Omoniyi Salaudeen
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has added his voice to the clamour for a reform of local government administration in the country to strengthen citizens’ participation at the grassroots level.
He gave the charge in his address as the special guest of honour at a workshop with the theme: Credible Governorship Election and Good Governance in Bayelsa State, organised by Ijaw Elders Forum in collaboration with Ijaw Professional Association, Ijaw Nation Forum, G24 Embasara Foundation and Ijaw Women Connect Worldwide, to sensitise the state political actors on the need for credible and violence-free election ahead of November 16 governorship election.
He disclosed that he had it in his plan to do a reform of the local government system in his second term, but regrettably lost the election.
According to him, improvement in the administration of local government would not only address some of the challenges confronting the states, but also facilitate grassroots development.
The former President, who decried the desperation of some politicians who engage thugs to win elections, tasked the state actors to eschew violence, noting that, “it becomes a problem to disarm and manage thugs after the election.”
This is as Governor Henry Seriake Dickson also renewed the call for a restructuring of the country, saying, “if my state resources are not taken to Abuja, I won’t need to go there to collect allocation.”
The Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John-Jonah, speaking on behalf of his boss, said that the Dickson administration had built critical mass for sustainable development of education, health and infrastructure for succeeding government to consolidate on.
The guest speaker, Dr Tam George, in his keynote address, stressed the need for leaders to always strive to assemble the best team to drive development programme in order to impact on material condition of the people, adding that investment in education is the most critical challenge that must be taken seriously.