By Abiola Olawale
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has sworn in eight new Commissioners into his cabinet.
The commissioners were screened and confirmed by the three-member State House of Assembly, led by Victor Oko-Jumbo, on Tuesday, May 21.
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony, which was held at the Executive Council Chamber of the Government in the late hours of Tuesday, Fubara charged the commissioners to cultivate the culture of keeping accurate records of their dealings in the various ministries.
According to the governor, keeping accurate records is essential for the effective functioning of any organised system, particularly the civil service, because they provide a useful history of events, decisions and actions, including indices of productivity.
Fubara accused the pro-Wike commissioners, who resigned recently, of ignoring the culture of proper documentation because “they had no record of activities in the ministries that they served.”
Fubara said: “I know what I am saying. Some of them left here as commissioners, and there are no records in their ministries. We’ve had a few meetings with people. We were looking for records, which we could not find. But that is for them and their gods, I am not bothered about that.
“But, you that are coming in now, please, do this work as seasoned administrators. Work with your Permanent Secretaries, the things that you don’t know, ask questions from them, they will tell you, they will teach you, too. It doesn’t reduce you as not being the head. But it helps you to succeed as a good administrator.”
Fubara enjoined the commissioners to emulate his work culture and pay attention to details, adding that it should reflect the records they keep.
The governor said discipline is central to his administration, a work culture he said he nurtured while growing through the ranks in the civil service, saying that it must be the hallmark of anybody who is associated with his government.
“Let me say this, this government is a government that is birthed by high-level discipline,” Fubara said.
“I don’t know about other people that are working with me, but as a person, from the time that I started working as a civil servant, from the time I worked in the Office of the Accountant General with my boss, we didn’t play with keeping good records.
“I can boldly stand here to say that whatever transpired, the records are there right from the time we worked from 2007 to date. They are there for anybody to go and see.
“Likewise what happened from the time of the immediate past administration. I carefully kept my records clean. The records are there.
“So, I want you to understand that, while I am sitting here to pilot the affairs of this state, the records I am keeping are even more excellent because I have a day-to-day report of what I am doing.”
The New Diplomat reports that last week, five commissioners loyal to former Governor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Chief Nyesom Wike, tendered their resignation letters.
Before then, the former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor, and former Commissioner for Finance, Isaac Kamalu, had resigned from their appointments.
