Edo State Government on Wednesday ordered Heads of Local Government Administration (HOLGA) in the 18 local government areas of the state to immediately proceed on compulsory leave.
Chairman of the Edo State Local Government Service Commission, Adjoto Kabiru, who disclosed this while speaking to journalists in Benin, said the move was to revitalize local government administration in the state.
According to him “And in line with the Shine Agenda of His Excellency Comrade Senator Monday Okpebholo, we went around, made some observations and after our agitation throughout the 18 Local Government Councils, we took some decisions
“One of the decisions we have taken is to direct all local government administration HoLGAs to go on compulsory leave.
Also read: Mob attacks Edo police station over fatal accident involving 'Yahoo Boy'
“This decision is in line with the ongoing restructuring and revamping of the local government council system in Edo, aimed at strengthening administrative efficiency, promoting accountability, transparency and repositioning the local government service for better service delivery.
“The Local Government Service Commission has reviewed the existing governance structure across the council, that is, in the 18 local government councils.
“Consequently, the Commission directs all heads of local government administration in the 18 local government councils to proceed on compulsory leave from today.”
The former Speaker of the State Assembly said that the mandatory leave has become very important to avoid unnecessary interference.
“This measure has become very necessary to allow in-depth assessment for better administrative operations at the local government level.
“Ensure fair and objective review of posting, staff deployment and records management practices, encourage transparency and restore confidence in the local government system, provide opportunities for fresh administrative perspective as part of the Commission’s reform agenda,” he said.
Adjoto ordered the Director of Administrative and General Services to take over and monitor the day-to-day administration of each local government until further direction from the Commission.
Also read: Edo IGR reaches N79bn in nine months, adopts TSA to stop leakage
He asked all the concerned officers to comply with this instruction by handing over it without any delay.
While others are to go on compulsory leave, Akoko-Addo HOLGA and its Director of Finance (DEFA) are to go on compulsory leave and sanctions following an alleged petition leveled against them.
The Chairman of the Commission also said that the Commission has embarked on the digitalisation of its operations in the Commission, as he said the training and retraining of local government servants will be taken forward in earnest by this Administration.
Commenting on the digitization of the Commission, the Director Budget Planning, Research and Statistics, Local Government Service Commission, Osazie Obaizamowwan, said that about 382 shadow files were recovered and 138 retired files were still on the shelves, adding that this illustrated the efficiency of the digitization of the Commission.
