The Transition Committee Chairman of Arochukwu council area of Abia State, Chief Joe Eze-Aru, has decried the dilapidated state of infrastructure in most of the 17 council secretariats in the state.

The council boss also frowned against the ghost worker syndrome and insisted that only council workers’ commitment could guarantee optimal performance in service delivery.

Eze-Aru, who stated this during an assessment tour of infrastructural facilities at the Arochukwu council secretariat, lamented that the decayed infrastructure in the council secretariats makes it difficult for staff to have a conducive working environment that guarantees efficient service delivery.

“This is the story of what obtains in some, if not all the 17 Local Government headquarters of the state. The decaying and dilapidated infrastructure leaves one to wonder how humans can effectively function in this kind of environment.

“From the entrance to the chairman’s office, administrative block, works, Health and other departments, it tells no other story other than that of abandonment and neglect for a long time. Some of the workers here are left with no option than to work in this unconducive environment not fit for human habitation,” he said.

Eze-Aru disclosed thathe met rodents on his first day in office which left him and his deputy to work from make-shift offices.

He described the local government secretariat as an eyesore and attributed it to leadership failure of the past administrations.

He, however, promisedto build a befitting new local government secretariat for workers to enhance effective service delivery.

On absenteeism and ghost workers syndrome affecting the local government system,he insisted that workers must earn wages through service delivery and warned that logging in and stepping out for personal business and coming back to log out during the close of work won’t be tolerated in his administration.(Vanguard)