A chieftain of the opposition All Progressives Congress in Andoni LGA Melvin Ataisi has said Andoni Local Government Council created in September 1991 was one of the positively talked about councils in Rivers State but has suddenly become a grave yard, lacking infrastructure, greeted with locked up offices and above all, in an apparent sorry state ready for burial especially during the tenure of the outgoing council boss, Mr. Ere Victor.
According to Melvin, “To start with, the Andoni council from July 2015 to date, under the administration of Mr. Ere Victor does not have even a bold not to mention the media face or signs of any development since the arrow head and chairman ignore continuously any useful advises to move the council forward.
“One shocking lies by the outgoing administration is the incessant use of the governor’s name against useful proposal and suggestions offered the chairman by electorate and his associates on positive growth of the Council.
“The chairman, Mr. Ere Victor is found of saying “The governor said we should not do this or that”. Even when he knew that those he would be talking to are well informed and the obvious that few other councils are on track, Mr. Victor would jettison good proposals for the obvious lies of using the governor’s name. what a disservice.
“The principal officers of that council, Head of local government administration, HLGA, Head of Personnel Management, HPM, Director of Finance/Administration DFA, to mention but few are also threat to the council.
These officers toed the chairman’s footstep of absenteeism while the council purses are regularly depleted on several heads without working.
Principal officers of council must be made to understand the existing service rules which govern their daily operations in the council.
Accordingly If they are not up and doing what becomes of the chairman. Whether the chairman is accused or not for emptying the council treasury, the principal officers must be held responsible because chairmen cannot do away with a kobo without the civil servants.
In six months of administering the Andoni council, the outgoing council boss has not positively affected the LGA rather enriching his private purse; no project was embarked upon by the chairman, Melvin said.
Interestingly, Melvin recalled that a section of the Andoni student’s Union constructively criticized the chairman when they noted that the chairman, Mr. Victor administered the council from Port Harcourt, while his office at Ngo town, headquarters of the council remain under lock and key. The chairman through its assistant media aide James Mgboineme debunked all allegations against him.
That explains why the civil servants should also stay back at home, and the council premises is overgrown with weeds and only few workers attain to official functions.
He maintained that the 2015/2016 Armed forces Remembrance Day and Emblem launch was not observed in that council.
The student then accused the chairman of encouraging truancy since he was not always in council but was paying absentees workers who even allowed council to be overtaken by weeds.
“Andoni outgoing chairman, Mr. Victor without mincing words may be the worse gift ever given to Andoni people hence his administration has not only truncated the activities of council but murdered her existence.
Melvin further recalled that in the obvious state of death staring the residents and indigenes of Oyorokoto in the face, the chairman only visited the community on October 1st, 2015 and after the mouth watery promises of aiding the residents of Oyorokoto, it was shocking to witnessed that Mr. Ere Victor abandoned the people to their fate, adding that cult related attacks, kidnapping and killings were predominantly on the increase during the tenure of Mr. Ere Victor.
The APC Chieftain explained that with the foregoing, it is without mincing words to state that the Ere’s administration in Andoni is the worse so far since the inception of the LGA.
The APC does not want to run the outgoing chairman down, but to instill discipline, focus and seriousness into the would be occupant of the exalted number one seat of Andoni, and advice media aides to desist from unnecessary support for any non-performing chairman, because the LGA must go forward.
In administration and in caring for the ruling party with which the chairman emerged, it is very wrong and unacceptable for a chairman to undermine constitutional provisions for appointing aides, statutory officers and others, just for him alone to appropriate monies or allowances meant for those offices for himself.
The Andoni chairman, we gathered run a sole administrative government regardless of the six (6) other members, there are no other appointees in council.
“Again, it is shameful that contrary to what is obtainable in other LGAs, advisers and other appointees on the chairman’s first tenure had N50,000 at most as take home, exception of the secretary and chief of staff.
The chieftain of the opposition party said, it behooves of the incoming, whosoever he might be to firstly consider the revival of the LGA in the comity of LGAs in Rivers State.
“Humanly, it is slightly difficult to revive a dead being but with faith and a spirit filled life of God, it is very possible, hence the initial task of whoever comes in is to revive the dead council as murdered chiefly by the outgoing chairman.
One of the practical steps in reviving the dead council is to just launder the image and status of the council to interested investors and the world to understand the natural and physical deposit in the LGA. By so doing investors may consider the area for business.
The incoming chairman, the critic observes must avoid the temptation of running the council from Port Harcourt, hence depriving visitors and citizens from getting their problems solved. When a chairman of a council is always on seat, sincerely every activity of council is enhanced for positivity.
Establishing relationship with the electorate, party faithful and staff of council is another strategy to foster easy accessibility and greater services to humanity as proposed by the opposition chieftain.
The incoming chairman for Andoni LGA must at all cost resist the temptation of saying or promising a thing but doing another. It is an area that undermined the outgoing administration. Integrity matters most, he said.
“Because one is the chairman of a council does not in anyway guarantee him or her to publicly promise what he or she could not fulfill, especially acknowledging an appointment of 3 or 6 months.
Who is the next chairman of Andoni, Caretaker or elected, viable projects to the capability of a council could not be a waste but additional feather to a growing leader. Embarking on simple projects that would stand the test of time and as well be completed before 3 or 6 months should be advantageous to the LGA, as a society, the party and to the chairman, the APC critic said.
Another aspect of the task steering the incoming chairman in the face he said is the fact that a closed mouth is a closed destiny, acknowledging that silence spiritually connotes consent or acceptance. The chairman must be Media friendly through the press unit in his office for the overall promotion of his administration.
It is also on record that the only time the Ere’s administration was alive on air was when he was publicly criticized by the students Union just before he bowed out of the first tenure, when his aide James Mgboineme replied the students.
It is no gain saying that Andoni council with transportation business, a source of revenue generation amongst others still complain for lack of fund to pay workers salaries.
The outgoing administration without proper or due process contracted out all her water and landed vessels to someone only known to the chairman yet denied workers their salaries.
The tasks before the next chairman of Andoni according to Melvin is an onerous one indeed, however, with faith in the Andoni project and continuous determined efforts, the negative challenges would be surmounted.
Admonishing that the incoming chairman must be a political doctor who has contract with the Almighty God to bring back or resurrect the dead council.
If the council was damaged, it could have taken anyone to repair it but it is dead and require a doctor who is in contract with God to restore it, the interviewee explained. ###
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