By Amos Okioma
Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has frowned at non-compliance of local government chairmen who default in rendering their monthly income and expenditures at the grassroots.
He also directed the Commissioner of Local Government Administration, Agatha Goma, to ensure that all the eight local government Caretaker Committee chairmen render their monthly account to all stakeholders at the third tier of government as it is done by the Restoration Government at the state level.
The governor read the riot act to the council chairmen during the maiden monthly Transparence briefing of January 2018, where the financial status of the state was released to the media, civil society groups and other critical stakeholders. The governor had introduced the paradigm shift as part of good governance and accountability in line with his inaugural speech where he promised that at the end of every month Bayelsans would be told of what comes in as income and how it was spent as expenditures.
He has kept faith with the promise that he would not play politics with the development of the state.
The disposition had not only earned him commendation and emulation, but earned him an award by the Vanguard Newspapers for having the boldness to stand before the state sometimes on live broadcast to release monthly cash inflow and outflows of finances of the state.
This has also been passed into law and each time he was not in town, the Deputy Governor, Gboribiogha John Jonah, was directed to perform the monthly ritual.
But unfortunately, repeatedly the governor had reiterated the need for the council chairmen to replicate same at the third tier which they have been flouting before it was given a renewed strength and backing.