Ebonyi governor warns council officials against using office for personal gain
Ebonyi Governor Francis Nwifuru has told newly inaugurated local government officials that public office must be treated as a trust rather than a route to sudden wealth. At a capacity-building workshop, he called for lawful use of public funds, transparency, accountability and resistance to improper pressure.
Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru has warned newly inaugurated local government chairmen and council officials against using public office as a route to quick personal wealth. Nwifuru issued the warning on Wednesday in Abakaliki while unveiling a three-day capacity-building workshop organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters. The retreat brought together chairmen, vice chairmen, Heads of Personnel Management, treasurers, Planning, Research and Statistics officers, and development centre coordinators.
The governor told the officials that public office was a trust to be exercised for the benefit of people at the grassroots. He urged them to make integrity, transparency and accountability central to their administrations and cautioned them against yielding to illicit pressure. Nwifuru said spending of public funds must be lawful, transparent and accountable.
He also asked the officials to assess their decisions, place the collective interests of their constituencies above personal gain and protect their integrity and professional reputations beyond their tenure. Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters Uchenna Igwe urged participants to build workplaces free from corruption. Helen Aduga, the Ebonyi chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, described the workshop as timely, while Chidi Ogbonna of the State Coordinators’ Forum called it important for strengthening grassroots governance.
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