Wike Defends Decision To Dissolve Cabinet

The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has defended his decision to dissolve the State Executive Council, saying “there is nothing wrong with that”.
Wike spoke on the decision and other issues, including the ongoing nationwide strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) during an interview on Channels Television’s “Hard Copy”, last week.
“One problem Nigerians must always understand is that the tenure of your appointment is decided by the chief executive, the person, who appointed you,” Wike, who dissolved his cabinet on June 24, said.
According to him, only those whose tenures are fixed constitutionally can afford to believe otherwise.
Although the governor has nominated new commissioners-designate, he has yet to swear them into office, just he believes that the delay has not impeded governance in the state.
“It is not possible for me to do all by myself, you have permanent secretaries,” the governor said.
Asked if the permanent secretaries have become his cabinet, Wike said, “No. You see, the way it is, there are certain decisions that you have to call the permanent secretaries (for).
“Mind you too, there is the attorney-general there who is a member of the state executive council, you have the Secretary to the State Government who is a member of the council, you have the Head of Service who is a member of the executive council, you have the Chief of Staff who is a member of the executive council.
“So, it is not as if, totally, there is no executive council. Sometimes, you also invite some key ministries – the permanent secretaries – to be also involved.”
Having dissolved the council, the governor believed that he now has the opportunity to get things right and appoint the right people as commissioners, away from the pressures that come with being newly sworn into office.
He also did not rule out the return of some of the commissioners that he fired.
Wike said, “You know that sometimes when you come into government, there is a lot of pressure. As you are sworn in, there will be a lot of pressure; people under political circumstances, some people will say well, in terms of technocrats… There are pressures.
“So, you may have made mistakes that you intend to correct. And you look at developments and their performances; have they been able to meet up? Or you think that this person may not be fit for this particular ministry; ‘let me see whether I can send this person to the other ministry’. Dissolving them is not their offence. Some of them may come back. Some of them may not be in the particular ministry where they were before. That is the entire process.”
The governor had fired all commissioners a day after one of them resigned and two days after he had sacked another for non-performance.
But the governor dismissed the claims, saying, “There is nothing you do that people will not read meanings (into); even when you don’t wake up on time. People will read meaning and say, ‘why did he not wake up by this time’”.