By Adeyinka Adeniran
Following the recent swearing-in of the council bosses and leaders for the 33 local government areas of the state, Oyo State government on Wednesday said plan is underway way to organised a three days induction trainings for the political leaders.
The target include the 351 councillors, the 33 local government chairmen and their 33 Vice Chairmen so as to ensure wider spread of the dividends of democracy at the grassroots.
The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Segun Olayiwola made the disclosure while briefing the press shortly after the maiden meeting of the Commissioner with the newly sworn-in Chairmen.
The meeting which held at the Board Room of the Ministry was attended by the local government chairmen among others leaders.
He said the essence of the over five hours of meeting was to welcome the council bosses, give them tips and orientation on how to govern their local government as well as to share experiences with them so as to ensure they are put on the right track before they move.
Olayiwola said “We thank God for yet another opportunity to swear in a set of 33 local government chairmen in Oyo state, you will recall that immediately after the resumption of office of Governor Seyi Makinde, he conducted an election into the local government of Oyo state and swore them in at the time.
“The tenure of the elected Chairmen across the party expires and another election was conducted making it the second time in the series of this administration and which has never happened before in Oyo state, a Governor swearing-in two batches of Chairmen and by the grave of God, I assure you that before the end of this administration, the tenure of the Chairmen will end and the third batch of Chairmen will emerge and be sworn in.
“So, we have come to welcome them, we have come to give them tips and orientation on how to govern their local government. We have come to share our experiences with them and to make sure we put them on the right track before they move. And by the grace of God, with what we have been doing since morning, we are sure that they are going to do their best to see to the development of their various local governments.”
He said, although only 12 out of the 33 council bosses were re-elected with 11 others coming on board afresh, the meeting provided opportunity for rubbing minds together and sharing of ideas to ensure even development across the Council areas in the state.
“Well, only 12 of them are returning, out of the 33 council bosses. 11 of them did not return. So, I can assure you that they will share their own experiences with their colleagues just coming and with the tips and words we have given them today, I can assure you that the sky is the limit to their developmental activities that we will witness across Oyo state even in this tenure.
“I can also assure you that very soon, you will join us as we are going to do induction trainings for all of them. All the elected Councils, the 351 of them, all elected 33 Chairmen and 33 Vice Chairmen will be given an induction course that will span three days where we will saddle and charge them with their responsibilities as it should be with their office and as they resume. It would be a focus on how they will impact on the society.
“We are going to do it as soon as approval is granted by the governor, we will go ahead”, he added.
Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, the Chairman, Egbeda local government who doubles as the Chairman, ALGON, Oyo State, Sikiru Sanda assures the people that all the chairmen are ready to deliver on the mandate in the interest of development in the state.
Sanda said “Firstly, we want to give our appreciation to Governor Seyi Makinde for giving us the opportunity to be sworn in as the elected local government Chairmen and re-sworn in. Today is our inaugural meeting with the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, who have really charged us on what to do and how to go about it.
“This is a kind of speedy commencement for the new administration as far as the local government is concerned. We want to assure the good people of Oyo state that they should expect bigger dividends of democracy from all the council chairmen.
“With the crop of the chairmen that are here today, they are ready for the job, they have planned for the job, they have their blueprint already and I want to tell you that they will perform excellently, even beyond the expectations of the electorate.
“The council bosses who are new in office are not new in governance and administration. Many of them came from different fields of human endeavours be it political, entrepreneurship, public administration among others. I want to believe many of them are competent in their various fields and we don’t have any doubt that they will perform excellently.
“Aside from that, I want to assure you that there will be room for training and retraining as it has been planned by the Commissioner who have even assured us of the forthcoming training induction that will come up shortly.”
