Enugu state Government has commences a Three-Day Local Government Executive Leadership Retreat for the 17 newly elected Local Government Chairmen and their Deputies ,with a charge on them to fulfill their campaign promises to the people and align with the programs of the State Government . to bring quality governance to the people.
The State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah ,gave the charge ,Friday, October 3, ,while addressing the local government executives at the Opening of the retreat , holding at the Old Government Lodge, G.R. A , Enugu.
Pix’. Gov Mbah
Speaking on the theme, ” Aligning strategy for sustainable economic and infrastructure delivery at the Local. Government Level”, Governor Mbah reminded the Chairmen and their Deputies of their campaign promises to the people, saying, “The honeymoon is over, it’s time to work the talk”.
Advising the participants on effective leadership, Governor Mbah said, ” if you shared a vision with your people, it must have a purpose.You have to express where you are going to wake up in the next two years. When you develop your strategies, what will keep you moving is your love for your people. You must have a clear action plan”
He tasked them on transparency, prudence, accountability and access Governor Mbah said., ” The money does not belong to you. You must pay attention to the collective interest of the people
Charging them on optimal performance , Governor Mbah said, “be prudent. What we do in the state is to squeeze what we have and get optimal value of our Money. We have to be accountable.”
Urging the Local Government Executives to apply disruptive innovation where needed, Governor Mbah said, ” you will come up with how you will do things and generate revenue. At the end of tbe day, we align and. serve the people and the people will be better for it . The framework will help you. a lot.
“As a leader, you should understand that everybody is looking up to you. People look at the tune/ body language of the leader.
” All we have spoken won’t look if we do not have a measurable indicator. Your feedbacks must be specific, he said.
Earlier in a welcome address, the Secretary to the state Government,Prof Chidiebere Onyia , said the training was aimed at communicating Governor Mbah’s agenda and vision to drive accelerated economic growth a d achieve a zero poverty headcount in Enugu state.
He said the Governor’s Gross Domestic Product( GDP) growth target of $30 Billion , would be driven by the inclusive and sustainable economic growth, resilience, poverty eradication, restoration of peace and security for the people, property, and critical economic and social process
He noted that the Local Government chairmen and their Deputies , were positioned to drive transformative change and achieve the mandate, requires requires alignment with the broader state objectives of fostering synergy across all levels of government to accelerate growth.
According to him, the retreat wa designed to to equip local government leaders with the leadership skills, strategic tools and collaborative frameworks necessary to deliver on infrastructure and economic development in a way that aligns with State priorities.
Pix: SSG, Prof Chidiebere Onyia
According to him, it was expected that the participants would foster a shared understanding of leadership and core values essential for effective governance, align team selection, structure with strategic goals for improve performance, explore change mana techniques that enhance team delivery among others ..
Speaking on the theme of the retreat, Prof Onyia said, ” the theme of the is about aligning strategies. Not just aligning strategies but strategies that lead to a sustainable economy and infrastructure delivery., which is one of the key things his Excellency, Dr Peter Ndubuisii Mbah is
very particular about, so that many projects do not have a short life span when they crumble and that the selection of these projects do not look at overall value in terms of the common good and improving the economic well-being of local government areas and that the Access roads sound the economic infrastructure of the citizens in the areas and that the Access roads for instance, around the infrastructure is the ones we build and selected based on imperial evidence.after doing a trend analysis of what really was attainable in the past in terms of profitability and value.
On the building of Smart schools, the SSG said they will look at the particular ward and the particular contractor. They will engage the people and the contractor..
In an interview, the Local Government chairman of Nkanu East Local Government Area,Hon. Sydney Edeh said they had series of projects that were ongoing., adding that they were going to touch all the areas provided the people are happy were happy at the end of the day.
Edeh addedxhey will go into completing it. He added that they would construct access roads to the farmlands, so that people will have access to their farmlands and they can boost the IGR of the local government.
As a chairman of ALGON, he said they would emulate the Governor. We are going to make sure we will have synergy. We will borrow ideas, we will work together just as the Governor just said. The most important thing is that we know that we have a core objective, which Governor ‘s objectives. Taking it down to the local sector.,”Edeh said.
Pix-: Chairman of Enugu East Local Government Area, Beloved Dan Anike.
Speaking in an interview , the chairman of Enugu East Local Government Area,, Hon. Pastor Beloved Dan Anike v said Enugu East controls about 10 percent of the population of the state So, they will building the human capital development .that would be required to serve in various sectors.. He added that they will be coming up with an inclusive city charter that will align with the vision of the state.
pix: Aninri Local Government Chairman , Hon. Prince Ugochukwu Nwanjoku.
On his part, the chairman of Aninri Local Government,Hon. Prince Ugochukwu Nwanjoku said some of them that they had been equipped to embark on the journey, having listened to the Governor and the SSG.He said Aninri had stated , he selected people that will help him achieve programmes already developed for their people. ” The Governor talked about theme work, the Governor talked about transparency , and other things we had learnt here. Keying into the visions of the Governor .
“I have developed a five year policy, in no distant time we will begin to implement it. Security is everybody’s business.ee are determined, prepared and ready to work. We are going to replicate what is being done in the state. Aninri will be a place where the Governor will come to commission projects”, Nwanjoku said.
Pix-: Chairman of Isi-Izo Local Government Area, Hon. Obiora Obuagu
The chairman of Isi-Uzo Local Government Area, Hon. Obiora Obuagu expresses joy for the retreat. He promised that they will take what they learnt to the local government. “We want to align in the areas of security, agriculture, learning what had been effectively done at the state level, then take it down to the Local Government level.” I can assure you, we were charged and ready to deliver on that mandate for our people,” Obuagu said
Author: Maureen Ikpeama