Kwara government trains new council chairmen

Kwara State government has organised a four-day capacity training for all the 16 newly inaugurated Local Government Chairmen and Vice Chairmen to prepare them for their new offices.

The programme, which commenced last Friday and ended on Monday was jointly organised with Seven Yard Resources Limited, a top management firm.

Majority Leader Kwara State House of Assembly, Hon Oba AbdulKadir Magaji chaired the interactive session that featured lectures and discussions that centred on the responsibilities of local council chiefs, challenges of leadership, the prospects and how to tackle the challenges that may come their way.

Resource persons took the chief executives through different themes on Democracy, Federalism and Evolution of Kwara State; Public Relations and Effective Local Government Administration; Overview of Kwara State Local Government Council Law; Financial Management in Local Government; Financial Autonomy in Local Government; and Executive Legislature Relations at LG in Nigeria.

The retreat was attended by government officials and top civil servants, including Commissioner for Local Government Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development Hon Abubakar Abdullahi Bata, represented by Permanent Secretary Iyabo Dupe Adekeye; Commissioner for Finance Dr Hauwa Nuru; Chairman State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Prof. Sheu Raheem Adaramaja; Chairman Teaching Service Commission Taoheed Bello; Accountant General of the State Alhaji Abdulganiyu Sani; Chief Press Secretary to the Governor Rafiu Ajakaye; among others.

Magaji explained that the essence of the retreat was to equip the participants with basic things and prepare them for the tasks ahead.

He requested them to take the workshop very seriously by tapping from the wealth of experiences of various speakers.

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“Irrespective of whatever experiences they must have had, there would be areas to learn from. No knowledge is a waste. I urge you to take this very seriously,” he said.

Hon. Bata, who relied on Section seven of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution and the CAP. K33, 2005 of the Kwara State Local Government Law, took them through some of the functions of the council chairmen and what their relationships with the Ministry should be.

He said the Council leaders are responsible for formulating economic plans and development schemes for their respective local government areas, and charged them to provide quality leadership and pursue programmes that will add value to the lives of their people.

“I charge you to provide quality leadership and pursue programmes that will endear you to your people. I also wish to enjoin you to exhibit a high sense of responsibility and transparency in the discharge of this onerous task”, he said.

Prof Hassan Saliu, who was the lead speaker at the occasion, said it becomes imperative for the new Chairmen and Vice Chairmen to understand what federalism and democracy is “because they are going to operate under this system. They have to know their realities, moderate their expectations, and know the kind of promises they make to their people”.

Speaking on financial autonomy for local governments in the country, Prof Saliu noted that the concept is evolving in the Nigerian context and still requires a lot of clarity.

He advised the administrators of the third tier of government to be financially prudent.

“Three principal factors they must consider include the vision and mission of the APC government because that is the ruling party. Secondly, autonomy has been granted, but there are still some cobwebs surrounding the issue of autonomy,” he said.

“So, it is not as if you get into the office and think the rain of autonomy will just be falling on you. You are still under the state government, and you should be clear about that. There are still certain issues that need to be cleared regarding the full and effective implementation of the autonomy. You need to understand all the issues.”

He said the state has continued to evolve since its creation in 1967, particularly under the present administration, alluding to the infrastructure development, peaceful coexistence, relative religious harmony, and national political visibility among other indices.

The participants however pledged to work to positively impact the lives of people at the grassroots level.