LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM IN EKITI TODAY By Gbenga Sodeinde published in page 32 of Daily Independent of Wednesday, August 14, 2013. Local Government could simply be described or defined as the third tier of Government which brings Government closer to people at the graroot. Local Government system is a critical part the development agenda and vital medium of effective communication which encourages grassroot political participation and mobilization of the Local people for socio-economic prosperities and cultural unity of the people In fact, Local Government is an essential instrument of Federal and State Government for the performance of certain basic services that are fundamental to building a stable and people-centered cum welfare oriented Government at both State and Federal Levels. Thus, when it comes to the residual Functions of the Local Government administration in a Nation like Nigeria, We begin to expect a sincere enforcement of Government Policies as they relate to town planning and building plans, direct execution of projects, construction and maintenance of roads, public conveniences, health providing institutions, market stalls, motor parks, libraries as well as maintenance of laws and orders to mention but a few. Wouldn’t it be marrowly painful and highly unfortunately that despite the awe- inspiring duties and responsibilities that constitutionally accrue to Local Government administrative domains in Nigeria and elsewhere on the world map, that the same Local Government has turned a socio-economic drainage for siphoning the tax payers` money and wrecking public treasury ere the arrival of Governor Kayode Fayemi`s administration in Ekiti State in particular. The question now is “Why?” Before the Fayemi led Government came on board in Ekiti state , even the blind could see and the deaf could hear the story that both the service and humanitarian situations at the helms of the Local Government were in utter shambles as there were allegation of cases of falsification of employment wherein senior Local Government officials enrolled fictitious employees names on the pay-rolls in multiple number while they collected their salaries at the end of the month. Some who were originally employed stayed away from work perpetually with other permanent engagements elsewhere either within or outside the state. A former Caretaker Chairman of Ekiti East Local Government who doubled as the ALGON Chairman then, Hon. Samuel Ajidara once declared on the State TV Programme (EKTV) that some local government members of staff were in Lagos, not featuring at their place of government employment but still collecting monthly salary and, there were some that were allegedly over placed on employment judging the certificate they possessed. Even many collected salaries on the names of the dead. The most pathetic was the Directors of Administration (DA’s) and the local government treasurers. The official activities of these men and women had, before Fayemi Administration came on board, been reduced to mere cultic fraternal affairs in which case you could not just come from the blues and feature in their circles as one of them thereby rendering those who were on board to neither get promoted up the ladder not allowed the up-coming generations to ascend upward steps due to the material and non-material advantages peculiar their positions as DA’s and treasurers. It was a gory tale of abnormalities and backwardness while those responsible were putting forward a deceptive façade of excuses that it was the state government’s unwillingness to give people their dues. One would not be surprised that people cried foul in their most strident tones that the Fayemi government had come to up-turn the socio-economic and political order of the day. They alleged that he had veered off the lines of his electioneering campaigns and that he had come only to deceive the people into merely voting him into power only now to run a government of carrots and sticks by rolling out various policies which could sanitize the bastardized system operating at the Local Government level but were believed to be the normal order of the day before now . The system was so terrible that the ‘surgical operation’ became expedient when it became glaring that the system had completely become a cesspool of corruption, ineptitude and a place of “merchandise”. People no longer had confidence in the system, while majority of member of the staff had become redundant as a result of doing nothing. Those who actually performed their duties did so below the optimal level. This was the situation until the state governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, intervened by taking the bulls by their horns with a view to correcting the lopsided existing order of things at the third tier level of Government in the state. As a matter of first step, the Fayemi government saw that the introduction of the E-payment would put a permanent end to the activities of the treasury looters and a sincere staff auditing would reveal the original staff strength figures. The Government did not stop at these, but went further with the introduction of ability test as Fayemi believed that both written and oral examination for the senior officer would speak volumes of those who truly deserve their upward mobility in public service. It was also to determine those who were still relevant both academically and professionally and those to be drafted into further and/or relevant training grounds for their continued engagement in the government services. However, one thing Fayemi never did was to show anybody the total way out of service , except those with false certificate and those that were long overdue for retirement but refused to call it quit though he re-assigned some to sectors agencies, parastatals and ministries where their certificates were more relevant. Some others with science based certificates who have been receiving a huge amount of salary as Nurses and Doctors with the claim that they were also Health workers were reversed and made to be where they were supposed to be at the Local Government as he sacked few political appointees e.g a chairman and some members of the local government service commission, who are seen to be ineffective. The Government also corrected the abnormal situation of those Employees with N.C.E and B.Ed certificates who ordinarily had no business in the local government and those whose academic qualifications had no bearing with the local government system. The N.C.E. and B.Ed holders were directed to report at the State Universal Education Board and Teaching Service Commission T.S.C. for proper placement as teachers while those who deserved to be promoted were promoted. Initially it was not easy as this did not go down well with the affected employees who thought they were being undeservingly witch-hunted by the Governor. There were equally other anti-development forces who rumoured around that the Government had sacked many local government workers and that the redeployment was a hoax. It was also gathered that some members of the screening and auditing teams received many anonymous calls threatening their lives while some were reported to have received threatening text messages even as Local Government workers declared a war against the State Government following which the Local Government Councils` across the 16 Local governments were- shut down by the protesting workers displaying juju and fetish objects at the entrance of the councils. However, they have now seen that the Government actually meant well for them with the government system now been properly positioned. Many of the workers who have remained for long on Grade Level 04 are now been properly placed on Grade Level 07 in the teaching service. This is a big plus for the Government because this was not possible before the reorganization. Following the exercise, 268 workers of the Local Government were duly promoted while in the area of welfare, the Government released (N196, 150,000 )One hundred and ninety six million, One hundred and fifty thousand naira as loan to Local government workers while 80 members of staff of the Local Government were redeployed to teaching service due to their certificates as three were redeployed to civil service out of the Local staff strength of 19,300 as at before the exercise, while 3 Local Government Inspectors, and 4 DA`s and Treasurers were redeployed to Board, ministries, Boards, and parastatals even as 20 of them were retired. No fewer than 192 workers with forged certificates were discovered while 293 over-ages discovered with total of 245 retied at the end of the exercise. As it is today, the exercise has created a vacuum vacancy opportunity for over 300 unemployed to occupy at Local Governments As typical of every sector of the state economy that has actually received a large dose of infrastructural improvement and reformation, the local government system in the state with the successful implementation of 5 kilomitre rural roads across the 16 Local Government as mandated by Mr Governor to ensure physical face-lift of the rural areas and other developmental projects, Local Government in the State can now proudly hold its own as well reengineered and a reorganized third tier of government. This is clearly evident during the recent tour of the chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Chief Ranti Adebisi, across all the local government councils, where he expressed satisfaction for a highly productive local government system now on board and this was coupled with the warm reception accorded him by the local government workers who hailed the Governor and his administration for doing a better job in Ekiti.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 11:46:42 +0000
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