Kunle Adelabu
The Special Adviser to Senator Abiru on Constituency Matters, Dr Saheed Ibikunle has stated that whoever must be the next chairman, Ikorodu Local Government must not just be hardworking but also smart.
Ibikunle who was recently reappointed as a Permanent Board Member, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB), made the remark recently at the I – Heroes Association’s 9th Annual General Meeting (AGM), at the Ikorodu Town Hall, where he was the chairman.
He also charged that aspiring young aspirants must also have good knowledge of the people and the environment that they want to govern, when asked what the qualities he expected from the next council helmsman.
“I don’t have a particular aspirant but we have a lot of young and brilliant guys that are aspiring. I think that whoever wants to be the next chairman of Ikorodu Local Government must be somebody with integrity, somebody who is not just going to be hardworking but also smart.
“He must be someone with vast knowledge of the division as a whole; if you must govern a place, you must know their problems and the people and you must also have plans and move the people forward with it.
“When you have all these, I think that the people and the politics of that area should be clear.”
The former Secretary to the Ikorodu Local Government emphasizing the knowledge of the people and the environment, added that the next chairman has a lot to do in delivering on his mandate to the people:
“So, a brilliant mind with the ability to solve problems and be a great critical thinker is that kind of man that we need. He must know the people because, when you know the people, you know the problems and don’t gorget that President Bola Tinubu with the Renewed Hope Agenda expects that bringing governance closer to the people is through the Local Government.
“So, whosoever emerges as the chairman has a whole lot to do to deliver the dividends of democracy in an appropriate way and when you are delivering this, what it means is that you must understand the peculiarity, conduct the needs assessment and have data about that locality to support whatever that you are doing.
Otherwise, if you are not data – driven, you might make a wrong decision and to some extent that will affect development in that area.”
Speaking on what the people should be expecting from the reconstituted LSUBEB, Dr Ibikunle who has been instrumental to the enlistment of many qualified young people as teachers and facilitated upgrading of many primary schools’ infrastructure, said that there would be improvement in pupils’ enrolment and teachers’ productivity.
Dr Ibikunle noted, “They should expect that basic education in Lagos State will be improved upon. We will make sure that the enrolment of out of school children improves; facilities in our schools improve and the continuous development of our teachers improves also.
“All these and many others are the things that are in line with the agenda of Mr Governor!”
