RAYMOND OZOJI reports
The Anambra State Government is set to conduct orientation courses for the newly inaugurated Local Government Chairmen and Councillors in the state.
The Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Barr. Vin Ifeanyi Ezeaka, who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with this journalist, said that the essence of the orientation courses was to direct the new chairmen and councilors on the need to develop their respective communities.
Ezeaka also stated that the orientation programme would familiarise them with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and equally expose them to the law under which they are operating which he said is the 2024 Local Government Administration Law.
He said that there is no doubt that they would perform well because all of them are deeply rooted in the grassroots. According to the Commissioner, the demoçratisation of the local government system in Anambra State has brought a lot of dividends to the rural areas.
The Commissioner noted that Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo promised Ndi-Anambra that he would conduct local government elections, if elected. He said that the newly minted Mayors and Chairmen of the 21 local government areas of the state were the second group of elected chairmen and councilors since Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo came on board.
Ezeaka maintained that the governor has conducted local government elections for the second consecutive time and that the third local government elections would be held within the life of his administration, stressing that Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo has instituted democratic governance in the local government system by signing into law the Local Government Administration Law 2024.
He said that the first set of elected Mayors did very well because the governor commissioned a three kilometer road in Ekwusigo Local Government Area constructed by the immediate past chairman, adding that there are landmark development programmes initiated by the Mayors in their respective council areas which includes healthcare services, construction and furnishing of office blocks, mini stadia, to mention a few.
The Commissioner noted that the communities are benefiting immensely from grassroots development programmes instituted by the Mayors as evident in Ihiala Local Government Area, where he said that the Council Chairman awarded scholarships to some students at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University.
The Commissioner who observed that the Chairmen have been a huge blessing to the rural communities in Anambra State, said it was no longer business as usual because the local government system is now performance-based, adding that there is no doubt that the new ones would continue to provide dividends of good governance to the rural populace.
Ezeaka noted that out of the 21 new LG Chairmen, 10 were returned for a second term in office while 11 new ones took over from their immediate past counterparts and that the successors were carefully selected based on experience, political sagacity and learning to occupy their respective local government offices.
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