Governor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti on Thursday tasked the 38 newly sworn-in local government chairmen and their vices to place a high premium on security and revenue generation.

Mr Oyebanji also gave a matching order to the council chairs to work assiduously to develop their council areas by building on the solid foundation laid by their predecessors.

The governor spoke in Ado-Ekiti at the swearing-in ceremony and warned that his administration would not tolerate security lapses.

The new council chairmen were elected during the local government election on December 2, 2023.

Addressing the new council bosses, Mr Oyebanji, represented by Deputy Governor Monisade Afuye, said the state’s rural areas required adequate attention to tackle poverty, joblessness and insecurity.

Expressing zero tolerance for corruption and pilfering of council funds, the governor urged the new council executives to discharge their duties with utmost “honesty, impartiality, evenhandedness, compassion and fairness”.

Mr Oyebanji advised the chairmen to work assiduously to actualise the shared prosperity mantra of his government.

On his commitment to stamp out bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements out of Ekiti, the governor charged the chairmen to prioritise security at all times, adding, “You must be deliberate about this.”

“Your security plans and strategies should be communicated to me through the office of the special adviser on security as soon as you take over.

“I will not tolerate security lapses in your domains; therefore, ensure all critical stakeholders are carried along and are involved,” he said.

Mr Oyebanji advised the new council bosses against relying solely on the funds accruing to them from the federation and state accounts to run the affairs of the councils.

“You have to improve your internally generated revenue and ensure it forms a sizable source of your funding revenue.

“One of your major performance metrics will be how much IGR you generate and how much it contributes to your project financing,” the governor said.

Mr Oyebanji said his government was sensitive to local content in project execution, directing the council chairs to patronise local contractors.

The chairman of Ajoni LCDA, Michael Ogungbemi, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, pledged that they would work hard to surpass the governor’s expectations in their performances.

(NAN)