Approval of Building Plans are Delayed to Extort-Chairperson OYACA

The Chairperson of the Oyo state Anti Corruption Agency(OYACA), Justice Eni Esan(rtd.) has revealed that the delay in the approval of building plans in the state revolved around the desire to extort money from applicants by public servants.

Justice  Esan made this revelation on Wednesday at  a one day Sensitization and Advocacy program for senior officials of local governments in the state in Ibadan.

''The approval of building plans are delayed to extort applicants. It is corruption not to prepare and audit accounts for several years. I urge you to report major infractions  in your local government to OYACA for investigations and prosecution,'' the OYACA chairperson stated.

 However, an official  from Atiba local government,, Ajibola Kareem  lamented that there was no imprest for public servants to function optimally, saying, ''we are not given imprest, we are no paid for car maintenance, inform our employers that they should give us incentives meant for us.''

Similarly, another official from Asabari Local Community Development Area(LCDA) SHAKI, Olaleakn Waheed acknowledged that the state government paid salaries promptly, but added, ''statutory payments are  absent. Everyone can see how the local governments are been run. Help us to beg the government to enable us to work. Beg the government for us to make local governments function. We ask you to rescue us from the present situation.''

LGs in Oyo state have gone into Extinction-Former Councillor

Democracy is not in place at the Local Government Level in Nigeria. This assertion was made by a former Councillor in the Ibadan South East Local Government Area of Oyo state, Honorbale Yusuf Babatunde. ''Although elections are conducted by the local governments in Oyo state, those who are there now got to the positions by selection. This is a bad approach. The state governments in the affected states have now taken over the sources of revenue of the local governments, including their functions. The chairmen and councillors receive only salaries. They are now expressing regrets. The local governments are no longer empowered financially as, as a result, they have been crippled. It is a one-man show,'' Hon. Babatunde lamented.

The Impact of Primary Health Care in the Grassroots

Public health requires both preventive and curative measures. Preventive measures ensures cleanliness and sanitation, the provision, most especially, in the formative years of childhood, the care and feeding which strengthens the body's resistance against diseases. This is in addition to curative measures that facilitates treatment from diseases.

The Health departments of Local Governments have been found wanting as regards the above mentioned, even though there are regular advancements in social conscience and medical knowledge. The unavailability of supply of potable water in several communities in Local Governments is a major challenge. Residents resort to doubtful sources to meet their water needs. Constructed boreholes are yet to meet the expectations of the people. Most communities are dirty and unkempt as a result of the docile nature of Local Government workers. Refuse are dumped indiscriminately and everyone carry on as if all is well. Children and expectant Mothers have tales of woes to tell at the Primary Health Care centers, while Governments at all levels keep mum.

The dearth of qualified Medical Professionals in several Local Government Areas of the Federation is a set back, even as the reduction of the incidence of malaria by 80 per cent is a mirage. Indeed, the Primary Health Care program ought to be the cornerstone of the health policy of a focused administration, however, the lack of appropriate skills by primary health workers is just one among the several pointers that this is not so.

The Grassroots and Government

The importance of the Local Government revolves around the need to attend to the expectations and welfare of the people at the grassroots. In addition, the Local Government plays a vital role in Federal schemes of education, housing, transport among others, nationwide. It adopts the mainline of policy to local conditions. Sadly, the Local Government, under the present dispensation in Nigeria, is not independent. Interestingly, a number of Chairmen and Councillors elected from their neighborhoods, now focus on recruiting cultists and other categories of criminals to intimidate, terrorize and attack residents of several communities, as social services continue to remain a mirage.

Indeed, these elected officials are not known by the vast majority of the populace at the grassroots, while development is only on the pages of newspapers and speakers of radios. Curiously, the character of growth to meet the needs of the poverty-stricken people come with lies, half-truths, and promises, even as insecurity is now the thriving industry to engage the disillusioned and impoverished people. Of worry is the overwhelming presence of criminals in most communities, who orchestrate well-coordinated acts of criminality, heinous and grievous crimes, and morally unacceptable behaviors including rape and homosexuality; involving the young and old, male and female alike.