BY CHUKS COLLINS, AWKA
ANAMBRA State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has disengaged all political appointees in his administration and directed them to hand over to the permanent secretaries or most senior civil servants in their respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The decision followed Soludo’s second-term inauguration, attended by Vice President Kashim Shettima; former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Jonathan Jonathan; former governor of the state, Chris Ngige; Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe; Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi; as well as indigenous businessmen- Arthur Eze, Emeka Offor, Cletus Ibeto and Ernest Azudialo Obiejesi- among others.
According to a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Nwabufo Nwankwo, the affected appointees were to expected to have completed the handover on Wednesday, March 18, to relevant officials, who will oversee affairs, pending the constitution of a new cabinet.
The circular invited all first-term cabinet members to a meeting with the governor on Monday, March 23, by 10a.m. at the ANSEC Chambers of the Light House, Awka.
Soludo, in an address during his second inauguration on Tuesday, March 17, at the newly renovated Alex Ekwueme Square in Akwa, promised to do more for the people, listing his achievements in different sectors, including security, in the last four years.
He stated: “The debilitating one-sit-at-home is over, and our schools, markets, businesses and public servants are back to work. Ndi Anambra says that ours is now the safest, or at least one of the safest states in Nigeria.”
The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who was declared winner of the November 8, last year, governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said his dream of making Anambra State the African Dubai Taiwan Silicon Valley remained very much on course, noting that under his watch, Anambra was back to winning ways.
He thanked the people of the state for giving him an overwhelming victory at the poll, assuring Ndi-Anambra that he would continue to make democratic dividends available to them.
Soludo stressed the need to put an end to agitations that held the Southeast hostage in the past few years.
Shettima, in his remarks, stressed the need for strategic partnership between the state and federal governments.
While commending Soludo on his achievements in the last four years, underscored the need for states to key into the developmental strides of the federal government.
