The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo has urged those clamouring for the scrapping of local government councils, as the third tier of government, to properly diagnose the challenges affecting the functionality of local government areas, describing it as the nearest level of government to the people at the grassroots. Speaking in Yenagoa, the state capital, yesterday the Deputy Governor called for concerted efforts to rejig the system for effective service delivery, even as he called for the sustenance and adequate support to local government councils in the country.
He also allayed the fears in some quarters that the present administration was planning to scrap the 32 Rural Development Areas (RDAs) in the state, expressing hope that the ongoing reforms across the eight local government councils in the state would positively impact on the RDAs and improve the quality of life in rural communities. “The local government councils were created to achieve a purpose. If they are not achieving the intended purpose, I am of the strong opinion that we must do a critical evaluation and see if the RDAs have been aided and motivated enough before we talk about scrapping them.”
