Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Ondo State Governor Mr Rotimi Akeredolu on Monday swore in the newly elected chairmen of the State’s 18 Local Government Area, charging them to ensure grassroots development.
Governor Akeredolu, who lauded the State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) for a smooth and peaceful exercise, said the outcome of the election showed the wishes of the people of the State.
The candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 18 Local Government Areas were declared winners of the last Saturday’s chairmanship election by ODIEC.
194 of 198 councillorship seats were won by APC candidates, while elections into four seats were declared inconclusive.
Speaking at the inauguration of the new chairmen, Governor Akeredolu said the election that produced the council chiefs was a success.
‘We have tried our best since the inception of this administration by making the people the central focus of all our policies. We have tried to keep all unscrupulous persons masquerading as servants of the people at bay. We have severed ties from those whose deeds and preferences stand against decency and are inimical to the well-being of the people,’ the Governor stated at the swearing-in ceremony.
‘Our ambition has been shaped by the overriding interest of the State. We have never been under any illusion that governance will not pose its challenges considering the precarious state of the economy when we assumed office and the continued slide in the economic fortunes of the country.
‘We have, however, remained undaunted and resolute in our resolve to abridge the yawning gap in the welfare of our people. We have taken steps which posterity will adjudge as prescient. We have succeeded, largely, in abridging the infrastructural deficit in spite of the acute paucity of funds.
‘Workers and citizens have felt the direct and positive impact of governance. We will continue to strive to make the voice of the people count in all decisions taken on their behalf as we move into the second phase of our statutory mandate of service. The impressive turn-out in all the Local Government elections confirms that the partnership between the government and the people is an enduring one.
‘The victories recorded at the polls must not be taken as a licence to embrace recklessness and wanton display of arrogance. Our administration will continue to discourage all attitudes which subordinate the interests of the generality of the people to parochial and selfish preferences.
We are irrevocably committed to the welfare of the people.
‘This promise to conduct an election into the third tier of government, actualised almost seamlessly, points at our readiness to take governance to the people at the grassroots through their elected representatives. The just-concluded exercise was not perfect, as there were reports of a few hiccups in some units and one or two wards across the State. However, most keen observers, untainted with partisanship, and politicians alike, will readily agree that our administration is committed to real development in the state.
‘No elected representative will be allowed to trample on them without dire consequences.
All the elected representatives of the people must wean themselves off the illusion of wanton disregard to the established precepts in the discharge of their responsibilities. Supporters and party loyalists will do well to assist them in keeping to the laws of the land. This administration has made our people believe in the observance of the extant principles of the law in all circumstances.’