Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia on Monday inaugurated the newly elected local government chairmen with charge to them to uphold the highest standards of governance without fear or favour.
The 23 local government chairmen on the platform of the ruling All Progressive Congress were on Sunday declared winners of the just concluded LG election held on Saturday.
Inaugurating the chairmen on Monday, Governor Alia said, “To you the newly elected chairmen, as you step into these roles, I charge you on a mission of utmost importance. Your duties would require you to work diligently, to provide strategic leadership, and to uphold the highest standards of governance without fear or favour.”
Such responsibility, according to the governor demands integrity, foresight, and a steadfast dedication to the principles of accountability, transparency, fairness and honesty in all their dealings.
The governor further urged the new chairmen to build on the developmental foundations engendered by the outgoing caretaker committees.
He admonished the chairmen to always give ears to the needs of their people in their various LG areas, as well as engage in meaningful dialogue and collaboration with all stakeholders to foster an inclusive government towards ensuring a more prosperous future for all.
“I urge you to de-emphasize personal gains in leadership, and rather focus on bringing democratic deliverables closer to the people. Be reminded that leadership is about service and sacrifice and not personal glory,” Alia said.
He added, “I must stress that no tier of government operates in isolation. Therefore, in light of the newly granted local government autonomy, I urge you to always collaborate with us at the state level to implement policies and programmes that benefit our rural communities.
“This is especially that we all share the same vision of re-writing the narrative of our beloved state and country in general.
While reminding the chairmen that the time for politicking was over; Governor Alia charged the newly elected chairmen to hit the ground running and also encouraged them to extend an olive branch to members of the opposition parties by entertaining ideas and constructive criticisms aimed at entrenching democracy and good governance
