Local Government Chiarmen of the 23 LGAs in the state were summoned to a close door meeting at the Delta Hotels, Harley Street, old GRA, Port Harcourt on April 3, 2012, by the Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Chief Azubuike Emerikini.
The meeting which was scheduled to hold at 10.00 am was later shifted to 11.00 am for unknown reasons.
However, after the two hours meeting, the chairman, Chief Azubuike Emerikini briefed the press on the outcome of the meeting.
The former Mayor of Port Harcourt, told media men that the chairmen were in the meeting to discuss some of their challenges which could be overcome by dialogue.
Chief Emenikini enumerated some of the challenges of the council chairmen to include staff absenteeism and lateness to work, the issue of personal audit and age of retirement at the council.
The chairman of the local government service commission stated that one of the difficulties bedeviling the local government council is personal audit which will put the council in a proper perceptive and eliminate over blotted salary account responsible for low development at the grassroots.
He said among the considerations on the personal audit, a committee is to be set up to monitor and know how people are been retired, their age of retirement and others who falsify their records to remain in service.
The soft spoken chairman told journalists that the meeting is the first of its kind since his appointment into office.
He noted that while some chairmen complained of lateness and absenteeism from work by their council staff, some chairmen applauded their staff.
He further explained that personal audit must be looked into seriously. The chairman, while commending some of the chairmen for coming to the meeting early, stated that there would be training and retraining of council chairmen and workers to move the council to greater heights.
Answering questions why some chairmen did not attend the meeting, he said some of them have assignments that took them out of the state.
It would be recalled that local government being the third-tier of government is closer to the people and the expectations of the people are high. While some of the council chairmen are trying to better the lots of their people, some are not doing enough in respect of the monthly allocations given to them, but from this meeting their would be exchange of ideas which would transform and develop some areas at the end of the day. ###
Pius Dukor
