Politics
Task Before CTC Chairmen
The Rivers State Gover
nor, Chief (Barrister) Nyesom Ezenwo Wike last week inaugurated 19 Local Government Council Caretaker Committee Chairmen.The ceremony took place after the 19 nominees of the chairmen were screened and confirmed by the Rivers State House of Assembly as stated by law.
This set of the local Government council executives are the fourth caretaker committee council since last year June 2015. Soon after the general elections in March, 2015,the past administration hurriedly conducted local government elections in 22 local government areas, but the 8th State House of Assembly was not happy with the maner in which the election was held, summoned the Rivers State INEC headed by Prof. Agustine Ahiauzu. Soon after the probe, the Assembly recommended the sack of the commission. Consequently the Governor, assented to appointed a new board.
The Local Government system is guaranteed under the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, section 7 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution provides for the functions of a Local Government Council under its Fourth Schedule. This schedule tends to derive mainly from the Basic and Constitutional Transition Provisions (Decree 15 of 1987).
Thus, functions of Local Governments are categorised into The Exclusive list and the Concurrent list.
The exclusive list of functions are those functions that are solely performed by Local Governments, while the concurrent list of functions are those that the Local Government performs in collaboration with State and Federal Governments. The State and/or Federal Government can also perform these functions on behalf of local Governments until Local Governments are in a position to perform such functions.
According to the Fourth Schedule 1 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, the main functions of a Local Government Council are as follows: The consideration and the making of recommendations to a State commission on economic planning or any similar body on the economic development of the state, particularly in so far as the areas of authority of the council and of the State are affected, and proposals made by the said commission or body; Collection of rates, radio and television licences; Establishment and maintenance of cemetries, burial grounds and homes for the destitute or infirm and many other taxes and Licences.
As earlier indicated the executive arm of the Local Government is constituted by the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman elected with him, the Secretary and Supervisors appointed by the Chairman.
On the other hand, incompetent officers are either told to improve on their performance or are shown the way out of the service. Such an impartial procedure in the system makes for growth and viability of the entire system as dedicated workers are duly rewarded and conversely incompetent and dishonest officers earn their due punishments for their misdemeanor.
What is to be emphasised here is the need for officials to strive to be efficient and dedicated by acquiring the requisite education, training and retraining to enable them perform. Such knowledge needs to include the learning of the rules and regulations in the circumstance, officers should have and own copies of Financial Memoranda, the Nigerian Constitution, bye-laws and other extant rules and regulations. A deep mastery of such rules and procedures would facilitate their job delivery and performance. Furthermore, they can become aware of their entitlements, rights and privileges. The employers’ responsibilities are equally known to them. It makes for the good health and success of the service. It is expected that a corps of educated, trained and diligent staff would be in a position to advance the course and progress of development in the Local Governments.
While inaugurating the Caretaker Committee Chairmen, the State Government provided the necessary guidelines and structure in order to ensure effectiveness, efficiency, probity and accountability and some measures of control and monitoring.
Wike warned the Council executives of reckless spending and promised to withhold security votes of executives if they failed to perform and deliver what was expected of them.
The Governor regretted that some local government chairmen were owing workers many months of salaries, charged the new council executives to clear all workers salaries owed by their predecessors.
The Governor directed that the new Chairmen should ensure that this directive is followed to the letter as he called on the local Government Service Commission (LGSC) to ensure the payment of outstanding salaries owed to local government council workers.
The Governor said he will monitor the payment of workers salaries by first withholding the imprest and security votes to the council chiefs, stating that salaries must first be paid.
According to him, this government will monitor pattern of expenditure of the local government areas to ensure that funds are deployed to areas that will promote the interest of the people, adding that the chairmen must get approval before they could access their security votes and imprest.
‘’ All salaries owed local government workers must be settled before any security votes are released to the caretaker chairmen. We must uphold the welfares of workers at all levels’’, he said.
The Governor who had been a local government chairman aware of tricks played by some top officials of the local government also extended the warning to the Local Government Heads Personnel Management (LGHPM) and Treasures against colluding with caretaker committee chairmen to negatively manipulate financial process in the council.
