Delta State government now has 25 commissioners that would help the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, build a stronger state in the next four years.
This followed the governor’s swearing in of 17 commissioners into office Tuesday, bringing the total number of commissioners in the cabinet to 25.
Each commissioner was nominated from a local government area as the state has 25 LGAs.
The 17 persons who were sworn Tuesday included Fidelis Tilije, Lawrence Ejiofor, Barry Pere Gbe, Julius Egbedi, Churchill Amagada, Arthur Akpowowo, Martin Okonta, Charles Aniagwu, Comrade Ifeanyi Egwunyanga, Mordi Ononye, Ovie Oghoore, Prince Emmanuel Amgbabuba, Gbubemi Ikolo, Matthew Tsekiri, Christian Onogba, Omamofe Pirah, and Henry Sakpra.
While nominations and appointments of the commissioners gladdened the hearts of some Deltans, there were Deltans who felt shortchanged, culminating in their making comments, which the state government condemned.
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony held in Asaba, Tuesday, Governor Okowa urged political leaders to apply decorum in their utterances to avoid heating up the polity.
He was reacting to a statement credited to a prominent politician who was said to have used the media to castigate his administration for not granting his (the politician’s) request to nominate a Commissioner.
“One of our leaders has been insulting the office of the governor on the pages of newspapers and on social media; it is very unfortunate that this type of situation took place and I wish that the criticism was based on real facts, but, I do not think that the criticism was on a mistake on my part, because, the fact that a leader makes a request to appoint a commissioner and it is turned down is not enough for such a leader to go to the newspaper or social media to criticize the government of Delta state,” he said.
Further he said, “Fellow Deltans, as many of you can imagine, sifting through the long list of potential appointees, most of who are eminently qualified, can be quite exacting and draining and it took weeks of broad-based consultations, geo-political considerations, rigorous scrutiny and quiet contemplation to come up with this second and final list of commissioners.”
The governor added, “We may not have satisfied everybody to be honest, and I don’t think we can; but, I dare say the choices largely mirror the wishes and aspirations of a broad spectrum of leaders, relevant stakeholders and the populace in the various local government areas as we did our best to carry everybody along as has been our approach to governance since the first tenure of this administration.”
Governor Okowa, who congratulated the 17 Commissioners urged them “not to succumb to such negative emotions as complaining, grumbling and murmuring”.
He assured that his administration would strive to ensure that all who have laboured in the past and especially during the electioneering campaigns would be rewarded one way or the other
Responding on behalf of the commissioners, Fidelis Tilije thanked the governor for finding them fit to be part of his team to build a stronger Delta State,
He àssured that they would carry out their functions diligently to the benefits of Deltans and to the glory of God.
