John Owan Must Revamp the Local Government System in Cross River State If Elected Govenor

Senator John Owan Enoh was the only aspirant among the army of aspirants that sought the nomination of APC Cross River State gubernatorial ticket that had traction and a well oiled political machinery and structure. Little wonder, he effortlessly and without much Ado picked the ticket in grand style and spectacular fashion . He is surely the candidate to beat . I have no doubt that Senator John Owan will win the Governorship election in Cross River State come March 2019. He would inherit a State that is tottering or tethering on the brink of bankruptcy , economic stagnation and stunted growth. According to latest statistics from the Debt Management Office, Cross River State is the fourth biggest debtor of the 36 States of the Federation of Nigeria. Nearly all the facets of the Cross River State economy is in ruins. The incoming government must as a matter of urgency initiate far reaching and fundamental social and economic reforms to resuscitate the State. One of the areas that urgently require reform is the Local Government Administration in the State. The State has 18 Local Government Area Councils which are supposed to be the fulcrum of Local and grass root based Administration which will bring Government to the lowest lever. However what we have on ground for the past twenty years is nothing to write home about. Today the local government administration in the State is totally disoriented, broken and almost non-existent. I recall with a lot of nostalgia in the 1970s as a teenager growing in Ogoja how efficient, effective and well run the Local Government was so much so that it was constructing urban and rural roads and putting in place other infrastructure. While in the university in the mid 1980s, my mother was a contractor in the Local Government  Council but today Local Governments can hardly award contracts for supply of stationaries. This has killed the local economy and is partly responsible for the scandalous and chronic poverty we see in the State. It has turned people out to beggars and hopeless existence. John Owan’s APC administration must therefore revamp and resuscitate the local government council system and restore them back to their lost Glory.

By Chief Okoi Obono-obla, SA to the President on Prosecution and Chairman, Federal Government Assets Recovery Commission.