The Forum of Executive Directors of Civil Society Organisations in Bauchi state has said that lack of elected local government officials has hampered grassroots development in the state.
The Chairman of the forum, Mr Sodangi Chindo, stated this at the end of the year meeting of the group in Bauchi on Sunday.
He called on the Gov. Bala Muhammed, to conduct local government election in the state without further delay.
According to him, the call for local government election has become imperative, considering the absence of elected officials at grassroots level in the state.
Mr Chindo, however, commended the governor for the successful takeoff of his administration and the leadership style which he had exhibited so far, particularly the declaration of emergency on education and health as well as the standing order already approved for counterpart funds.
“We have also seen high level of commitment in the payment of pensions and gratuity, appointment of key advisers, commissioners and local government caretaker chairmen.
“Though the number of women is of concern, the appointments were, however, timely and well-deserved. We, therefore, call on the governor to conduct local government election in the state to further strengthen the dividends of democracy in the state.
“We want to remind the governor of his campaign promise that when elected into the office, he would conduct local government election to strengthen democracy and good governance,” he said.
Chindo explained that the objective of the forum was to strengthen civil society organisations towards a coordinated response in the state through vital and accurate information dissemination.
“Our contributions to development in the state include employment creation, advocacy, strengthening community-based structures and implementation of vital projects in health, education, agriculture, water and sanitation, human rights, democracy and good governance,” Chindo said.
He advised members of the forum to redouble their efforts towards achieving the objective of the group.
“There is the need to generate accurate data of development challenges across the political wards in the state and use it for resource mobilisation and as a guide for critical decision making,” Chindo added.
