Only Competent Persons’ll Make New Cabinet –Amaechi At Pre-Inauguration Lecture

Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State says that members of the new Executive Council of the State would be picked from anywhere, provided such a person has the requisite capacity to deliver on assigned responsibility. 

Governor Amaechi, who gave the hint Saturday while speaking at the pre-Inauguration Lecture at the State House of Assembly Auditorium, Port Harcourt, said he would appoint anybody that has the capacity to perform in spite of the person’s political affiliations.

 “In the new dispensation, government will appoint anybody that has the capacity to deliver service, even if the person is in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), to enable us move the state forward,” Governor Amaechi stated. 

The governor, who said that the work ahead is enormous and does not require wasting of time, noted that the new Exco will be constituted soon, to ensure that the vision of the present administration is achieved before the end of the new tenure.

 He condemned those lobbying for positions in the new cabinet, with the intention to enrich themselves, urging them to forget it, because the present government has zero tolerance for corruption, and will not condone any act of mismanagement of government funds. 

Governor Amaechi underscored the need to deal seriously with the issue of economic hardship, stressing that democracy should provide punishment for those seeking political power, as a way to check corrupt tendencies.

 He said government has no business going into business, noting that rather than patronise politicians as Directors and Managers of state owned companies, his administration has decided to allow private investors run such firms with the state retaining a small percentage of the shares. 

The governor disclosed that SUPABOD has been sold to a private investor, who will bring his money and invest, and manage it for 30 years, while efforts are also being made to privatise some other companies owned by the state government to avoid mismanagement, adding that the PABOD Brewery which was dead, has been revived through a private foreign investor.

 Responding to some of the papers presented, Governor Amaechi agreed with the lecturers that the issue of security goes beyond the physical policing to providing a productive economy that would engage people meaningfully.

 He used the opportunity to explain the policy thrust of his new administration, which according to him, would consolidate on the socialist programmes of his government in the areas of health and education. 

He explained the rationale behind the state government’s plan to borrow N100 billion from the bond market to pay contractors so as to ensure early completion of on-going projects, rather than tie the jobs down through piece meal payment with available funds. 

According to him, “every money borrowed is tied to specific projects because no money is borrowed for workers’ salary or for general administration of the state, therefore, the loan does not mean that the state has no money.”

 In his paper, titled “Democracy and Good Governance: The Rivers State Experience”, the keynote speaker Prof. Willie Okowa, said Rivers State has witnessed good governance through the visionary leadership of Governor Amaechi, noting that his performance in the first tenure was responsible for his overwhelming victory at the recently concluded polls.

 Professor Okowa therefore urged him not to rest on his oars, but continue to show exemplary leadership that would earn him the status of a statesman, rather than a mere politician. 

Other speakers at the lecture include Prof. Ben Nanen, Dr Fidelis Allen, Dr Iwarimie Jaja, and Prof. T.J. Agiobenebo, while the occasion was chaired by Justice Adolphus Karibi Whyte (retd). 

By Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt