Nwifuru swears in 21 SSAs, SAs,  calls for patience

From Chinedu Nwafor, Abakaliki

The Governor of Ebonyi State, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna  Nwifuru has sworn-in two Senior Special Assistants and nineteen Special Assistants recently appointed by his administration.

Out of the 21 sworn-in appointees, only about 6 were given portfolios in other areas such as media, documentation, education and health, the rest are  Assistants in charge of security across the 13 Local government areas of the State and some critical infrastructures.

Addressing stakeholders shortly after the oath taking ceremony at the Executive Council Chambers, Government House, Abakaliki, Governor Nwifuru pleaded with them to exercise little more patience with him as he was carefully packaging his strategies and team for the best interest of the State.

He acknowledged that the new administration was faced with some usual challenges and conflicts of interest but assured that all would soon be surmounted.

“I am very much delighted this afternoon, and in doing that, I tender unreserved apology for the shortcomings and delay in swearing in the distinguished appointees which supposed to have taken place before now.

“It is due to some exigencies of office.

“Distinguished leaders, I am aware of all the challenges, and like I said during my inaugural address, we are very much equiped to surmount all the challenges.

“I am so delighted to all of you for your patience, and I still solicit for more patience as we do everything within our reach to put everything, all the segments in place.

“In no distant time all the sectors of government will be fully equiped to perform optimally.

So, I still need your patience.

“We have been confronted with a lot of challenges and we are very much sure that with the kind of leaders that we called to help in discharging those enormous challenges,  within one or two weeks, all these insecurity issues will be a thing of the past.”

Speaking on the sworn in Special Assistants on Security, he noted that their core mandate was to give information to the law enforcement agencies.

“We are not giving the guns, we are not charging them to go and confront them;  the only job they have is to give us and the law enforcement agencies the information.

“And from today, if we record any insecurity, killing anywhere in this State, not only that we will arrest the SA in charge, but we will prosecute him.”

“You have taken up a very challenging job.”

The Governor further charged them to be more faithful and diligent in discharging their duties.

In an acceptance speech, one of the appointees, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on security, Izzi Local government area, Felix Okemini, on behalf of the appointees appreciated the Governor for finding them fit for the very important job.

He pledged the commitment of the appointees to security of lives and property in the State, adding that they would perform within the confines of their mandate as Special Assistants to the Governor.

Among those sworn in were Nwifuru’s former Chief Press Secretary when he was the Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Mr Leonard Oketa, and a  journalist with Ebonyi State Broadcasting Corporation, Dr. Boniface Nwankwo.

Oketa was sworn-in as SA on New Media while Nwankwo is SA to the Governor on Documentation.

The event attracted Party stakeholders from across the State.