The Governor of Cross River State in south-south Nigeria, Professor Ben Ayade has appointed 13 new commissioners and reshuffled the executive council barely five months to the expiration of his second tenure in office.
Governor Ayade, who performed the swearing-in ceremony at the executive council chamber of the governor’s office in Calabar, urged the new commissioners work assiduously to ensure that his administration finished strong.
In a brief remark before assigning the portfolios to the new commissioners and reassigning ministries to existing ones, Ayade urged the team to bring their wealth of experience to bear in the remaining four and half months.
“Your coming on board is not by accident. You have been carefully selected based on integrity and competence to bring your wealth of experiences to bear on our administration.
“I, therefore, charge you to work assiduously to ensure that we finish strong as an administration. Your jobs are all clearly cut out for you and I expect that you make our dear state proud,” the governor said.
Responding on behalf of the thirteen new commissioners, Dr. Janet Ekpenyong, the immediate past Director General of the Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, commended the governor for finding them worthy of the appointments and pledged to perform the required duties for the good of society.
Ekpenyong, who is replacing the former Commissioner for Health, Dr. Betta Edu, the National Woman Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC one year after her resignation, stated, “thank you for finding us worthy to join you in the crystallization of Cross River State; changing and transforming our state for the betterment of all the people. We will work in line with your vision and plan for our beloved Cross River.”
The portfolios
The new commissioners were appointed to fill vacancy occasioned by the resignations of some former appointees, who shunned the offer of the governor to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC as well as those that resigned to contest in the forthcoming election.
In that light, Nollywood maestro and former Commissioner for Tourism and Culture, Mr. Eric Anderson was appointed the Commissioner of Information and Orientation, two years after the resignation of PDP’s Asu Okang.
Others include Kano State’s Adamu Uba Musa as Commissioner, Ministry of Inter-governmental Affairs; while Mrs. Ekwele Agube would head the Ministry of Sustainable Development following the deployment of Mr. Oliver Orok to the Ministry Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Mr. Sunday Awara has been appointed Commissioner of Social Housing; Wogor Umari would serve as Commissioner for Homeland Security, a new ministry created by the governor; while Dr. Hippolytus Lupkata and Patrick Ebam would each head the Ministry of Water Resources and Special Duties.
Okama Inyang was made Commissioner for Infrastructure; Dr. Denet Nsing would head Ministry of Climate Change, Goddy Eta, who was formerly in the Education Ministry before his resignation alongside other PDP hardliners, accepted the appointment as Commissioner for Finance.
The new Ministry of Science and Technology has Mr. Arikpo Edet as Commissioner; Ekpenyong Iso is the now Commissioner for Tourism and Culture, while Dr. Gertrude Njar has been appointed the Commissioner for Women Affairs.
Confidence Okwuchi
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