Ogun LCDAs not created for political reasons–Speaker

The Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Suraj Adekunbi, on Thursday said the creation of 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) by the Ibikunle Amosun administration was not done for political reasons.

Adekunbi said this while declaring open a one-day interactive session for chairmen of local governments and LCDAs, Secretaries to Local Governments and Heads of Local Government Administration in Abeokuta.

He said the idea behind the creation of additional administrative units at the local level was to bring governance closer to the people while offering them better access to dividends of democracy.
Adekunbi said that the forum was organised to address various administrative challenges likely to be encountered at takeoff by the LCDA management.

He assured the local government administrators of the Assembly’s readiness to enact more enabling laws to ensure smooth running of local councils for the achievement of optimal results.

“Our responsibilities as political office holders are clearly enunciated and the Heads of Local Government Administration have their roles to play. I don’t see any reason why we should cross our path.

“Our duties, to me, are clearly defined and we should complement each other and ensure that we deliver to our various councils.

“We are running one government defined by society of purpose; at that level we must get it right.

“It is incumbent on all the chairmen to ensure that they work together toward making our local government a very viable institution that would deliver on the mandate given to us by our people.

“The effect of this kind of programme would make things workable at the grassroots level and our people will have confidence in the newly created LCDAs and they will believe that it is not just created for political reasons, ” he said.

Earlier, Mr Jide Ojuko, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, stated that the programme was designed to prepare both the elected and appointed officers for the tasks ahead.

Ojuko promised that the ministry would put in place more capacity training programmes for effective service delivery at the council level.

Seasoned facilitators, he said, were engaged to train participants in areas such as office practice, relationship between political office holders and career officers as well as revenue generation for effective running of councils.

He said they would also be tutored on legislative process and the role of community development associations in emerging economies.

The commissioner urged participants to see their roles as a call to service with a view to positively affect the lives of the people in their domain while complementing the rebuilding mission of the administration. (NAN)