It is no longer news that Rivers State conducted a local government election in August 30, 2025 which ushered in new set of council chairmen and councillors across the 23 local government areas and 319 wards in the state.
While public discourse continues to rage on the manner of the emergence of these leaders at the grassroots level, what is important at the moment is to galvanise public opinion that would change the perception of the elected leaders in governance, leadership, accountability and transparency, with the aim of witnessing robust development in the LGAs.
Local government administration in Nigeria and indeed in Rivers State is designed to be the closest tier of governance to the people, bringing developments that would change the socio political cum economic lives of the people at the grassroots.
Over the years, unfortunately, local government administrations failed in their core mandate of grassroots development. They remained derelict, failing to bridge governance and grassroots development, having severely underperformed in delivering vital services.
The expectation and promises of bringing government nearer to the people has become a mirage, a fleeting illusion pursued, but never attained. Rather, local administrations became a system riddled with corruption, political interference, and sheer neglect.
Reports since 2015 point to corruption, poor planning, incompetence, and lack of transparency as the critical obstacles to sustainable local development. Council chairmen, who are often handpicked by state level political godfathers, treat councils as their personal estates. Transparency is non-existent. Accountability is sacrificed on the alter of partisan loyalty. The result is a complete disconnect between the council’s and the communities they are supposed to serve. These failures, which are structural, stifled rural economies, and deepened the urban- rural divide.
This new set of chairmen and councillors sworn in recently in Rivers State have a duty to change the narrative by breaking the chain of mediocrity and perennial underdevelopment which has become a bane of economic growth in the state.
Before assuming offices, the chairmen, especially, were admonished to be selfless and to focus on grassroots development. The Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd) advised them to embrace, “a new era of transparent, accountable and reform-driven leadership for the people”, cautioning that, “public office is a sacred trust not an avenue for personal gain.” He stated further: “The victory is not a prize to be enjoyed. It is a burden to be carried.
It is not an entitlement but a duty. It is not a call to self- interest, but to selfless services.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), Micheal Odey, while presenting certificates of return to the elected local administrators emphasized that, “your certificates are not symbols of victory, but mandates of service to people.” He urged them to embrace humility, transparency, and accountability in leadership and uphold the rule of law as a foundation for effective governance.
It is instructive to note that between March and June 2025, the combined state and local governments in Rivers State received N246.7 billion with local government councils getting between 16 to 19 billion Naira per month, yet there is no corresponding impact on the lives of ordinary citizens.
What is true is that if the wealth of the local governments continue to bypass the grassroots, the local government tier of administration will remain a hollow promise instead of the bedrock of democratic governance it was meant to be.
A situation where funds allocated to local government councils mysteriously vanish into private pockets or are divided for political patronage will continue the mediocrity and underdevelopment rather than breaking the chain to ensure common good.
It is a known fact that governments exist primarily to provide services that will make life worth living. Local governments in Rivers State must now justify the reasons for their creation through the delivery of cutting-edge services to the people.
With enormous resources at their disposal, especially with an increase in allocation from federation accounts, these council chairmen have the opportunity to transform the rural communities, create jobs, and reduce poverty.
They must endeavour to end the decades of decay, which had been entrenched in Rivers State’s grassroots governance with tangible results by leading with impact. They must rise above mediocrity and make service delivery their defining mission.
The new chairman of local councils in Rivers State must know that the people of the state are tired of excuses and glaring incompetences. They must shatter the age-old tag of failure and rather deliver results that people can see, feel, and trust.
It is time to bring to the fore, bold, and visionary leadership, transparency, and service delivery that is distinguishable if the transformation that the people crave for can be achieved.
It is fundamentally important for the chairmen to realize that no nation state or local government can boast of excellent performance at the grassroots if a large percentage of her rural inhabitants are facing uncontrollable abject poverty, lack of basic social amenities. These are the things that have caused citizens to lose both faith and trust in local government administration.
In spite of the manner of their emergence as chairmen, since they are products of a political compromise, must maintain a sense of decorum in dealing with the executive arm of government. In any case, both tiers of government need each other in delivering goods and services for the benefit of the people.
While we know that the chairmen will want to show loyalty to their political godfathers, there should be a balance of such loyalty with performance in office and accountability.
