ZAMFARA State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Mohammed Muntaqa Rini, has warned that local government officials who were in the habit of giving free rides to women would be sanctioned.

He dropped the hint during the swearing-in ceremony of vice chairman and councilors of Bakura Local Government, held at the Local government secretariat on Friday afternoon.

Rini affirmed that public office should not be taken for granted, calling on the newly-inaugurated officials to have the fear of God while running the affairs of their councils.

He reminded the new leaders that the Sharia legal system was still in force in the state and for this reason they should be cautioned on the way they conduct themselves both within and outside the local government secretariat.

According to him, government would not condone the attitude of some government officials who were in the habit of giving free rides to women of easy virtue, saying, “any local government official who is caught on the act will not be spared.”

Speaking on the occasion, the executive chairman of Bakura Local Government, Alhaji Bello Dankande Gamji, urged the new local government officials to be effective in their duties.