Gov. Dave Umahi of Ebonyi on Wednesday told members of
his cabinet that they were not appointed to share cakes as spoils of office.
Inaugurating 18 commissioners, 27 special assistants and four board chairmen in
in Abakaliki, Umahi said the appointees were called to service to bake a big
cake for the people of the state to eat.
He called on the new appointees to use
their wealth of experience to enhance the economy of the state and make it the
most economically-viable in the country.
“During the last National Economic
Council meeting in Abuja, we were given a sheet of paper showing revenue
allocation shared by various states in the country within a year. “Inside the
sheet, Akwa Ibom which was the highest got a total of N266 billion while
Ebonyi, the lowest, got N44 billion.
“This should make you realise that you
were not appointed to share cakes because there is no cake to share though we
are going to create a big cake together,” he said. The governor urged the
appointees to be wary of corruption and to be courteous, humble and hardworking
in service delivery. He also urged them not to pile unnecessary pressure on
themselves.
“Anybody who is corrupt will be sacked and his position given to
his relation or friend to incapacitate and make him politically irrelevant.
“You should not be unruly toward those who worked against us as they did so out
of loyalty and should therefore be allowed to live having been relegated to the
background,” he said.
Mr Augustine Nwankwagu, a former speaker of the state
assembly and now the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, thanked the
governor for appointing them, adding that they would justify the confidence
reposed in them.
The commissioners include a former senator, Sen. Emmanuel
Onwe, appointed commissioner for information, and a former member of the House
of Representatives, Mrs Elizabeth Ogbaga, now the commissioner for commerce and
industry.
Also sworn-in were a former Chief Whip of the state assembly, Mr
Uchenna Orji, who is now the commissioner for agriculture and natural
resources, Mrs Rebecca Ogbuewu, the wife of a former Nigerian Ambassador to
Greece for women affairs and Chief Sunday Inyima, former Chairman of Ohaukwu
local government for lands and housing. The special advisers include former
South East Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Ali Odefa
and a Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Abraham Nwali.
TodayNg
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