‘’ Sanctions await any Local Government Head of Personnel Management or Treasurer who colludes with the chairman to release unauthorized funds’’.
While directing the local government caretaker committees to always remit taxes deducted after payment of salaries also advised that they should interface with security agencies to promote peace and order.
Meanwhile the chairman of the Port Harcourt City Local Government Council, Christian Chiokwa promised that apart from payment of salaries, he would ensure security by liaising with security agencies to create peaceful atmosphere for business and citizens. He also said he will focus on the sanitation of the state capital
The Commission disclosed the figure in its weekly update for week 14 of the second phase of the exercise, which ended on Friday, April 17, 2026.
According to the breakdown, 2,259,288 Nigerians completed their registration through the online pre-registration portal, while 1,489,416 finalized their registration physically at designated centres nationwide.
INEC noted that the figures remain preliminary and are subject to further verification and data cleaning processes to ensure accuracy ahead of the consolidation of the national voter register.
With the conclusion of the registration phase, the Commission has now shifted focus to the display of the Register of Voters for Claims and Objections, a statutory stage aimed at strengthening the credibility and integrity of the voters register.
The display exercise is scheduled to hold from April 29 to May 5, 2026, across designated centres nationwide, providing citizens the opportunity to verify their details and raise objections where necessary.
The Commission urged all registered voters from the concluded phase to take advantage of the exercise to confirm the accuracy of their information and assist in identifying ineligible entries, including duplicate registrations, deceased persons, and non-citizens.
INEC explained that the Continuous Voter Registration exercise is being conducted in phases, with the first phase running from August 18 to December 10, 2025, while the second phase commenced on January 5, 2026 and ended on April 17, 2026.
The Commission further stated that the date for the commencement of the third phase will be announced in due course.
Reaffirming its commitment to credible elections, INEC stressed that maintaining a clean and accurate voter register remains central to ensuring free, fair, and transparent electoral processes in Nigeria.
The Executive Director of IPC, Mr Lanre Arogundade, informed the journalists that the dialogue was sponsored by the European Union, under the auspices of the EU-Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN II), Component 4: Support to Media.
According to the veteran media practitioner, the programme is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the media to promote credible elections through factual, accurate and fair reporting.
He explained that the programme is part of a broader five-year intervention designed to support democratic governance and improve the role of the media in Nigeria’s electoral process, stressing that fact-checking and inclusive reporting are critical responsibilities for journalists, especially during electioneering.
He described the media as a central role agent with regard to upholding transparency and accountability in the democratic process.
A resource person and Director of Journalism Clinic, Lagos, Mr Taiwo Obe, enjoined journalists to embrace the evolving technology so that they would not be in the backwaters in the practice of the profession.
He advised journalists not to downplay Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their bid to remain relevant in the media environment by being abreast of the changing patterns of news consumption.
The journalism teacher explained that with digital transformation of the media industry, it had become imperative for journalists to constantly upgrade and update their skills, stressing the fundamental place of attitude and self-development and underscored the dynamic nature of media consumption in the digital age, thereby compelling journalists to embrace tools and platforms, but without much reliance on AI.
In his lecture, a Professor of Mass Communication at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Adebola Aderibigbe, advised journalists in Ekiti State to ensure that coverage of the upcoming governorship poll is issue-based rather than dwelling on personalities.
He added that sensationalism should not occupy the front-burner of any discussions concerning the 2026 election, admonishing that sustenance of democracy is anchored on responsible journalism.
”Journalists must prioritise accuracy, fairness and balance in their reports by verifying facts and giving all parties involved in political matters the opportunity to present their views”, he said.
According to the university don, the election will not be defined by personalities, but by issues. ”Let issues be the pivotal ring upon which every discussion should be made. Sensationalisation of issues should not be the bedrock of discussions in the 2026 election”, he added.
“Do not hear from Party A without hearing from Party B, otherwise the report will be skewed to one side and once issues of elections are skewed, problems will naturally arise”, he stressed.