The Ebonyi State Government will soon appoint caretaker committees to run the local government areas and development centres in the state.

Governor Dave Umahi, who announced this during a media chat in Abakaliki on Friday, said the appointment had become necessary as “we have realised that we cannot start local government elections immediately.”

Umahi added that “the State House of Assembly had amended the law on Local Governments to enable us appoint caretaker committee chairmen; and had assented to our request to expand the management committees so that representation would be wider.”

He explained that stakeholders had been directed to go back and meet in their various constituencies to harmonise their choice for appointments as management committee members, development council coordinators and ward liaison officers.

The governor, who lamented the continued fall in the prices of crude oil and its negative effect on the allocations to the state, regretted that while the revenue accruing to the state was seriously declining, its debt profile was on the increase due to the high cost of projects he inherited from the past administration.

He however noted that the State Ministry of Works had invited contractors handling on- going projects to come for a joint measurement of work done to ascertain the actual value of the state indebtedness to them.

Governor Umahi also reiterated his administration’s to stamp out corruption from all the sectors of the state and urged all former political office holders indicted by the State House of Assembly, to quickly return to government the entire amount allegedly stolen by them.

Stressing that his administration would not leave any stone unturned in its fight against corruption in the state.

Chief Umahi frowned at the rot in the education sector in the state.

He noted with dismay, the dilapidated state of schools in the state, saying that a study conducted by a consultant hired by the government had shown that pupils still sit on the floor to learn in some schools.

He added that in some other schools, classes still hold in dilapidated class room blocks and under the trees.

He disclosed that the government would embark on the establishment of “13 mega schools”, one in each of the 13 LGAs of the state, as a way of improving the standard of education as soon as it accessed the Universal Basic Education Intervention Fund for the state.

Other intervention measures to be adopted in revamping education in the state, according to Governor Umahi, included, the handing over of the mission schools back to their original owners, with the government still paying their teachers and the missions taking care of administration.

The governor opined that the government would as from next week embark on the proper evaluation of the health system with special emphasis on the Primary Health Care Centres to reduce pressure on secondary and tertiary health institution.

He said that the government would equip 171 Primary Health Centres as part of its intervention measures in the health sector, and directed the State Commissioner for Health “to do the evaluation of the 13 general hospitals to see if we can complete at least six, two in each zone.”

•Photo shows Governor Umahi.

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