Oyo Commissioner for LG matters Charges LG Chairmen, Others to Respect the Rule of Law

The Oyo State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Chief Bayo Lawal, has admonished newly elected Local Government Chairmen, Vice-Chairmen, and Heads of Local Government to follow laws and respect the country’s constitution.



The commissioner issued the admonition on Monday in Ibadan, while receiving Local Government Chairmen, Vice-Chairmen, and Heads of Local Government Areas at a 2-Day Retreat themed “Ipa Ijoba Lese Kuku” organized by Fosterfield Consulting in collaboration with the Office of the Special Adviser on Strategy, Political Matters, and Ministry of Local Government & Chieftaincy Matters.



He asked them to follow due process and exercise due diligence when conducting government business and to follow Governor Seyi Makinde’s zero-tolerance policy for corruption.



His words: “It would not be out of place to advert to the need to operate within the ambit of the law by ensuring strict adherence to due process and due diligence in the conduct of government business in your respective Local Government Areas in line with the uncompromising stance of His Excellency on zero tolerance for corruption in the State.”



“This is achievable if you collaborate with your Heads of Local Government, who are also the Accounting Officers in your respective Councils because according to Pratibha Patil, former President of India, ‘corruption is the enemy of development and good governance.”




“It must be got rid of. Both the government and the people at large must come together to achieve this objective. Joe Biden, President of the United States of America, also alluded to this by stating that, ‘fighting corruption is not just good governance. It is self-defence. It is patriotism.”



He also asked them to regard themselves as Servant-leaders to repay the electorate’s faith in them.



“The law of nature preaches reciprocity, how do you intend to reciprocate the confidence reposed on you by the electorates.”



“You can do this by seeing yourself as Servant-Leaders and bring to their doorsteps unprecedented purposeful governance and developments they could ever imagine as opined by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, that “mere good governance is not enough; it has to be pro-people and pro-active. Good governance is putting people at the centre of the development process,” he said.