Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has said that the development of the state was paramount in his mind.
He stated that his administration will not fight the “old guards to settle old scores”, adding that “where there is no peace, the people will not make meaningful progress.
Ugwuanyi said this on Thursday night shortly after he announced his first set of appointments since assuming office.
The governor also said that he had reached out to eminent indigenes of the state, including past leaders and opinion leaders, to join hands with him to move the state forward.
“As we are reconstituting, we cannot ignore the experiences of formers leaders of our state.”
Ugwuanyi said that since assumption of office on May 29, his administration had introduced a couple of new things that would strengthen governance and block financial leakages.
He said that some of the unscheduled visits he made in the first and second weeks of his administration to selected local government areas and public schools had impacted positively on the state’s workforce.
He said that the apathy that characterised performance of official duties in the various sectors had waned as workers no longer took their duties for granted.
“We wanted to check the actual number of workers in each local government area and since our visits, attendance to work has improved.”
The governor added that his visits had made him aware of the suffering of residents of the state.
“We were touched by the plight of the people at the various places we visited, particularly the public schools and hospitals.
“The government is willing to make life meaningful for our people but our bane is dearth of funds. We have tried the much we could to alleviate the sufferings of the people we met.”
He said that the government made a donation of 10 modern braille machines to blind students at Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Enugu.
Ugwuanyi said that his administration had also resuscitated the Enugu Marketing Company in order to maximise the benefits of the proposed free trade zone in the state.
It could be recalled that Governor Ugwuanyi on Thursday made key appointments into his administration with former the permanent secretary to the office of the Governor, Mr Gabriel Ajah as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG).
The Governor equally appointed the South East Bureau Chief of the New Telegraph Newspaper, Mr. Uwakwe Abugu as his Chief Press Secretary and the former Special Assistant to the immediate past Governor on Party matters, Mr. Louis Amoke as his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity.
Ugwuanyi also announced the appointment of Mr. Sylvanus Onoyima, a former Head of Service and the immediate past Special Adviser to the former Governor on SERVICOM as his Special Adviser on Due Process.
He also directed all Heads and Chief Executives of Government Companies, Parastatals, Boards, Corporations, Commissions and Agencies to submit their operational status and financial reports of their activities from 2011 to date on Friday (yesterday), to pave way for the appointment of new ones.
The Governor also revealed that the lists of his would-be Commissioners, Special Advisers and other immediate appointments are ready and awaiting confirmation of the State House of Assembly.
Ugwuanyi who expressed confidence in the ability of his new team to drive the policy thrust of his administration, also congratulated Senator Ike Ekweremadu on his re-election as the Deputy President of the Senate.
He noted that Ekweremadu’s emergence was an added advantage to the stability of the National Assembly and the advancement of our nation’s democratic process.
The Governor also disclosed his readiness to run an all-inclusive government by accommodating all former Governors of the State and other leaders through the reconstitution of the Elders’ Council, stressing that “the era of politics is over”.
On his key appointments, he noted that the choice of Mr. Ajah as the Secretary to the State Government was borne out of his long standing experience in public service as permanent secretary since 2001 till date, adding that such experienced personnel is what his administration needed at the moment to drive its process.
