The appointees taking the oath of office before Gov. Sule

Nkrumah Bankong -Obi /Karu

The governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule has warned officials appointed into his cabinet to shun all forms of corruption in the discharge of their duties. He gave the charge while swearing-in the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, some permanent secretaries and members of the Judicial service Commission at the Government House, Lafia on Tuesday. Speaking before administering the oath of office on the appointees, he urged them to settle down to their responsibilities quickly and contribute to the development of the State.

The governor who has just begun his second term in office implored the SSG and others to deploy innovative skills towards service delivery and help the government to achieve its developmental set goals. He took time to rationale for some of the decisions taken in recent weeks, including the reappointment of Muhammadu Ubandoma Aliyu and the crisis rocking the State House of Assembly. Governor Sule said the Aliyu was retained for his performance in the first term and the quality of work that he did: “We did it in order to provide the link and to serve as a bridge for continuity in policy implementation and programmes execution, having been part of the administration in the beginning. Barrister Muhammad Ubandoma Aliyu while occupying this very important office during our first tenure proved his administrative acumen in the discharge of his duties and as a result-oriented personality in the governance of Nasarawa State.” He also noted that the appointment of the permanent secretaries followed vacancies left by the retirement of the previous holders of the offices and the need to reposition the civil service for greater performance.

Secretary to the State Government, Ubandoma Aliyu

On the split of the State House of Assembly, Sule called for calm, hinting that both political and judicial solutions will be found to resolve the impasse. “it is normal to have this kind of misunderstanding, if you have a group of people that will not intend to listen to their Party or listen to the elders. It is not out of place,” he said adding that “We will continue to be calmand we will take it one day at a time. As matter of fact,the speaker that we recognized has already called for recess. During this recess, the Nasarawa State Government has decided to lockdown the State House of Assembly until we resolve this matter.”

He said his government is taking steps, some in collaboration with the federal government to provide palliatives to cushion the effects of the reality of removal of subsidy from petrol. “Some of the things we are trying to do will include some level of reduced transport fair from the buses that we have ordered. We are also looking at increasing the number of people benefitting from the poverty reduction initiative which we have already started, the AA Sule Money, while also looking at various areas we can support the civil servants” he said.

While congratulating the Godswill Akpabio and Tajudeen Abass on emerging as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sule appreciated the senators and the Representatives for their support to President Bola Tinubu-led Federal government.

Responding on behalf of the appointees, Aliyu promised to do more towards ensuring the success of the administration. “We shall continue to give you the maximum support desired and to continue to bring our wealth of experience in governance of the State, taking into accountyour principle of transparency, accountability and prudent management of government resources,” he assured.

Present at the occasion was the Deputy Governor, Emmanuel Akabe, factional Speaker of the House of Assembly, Ibrahim Balarabe, senior government functionaries, representatives of traditional institution, among others.