Residents and political stakeholders in Enugu state are currently in confusion over the collapse of Development centres across the state.
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that Enugu State has 68 development centres spread across the 17 local government areas of the state. Most of these centres have become comatose despite having salary-earning workers and administrators assigned to them. The decaying state of these centres has become a source of worry for the well meaning citizens as millions are being spent on their salaries and other monthly entitlement.
Recall that in 2003, the administration of former governor Chimaroke Nnamani created development centres in Enugu State.
The goal was to bring development to rural areas. These centres statutorily have administrators, heads of departments, treasurers, heads of personnel management and employees, all gaining promotions and retiring, as the case may be.
However, former governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi saw the need for the centres, and increased them from 56 to 68.
Investigations showed that majority of the employees of these development centres are drawn from the main LGAs where they were carved out from.
How LG chairmen destroyed Development centres
In an exclusive chat with our reporter, a former administrator of Nsukka East Development Centre who spoke under anonymity explained that though the initiative was well-intended, but destroyed by council chairmen who see administrators of development centres as rivals.
According to him, “former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani made the development centres equal to their main local government areas. If allocations for LGAs came, they would be shared equitably among the development centres and the main LGAs. Then if allocations for Nsukka LGA were released, they would be shared into four, with the main LGA taking the lion’s share. Then Nsukka East, Nsukka West and Nsukka Central would get theirs to develop their respective areas.”
Explaining he said, “but when former Gov Sullivan Chime came, he made development centres to be under council chairmen. That was where the trouble started. The idea was that administrators would be taking directives from council chairmen. Some council chairmen never allowed their administrators to do anything, except receiving their salaries, and maybe their imprest. In our own case, we were getting our salaries and our imprests. I managed our markets and the borrow pit at Opi. From there, revenue was generated for developmental purposes.”
In his own reaction, Samie Agbo who also served as an administrator stated that “Development centres are subordinates to the main local governments. This is unlike the Local Council Development Authorities in Lagos state which are independent and being funded by the state government.
“In Enugu, when they were created newly, administrators were entitled to a vehicle each, and members constituted to run the affairs of the centres. They have offices.
“But the aim was defeated. I can tell you as an ex-administrator that the present administrators are only getting their salaries. Some members of the development centres do not even know the headquarters of their centres. Some don’t even have offices at all.
“When allocations come, most administrators won’t even know. In fact, some of the development centres have been shut. Some of them were told to join the parent LGAs. But they have everything that is obtainable in the main LGAs, such as HOD and HPMs.Those that have existing structures have abandoned them, or rented them out. Most of these centres do not have chairs.
“Gov Peter Mbah was part of the Nnamani administration that created these development centres, so I guess he knows the brain behind the initiative. When he went for campaigns, he went to those centres to reach the people better. These centres should be more viable because they are closer to the people. Development centres should be able to handle schools and health centres managements in their respective domains. They should be made to be in-charge of IGR points within their areas. They should be able to generate their own revenue. If development centres should run properly, it will lead to rapid rural development.”
Again, in a chat with former vice chairman of Nsukka local government area, Dr. Cosmo Agbo told WITHIN NIGERIA that it is a tool by which governor uses to settle political loyalists.
“I’m the pioneer chairman (as it was called then) of Nsukka East development center at Umabor Nsukka LGA between June 2003 to February 2004. The law establishing the development centre empowered them to control markets, motor parks and other sources of revenue.
“But today, the reverse is the case. All revenues accrue to the state, not even the mother council. As we speak, they have only the Administrator operating as Sole Administrator. Members of the development centre are yet to be appointed over two years since the inception of the Mbah administration.”
Revealing further Dr. Agbo, said that “deriving from the above, one can therefore say that lack of funding and revenue is the major cause of the collapse of the centre.
“Politicians use it as a special purpose vehicle to empower loyalists during election and discharge them after victory to reduce cost of governance. Once another election approaches, the government will constitute the centre and the cycle continues.
“The remedy squarely lies on the enactment of a bill for the sustenance of the development centres and not been used as an SPV for election. These development centres bring government closer to the people. I also advocate for a constitutional stipulation of it’s sources of revenue and power of jurisdiction over some critical rural issues.”
