The Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Council, Hon Barr George Ariolu, DSSRS, has stated that the local government administration is the most neglected tier of Government in Nigeria.
The council boss made this assertion when he played host to the Zonal Coordinator of Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), in South-South Sir Uchegbu Chukwuma in his office at the council headquarters, Rumuodomaya.
Dr. Ariolu said; unlike the Government Houses and State Houses that are usually under tight security, Local Government council secretariat gates are usually open for the people to access but lack the necessary funds as the closest government to the people.
“If you look at the structuring of the nation, we have the Federal, State and Local Government. The most isolated is the Local Government and the Local Government is the Government structure that interact and interfaces with the populace. They are neglected and under-funded”.
According to him, there is no nexus or connection between the local government administration in the country to what is happening at the federal level.
“Like you have the council of State meeting which is a meeting between the federal and the structure of the State Governors, what do you have connecting the entire LGAs to the policies and programs of the Federal government? There is no connection because of that disconnect, the entire government is disconnected from the people. ”
Speaking Further; Ariolu noted that the fundamental objective of government is the welfare and security of the people and commended the coordinator and his team for the visit…adding that previous leaders of the commission did not work closely with the local government councils to reach out to the people.
The Council Chairman pointed out that many people are dying as a result of fake products and charged the body to step up efforts towards reversing the trend.
On his part, the coordinator of (FCCPC) in South-South Sir Uchegbu Chukwuma informed the council boss that the reason for the visit is to carry the council along on her activities.
According to him, “I have gone through the markets, I can boldly tell you that the markets under your watch, 40 or 50% of the product are either fake or adulterated or substandard, in the drink area it is more than 60% and who do these things impact on? It’s you and i, it is the people that we love.
So what do we do? Should we keep quiet because people are making money out of it? We must do something to let them know that they must not continue in that way.
Mr. Chairman, that’s why we came. That’s why we solicit partnership. That’s why we came to seek your cooperation. As a body, our interest is to protect the least person.”
