A former House of Representatives member for Ikwuano/Umuahia federal constituency of Abia, Sam Onuigbo, says President Bola Tinubu deserves a second term in office, following his achievements in the past two years.

Mr Onuigbo said this while reacting to Governor Peter Mbah’s defection from the PDP to the APC in Abuja on Wednesday.

The APC chieftain, who described Mr Mbah’s defection as the right decision, said it has improved Mr Tinubu’s chances of winning the South-East by 2027.

“Governor Peter Mbah’s defection is a good omen to both the South-East and APC because he is a performing governor joining the mainstream. Mbah will complement the achievements of President Tinubu, who has performed creditably well with economic policies such as forex unification that are yielding fruits,” he said.

Mr Onuigbo said that Mr Mbah’s defection to the APC would give the South-East geopolitical zone the opportunity to negotiate from a point of strength with three APC states out of five.

The former lawmaker, who also serves as a member representing the South-East in the North-East Development Commission, called for financial autonomy of local governments. He decried the alleged diversion of local government funds by some state governors, which, according to him, had impeded meaningful development at the grassroots.

Mr Onuigbo urged governors to stop appointing their appendages as chairmen through charades in the name of council elections, thereby undermining the essence of the third tier of government.

According to him, the Electoral Act 2002, sections 197 and 124, provides that SIEC is supposed to conduct free, fair, and credible elections in accordance with Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

The APC chieftain, who blamed some governors for the infrastructural deficits and insecurity at the grassroots, said local government elections conducted outside the Electoral Act are invalidated.

He commended Mr Mbah of Enugu for giving local government chairpersons access to funds for massive grassroots development and security, as witnessed in Abia.

(NAN)