Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has sworn in the newly elected Chairpersons of the 13 Local Government Areas of the state.
Also sworn in were the Vice Chairpersons who were elected alongside the Chairmen.
10 out of the 13 Chairpersons were re-elected to serve for a second term while three are newly elected.
Only two of the 13 Chairpersons are women while all the 13 Vice Chairpersons are women.
Speaking during the ceremony at the Ecumenical Center in Abakaliki, Nwifuru charged the Council Chairmen on the need for them to be accountable and diligent and dedicated to their services to the people.
He said: “The challenge is how to maintain those who worked for you. I am sure in your two years in office, you will not remember them because of the activities in the office. Ask God to give you the opportunity to enable you to choose your friends.
“You are on a very dangerous road because any move you make will be looked into. We cannot be two captains on the ship. I am the captain.
“If this autonomy will make you fight dirty we will fight, but I will not talk. I want you to be careful of what makes this state beautiful. They are the stakeholders. If you listen to social media and you go around fighting them, you are fighting the Governor.
“There is no functional factory in the state. The only one we have we must protect it. I want you to be ready to service the stakeholders. They comprise the youths and women.
“The second thing is project and infrastructural development. We have not gotten to the success stage. We do not need to rush. As we are talking of infrastructural development, be prudent and assertive to get it right. I know many things confront you. But you have to be sincere,” he said.
