Anambra State Governor Peter Obi on Tuesday sacked all his commissioners but renominated them on Wednesday for screening by the House of Assembly.
The Secretray to the State Government, Mr. Paul Odenigbo, forwarded the list of the commissioner nominees to the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Anayo Nebe, a few hours after news that Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, had lost another of his wives, Njideka, was made public.
After the list’s presentation, Nebe referred the list to the House Committee on Screening and gave its members one week to complete the assignment.
The commissiner-nominees are Dr. Kay Onyechi, Mr. Dubem Obaze, Prof. Chinyere Okunna, Mr. Maja Ume, Emeka Nwankwu, Emma Chukwuma, Dr. Gabriel Egbebike, Dr. Ego Ezozie, Mrs. Chinwe Anowal, Prof. Amobi Ilika, Eze Echesi, Mr. Chima Okafor, Godwin Ezenagu and Peter Afuba.
Obi had also urged the Assembly to approve his request for the appointment of 10 special advisers.
Before the submission of the nominees’ list by the the Secretray to the State Government, Mr. Paul Odenigbo, rumours had it that any commissioner who failed to deliver his local government area during the February 6, 2010 governorship election would be dropped.
Some party leaders had frowned at the continued retention of most of the commissioners who failed to mobilise support for Obi’s reelection and had expected that the longest serving commissioners be dropped for loyal party members.
The Chairman, Anambra Elders Forum and former President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr Dozie Ikedife, had warned the governor against dropping some cabinet members.
Ikedife had said, “You see governance is not about vendetta war. There is no way he can drop all the members of his cabinet and appoint new ones entirely.
“What that means is that all his commissioners, advisers and assistants are failures, which is not possible. There must have been those that did well and those that performed averagely well. I do not see any failure in his cabinet.
“All I think he can do is to reshuffle some of them or what you call swapping of roles. He can then inject new blood into the system by appointing new commissioners and advisers into governance.
“So those who are talking of dropping everyone must have problems with some cabinet members and they feel that that is the only way to get at them and I see this as in bad taste.
“Everyone cannot be commissioner or adviser. Some can become consultants for government and other similar positions.”
In Nnewi, the family of Ojukwu announced the death of Mrs. Njideka Ojukwu, but did not say when she passed on in Onitsha “after a brief illness.”
Njideka, aged 77, was a a commissioner for special duties in the state.
A statement by the Ojukwu family said she would be buried on April 9 at her home, Umudim, Nnewi after funeral rites at Nawfia in Njikoka Local Government Area.
Ojukwu had in 2008 lost a wife, Stella Onyeador.
Source: Punch News
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