Politics

Abia governor, Otti, swears in 24 permanent secretaries [Full List]

Published

6 months ago

2023/11/07

Governor Alex Otti of Abia has sworn in 24 permanent secretaries with a charge to discharge their duties with competence and professionalism.

Speaking during the ceremony on Tuesday at the Government House, Umuahia, Otti said that the present administration was interested in working with people that would offer progressive contributions.

The governor said that under his watch, the government would always ensure that competence and character take precedence over place of origin or religion.

“In the new Abia, which we are progressively building, we are more interested in what you can bring to the table.

“You have not been chosen because you are perfect, therefore strive to constantly improve yourself, learn, relearn and unlearn,” he added.

Otti urged the newly sworn in permanent secretaries to strive to improve themselves in skills and knowledge in order to add value to the system.

He said that the government was determined to digitalise the operations of the state civil service operations and encouraged the new permanent secretaries to work with all critical stakeholders to make it a success.

“In the next 24 months, we shall fully migrate to digital platforms for processing and storing official data , retrieving and transferring them securely from place to place as may be needed.

“When the new system becomes fully operational, individuals and businesses would no longer need to travel to Umuahia or even any Local Government headquarters to submit files, process payments.

“They can make a complaint from the comfort of their home from any part of the world or at any time of the day,” Otti said.

He said that 320 persons applied for the post of permanent secretary, while 24 persons emerged successful for the job.

Otti said, “the only thing that matters to us is professionalism, a robust understanding of the place of civil service in driving government policies and programmes successfully.

“We may not have selected perfect individuals, but I am confident the choices we have made aligned strongly with vision of the new civil service we want to build in the state.”

He urged the permanent secretaries not to engage in any form of corruption and expressed hope that they would live up to their oath of office and allegiance.

Responding on behalf of the new Permanent Secretaries, Mrs. Ngozi Obioma, thanked Gov Otti for appointing them as his fist set of permanent secretaries.

Obioma assured him that they would work in line with the civil service reform agenda of the present administration and promised to justify the confidence reposed in them.

The newly sworn-in permanent secretaries include: