THE PROBLEMATIC CHILD CALLS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CHAIRMEN: Matters Arising
By Joseph Esivwenughwu
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recognises three tiers of government, namely, the Federal, State and Local Government.
These three tiers of government are saddled with their own responsibilities without reservation. However, since 1999, when this democracy started, many chairmen have occupied the chairmanship seat in all the twenty-five local government areas of the state, including women. There is no day when one will not hear of these present and former chairmen/persons shouting “harvest of projects’ but in the actual sense there is nothing to show for all the funds received from the federation account.
Some of these officers went as far as shouting ‘empowerment ‘”, but the truth is that there is nothing on the ground but poor results. About a week ago, like the Isoko people who told former Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in clear terms that enough is enough of propaganda and falsehood, the cup of the Chairman of Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State was forced to fill up with water and to avoid more of the menace, the people of the local government threw the cup and the water into the ocean sea and all efforts to retrieve the items failed. For years, the current Chairman of this local government has been telling all and sundry that Burutu is the most developed local government area in the world. If one follows his propaganda, then it means that the council is better than Dubai in terms of development.
According to google.com, the Youths of Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State seized the Delta council chairman’s boat in protest over the death of an expectant mother and neglect of basic amenities in early September 2026 in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State.
“The tragic death of an expectant mother and her unborn child at the government-owned General Hospital was due to an alleged lack of timely medical attention and absence of doctors. Angry youths and women stormed the local government secretariat, switched off the council chairman’s generator with the cry “Off that generator!”, and dragged a boat belonging to Council Chairman Julius Takeme ashore. The Core Demands of the Youths includes Deployment of qualified medical doctors, adequate drugs, and equipment to the General Hospital, alongside urgent improvements to poor electricity supply and deteriorating local infrastructure. With reference to the Nation Newspaper of 3rd September 2026, Burutu, a largely riverine local government area, is host to the Trans-Forcados Pipeline, a major trunkline that feeds multiple branches from onshore fields.
Videos circulating on social media showed youths dragging a boat ashore, as protesters intensified their demands for urgent government intervention. Chanting, “we need doctors!” and bearing placards with several inscriptions, the community women and youths accused the Delta State and council authorities of abandoning the hospital.
When the video of the local government hospital was finally thrown into the public domain, it reminded me of former President Goodluck Jonathan years ago when he was on his way out of the country. According to Google.com, Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan made an unannounced, surprise visit to the Police College in Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday, January 18, 2013. The surprise inspection followed a widely watched documentary broadcast by Channels Television that exposed the shocking, deplorable, and decayed state of infrastructure at the 73-year-old training institution. Accompanied by top military and police brass, President Jonathan toured the dilapidated student hostels, kitchens, and mess halls.
The Aftermath: The visit caused major national uproar, leading to a pledge by the federal government to overhaul and refurbish police training institutions across the country. Merely looking at the hospital, one can say without fear or favour that even mosquitoes, lizards, rodents, flies and millipedes will not visit the place. The entire roof is gone, and the surroundings are nothing to talk about. I am so ashamed that such a facility is in the Burutu local government area. When former president Jonathan Goodluck was on top, I wrote several articles advising him to look back, but the parasites surrounding him always attack me on social media; today, the result is clear for all to see.
The quality of the public schools will not be different. Most of the Chairmen do not reside in the local government area; rather, they fly to Warri, Sapele, Orerokpe, Ughelli and so on with their family. In most cases, they come to work once a week if there is anything so important at all. Their children attend private schools in Warri, Sapele, Orerokpe, Ughelli and Asaba, if not Lagos and Abuja.
In the area of drinkable water, there is nothing to show for it in the council other than flooding, while the issue of a decent market is a foregone conclusion. This is a place whose sons have once been the president of Nigeria for about five years, yet there is nothing to show for it. The youths and elders of Burutu should place the council on a red alert in case of Ebola and other high-profile diseases that are attracted by such an environment. With reference to google.com, the quality of schools in the Burutu Local Government Area (LGA) of Delta State features a stark contrast between severe infrastructural neglect and government interventions. Because Burutu is a primarily riverine and hard-to-reach terrain, education delivery faces unique geographical and logistical challenges. For many years, the general quality of learning in rural Burutu communities has suffered due to a lack of basic academic resources. Local reports and investigative coverage highlight severe issues. Several prominent schools, such as Ayakoromo Grammar School and Enekorogha Grammar School, have faced severe decay. Classrooms have collapsing walls, blown-off roofs, and a total lack of doors or windows. In many rural primary schools like Bobougbene and Ofougbene, students are frequently forced to sit on the bare floor to learn and write examinations because there are no desks or benches. The Chairman should resign and go.
Joseph Esivwenughwu is the former Chairman of Okuetolor Community, Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria.
