LGs are mere conduit pipes through which monies are siphoned – Al-Makura

Governor Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has decried the decay in the local government system and declared that the councils had become “mere conduit pipes through which resources are siphoned”.
Al-Makura said: “So much money is sunk into the local government system but all the resources get stolen.
“The local government system has become a conduit pipe for the theft of huge resources.”
He stated this on Monday in Lafia in a speech to inaugurate the chairman and members of the Local Government Service Commission.
He regretted that the local government councils had become ineffective.
Al-Makura said: “The workforce at the local governments is over-blotted beyond what the resources can cater for.
“The salary figures are staggering even when you cannot see what value workers add to the system. Clearly, this situation cannot continue.”
Promising that the workforce would be pruned, he said that his administration would re-position local government administration towards effective service delivery that would make the rural areas attractive.
He challenged members of the commission to work with the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to reverse the rot in local government administration, and called for strict adherence to due process in the recruitment, training and promotion of workers.
In his response, Chairman of the Commission, Sani Bawa, thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve, and assured him of his team’s utmost commitment to reviving the local government system.