The Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, has said the Supreme Court judgment of last week granting the 774 local governments in the country financial autonomy came after he implemented the Adamawa councils’ financial autonomy five years ago.
The governor, who spoke on Monday in Yola, during the swearing-in ceremony of the 21 council chairmen, also stressed that the financial autonomy granted to local governments has reduced the burden on the governors.
Fintiri stated, “With the Supreme Court judgment, the debate over financial autonomy for the local government councils is officially over. Even though, as a government, in Adamawa State, we are five years ahead of the judgment.
“We have conferred financial autonomy to the local government councils long before the Supreme Court made its recent pronouncement.
“But one cannot deny the fact that the recent judgment has come with its own excitement. Webbed in this excitement is my profound, often-call for transparency and accountability,” he said.
The governor, while cautioning the newly sworn in chairmen, charged, “This isn’t a part-time job. As leaders of the closest tier of government to the people, your doors must be wide open, and your people must have access to you as much as possible and at all times.
“I must emphasise that the era of absenteeism at your respective local governments is over.
“Under no circumstance should your people look for you and you are not there. You are coming at the most heated time in the polity,” the governor admonished them.
Fintiri disclosed that the people will follow their monies wherever they are urging that the residents will always ask questions, which the council chairmen must always be ready to answer at all times.
“What this means is that you must shun corruption and all corrupt tendencies. You must at all times be accountable and responsible to the people as their leaders,” insisted.
The Adamawa helmsman further reminded the council chairmen that the oath of office, which they were taking their respective offices, is both an opportunity and a burden
Fintiri maintained that it is an opportunity for the chairmen to tackle the hardship imposed on the people by the harsh policies of the incumbent APC government at the national level.
“There is so much hunger and frustration in the land. Use the resources at your disposal to make positive impact and make life easy for our people at the grassroot level, so that they can continue to see the difference between voting the PDP and any other party,” he pointed out.
In his welcome remarks, the state PDP chairman, Barrister Tahir Shehu, urged the chairmen to stand by the provisions of the Constitution of the country and discharge their duties without fear or favour.
He noted that with the Supreme Court judgment, every chairman will stand alone to defend how he spends his federal allocations.
Tahir assured the chairmen that the party will always be with them to provide the needed assistance whenever they need help.