Worried by the series of crisis be tween Councilors and Chairmen of Councilors, rocking Local Government councils, the State House of Assembly Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs have initiated a tour to the 31 Local Government councils in the state to harmonize both parties as well as inspect projects initiated by the councils.
The Chairmen of the Committee, Mr. Abo Uduyok Johnson stated this while leading the committee to Esit Eket, Eket, Ibeno and Onna last week.
He said that the committee decided to visit all the Local Government Areas in the state to inquire and see how council chairmen are relating with the councilors and also to see what they are doing with the sure-P funds they were given by the Federal Government in the last one year.
In all the local governments, the committee inquired from the leader of the legislature, their relationship with the executives and how they are being carried along by them.
The committee also found out if the councilors have been observing regular sittings and asked that the attendance register be submitted to the committee, while asking the councilors if the executives have started any project in their various wards.
At Esit Eket, the vice chairman of the council received the committee in the chairman’s absence. The leader of the legislature disclosed to the committee that their relationship with the executive has been cordial and that their inability to commence ward projects has made it difficult for them to go to their wards and brief their members. When the committee asked the vice chairman of what they did with the sure-p funds, he took them to the ongoing secretariat complex being constructed by the council but could not account for what they used the statutory allocation fund for.
The committee moved to Eket where the vice chairman also stood in for the chairman, Mr. Aniekan Akpan. The leader of the legislature Mr. Oso Hanson also spoke well of their relationship with the executive but lamented the running cost of the legislative which he pleaded should be increased from Five Hundred Thousand to One Million Naira. He said that since they have not done any ward project, they cannot meet with their ward members. He also called for improved security vote and sitting allowance for the councilors.
Apart from furnishing offices at the council, the Vice Chairman of Eket Council, Mr. Victor Bassey Henry could not point at any other project. He took the committee to an abandoned quarters close to the council where they manage eye-service computer training for youths who are paid to pretend to be trainees; for the purpose of the committee’s visit.
At Ibeno, the leader of the legislature told the committee that their relationship with the executive is not as cordial as it is supposed to be. He said that the chairman has not been carrying the councilors along in his administration and this has led to disagreement most times them.
He maintained that they have not begun ward projects and that whenever they approach the chairman on it, the answer they get is that there is no money. He noted that the council budget was passed in June because the chairman refused to present the budget to the councilors.
On his part, the Chairman of Ibeno, Mr. Henry Ekpe Nko could not point at any meaningful project done by the council apart from the 100 youths he said his administration has trained.
When the committee moved to Onna, they met another uncordial relationship between the executive and the legislature. The leader of the legislature refused to speak on behalf of the councilors. Though the councilor who spoke for the leader praised the chairman but it was noticed that some councilors were not happy about the visit. Ward project was another issue at Onna as the councilors said they do not have anything to show for one year of leading the people who elected them. However, the council chairman Mr. Ufot Sunday Akpan said he used the sure-P money to purchase brand new vehicles for principal office holders and also rebuilt the defunct Onna Peoples Bank which he said has been boosted with the sum of 6million naira to enable farmers get soft loans. He said they have also trained up to 35 youths in skill acquisition and 30 of them have been employed. He also showed the committee the ongoing work at the new executive quarters which is at the foundation stage.
Meanwhile, in all the councils visited, a member of the committee and former leader of the House of Assembly, Chief Jerome Isangedhi advised council chairmen to see the councilors and their welfare as one of their projects and refrain from sidelining them. He said that they should carry the councilors along in everything they do, adding that those ward projects will not only give the councilors the credit but also they themselves because they will be able to move around the wards and meet with ward members for their future political adventure.
The committee noticed in all local government visited that council budgets are always presented to the councilors at the middle of the fiscal year while the chairmen run the councils without an approved budget by the legislature.
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