The Executive Chairman of Aniocha North Local Government, Delta State, Hon. Kevin Okwechime, was among 25 Local Government Council Chairmen out of 774, conferred with the prestigious Nigerian Local Government Chairmen Merit Award, LOGMA, 2023.
The award was bestowed on them for their outstanding performances as Executive Chairmen of their various Local Government Councils, within a period of 2 years.
The award ceremony, held recently at the National Merit House, Maitama, Abuja was witnessed by the Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Hon. Zephaniah Jisalo.
In his welcome Address, the National Coordinator of Nigerian Local Government Chairmen Merit Award, Chief Bayode Ojo, said the award was a noble idea of rewarding performing Council Chairmen to stimulate fair competition for service delivery at the grassroots level.
“We are all gathered here today to rejoice that in spite of the leadership deficit in our nation, we can still single out a few personalities who represent the Hallmark of hope and inspiring confidence in the social-economic and political value chain of our great nation,“ Chief Bayode Ojo said.
He noted the process leading to the merit award and said it has been very rigorous, maintaining that nominations were called in selected newspapers where members of the public nominated their preferred winners in each state.
Ojo revealed that shortlisted nominees were further subjected to scrutiny by spot-checking some of their executed projects to ascertain the veracity of their claims.
“Therefore, the winners being paraded today could be said to have passed the litmus test of credible leadership and worthy of being celebrated as performing Chairmen who could serve as an example in service delivery and good governance,” Ojo stated.
In his citation, the Executive Chairman of Aniocha North Local Government, Hon Kevin Okwechime was described as a man of uncommon transformational leadership, who has continued to demonstrate his Leadership capacity and love for service even at an early age.
Okwechime was credited with over 104 projects and services that have direct bearing to the lives of the people of Aniocha North Local Government area, executed across the 18 communities within the area.
The projects include, construction and rehabilitation of Markets, construction of Skills Acquisitions Centre and multi-purpose hall, construction and rehabilitation of primary health care centres, provisions of bole holes and reactivation of Aniocha North Local Government Comprehensive Water scheme, provision of a Grader, bulldozer and truck for opening and maintenance of roads, and provision of security vehicles to security agencies amongst others
Speaking with Aniocha North Stakeholders at a Town Hall meeting after the award in Abuja, Hon. Okwechime dedicated the award to the people of Aniocha North and said their mandate, which he noted he has never taken for granted, gave him the privilege to serve them.
He maintained that the support and cooperation of the people made it possible for his administration to accomplish meaningfully in the uncommon transformation of the area in all sectors.
The Council boss pledged to continue to provide projects and services that have direct bearing to the lives of the people, while urging them to continue to support and cooperate with his administration towards taking the area to another level of glory.
With the Chairman in Abuja for the award ceremony included top officials of the Local Government and some Aniocha North indigenes resident in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
