Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has sworn in the newly elected chairmen of the state’s 20 local government areas, warning them against corruption and the misuse of public funds.

The governor gave the warning on Tuesday during the swearing-in ceremony at the Government House in Bauchi.

He urged the council chairmen to manage local government resources with transparency and accountability, saying their financial autonomy came with greater responsibility to provide good governance.

“You must not be tempted to misappropriate or divert local government funds. With financial autonomy now granted to local governments to run their affairs, you have no excuse for poor performance,” Mohammed said.

He also told the chairmen to see their positions as an opportunity to serve the people rather than a chance to share public money.

“The people now have higher expectations from you as the newly elected Council officials, particularly because you are closer and more accessible to the grassroots,” he said.

The governor added, “The position of local government is no longer a place where we go and share money. We go there to face challenges because the required human capacity, trust and confidence of the people must be built.”

Mohammed urged the new chairmen to focus on security, education, healthcare, agriculture and infrastructure in their respective areas.

He also asked them to work with traditional rulers, security agencies, women, youths and other stakeholders to maintain peace across the state.

The governor said his administration had invested heavily in infrastructure, healthcare, education, agriculture and rural roads, adding that the new council officials were expected to support these efforts at the grassroots.

He further directed the chairmen to hold regular security meetings with relevant agencies and ensure that important information was quickly passed to the authorities.

“I am expecting so much improvement in the security architecture. Make sure you hold security meetings with all the security agencies in your local council,” he said.

Mohammed congratulated the chairmen on their election and urged them to begin work immediately, noting that their performance would be monitored by both the government and the people.

The governor also swore in six new special advisers. He said their appointments were based on their experience, competence and loyalty, urging them to work hard to achieve the administration’s goals.

The Bauchi State Independent Electoral Commission had earlier announced that the Allied Peoples Movement won all 20 chairmanship seats and 319 councillorship seats in the local government elections held on Monday.

Speaking on behalf of the chairmen, the chairperson of Bauchi Local Government Area thanked Governor Mohammed for supporting their aspirations and the APM for giving them the platform to contest.