Ben Ezechime, Enugu
Chairmen of the 17 Local Government Councils in Enugu State have rolled out their achievements in office after 100 days in office in line with Governor Peter Mbah’s development agenda.
The chairmen did this at a one-day performance appraisal workshop of their administrations where they presented their scorecards before members of the public.
The chairmen said that their development plans were aligned with the overall spectrums of the state government’s development template.
During the review meeting, which attracted resource persons in leadership and development, the chairmen, their deputies and other officials conducted peer-review and evaluation of their performance in the 4th quarter of 2024.
The review with the theme, “Enugu State Local Government Performance Appraisal and Strategic Planning Meeting,” covered key areas including infrastructure development, education, healthcare, human capital empowerment, sanitation, and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking at the event, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Professor Chidiebere Onyia, said they had shown good faith in serving their people over the past six months of their administration.
“The chairmen had suggested by themselves that they want the process whereby their performance is tracked across those indicators that we have discussed with them and they came up with initiatives because each local government is peculiar in terms of their economic abilities and potentials.
“We had them look at themselves individually and in clusters to be able to increase the attraction of investors.
“So, what you have seen today is us now going back and making sure that the culture of this government, which is evidence-based decision-making process is exemplified in some of the things they measure themselves in Q4 of 2024, and some of the initiatives that they want to pursue in 2025 as it relates to economic growth, human capital improvement, some key SDGs, WASH programme education and health,” Onyia said.
Onyia further said that what had happened was the collaboration between the state and the local government.
He further stressed that the state government was mindful of the autonomy being enjoyed by the local governments and would support the principle for entrenched democracy.
Also, Monsignor, Professor Obiora Ike, Director of the Catholic Institute of Development , Justice and Peace (CIDJAP), enjoined the chairmen not to be overwhelmed by the challenges ahead of them but to plan with clarity of purpose.
According to him, integrity, moral character, internal energy and spiritual strength would help them to confront the challenges of leadership.
He advised them to always collaborate with the state government and key community stakeholders to be able to achieve their development plans.
“If you are discordant with the people you’re meant to serve, you cannot achieve anything. And if I take it to another level, it is about being in sync with the Enugu State Government.
“We love Governor Peter Mbah because he has shown us that he is there for the people.
“Everybody is talking about the good works that the governor is doing, all over the country and abroad because he has brought leadership home.
“So, if Mbah is doing a lot from the top, you must complement what he is doing from your own side to align with the state’s vision for a prosperous Enugu.
“Aligning with the state is necessary to move the state forward in agriculture, health, education, ICT, industry, and wealth creation which will create jobs,” he further maintained.
