Recently, the 21 elected council chairmen in Kogi state clocked 100 days in office.
Ibrahim MJ Obansa, Special Adviser Media and Strategy to ALGON, Kogi state, write on the achievements recorded so far by the council chairmen within the period under review.
When the chairmen of the 21 local government areas in Kogi state were sworn in on 6th May, 2013 by the Executive Governor of the state, Captain Idris Wada, they did not leave anyone in doubt as to their preparedness and collective resolve to turn around the fortunes of their respective councils positively.
At that occasion, the governor, charged them to quickly settle down for effective service delivery to the people who according to Wada are anxiously expecting the good things of life. He also called on them to key into his transformation agenda which was aimed at bringing accelerated development to the state with Agriculture as the driving force.
Today they are 100 days in office. How time flies. One thing that has remain constant is the desire of the council bosses to make a difference in the lives of the electorates who freely gave them their mandate.
During their inaugural meeting with the commissioner in charge of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftancy Affairs, Hon. Ndamodu Ali, the commissioner was optimistic that given the quality and exposure of the new
Chairmen, the will certainly bring the needed succour to the people at the grassroots.
No doubt, the challenges at this level of government are enormous, considering the fact that it is the closest to the people at the grassroots. But the council bosses have remain undaunted in their quest to ensure that the story of the changed for good.
From the seven councils of the west senatorial district, namely: Kabba/Bunu, Lokoja, Kogi, Ijumu, Yagba East, Yagba West and Mopa/Muro LGAs come echoes of developments and great transformation.
The same thing is applicable in Okene, Ajaokuta, Okehi, Adavi and Ogori/Magongo in central district where giant strides have also been taken to re position the councils and restore confidence in the people, assuring them that politics is about development and the provision of better living conditions for the people through the provision of critical social amenities.
The councils in the east, Dekina, Olamaboro,Ankpa, Omala, Igalamela/Odolu, Idah, Ibaji, Bassa and Ofu have all since keyed into the transformation agenda of the state government, by bringing development closer to the people, the initial challenges not withstanding. Governance at the local government level have become very competitive, as the chairmen compete and compare notes on developmental issues, it certainly can not be business as usual. The councils has never had it so good, so say one of the indigene of Ibagi LGA, Isah Usman. According to him the flood which ravaged the area last year, only helped the chairman to be more committed to developmental issues.
The councils have recorded unprecedented achievements in the areas of free medical treatment in the primary health care centres, some councils like Ajaokuta, Dekina among others have recorded lofty heights in this regard. The programme was the initiative of the Captain Idris Wada led administration. This has become a household name in virtually all the councils.
Implementation of national programme on immunoization, youth empowerment and skill acquisition, collaboration with the security agencies through the provision of working tools and other logistics to enhance effective security of lives and property. All this are visible in Olaamaboro, Ofu, Okene, Adavi and Okehi among others.
Construction of new and rehabilitation of existing rural feeder roads and many other interventions of the chairmen in other areas of human endeavour, can also be verified in Kogi, Lokoja Ijumu, Mopa/Muro, Yagba West and Yagba East council areas.
The chairmen on assumption of office has to battle to re position the already disoriented civil service structures, fight to eliminate corruption and ghost workers syndrome. Other problems faced by the chairmen includes the culture of impunity which are inherent in the councils before now, abandoned projects which were largely responsible for the poor performances of the councils in the past. Today our people across the 21 local government areas are now enjoying a new lease of life.
The 9 LG areas affected by last year deadly flood in the state have already keyed into the agricultural programme of the state government. This is to guarantee food security, employment generation and wealth creation for the people. This is already yielding positive results in the affected councils.
Majority of the councils have equally taken the bull by the horn as they tried to pay full monthly salaries in addition to other developmental projects like sinking of boreholes in areas where it was considered to be impossible in the past as well as ensuring adequate security of lives and property across the state. This certainly would not have been possible without the support of the state government, through the supervisory ministry.
The desire of the chairmen to continue to harness views and all shades of opinion from the people at the grassroots and stakeholders has been one sure determinant of their individual successes. This was further confirmed by the Chairman of ALGON and the chairman of Ajaokuta LGA, Mr. Aloysius Okino when he recently led members of his council to the PDP state secretariat. He said that “In our inaugural speeches we promised an all inclusive government where critical stakeholders will contribute to the policy formulation and evaluation of government programmes”. This statement aptly captured the feelings and aspiration and the general conduct of the other chairmen.
The above has help to bring about peace and tranquility in all the twenty-one local government areas. It has helped to minimized areas of friction, acrimony and divisive tendencies which are the bane of developments in the past.
The 100 days in office of the 21 local government chairmen in Kogi state have been very eventful as they have one good thing or the other to show for it.
While the chairmen may not have gotten to their Zenith, the bold and positive steps taken so far is a clear indication of what the people should expect in the days, weeks and years ahead.
What is required at this point is the cooperation and support of the people to be able to push ahead. The days ahead promises to be better.
