Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has commissioned an ultra modern secretariat built by the state chapter of Association of Local Government of Nigeria chairmen, ALGON, for the 17 council chairmen in the state.
Fitted with a 500-capacity conference hall, the secretariat will serve as an administrative rallying point for the South East geopolitical zone’s local government administration.
This came on a day the governor also at Okpara Square, handed over keys to 100 civil servants of Enugu State on grade levels 01 – 10 who won one bedroom flat each worth N3,150,000 each, of the 100 flats purchased from a private developer, Elim Estate by state government under its housing equity share contribution scheme for public servants.
The beneficiaries from the 17 local government areas of the state won their houses in an open and transparent balloting witnessed by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, top government officials and civil servants in the state at Michael Okpara Square, Enugu. Seventy-five beneficiaries won their houses under local government balloting while 25 of them won theirs under zonal balloting.
Eighteen Hillux vehicles were also handed over to security agencies in the state, the army, the police, civil defence, state security services and the Airforce. One vehicle was also handed over to Nigeria Television Authority, NTA.
It would be recalled that the state government had earlier paid her 30 per cent equity share of the cost of the house while each beneficiary is expected to pay 70 per cent contribution to be spread for 20 years.
While commissioning the ALGON edifice, Governor Ugwuanyi eulogized efforts of the ALGON Chairman, Mr. Cornelius Nnaji, Enugu-East council area, noting that the secretariat will serve as peer review platform that will advance the course of paying democratic dividends at the grass roots where majority of the people domicile.
He, however, revealed that government will continue to partner with the third tier of government even as he maintained that allocation accruable to council areas will not be tampered in order not to hamstring development strides at the rural areas.
The ALGON chairman, Nnaji, had earlier revealed that the secretariat was conceived to chart a unified development path for the council areas in the state, adding that the periodic meetings among all the chairmen will enable them share ideas, challenges and proffer solutions which will largely impact positively on the people.
Commissioner for Local Matters, Mr. Chijoke Edoga, assured of government’s support to the council areas, noting that Ugwuanyi’s administration will maintain an all-inclusive government to move the state to greater heights. – Vanguard.
