Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has sworn in 23 caretaker committee chairmen.
Speaking at the event held at the Government House in Makurdi on Friday, the governor charged the chairmen to deliver quality services to the people at the local level.
Governor Alia charged the chairmen to avoid excuses and serve their local government areas diligently, to ensure that their work reflects the manifesto of the All Progressives Congress, in the state.
The governor, who revealed that his administration had granted autonomy to the local governments, urged them to attend to the needs of the people and ensure that residents enjoyed the dividends of democracy.
In a response on behalf of the others, the Caretaker Chairman of Konshisha Local Government Area, Philip Achuah, assured the governor that they would do their best to replicate his efforts at the local level.
Achuah also thanked the governor for granting quasi-autonomy to the local government system in the state, promising that they would not fail in their duties.
Still on local government affairs, the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees in Nangere Local Government Area of Yobe State is demanding full autonomy for local government administrations in the country.
Members of the union, who made their demands known during a peaceful protest organised at the headquarters of the local government in Nangere with banners and placards calling for full autonomy for local governments across the nation.
Speaking to journalists, the NULGE chairman, Umar Inusa, demanded for the scrapping of the joint account committee and illegal deductions from local governments’ allocations in adherence to the Fourth Schedule on Local Government in respect of revenue sources, among other things.
Inusa explained that granting autonomy to local government administrations will result in massive food production in communities and strengthen democracy at the grassroots.
The chairman further called on the Federal Government to allow the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct local government elections in 774 local governments across the country, as this would provide employment opportunities for the youth.
