Nigeria: Council Bosses Must Live Among Their People to Govern Effectively - - Idem, C-River Commissioner for LG Affairs

What the report says

Cross River State’s government says it has spent the past three years reforming local administration to make councils more effective at grassroots development, according to an interview with the state Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Chief Victor Idem, published by Vanguard and carried by AllAfrica. Idem said the administration of Governor Bassey Otu has focused on training council chairmen, improving supervision and pushing them to be more responsive to community needs.

A major part of the state’s plan, as described in the report, is a housing scheme intended to provide official residences for chairmen, vice chairmen, council secretaries and legislative leaders in all 18 local government headquarters. The idea is to reduce the practice of some officials living in Calabar and commuting to their councils, which the commissioner argued weakens accountability and day-to-day contact with residents. He said council leaders should live where they govern so they can oversee projects and respond more quickly to local issues.

Idem also said councils have been working on rural roads, culverts, agricultural support, skills programmes and youth and women empowerment projects, though performance varies by area. The interview further addressed a disputed local government recruitment exercise. He said the government had approved 500 hires, but the process was later found to have included far more names, leading to the dissolution of the Local Government Service Commission and the retention of 3,000 workers after the review. The episode, he said, highlighted the need for tighter oversight and due process.