The Plateau State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Chief Ephraim Usman Gar, has rated the performance of the 17 Local Government Council Chairmen between 70 and 80 per cent following a statewide inspection of projects across the state.
Gar gave the assessment on Thursday, November 5, 2026, while briefing journalists in Jos on the outcome of the inspection tour, which covered all 17 Local Government Areas across the Southern, Central and Northern Senatorial Zones.
He said the exercise was aimed at assessing completed and ongoing projects, ensuring the judicious use of funds released to the councils and determining whether the projects met required standards in line with Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s Time is Now development agenda.
According to him, projects inspected in the Southern Zone included the remodelling of youth centres, mini stadiums, legislative chambers and computer-based test centres, as well as solar-powered streetlights, primary healthcare centres, motorised boreholes and the Wase Rock Radio and Television Station.
He also listed facilities at the temporary headquarters of the 175 Infantry Motorcycle Battalion of the Nigerian Army among the projects inspected in the zone.
For the Central Zone, the commissioner mentioned the 23-kilometre Gugur Road in Kanke, the remodelled Dengi Multipurpose Hall, the 1,500-capacity event hall in Mangu and the 200-capacity Anatomy Laboratory at Plateau State University, Bokkos, funded by ALGON.
Other projects he identified included the Palace of the Ngolong Ngas and transformers provided for rural electrification.
In the Northern Zone, Gar said the inspection covered primary healthcare centres in Sabon Gari, Chinye-Miango, Garba Daho and Furaka, council secretariat complexes, ICT centres, ultra-modern markets at Rishari-Rutara and Zarakon, bridges linking Farin Gada to Rusau and Vwang to Kogot, police outposts and town halls in Kwang and Kuru.
“I am pleased to report that the 17 Council Chairmen have not disappointed the administration,” Gar said. “Governance has truly been taken closer to the people.”
Responding to questions on local government autonomy, tenure and other related issues, the commissioner provided further explanations, addressing the concerns raised by journalists.
On local government autonomy, the Commissioner said Governor Mutfwang has never interfered with council finances. “His Excellency has never in any way interfered, demanded, or directed the local government chairmen on what to do with their resources,” he said. “In fact, the state government frequently steps in to support councils where they face resource deficits.” He urged the media to focus on improving the federal allocation sharing formula to enable councils to execute more grassroots projects, and invited the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to embark on an independent tour of the project sites.
On security, Gar said councils are formalising local vigilante groups into registered outfits trained by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to support conventional security agencies. On council tenure, he declined detailed comment, saying the matter is already in court and falls under the purview of the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC).
Delivering a goodwill message on behalf of ALGON, Plateau State, the Chairman of Kanke Local Government Area, Hon. Lapshine Golime, who represented the State ALGON Chairman, thanked the Governor and the Ministry for the enabling environment to serve. “We are happy to be privileged to deliver services directly to our people,” Golime said.
Present at the briefing were the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Chief Ephraim Usman Gar; the Special Adviser to the Governor on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Jonathan Dabo; the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry; the Chairman of Kanke LGA, Hon. Lapshine Golime, who represented the ALGON Chairman; and other local government chairmen.
