Governor Umar Namadi of Jigawa State has warned local government chairmen against unnecessary absenteeism, stressing that they were elected to serve the people and cannot run council administrations virtually.
The governor issued the warning while speaking with journalists after paying a surprise visit to some local government Secretariat, where he found all the chairmen and senior council officials absent from their offices.
He expressed dismay at the condition in which he found the local government Secretariat, adding that the council chairmen are the drivers of council administration, and nothing can run smoothly if they do not attend office regularly.
Namadi further explained that he would summon all the council chairmen for a meeting and read the riot act to them against unnecessary travel outside their local government areas.
“Local government councils are the closest government to the grassroots. The chairmen must remain on ground and listen to the demands of the people for necessary action. From there, we expect to know challenges that are beyond the councils’ capacity,” he said.
“So, if chairmen are always absent, how can they discharge the responsibilities placed on their shoulders by the teeming electorates? We will not tolerate this undemocratic behaviour and will take necessary action to tackle it,” Governor Namadi stated.
It could be recalled that during the swearing-in of the 27 local government chairmen in 2025, Governor Namadi had warned them against such tradition of absenteeism or administering the council from outside the secretariat, and promised to take action against any chairman found with such a habit.
Usman Mohammed Zaria
