Enugu: Make Council Chairmen, Councillors Accountable-Activist Tells Residents

After a generally peaceful local government election in Enugu State, a pro-democracy activist and project manager, Advocacy for Good Governance, South-East, Igboke Onyebuchi, has charged the people of the state to hold their respective local government chairmen and councillors accountable in order to ensure they get the dividends of democracy.

Igboke, in a chat with THE WHISTLER in Enugu on Monday, also challenged the newly-sworn-in chairmen to prove themselves by being transparent in the discharge of their duties.

According to him, “The cry about how the chairmen were elected is over. The task now is the business of governance. The 17 local government chairmen in the state should be made to account for whatever allocations and internally generated revenue that accrues to them.

“My agency toured all the council areas during the last dispensation, and we found out that some places had nothing to show. Luckily, some under-performed chairmen were re-elected, and they should use their second coming to right their past wrongs.”

He praised the scorecards of past chairmen of Aninri, Isi-Uzo, Ezeagu and Udenu LGAs, and noted that some of them failed because they made too many political appointments which became a burden on their local governments.

“They had too many aides. Nsukka LGA, for instance, had over 1000 appointees. After settling them, what else can be used for development? They call such empowerment, but it is not sustainable. Empowerment means training people and providing start-ups for sustainability.”

Igboke bemoaned lack of strong political opposition in the state, saying many of the opposition parties were weak.

 “The opposition has a long way to go. Apart from APA and UPP, which other parties participated in the last council elections in Enugu State? We need a healthy opposition. Structurally, they are hijacked the same way electorate are silenced to cry out in the face of non-performing chairmen.”