NAN-H-21
Council
By Chidinma Agu
Lagos, Aug. 21, 2017 (NAN) The Lagos State Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Mr Muslim Folami, on Monday in Lagos advised the new local government chairmen and their deputies to be ambassadors of good governance in their council areas
Folami gave the advice at the opening of a two-day induction for the newly elected chairmen and their vice-chairmen from the 20 local government (LGs) and 37 local council developments areas (LCDAs) of the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the heads of administration, finance and accounts of the council areas are also attending the event.
Folami told them that the advice became imperative because the local government was the closest tier of government to the people.
“The local government as the third tier of government possesses the capacity to be more impactful in fulfilling the wishes and aspirations of the people at the grassroots.
“’The gospel of contemporary public management is founded on functional but continuous capacity building process.
“This process appraises our public managers with the requisite skills to cope with the imperatives of modern governance predicated on transparency, accountability and probity in public offices”, he said.
The commissioner, therefore, advised the new officers to always be available to the people and always remember the state government’s policy thrust of giving governance back to the grassroots.
Folami said that the chairmen and the vice-chairmen were expected to join the state governor in fulfilling his promise of running an inclusive government.
He said that the state government was working tirelessly to promote active collaboration amongst them as a way of strengthening the capacity of the people.
Also, Mr Fola Padonu, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said that the programme was designed to acquaint participants with the required skills, knowledge and attitudinal disposition.
He said these would help them to address the challenges confronting local government administration.
He, therefore, advised them to participate actively in the programme by listening attentively to the resource personnel and contribute meaningfully to the discussions.
Similarly, Mr Babatunde Rotinwa, the Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, advised the new chairmen to always consult the public servants working with them before taking final decisions.
Rotinwa also said that they should respect the rule of the game if they wanted to succeed, adding that the necessary foundation had been laid for them through this programme.
He also advised them to face their new challenges squarely by forgetting the past and forgiving those who had offended them.
He advised them on the importance of feeling the pulse of their people to enable them provide the need of the people they were representing. (NAN)
ACA/AO/PAD
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Edited by Peter Dada