Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has told local government chairmen and councillors in the state to resign from their positions if they can’t reside in their areas.
The governor gave the warning during a stakeholders meeting held at the Imo Traditional Rulers Council Secretariat, Mbari Owerri.
Uzodimma explained that rural areas can only be administered effectively when local council administrators cultivate the habit of staying within their respective councils while discharging their constitutional mandate.
He maintained that insecurity will be a thing of the past if LGA chairmen and their councilors stay in their areas and constantly be in touch with their people rather than living outside their domain.
The governor said that the meeting was not political but an interactive session with stakeholders and the leadership of the 656 autonomous communities in the state to take stringent measures in tackling insecurity and afford effective health care delivery in rural areas.
He added that there must always be a time when citizens come together to make bold decisions for their own good.
The governor stressed the need to have local government administrations that must be managed from the local government area and not from the urban cities, maintaining that no government is active without social mobilisation.
He called for synergy among the LG councils and all actors in government to move the state forward.
The governor used the occasion to announce the establishment of Local Government Implementation Committees charged with the responsibility of ensuring that resolutions reached in strategic areas of security, education, health, and youth empowerment are effectively implemented.
He enjoined traditional rulers and community leaders to rise to their responsibility and not allow their communities to be destroyed or overrun by hoodlums.
Uzodinma further announced the establishment of a health centre in every community and a general hospital in each LGA to ensure access to health care and encouraged the leaders to ensure that everyone in their communities enrolls in the ongoing Social Health Insurance Programme.
The governor also encouraged youths to be positive, remain resolute, and think of the dignity of labour.
“There must be a new thinking for a new Imo to emerge. I want my youth population to think differently,” he said.
He encouraged them to think along the new world order and show interest in being entrepreneurs, leveraging on the state’s skill acquisition programme.
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