Ogun Councillors Tasked On Capacity Building
Councillors across the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) of Ogun State have been called upon to further build and enhance the capacities and skills of parliamentarians at the local government level, as this would help achieve better democratic governance.
Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Suraj Adekunbi made the call while declaring open a two – day seminar organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in collaboration with Olib Consult in Abeokuta.
The Speaker said the seminar would be an eye opener for the legislature and would enable them get it right at the grassroots, for the people to enjoy good governance that they desired.
“The collective imperative is for us to collaborate and ensure the enactment of enabling laws that will ensure deliverables to the electorate and to partner with the Executive arms to aid socio- economic growth and development”, the Speaker remarked .
He urged the 345 Councillors to be prepared to put to use, all techniques gained from the seminar, at their various wards, in order to ensure the spread of dividends of democracy in their localities.
In his welcome address, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Jide Ojuko, said the seminar, with the theme; ‘’Enhancing the Legislative Powers for Socio-Economic Development”, was organised to improve councillors skills in local government administration, widen their horizon on quality and efficient service delivery and bringing dividends of democracy closer to the grassroots for meaningful development.
Ojuko admonished the participants to take advantage of the various sessions of the training for optimal performance, stating that the seminar would afford them the opportunity to share experiences and devise ways of overcoming challenges in their areas.
Speaking in the same vein, the Chairman of Ogun State Local Government Service Commission, Hon. Rotimi Rahman, noted that effective local government administration was key to grassroots development, adding that as leaders at their various wards, they must demonstrate high level of competence, in order to achieve set objectives.
Responding on behalf of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), the Chairman, Yewa North Local Government, Hon. Razak Adeagbo, appreciated the State government for facilitating the programme to further strengthen democracy at the grassroots, saying that knowledge gained would help them in effective discharge of their duties at the council levels, which will further enhance development in their domains.
Speaking on behalf of the participants, Hon. Tunde Makinde of Iju Atan Ilogbo LCDA, appreciated the organisers for putting up the programme, which he described as timely and would add value to the ways and manners, at which they carry out their duties.
