Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, on Monday, swore in the 17 newly elected local government chairmen and their deputies, ordering them to relocate to their areas and serve the people.
The new council helmsmen, all from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), emerged from the September 21 council elections in the state.
The governor charged them to hit the ground running, delivering people-centered projects and programmes in line with their campaign promises.
Explaining that the era of living in townships and far from their people was over, he urged them to key into his government’s Smart Green School, rural infrastructural projects, agriculture, among others, to fight crime and create opportunities and a brighter future for Enugu children and youth.
“I followed your campaign and all that you promised the people. I also heard many of you making allusions to our mantra, ‘Tomorrow Is Here,’ during the campaign. I will tell you what ‘Tomorrow Is Here’ speaks to. It speaks to the immediacy of the tasks before us and how we can immediately get to solving those problems without procrastination. It also reminds us that the tomorrow we envision is within our grasp, but only to the extent we are able to innovate. That is why we are now talking about disruptive innovation.
“Now the time for talk is over, and I am also going to add that the honeymoon is also over. It is now time to walk the talk and time to put into action those promises you made to the people. What the people now expect to hear is how and when you can solve the problems that have blighted their development over the years. So, this is now the time for you to think outside the box,” Mbah stated.
The governor equally charged them to complement the state’s war against insecurity, as development is not possible without it.
“We have zero tolerance for crime and insecurity in Enugu State. If you are thinking about how to attract cottage industries and development to your various local governments, they will not come if you do not have peace and security,” he said.
He also charged them with inclusive governance and administering the councils from their LGAs.
“The people will be the centerpiece of your governance model. You have to banish feelings of alienation, and you must deliver democracy dividends to all.
“You should think about basic amenities. We have challenges across all sectors. You should be thinking outside the box on how to solve them and how to creatively generate wealth and create employment.
“But you cannot do that remotely. You cannot do that while operating from the city. You have to be there with your people. So, the era where we have local government chairmen or their deputies leading their people remotely or by proxy is gone. We will have no tolerance for local government chairmen who do not govern from their local governments,” he stressed.
Responding on behalf of his colleagues, the Chairman of Nkanu East LGA, Okechukwu Edeh, assured the new chairmen would cascade the governor’s numerous development programs to the grassroots.
“We are lucky to be part of this most digitalized, innovative, and robust administration. Some people fail, not because they want to fail, but because they lack appropriate leaders, especially exemplary leaders, whom they can emulate.
“But having you as a governor, we know too well that you are an achievement-oriented governor. We are not going to let you and the people of Enugu State down,” Okechukwu assured.
