By ALEX ENEBELI

Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State on Wednesday sworn in the 17 newly elected Council chairmen and their deputies, urging them to uphold the governance philosophy of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governor who performed the swearing-in ceremony at the Government House, Enugu, also charged them to align their priorities with the state’s development agenda.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the chairmen and 260 councillors emerged from the Local Government election conducted across the state on Sept. 26.

Out of the 17 Chairmen, 12 were re-elected while five were elected for first-time.

The five new chairmen were Martin Amadieze, Igbo Etiti; Chris Simon, Igbo Eze North; Brendan Ani, Isi-Uzo; Mike Ogbuekwe, Nkanu East; and Innocent Ezeoha, Udenu.

The re-elected chairmen include Jude Asogwa, Nsukka; Caleb Ani, Enugu South; Ugo Ukwueze, Igboeze South; Ibenaku Onoh, Enugu North; Ugochukwu Nwanjoku, Aninri; and Greg Anyaegbudike, Oji River.

Others were Chijioke Ezugwu, Uzo Uwani; Hyginus Agu, Udi; Uche Okoro, Awgu; Belove-Dan Anike, Enugu East; John Ogbodo, Nkanu West; and Vitalis Ndu, Ezeagu.

The governor reminded them that they contested and won under the platform of the APC and should uphold the constitution and the governance philosophy of the party.

He told the new council chairmen that their election was not an end in itself but the beginning of the responsibility to fulfil the promises they made to the electorate during the campaign.

Mbah described local government as a critical tier of government because of its proximity to the people, particularly those living in rural communities.

The governor said their assumption of office had sealed a social contract with the people who entrusted them with the mandate to serve.

He urged the chairmen to become active partners in the state’s development agenda, especially in the areas of poverty reduction, education, healthcare, sanitation and agricultural development.

The governor said the chairmen should be accessible and accountable to the people and ensure that public resources were used responsibly.

He urged them to pay particular attention to education by ensuring that no child of school age was left out of school in their respective local government areas.

According to him, the chairmen should also monitor healthcare indicators, including maternal, infant and under-five mortality rates, while working toward achieving open-defecation-free local governments.

Mbah further charged them to tackle indiscriminate waste disposal and improve sanitation beyond the local government headquarters to rural communities.

He encouraged them to ensure that agricultural inputs reached genuine farmers adding that the state government had invested more than N4 billion in fertiliser and other farm inputs in the last two or three months.

The governor urged the chairmen to work with the state government to achieve its target of eradicating poverty, saying that the goal would require the use of data, measurement of progress and sustained interventions.

Responding on behalf of the newly elected chairmen, Mr Ferdinand Ukwueze, Chairman of Igbo-Eze South Local Government Council expressed appreciation to Mbah for the opportunity to serve.

He said the experience and knowledge acquired by some of the council chairmen who had previously served under the governor would be brought to bear in their new responsibilities.

Ukwueze, who is also the Deputy Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), pledged the commitment of the chairmen to good governance and to supporting the development agenda of the state.

In an interview, Mr Caleb Ani, Chairman of Enugu South Local Government Council, described his re-election as a privilege and an opportunity to deliver more democratic dividends to the people.

Ani said his administration had recorded achievements in areas including payment of workers and pensioners, infrastructure, social amenities, job creation, human capital development and poverty reduction.

The council chairmen were elected on Sept 26 with the APC sweeping the election. (NAN)