BAYELSA GOVERNMENT SAYS BENEFITS ACCRUING FROM ITS REFORMS IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM WILL SURPASS EXPECTATION

Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, says benefits accruing from reforms introduced by the Governor Douye Diri-led Administration into local government councils in the state will surpass the expectations of people of the state.

Senator Ewhrudjakpo made the assertion while addressing the Chairman and all the 15 elected councilors of Yenagoa Local Area at a meeting in Government House, Yenagoa, over the weekend.

The Deputy Governor says that the local government reforms had already changed the narrative of the councils in a positive light in several areas.

Senator Ewhrudjakpo noted that at the inception of the present administration in 2020, almost all the local government councils were in dire straits and were finding it difficult to meet their financial obligations such as payment of workers ‘salaries.

He, however, said all that is now history as councils currently pay their workers as and when due as well as embark on reasonable people-oriented projects at the grassroots level due to the fiscal responsibility measures introduced by the state government.

The Deputy Governor, who is directly responsible for supervising the councils, assured that the state government would continue to support them, describing local councils and rural development authorities as veritable platforms for distributing the dividends of good governance.

Responding to the demands of the councillors, which included furniture allowance, Senator Ewhrudjakpo urged all councillors in the state to be patient and work in harmony with their respective chairmen to meet their needs in due course of time.

Citing the car allowance and other inuring benefits already released to them, the Deputy Governor enjoined the councillors to show understanding that the monthly allocations accruing to councils are not meant for them and the workers alone, but also for the provision of basic amenities.

He used the opportunity to thank stakeholders of the local government system including the various labour unions for cooperating with government to achieve the computerized payment system for local government workers in the state.