Lawmakers rate council chairman in A’Ibom high at annual performance assessment

AKWA IBOM – For the second year consecutively, Mr. Cletus Ekpo, executive chairman of Etinan local government, Akwa Ibom State, has passed the annual executive performance assessment carried out the council’s legislature.

The assessment is based on performance and adherence to the budget, the council legislators said.

Addressing journalists on Thursday 22nd August, at the council secretariat, leader of the legislature, Mr. John Udofia, said the commendation was given after an assessment and evaluation of the implementation of the 2019 fiscal law.

Udofia, a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management and associate member of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, said the council’s legislature has made it part of its annual oversight to review the implementation of the council’s fiscal law and rate the executive accordingly.

“We assess performance of the executive per fiscal year and rate it accordingly. By so doing, the executive chairman knows that we are watching him every step of the way. That has helped us to monitor and measure performance per year.”

“In our assessment for 2019, based on the fiscal bill that we passed, the legislature has scored the chairman very high on welfare, rural roads intervention, rural sanitation and hygiene and, infrastructure”, he said.

Udofia explained that the sixth legislature in the council adopted the annual executive performance assessment as peer review system for planning and budgeting for the next fiscal year, adding that the assessment was easy because the council has an approved operational budget for each year.

“Assessing the performance of the executive is easy because we have a fiscal law. So, the performance is based on the implementation of the budget. During the assessment, we note areas that need more attention and make recommendations”, Udofia added.

At plenary, a motion for a vote of confidence to be passed on the executive chairman, Mr. Cletus Ekpo, was moved by Ubong Peters, councillor representing Etinan Urban ward three and deputy house leader, and seconded by Mfon Ekarika Ekong, councillor representing South three.

Other councillors who contributed to the motion mentioned some of the projects executed by the council to include, construction of lock-up stores and toilet facility at general market Mbioto 2, construction of toilet facility at Etinan Urban market, construction of access road and gate house at the council secretariat, and procurement of vehicles for principal officers of the council.

The councillors noted that the executive chairman was working assidously towards the construction of an ICT centre at the council.

They said beyond the projects, the Cletus Ekpo led administration has kept a cordial working relationship with the legislature.

The Etinan legislative council says it has passed eights motions, two bills and treated many motions of urgent public importance.

Earlier this month an amalgam of Etinan youths comprising, youth caucus, youth council, christian youths, Dakkada youths, village youth president, passed a vote of confidence on the chairman, Mr. Cletus Ekpo.