The Cross River State government has introduced and implemented strategic reforms in the bid to strengthen local government administration and accelerate grassroots development through improved service delivery, digital innovation, staff welfare and enhanced accountability.
The Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Victor-Felix Idem, during an interview in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, south-south Nigeria, said that Governor Bassey Otu’s administration prioritised institutional reforms to improve governance across the 18 local government areas.
According to him, one of the key achievements of the Ministry of Local Government Affairs was the introduction of a digital pension transition system that enabled retired council workers promptly receive their pensions without bureaucratic bottlenecks, which previously characterised the process.
Idem stated, “we set up a platform that migrated a retired staff from the civil service salary platform to the pension salary platform. Right now, if you retire, it takes you the next month to start receiving your pension.”
The commissioner also disclosed efforts to strengthen the capacity of local government officials through regular training for chairmen, councillors, secretaries and civil servants to improve financial management and governance.
He said that the ministry encouraged local government councils to embrace digitalisation and upgrade administrative facilities to enhance service delivery and improve the working environment.
Welfare and Accountability
Idem further noted that to guarantee satisfaction, the state government tackled the long-standing welfare issues affecting local government workers by implementing promotion arrears for staff, who were stagnated or denied in more than 15 years.
“One of the first things we did was to implement all the promotions we met and those carried out during the three years of this administration,” he said.
On gratuities, Idem disclosed that the government had cleared six years of outstanding payments inherited from previous administrations and was preparing to settle another batch in the coming months.
Beyond workers’ welfare, the commissioner said that the administration intensified grassroots development through youth empowerment programmes, agricultural support initiatives, distribution of improved oil palm and cocoa seedlings, farm implements and the allocation of farmland to cooperative groups.
On local government autonomy, the commissioner maintained that councils were receiving their statutory allocations directly, insisting that they were responsible for managing their resources, while the ministry provides guidance to ensure projects align with the state’s long-term development agenda.
He said, “everything really goes to the local government. The ministry performs a supervisory role. So, we only assist and guiding them to ensure they remain in line with the state’s developmental plan.”
To further ensure accountability, Idem explained that the ministry deploys other mechanisms such as the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC), Inspectorate Department and Audit Department to regularly monitor, supervise and audit council finances and projects to ensure transparency and prudent use of public funds.
“In the next one year, citizens and residents will see more and more development taking place within Cross River State because many projects are already at different stages of completion,” he added.
