Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state, on Sunday, swore in the newly elected chairmen of the state’s 20 local governments.

Mr Mohammed, in a speech at the ceremony, congratulated them for emerging victorious in the election held on Saturday.

“My administration believes that the people should have a say in local government administration through the election of the leaders.

“This has become even more necessary with the autonomy the Supreme Court recently granted the councils to run their affairs.

“It is for this reason that our party, the PDP, nominated and presented knowledgeable, experienced and competent candidates to vie for the chairmanships and councillorship seats,

“With the victory of our candidates, I’m confident that we will have the desired leadership to effectively administer our local governments as an autonomous third tier of government,” he said.

Mr Mohammed called on the elected chairmen to cooperate with the state government so that all could work together to serve the people.

Mahmood Baba-Maji, the chairman of Bauchi Local Government, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, promised to justify the trust the electorate bestowed on them.

“We will serve diligently; we assure you that policies and programmes of the state government will be replicated in our various local governments,” he said.

The Chief Judge of the state, Justice Rabi Umar, administered the oath of allegiance and office to the 20 officials.

(NAN)