Task Before New Rivers Exco

The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike on Wednesday, September 20, 2017, assigned portfolios to 19 recently sworn-in members of the State Executive Council. This brings to 20 the number of Commissioners in his new cabinet, having earlier re-appointed and sworn-in Mr. Emmanuel Aguma (SAN) as the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.
While addressing the new Commissioners, Wike charged them to render selfless service to Rivers people and establish regular links with their constituents; and also demanded 100 per cent loyalty, hardwork, diligence and total commitment from them.
“When you have the opportunity to serve the State, it is a rare privilege. Therefore, you have to be committed  to service. We are rebuilding the State because a lot went wrong during the immediate past administration of APC. You need to put in your best”, he said.
The Governor also made  it clear that his administration would not tolerate laxity on the part of the new Commissioners.
“Don’t see your appointment as your time to eat because there is nothing to eat. You are appointed to work. If you cannot meet up with the tempo of the administration, just withdraw,” he declared.
It would be recalled that Governor Wike dissolved his former State Executive Council on June 24, 2017, to rejig the machinery of government.
He emphasised that the dissolution was done in good faith, as there was no crack in government.
“When you are going into another dispensation, you have to put things in order”, he said.
While congratulating the new Commissioners on their well-deserved appointment, The Tide urges them to take the governor’s admonitions seriously and put in their very best in the discharge of their duties. Indeed, this is not the time to play politics but time for them to settle down for business, to actually assist the governor pilot the State to the promised land.
Thus, there should be no room for complacency on the part of the appointees, as they are expected to immediately hit the ground running, and key into the governor’s NEW Rivers Vision, which for close to 30 months now, has placed the State on a new pedestal of development on several fronts.
The infrastructural development drive of the present administration is second to none. This alone, has deservedly earned the Chief Executive the ‘Mr Projects’ sobriquet.
Having this at the back of their minds, the new crop of Commissioners can, therefore, not afford to fail the State because, as it is often said, to whom much is given, much is expected. By singling them out from the motley crowd of Rivers people, much is truly expected from them.
There is, therefore, the need for them to bring in fresh ideas into governance, that would ultimately improve the socio-economic wellbeing of the people, in the face of the excruciating economic realities in the country.
At no better time than now does Rivers State need men of vision and selfless disposition, as the state is in dire need for human and infrastructural development, to complement the good works already started by the present administration.
We are, indeed, consoled by the sheer fact that some of the Commissioners are returnees, who must have learnt their lessons from past experiences; and also that some of them are not just politicians but professionals and technocrats, whose wealth of experience would be brought to bear in the course of serving the people.
We recall that Governor Wike had in the past suspended or sacked some members of the State Executive Council, due to poor performance or lack of commitment to the job. Thus, the new Commissioners must see themselves as working for the entire State and not part of it; and therefore, must not rest on their oars in ensuring that their contributions are felt in the various parts of the State.
In all, the Commissioners must keep pace with the governor in his bid and desire to take the State to the next level of development, as the 2019 general elections approach. Their performance in office or lack of it will surely go a long way in determining the choice of the electorate in the 2019 polls.