By Our Correspondent
DELTA State Deputy Governor, Barr. Kingsley Otuaro, has advanced reasons why local governments in the state must diversity their revenue base instead of over-dependence on resources from the federal allocation.
The deputy governor stated this during a two-day capacity building workshop organized by Directorate of Local Government Affairs and Local Government Commission in collaboration with Makofe Consults for political office holders and top management career officers of local government areas in Delta State, in Asaba, yesterday .
Represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff in the Deputy Governor’s Office, Hon Steven Eruotor, Barr Otuaro said the workshop, with the theme: “Improvement in Revenue Generation and Attitudinal Change:
“A panacea for effective administration of local government councils was apt and timely with the seemingly dwindling oil revenue and over relying on monthly L local governments must diversity their revenue base, “he said.
He said that accountability, integrity, transparency and attitudinal change were necessary requirements on the part of the leadership of the councils so as to ensure that some of their challenges are tacked decisively.
Otuaro also noted that local government system as practised in Nigeria has been recognized as one significant tier of government closest to the people and was expected to meet the developmental needs of the grassroots ;hence the need to shore-up their revenue base in order to meet up with delivery of more democratic dividends and key into the SMART Agenda of the governor.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Directorate of Local Government Affairs, Mr. Sam Adjowhenyo had said that the local government, being bedrock of democracy and the third tier of government and closest to the grassroots must be proactive in facing the challenges to shore-up their Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) rather than relying solely on statutory allocation from the Federation Account .
He thanked the governor for approving the seminar and urged the participants to use the opportunity to better their various councils
Adjowhenyo added that participants were carefully selected to comprise people with wealth of experience that will drive home the objectives of the workshop at their various councils and advised them to take the workshop seriously.
present at the occasion was the Chairman, Civil Service Commission, Mr. Olumami Oyibo and other members of the Commission and the Directorate
