Bauchi Governor, Sen Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, on Tuesday, swore in the newly elected Chairpersons of the 20 LGCs, warning them against indulging in corruption and other financial crimes.
The Governor, while swearing in the Chairpersons at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, charged them to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of Council funds and other resources.
Bala Mohammed further warned the Chairpersons against misappropriating local government funds, stressing that their election and the financial autonomy granted to the councils had placed greater responsibility on them to deliver good governance at the grassroots.
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He said, “You must not be tempted to misappropriate or divert local government funds. With financial autonomy now granted to local governments to run their affairs, you have no excuse for poor performance.”
Bala Mohammed also urged the Chairpersons to see their positions as an opportunity to serve the people rather than an avenue for sharing public resources.
According to him, “The people now have higher expectations from you as the newly elected Council officials, particularly because you are closer and more accessible to the grassroots.”
He said, “The position of local government is no longer a place where we go and share money. We go there to face challenges because the required human capacity, trust and confidence of the people must be built.”
The Governor also urged the Chairpersons to prioritise security, education, healthcare, agriculture and infrastructure in their respective local government areas.
He called on them to work closely with traditional institutions, security agencies, women, youth and other stakeholders to sustain peace across the state.
Bala Mohammed said his administration had made significant investments in infrastructure, healthcare, education, agriculture and rural roads, adding that the council chairmen were expected to complement the efforts at the grassroots.
He noted that his administration had completed and constructed roads across the state, upgraded healthcare facilities and primary healthcare centres, as well as invested in schools and agricultural programmes.
The Governor also called on the Chairpersons to establish regular security meetings with relevant security agencies in their local government areas and ensure that vital information was promptly shared with the authorities.
He said, “I am expecting so much improvement in the security architecture. Make sure you hold security meetings with all the security agencies in your local council.”
Bala Mohammed then congratulated the LGC Chairpersons on their victory and urged them to hit the ground running, saying their performance would be closely monitored by the government and the people.
The Governor also swore in six newly appointed Special Advisers and urged them to work diligently towards achieving the administration’s objectives.
He said the appointments were based on the appointees’ records, competence and loyalty, adding that the new officials must be ready to work beyond conventional working hours to serve the people.
The Governor further urged the newly sworn-in officials to uphold transparency and ensure that the dividends of democracy reached communities across the state.
Recall that the State Independent Electoral Commission (BASIEC) had declared that the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) won all 20 chairmanship seats and 319 councillorship seats in the local government elections held in the state on Monday.
The Chairperson of Bauchi LGC, who spoke on behalf of the rest, commended the State Governor, Sen Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, for supporting their aspirations and the APM for granting them the platform to contest.