Chairman Lauds Non-Interference In Enugu Council Funds

The chairman of Igbo-Eze South local government area of Enugu State, Hon Ugo Ferdinand Ukwueze, has lauded the Enugu State governor, Dr Peter Mbah, for his non-interference with council funds.

He also declared that the alarming insecurity that paralysed economic and social activities in the locality in the recent past have ended as natives now go to sleep with their eyes closed.

He pointed out that local government chairmen in the state are performing well and embarking on massive projects because the governor does not tamper with their funds.

Ukwueze, a former chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association in Nsukka, said they were able to tackle insecurity as a result of the non-interference of the governor in the finances of local government areas, adding that LGAs in the state under the present administration, enjoy a great deal of financial autonomy.

He noted that before he took over the leadership of the council area, the entire local government was under siege and the grip of hoodlums called unknown gunmen, who were unleashing mayhem on the innocent natives of the area.

He disclosed that communities were living in fear, natives were no longer going to their farms for fear of uncertainty, local markets were shut down, adding that the hoodlums were subjecting citizens to pay unlawful taxes to them.

He, however, pointed out that after investing heavily on security, the narrative has changed, adding that their people now go to their farms.

Ugwueze stated that markets are open for businesses, stating that the people now celebrate Children’s Day which was stopped during the insecurity period.

“Like I said earlier, this was made possible because the local government council areas in Enugu state are highly independent and not in any way suffering from interference from the state government,” he stated.

Ukwueze, who is also the deputy chairman of Association of Local government of Nigeria (ALGON), Enugu State, stressed that the governor is not siphoning the funds of the LGAs, saying that he is rather playing fatherly role of extending hands of fellowship to the councils’ chairmen with a view to encouraging them to develop communities in the areas.

The council boss who spoke during a chat with newsmen at the council headquarters, Ibagwa Aka, Igbo-Eze South LGA, posited that no meaningful development would take place in an atmosphere of insecurity hence, any responsible government must always accord the sector topmost priority it deserves.

“No matter what government does in terms of infrastructure, if that  ordinary man and woman out there in their locality cannot go to bed  with their two eyes closed in their native environment, as far as they are concerned, that government is a failure

‘If you are conversant with the story of Igbo-Eze South LGA and the undesirable advent of unknown gunmen which operated from our council area as their headquarters, you will know what I’m talking about.

“However, because you cannot confront insecurity under a bad network of roads, we had to also embark on aggressive road fixing in various communities of our LGA,” he added.

The chairman had during the media interaction enumerated some of the feats his administration has recorded in various sectors since it came onboard including improved security, road, education, agriculture, health, youth empowerment, among others.

He hinted that the Igbo-Eze South LGA under his watch has been able to handle about 100 kilometres of roads, saying there is no community in the local government that is not accessible by road.

He also stressed that the gesture has enabled many youths to access higher education, adding  that about 250 youths of the locality have been trained on different vocational skills at the Marist School in Enugu, while 500 were also trained on Artificial intelligence (AI) and have gotten UNESCO certification.