukwu community Chief Obi Chukwuemekalum Udodeme appealed passionately to Governor Soludo to make ASATU the 4th tier of government in the state because he believes that ASATU is the root of the grass and mayors of their various communities.
Udodeme emphasized that if ASATU is recognized officially as the 4th tier of government, it will help the state government both in development, security and otherwise, stressing that he is of the opinion that ASATU should be given official recognition as the 4th tier of government in Anambra State.
The national president of the Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU) Chief Barr. Titus Nnabuike Akpudo and former President-General of Eziowele community in Idemili-North Local Government Area, disclosed that the body was already rooting for ASATU to be officially recognized as 4th tier of government in the state.
Akpudo stated that the governor was already working on a bill to officially gazet ASATU as a tier of government. Although he was cognisant of the fact that the governor was in cordial relations with ASATU as no programme of the state government that ASATU is not involved.
He also pointed out that the House of Assembly always involved ASATU whenever the need arose and according to him, there is no community government presence would come in without the involvement of PGs. That there is no community in Anambra State the Solution Government would execute projects and PGs will not be part of it.
Akpudo therefore concluded that the government of Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo is doing everything possible to ensure that ASATU is always incorporated into the scheme of things. That soonest the House of Assembly will announce ASATU as a 4th tier of government in Anambra State.
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