Hope Uzodinma, the governor of Imo State, has sworn-in two new commissioners, four members of the House of Assembly Service Commission and 27 sole administrators for the local government areas in the state.
During the swearing-in ceremony at the Sam Mbakwe Executive Chambers, Government House Owerri on Wednesday, he charged the new appointees to use their position to serve the people and drive the affairs of government.
The two commissioners who took their oath of office include: Eugene Ukachukwu Opara and Jerry Egemba, while members of the House of Assembly Service Commission are: Lambert Orisakwe (chairman), Emmanuel Orie, Israel Nnataraonye and Mike Nduleche.
In congratulating the commissioners, the governor said that he was optimistic they would add value to his administration and urged members of the House of Assembly Service Commission to work in synergy with the leadership of the Assembly to restore order within the system and as it concerns the personnel.
He told them to develop a guideline for the management as well as functions of the House of Assembly Service Commission and ensure the members work together with the management staff of the House of Assembly.
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He urged members to create a code of conduct that would direct the affairs and behaviours of the workers in the House of Assembly and admonished them against anti-government practices while in office.
He said though it is very expensive to activate all the institutions of government, “Imo is setting a pace for others to follow, and by doing so, encourages efficient and effective governance.”
For the 27 sole administrators, governor Uzodinma told them to go back to their local government areas and take over the affairs and ensure that the areas become functional again.
He regretted that the non-functionality of local governments is the reason people complain of high cost of living, poverty, and diseases in our communities.
“If the LGAs are working, the poverty level will reduce to the barest minimum and the level of crime and criminality in the communities and the society in general will come to naught”, he said.
He assured the sole administrators of his government’s readiness to partner and encourage them in the areas of vigilance services and security in their localities so that lives and property as well as investments of Imo people and visitors would be protected.
Emphasising the need for them to take their work seriously, the governor said: “The way you serve in office in one or two months is the same way you will serve the state if you become governor.”
He expressed dismay over the observation that various departments in the local governments such as finance, works, sports, social welfare and agriculture are no longer functional because the personnel do not work in synergy, while the leadership does not care.
Governor Uzodinma said the ineffective nature of the departments has culminated into the premises of the LGAs being overgrown by grass and the environment so dirty that rodents and other animals have found the secretariat as their abode.
He encouraged the sole administrators to escalate quality information on happenings in their localities to the state government for action, noting that, “the government is now more prepared than before to deal with the criminals.”
He also challenged the sole administrators from the oil producing areas to work towards stopping crude oil bunkering and theft as a crime against the state and the nation, insisting that “the activities of those thieves are against the national economy and the growth of the national wealth.”
Governor Uzodinma admonished all the appointees to understand the need for prudent management of the meager resources and the need to maximally harness all the resources for the benefit of the institutions they represent.
“It is no longer business as usual as the present government is a different one, our government believes in serving the people and giving what belongs to them”, he said.
