The governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti has warned that the incumbent appointed Mayors of the 17 local government areas will not get automatic ticket of the Labour Party (LP) to contest for the upcoming local government area election in the state.
This is even as there are fears in the party that the serving mayors and some government appointees may have lost the chance as provided by the electoral law as amended to participate in the election.
Reports yet to be verified have it that the mayors and some of the appointees of the state government failed to resign their position within the 90 days window as provided for by the electoral act for government appointees that want to run for elective positions.
Rumours had emerged at the weekend that, the governor of Abia State, Dr. Otti had at the weekend, in a meeting he held with the Mayors and LP stateholders told Transition Committee Chairmen ( Mayors), Deputy Chairmen ( Deputy Mayors) and Councillors in the state, informed them that, they were not qualified to contest the forthcoming LGA election.
The news has caused bad blood among party members ahead of the party’s primaries scheduled to hold on October 4.
The governor of the state, had inaugurated members of the Board of Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC) led by Professor George Chima, with the charge to conducting a free and fair local government election in the state.
In a telephone interview, the state chairman of the Labour Party (LP) in the state, Comrade Ceekay Igara said “I am aware that the Electoral Act 2022, section 84, subsection 12, bars every appointee of government who didn’t resign 30 days to the primary.
“That they fall victim is not our fault, is the electoral act that said so. The party has not made any statement with regards to that, but I was told that the governor advised them based on that.”
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