February 05, (THEWILL) – The Special Adviser to the Governor on the Bureau of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Denen Aondoakaa, has restated his readiness to work in synergy with Council chairmen in Benue State to restore the ugly administrative situations at the third tier of government as contained in the local government workable administrative framework mapped out by the governor Hyacinth Iormem Alia-led administration.
Aondoakaa disclosed this during a technical session organised by the Bureau’s management for Council chairmen and their management team, which was recently held at the Multipurpose conference hall at the Bureau headquarters in Makurdi, the state capital.
He explained that rural areas in the state have received speedy and steady reform under Governor Alia’s leadership, including regular payment of workers’ emoluments, the massive opening of rural roads to agricultural and commercial transactions, an increase in revenue generation, and thorough inspection and monitoring of income and expenditures to ensure the transparency and comfort of rural dwellers, with the aim of stabilising the State’s micro economy.
The Adviser, therefore, called on Council workers not to resign to fate as all positive efforts are on the way to clear the local government backlog of arrears that was inherited from the previous administration.
While assuring Traditional Rulers in Benue State that all the challenges they faced during his recent tour would be tackled through the governor’s directives in no distant time, he called on the Benue masses to sustain prayers for the governor to continue with the current pace of transformation of the Benue valley.
He commended Council chairmen for keying into the policy thrust of the Alia administration, urging them to carry all stakeholders along in decision-making to be on the same page for support and unity.
In his remarks, the State chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon Maurice Orwough, pledged to ensure the unalloyed loyalty of all Executive Chairmen in the State to the governor Alia administration and to work in synergy with the Bureau to rectify identified challenges at the third tier of Government.
He commended the meeting for adopting the agenda for critical deliberations and pledged ALGON’s support all the time to transform the rural communities of the state.
The Chairman of the Benue State Local Government Service Commission, Hon. James Ivever, frowned at the absenteeism to duty by council staff and charged them to desist to justify the priority placed on their welfare by the Alia administration or be ready to reign.
On strengthening the books of account of local government councils, the Auditor General of Local Governments in Benue State, Dr Abraham Gerindyer, called on Council Chairmen to work in synergy with their Director General Service and Administration (DGSAs) and Treasurers to prudently reconcile their annual expenditures as required by law and to uphold the expectations of prudent utilisation of resources for the benefit of the masses.
A statement signed by the Media and Publicity Aide to the Special Adviser, Mr Eric Iortyer, quotes the Auditor General for Local Government as noting the exemplary leadership of Governor Alia, urging them to collaborate with the Benue State Internal Revenue Service (BIRS) to brainstorm on possible ways to improve on their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), to enhance the steady increase of the Federation allocation at the third tier of government.
