Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has described Local Governments as the foundation of effective governance, saying the majority of the people live at the grassroots and deserve responsive leadership.
The Governor stated this after casting his vote alongside his wife and other members of his community during Monday’s local Government elections.
Governor Mohammed expressed satisfaction with the peaceful atmosphere at his polling unit, commending security agencies and residents for maintaining order throughout the voting process.
He said the state government had deliberately strengthened local government administration by ensuring greater autonomy and making resources available to the councils.
According to him, the growing interest in local government elections has also attracted more qualified candidates, including people with PhDs, master’s degrees, university degrees and diplomas.
“Local government is where everything is done because the majority of our people live in the local government, not in the capital,” he said.
The governor said his administration had maintained the tradition of conducting local government elections whenever they were due, describing the development as an important step towards entrenching democratic governance at the grassroots.
Mohammed expressed confidence that the process would further strengthen democratic culture and improve the quality of leadership at the local level.
He congratulated all participating political parties and urged whoever emerges victorious to govern with the fear of God and serve the people diligently.
Our correspondent reports that the local government elections exercise commenced barely a few hours after five opposition political parties addressed the media at a press conference, where they condemned the process and described it as “kangaroo elections, organised by kangaroos and contested by kangaroo candidates.”
