Paulinus Ezeokafor, the Catholic bishop of Awka Diocese in Anambra, says Governor Charles Soludo is performing, urging local government chairpersons to imbibe the culture of accountability and good governance for effective service delivery at the grassroots.

Mr Ezeokafor made the call on Sunday, during a thanksgiving mass at the Pastoral and Conference Centre, Awka, to end the three-day retreat of the transition committee chairpersons of the 21 council areas.

“The local governments were created to be closer and to attend to the development needs of people at the grassroots. If the LGAs do well at their level, the states and the entire country will do well, also,” Mr Ezeokafor explained. “Just as you struggled and worked so hard to be appointed chairpersons of the LGAs, ensure you apply the same energy to providing the basic development amenities for the people.”

The bishop stressed that they should use the resources allocated to “your LGAs judiciously to better the lives of the people, carry out impactful projects and imbibe the culture of accountability.”

The clergyman added, “The governor is performing well, especially in the areas of infrastructure development and agriculture. TC chairpersons should key in and replicate the same at the LG levels. Effective service delivery is ensuring that the people feel the presence of government in their different localities.”

Mr Ezeokafor also urged residents to support Mr Soludo’s “transformation agenda” to make Anambra liveable and prosperous.

In his goodwill message, Mr Soludo urged residents to hold their LG chairpersons responsible for good governance. 

Mr Soludo, represented by his chief of staff, Ernest Ezeajuyi, encouraged residents to report development issues within their environment to their LGA chairpersons for prompt action.

“These are vibrant, innovative and resourceful chairpersons who understand that a holistic grassroots development of the state is a top agenda of this administration,” the governor stated.

Chibueze Ofobuike, TC chairman of Aguata LGA and chairman of the planning committee, said the retreat was to assess activities of the LGAs in the last year and gain insights for the tasks ahead.

“I believe that the gains from the retreat will impact our efforts as we work towards serving our people better, going forward, ” Mr Ofobuike said. 

(NAN)