Workers narrate their experience
In a chat with some staff members of development centres claim the centres are ‘dead’. One of them working in Udunedem Development Centre of Udenu LGA who spoke , on condition of anonymity, said, “These centres were created to serve as pay points. Some of the buildings were rented just to serve that purpose. Earmarking of funds to the centres ended with former governor Nnamani. After him, the concept died.
“The problem is that activities of LGAs were centralised, thus weakened these centres. These centres have environmental hazards. Who will clear the bushes? What business have administrators going there when nothing is going on? There are over forty-seven workers at Ette Development Centre, for instance. It has an administrator, and about nine caretaker members who are appointed for political reasons.
“But workers have abandoned the place. They only go to work on Mondays to clock in and clock out following the directive of the governor that workers must work on Mondays, being sit-at-home. But they rather go to the central LGA, and not development centres. The whole place is being occupied by snakes and other dangerous organisms, and overgrown by weeds.”
It is the same story at some development centres visited in Udenu LGA. Charly works at Udenedem Development Centre. He said, “Nothing is happening there. Once in a while, we go to the secretariat of our main LGA at Udenu. But development centres are not even open on working days, so nothing is happening there. Ceilings are caving in; chairs have all damaged. It is only dangerous animals that live there.”
Roseline is a senior staff at Ekete Development Centre of Igboeze South LGA. She said, “We only go to work on Mondays at the main LGA to sign in, and that is all. Those located at Iheakpu, Udenze, and Central have all been abandoned. For now, we don’t have administrator.”
Experts express concern
Christian Anyiam is a public administrator. He called on relevant authorities not to allow the development centre initiative to die. Quoting him, “It would have been a good thing if development centres were given stable allowances for developmental purposes or given some IGR points.
“If you make somebody a development centre administrator, and he relies only on his salary, and whatever the LGA chairman gives him, he is just like a staffer or personal assistant to the chairman. If administrators are not given any power except collecting salaries, the best option is to scrap it. If an administrator is not comfortable, he may have no capacity to even discipline those working under him.”
Former Administrator Expresses Concerns
One of the former administrators of a development centre in Igbo-Etiti LGA, who does not want his name mentioned, said, “We were abused by council chairmen. The initiative would have been effective if development centres were assigned specific roles and fund allocations. But were whatever chairmen wanted us to be. They didn’t attach any values to us. The centres are already abandoned because nothing is happening there. You don’t ask a farmer to go to farm without tools. Some of us report to office on okada.”
Commissioner Ogbodo reacts to the situation
However, in a recent reaction to the development, the Enugu state commissioner for local government, Deacon Okey Ogbodo said that “The present administration actually wants to act and improve on them. It would appear as if they are comatose, but it is not. Recall that during our electioneering campaigns ahead of 2023 general elections, development centres were the basis to reach the rural areas.”
Explaining further, he said, “it is a question of re-orientating them and assigning more responsibilities. The ministry is contemplating on places people can go to get information about what the government is doing; where they can easily access government resources within their reach. And the best option is the development centre.
“The ministry has it in our plan in our next budget to make the centres more functional. It is within these centres that we can always embark on need assessment to get what rural people actually need. It will be a centre for liaisons in all LGAs.
“I am quite aware of how seemingly abandoned these development centres are now. We are also talking about cleaning them and fumigating them for the safety of workers. We have it in our programme.
“I intend to place it before LGA chairmen; not only to clean up these centres, but fumigating the environment because it is among the factors militating against irregular workers’ attendance to work. Some claim that they don’t even have offices. I am on tour of LGAs presently, and I made similar observations.
The environment is something else: they look unkempt and bushy. It is becoming a safe haven for rodents and reptiles which endanger the lives of our workers.”
Former LGA Chairmen Decline to Answer
In a telephone chat with our reporter, the former chairman of Uzo-uwani local government, Mr. Amos Ademu declined comment, saying he was not instrumental to the collapse of the development centres.
By and large, when WITHIN NIGERIA visited the Udunedem Development Centre secretariat at Ezimo, the buildings were seen to be taken over by grasses and dangerous reptiles.