Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has denied insinuation that he is opposed to local government autonomy.
Ortom, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, yesterday, said he is one of the governors who supported constitutional amendment granting local governments autonomy.
His stand, he said, prompted the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) to give him an award in Abuja last year.
Akase noted that the headlines in some newspapers indicating that Governor Ortom is opposed to local government autonomy were misleading and mischievous.
He recalled that the governor, in a recent interaction with newsmen in Makurdi, frowned at the statement credited to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), which tended to describe state governors as fraudsters who divert local government funds for personal use.
He said Governor Ortom had taken exception to such sweeping incriminating comments by NFIU, which sought to indict all governors, and he demanded an apology.
Akase noted that Benue State under Governor Ortom is already practising local government autonomy, as according to him, council chairmen in the state are directly responsible for payment of workers’ salaries and general running of administration in their areas.
He explained that the decision to allow local governments manage their affairs is a key element of Governor Ortom’s policy on transparency and accountability.
He added that in spite of limited resources, Governor Ortom has made genuine efforts to deepen democracy at the local government level by conducting elections to allow Benue people to choose their representatives at the third tier of government.
“The governor does not interfere with local government funds and, therefore, has no reason to oppose any move to grant full autonomy to the councils.
Governor Ortom, he said would, however, not allow any agency of government to go out of its constitutional mandate to create the impression that he tampers with council funds.
“The governor who believes in the rule of law wishes that the provisions of the Constitution of the country be applied as relates to the three tiers of government,” Akase stated.