The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, on Wednesday sworn-in 11 commissioners and two Special Advisers as members of the State Executive Council with a charge to serve the citizenry in their respective portfolios and deliver on the expectations of the people.
Similarly, Obaseki sworn-in Justice Joe Acha as the eighth substantive Chief Judge of Edo State stressing the need for collaboration among the three arms of government to engender good governance.
Speaking during the swearing-in ceremony at the Government House in Benin City, the governor, while assigning offices to the new appointees, told them to uphold accountability, noting that an organizational performance scorecard has been developed for each ministry in order to maintain a high-performance culture.
“The scorecard will be deployed in tracking key performance targets and deliverables of each ministry and reports will be demanded on a quarterly basis. A formal assessment of performance targets and results achieved by each ministry shall be conducted. These shall form the basis of further review and linkages to other key human resource processes.
“Timely response to the needs and requests from our people must become rooted in our DNA. We must demonstrate and demand ‘value for money, a commercial mindset not previously associated with the Public Service,” Obaseki said.
Read also: Sigh of relief in Edo, but pessimism lingers over Obaseki’s slow pace after re-election
He urged the new members of the State Executive Council to embrace the six pillars of the Making Edo Great Again (MEGA) agenda and ensure it constitutes a rallying platform that shall generate an irreversible momentum that will industrialize, transform and build the capacity required to take advantage of the state natural endowments.
The governor, however, lamented the dwindling revenue base which according to him was caused mainly by a drop in Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), adding that the COVID-19 pandemic remains a major threat to the health and wellbeing of the Edo people
“These are no ordinary times. We are today living in a world that has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of the pandemic has been devastating across world economies, with adverse effects on healthcare systems. These have been worsened by insecurity, which has risen with civil strifes of different kinds, causing a failure of national and international institutions in a manner that was never anticipated,” he added.
The commissioners and their portfolios include Joseph Eboigbe, Commissioner for Finance; Obehi Akoria, Health; Otse Momoh-Omorogbe, Budget and planning; Joan Osa Oviawe, Education; Isoken Omo, Physical planning and urban development.
Others are Moses Agbukor, Water resources; Ethan Uzamere, Mining, Gas and Oil; Maria Edeko, Social development and gender; Monday Osaigbovo, Local Government; Andrew Emwanta, Communication and orientation, while Oluwole Iyamu is Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.
The two Special Advisers are Crusoe Osagie, who was appointed as Special Adviser, Media Projects and Sarah Esangbedo Ajose-Adeogun, appointed as Special Adviser, Strategy, Policy, Projects and Performance Management.
