Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi State has sworn in the newly elected local government Chairmen in the state with a charge to them to be dedicated in serving the people at the grassroots.
The 21 new chairmen and their vice chairmen were sworn in on Monday alongside 239 councillors that were during the local government election held in the state on Saturday, October 19.
Speaking at the ceremony held at the Banquet Hall in Government House Lokoja, Ododo urged them
to sustain the tempo of development at the grassroots level by embarking on projects and programmes that will improve the lives of the people.
The governor charged the new local government chairmen to ensure security of lives and property and key into signature programmes of the administration in the areas of health, agriculture, social welfare and empowerment initiatives to transform the lives of the people in their respective local government areas.
The governor who described the local government as the most important tier of government and the closest to the people also enjoined the new council chairmen to ensure that the people are carried along in all their activities.
He also advised them to promote inclusion of all stakeholders in decision making process.
According to Ododo, the local government administration should not only be seen but must be felt by the people in line with the policy of his administration to bring governance closer to the people.
Governor Ododo also called on the new local government chairmen to be transparent and accountable in the running the affairs of their local government.
He stressed that they must see their election as an opportunity to justify the autonomy of the local government administration by according priorities to matters that have direct positive impact on the lives of the people at the grassroots.
Responding on behalf of his colleagues, the Chairman of Yagba West Local Government, Tosin Olokun, assured of their commitment to complement the efforts of the state government by embarking on projects and programmes that will transform the lives of the people at the grassroots.
He also promised to unite the people irrespective of political differences in line with the agenda of the state government under Governor Ododo to unite the people of the state and focus more on development.
(vitalnewsngr.com)
