By: Our Reporter, Calabar
The Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Cross River State chapter, Chief Yibala Inyang, has said the state’s 18 local government councils are enjoying unprecedented funding, administrative latitude and partnership with the state government under Governor Bassey Edet Otu.
Inyang, who is also Chairman of Yakurr Local Government Area, made the assertion, while reacting to allegations of underfunding of councils and worsening poverty at the grassroots level by the factional PDP governorship candidate, Sir Arthur Jarvis, during a press conference at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat in Calabar.
He described the allegations as unfounded, maintaining that the present administration had created an enabling environment for councils to access and deploy their resources to projects while partnering with the state government in critical areas such as healthcare, sanitation, security and infrastructure.
“That’s a total fallacy because the local governments are having the best in terms of funding. In this administration, we have power to the level that local governments are doing projects and partnering with the state to intervene in critical areas such as health, sanitation, local security and infrastructural development,” Inyang said.
He explained that the joint state-local government account, backed by enabling legislation, had strengthened financial coordination and helped councils meet their obligations, particularly the payment of salaries and running costs. According to him, the arrangement was a major reason no local government in the state was currently owing salaries.
“Without the joint account, some LGAs won’t be able to pay salaries and handle the running cost in some months because of low allocation. The reason why in this administration no LGA is owing salary in the state,” he stated.
The ALGON chairman argued that the essence of local government autonomy should be assessed by the ability of councils to access and responsibly deploy resources, pay workers as and when due, provide social services and execute projects that directly impact residents, rather than through political rhetoric.
He said the administration had provided councils with sufficient latitude to undertake development projects in their respective wards, describing it as a significant departure from what he said obtained in previous administrations. “This is the first time in the history of Cross River that you have a governor who allows funds meant for local governments to be used to carry out developmental projects and interventions in our various wards,” he said.
Using Yakurr as an example, Inyang said his council had executed or commenced projects in 12 of its 13 wards based on identified community needs. He listed the construction and rehabilitation of roads, drainages and culverts, markets, healthcare facilities, recreational infrastructure and empowerment initiatives among the projects undertaken.
He disclosed that the council had constructed several culverts in Ekori, a mini bridge in Nko, rehabilitated the Nko Modern Market and commenced construction of a modern market in Ekori. Several culverts had also been constructed in Ijom, near the General Hospital in Ugep, including a double-decker culvert that collapsed shortly before his administration came into office.
The council chairman further disclosed that a new Primary Healthcare Centre was under construction in Ijiman Ward, Ugep, through a community-local government partnership, while a mini pavilion at the Ugep Stadium had been completed and another at Mkpani was nearing completion. He added that the Ugep Stadium had also been rehabilitated, including the construction of drainage infrastructure to address flooding.
According to him, the council was preparing to commence rehabilitation of facilities in several schools, while the state government was complementing the council’s interventions through major road projects in Ugep Urban, with Ekori and Idomi next in line.
Inyang maintained that similar projects were being undertaken by councils across the state, describing them as evidence that local government funds were being deployed to address community needs. He challenged those alleging diversion or underfunding of council resources to produce verifiable evidence, rather than relying on political claims.
On allegations of deepening poverty at the grassroots, he pointed to the regular payment of salaries and imprest to local government workers as evidence of improved financial administration, challenging anyone who disputed the claim to provide specific evidence of salary arrears.
“Since we came on board at local government, we’ve been paying imprest to all of the civil servants, salaries have been paid completely and no local government is owing. If anybody is saying so, they should bring out facts and show how far the local government is owing,” he said.
On security, Inyang said council chairmen had continued to play critical roles in managing security challenges within their jurisdictions, noting that several communal conflicts that were previously recurrent had been contained through strong collaboration between the state government and local councils.
He explained that such collaboration was necessary because security challenges could easily spread beyond the boundaries of individual councils and become threats to the entire state. He therefore described the state-local government partnership as an important factor in maintaining peace across Cross River.
Turning to the 2027 elections, the ALGON chairman advised opposition politicians seeking to govern the state to move away from what he described as “politics of blackmail” and misinformation and instead present concrete programmes to the electorate.
“If they really have the interest of this state, if they think they really want to govern this state, let them tell us what we’ve not done and how well they’ll do it if given the opportunity,” he said.
Inyang cited the administration’s efforts to restore Cross River’s oil-producing status, reclaim Tinapa and advance the state’s agricultural estates among the milestones he said should be acknowledged in assessing the performance of the present administration.
Reacting specifically to Arthur Jarvis’ campaign for a one-term governorship, Inyang questioned his suitability for the office, arguing that governing a state requires extensive administrative experience, political exposure and public-sector competence.
“I don’t think he is fit to run half a term, not to talk of one full term. Arthur Jarvis should first prove that he can run government, not run a school. Governance of a state is more in-depth and requires enough experience and exposure in various political and public offices of high repute,” he said.
Inyang concluded by describing Governor Bassey Edet Otu as a prudent administrator with a people-oriented approach to governance, saying the projects and interventions recorded across the state demonstrated the administration’s capacity to deliver on its mandate.
“Our Governor, His Excellency Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu, has demonstrated the qualities of a prudent administrator with a people-oriented governance mentality. His achievements within this first tenure can attest to the fact that he is the real person Cross River State deserves at the moment,” he said.
