With Monday, January 27 is around the corner. His Excellency Governor Yahaya Bello will be inaugurated for a second term in office. Feelers have it that the Governor will perform well this time as he is likely to have learnt from the flaws of his first tenure.
One worrisome issue of great concern is that of local government administrators that have over stayed their welcome.
In the eyes of the law, every appointee of government remain dissolved on January 27th except if reappointed after the Governor takes a fresh oath of office.
By legal implications, this means that the tenure of local government Administrators should automatically come to an end that fateful day as they are part of the governor’s appointees.
But will this happen in Kogi where some of these guys are permanent patronizers of marabout? These are administrators whose tenure elapsed in October last year and they are yet to be an extension by the state house of assembly, but yet they still occupy their positions illegally without any legislative backing in form of extension?
These are the same sets of people that had gone voodoo and believed they can never be short changed and that whenever their topic is being brought for discussion, it will die a natural death. This is so true.
In the history of Nigeria, if not Kogi state, there is nowhere people will be appointed to man local councils for almost four years. Even elected officials can only be there for three years.
Yet those set of ingrates still clamour for an extension of tenure. They still have the guts to say they want to contest to become executive Chairmen. This is a high level of ingratitude.
Some of them should voluntarily thank the governor for this show of benevolence for four years and not to think of using their spoils of office to make their way for another three years. This will affect the APC’s chances at the polls as people are already tired of them at the grassroots.
On the part of government, these boys should not be reappointed and severely cautioned not to make any attempt to contest after free four unaccountable years.
If they have done perfectly well in their councils, they are other finest brains that can do better too.
As onlookers, we are watching keenly to see what will unfold as GYB is set to start a new page of his second term and to know if the marabout that promised some of these Administrators of 7 years on seat will get their deal ascertained.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
– Edward Cheneni writes from Bassa