Gov Soludo Fires All 21 Transition Committee Chairmen

Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has dissolved the transition committees of all 21 local government areas in the state, effective Monday, May 20.

Naija News reports that the affected chairmen have been directed to hand over the affairs of their respective councils to the Heads of Local Government Administrations (HLGAs).

This move follows the expiration of the tenure of the transition committee chairmen and comes amidst mounting public pressure for local government elections in the state.

This was contained in a letter signed by the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Collins Nwabunwanne, dated May 17, and cited by The Nation.

The letter read: “Following the expiration of your tenure as Transition Committee Chairman, you are hereby directed to handover the affairs of your Local Government Council to the Head of Local Government Administration (HLGA), in your respective Local Government Councils.

“This directive takes effect from Monday, 20th day of May, 2024. Thank you for your service to the state.

“All replies to be addressed to the Honourable Commissioner.”

Recall that Soludo had earlier directed party stakeholders to nominate candidates for transition committees in their local government areas, with a specific requirement that at least one of the nominees must be a woman from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

The directive, conveyed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters, Dr. Alex Obiogbolu, stated that party stakeholders in each local government area were expected to meet on May 18 or 19, 2024, to consider and recommend three persons for the position of Transition Committee Chairman and three persons for Local Government Education Secretaries.

The three recommendations for Transition Committee Chairmen were to include at least one woman, while the three recommendations for Education Secretary were to be two women and one man.

Anambra State has been operating with transition committees for some time, with the last local government election held by former Governor Peter Obi just before the expiration of his second tenure in 2014.

Since then, opposition parties and stakeholders have been advocating for elections into the local government system, arguing that the use of transition committees has stifled the growth and autonomy of local governments.