Governor Mohammed of Bauchi State Swears in 20 Council Chairmen

From Paul Orude Bauchi

Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, has warned the newly sworn-in chairmen of the state’s 20 local government councils against corruption, financial mismanagement and diversion of public funds.

The governor gave the warning on Tuesday while swearing in the council chairmen at the Banquet Hall of the Government House in Bauchi.

He charged the new council bosses to manage public resources transparently and remain accountable to the people, noting that the financial autonomy granted to local governments had increased their responsibilities at the grassroots.

Mohammed said the chairmen should not see their positions as an opportunity to share public money but as a call to serve the people and address the challenges confronting their communities.

“You must not be tempted to misappropriate or divert local government funds. With financial autonomy now granted to local governments to run their affairs, you have no excuse for poor performance,” he said.

The governor said the people expected more from the newly elected officials because of their closeness and accessibility to the grassroots.

“The position of local government is no longer a place where we go and share money. We go there to face challenges because the required human capacity, trust and confidence of the people must be built,” he said.

He urged the chairmen to give priority to security, education, healthcare, agriculture and infrastructure, while working with traditional rulers, security agencies, women, youths and other stakeholders to maintain peace in their respective areas.

Mohammed said his administration had invested heavily in roads, healthcare, education, agriculture and other infrastructure across the state, stressing that the local councils were expected to complement those efforts at the grassroots.

On security, the governor directed the chairmen to establish regular meetings with security agencies and ensure that useful information was promptly passed to the relevant authorities.

“I am expecting so much improvement in the security architecture. Make sure you hold security meetings with all the security agencies in your local council,” he said.

Mohammed congratulated the chairmen on their election and directed them to begin work immediately, saying their performance would be closely watched by both the government and the people.

The governor also administered the oath of office on six newly appointed Special Advisers, charging them to work diligently towards achieving the objectives of his administration.

He said their appointments were based on their records, competence and loyalty, and urged them to be prepared to work beyond normal office hours in the interest of the people.

The governor further charged all the newly sworn-in officials to uphold transparency and ensure that the benefits of democracy reached communities across the state.
The Bauchi State Independent Electoral Commission (BASIEC) had earlier declared the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) winner of all 20 chairmanship seats and 319 councillorship seats in Monday’s local government elections.

Speaking on behalf of the other chairmen, the Chairman of Bauchi Local Government Council thanked Governor Mohammed for supporting their political aspirations and commended the APM for providing them with the platform to contest the election.