Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir has justified that it the policy of his Administration to occasionally reshuffle the State Cabinet to reinvigorate and reposition the machinery of the State Government for effective and efficient policy formulation and implementation.
The Governor was speaking on Wednesday on the occasion of the swearing in of Eight Commissioners held at the Executive Council Chambers of the Governor’s Office.
Bala Mohammed stated that, “It is against the backdrop of this policy thrust that Five Commissioners were recently dropped and Eight new ones appointed. Five out of the Eight newly appointed Commissioners whose swearing in you have just witnessed would replace the dropped Commissioners.”
“Two of the new Commissioners would replace the erstwhile Commissioner for Budget, Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination, Alhaji Aminu Hammayo who has been appointed as Secretary to the State Government and the late Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu Jalam who was until his death the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
“The remaining one new Commissioner would take charge of the newly created Ministry of Livestock Development.”
Speaking further, he stated that, “I would like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Five Commissioners that have been dropped from the Cabinet for their immense contributions to the development of the State.
“We, however, still consider some of them worthy of making further contributions to the State and have, to that end, appointed them as Special Advisers.
“I wish them and those that have left the Goverment success in the tasks before them and in their future endeavors.”
“While I congratulate the newly appointed Commissioners on their well-deserved appointments, I would like to draw their attention to the fact that in selecting them for the appointment, their qualifications, track record of service in various field and fairness in representation in line with State character were taken into consideration.”
The Governor added that, “It is my hope that they would justify the confidence reposed in them. Indeed, they should see their appointment as a challenge as well as an opportunity for them to prove their worth in the service of their State.
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“I urge them to acquaint themselves with the policy thrust of the Government so as to be properly guided for efficient and effective discharge of their duties as Commissioners and members of the State Executive Council.”
“I wish to note that the task before us is enormous. We have set before us a clear course of action by defining our priorities, drawing up relevant policies and programs and setting up plans to achieve our broader goals.”
“To ensure success in our delivery, we periodically undertake an introspection through the review and self-assessment of our performances.
I therefore wish to admonish every member of our team to work hard as the review exercise will become more frequent and members will personally be held responsible for any shortcomings in delivery within their MDAs.”
“We will not hesitate to further re-jig the composition of our government where the need arises. Our ultimate goal is to meet the vision we have set towards the development of our dear state.”
“Ours is a Government that has as its priority the socio-economic wellbeing of the people of the State. As Commissioners you should work hard towards the realization of this noble objective.
“You should make judicious use of government resources at you disposal and resist temptation to divert public funds to your personal use.
“As Commissioners and Chief Executives of your Ministries, you should make accountability and transparency your guiding principle in the discharge of your duties.”
He reminded the new appointees that the assignment given to them is a trust stating,”You have a duty to God Almighty and obligation to your fellow human beings.
“One day you will account for your stewardship, if not in this world surely in the hereafter. You should not therefore be tempted to abuse the trust bestowed on you. You are to serve the people and not to be their masters.”
“I would also like to urge the new Commissioners to work harmoniously with their Permanent Secretaries and other management staff of their Ministries towards effective and efficient implementation of policies and programmes of the government.
“Your performances will be closely monitored to make sure that you live up to the responsibilities of your various Ministries,” he added.
“I will not hesitate to sanction any one of you found wanting in the discharge of his duties. You should also be mindful of the fact that members of the public will be keenly watching your official and private conduct.
You should therefore shun acts that are capable of bringing the Government into disrepute.”
The Governor concluded by reiterating the unwavering commitment of the Administration to continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to the good people of Bauchi State.
He stated that, “We shall remain focused in our determination to re-brand Bauchi State and take it to the greater height.”
The new Commissioners and their postings are as follows:- Alh. Usman Usman Shehu – Ministry of Information & Communication; Dr. Iliyasu Aliyu Gital – Ministry of Agriculture; Dr. Bala Musa Lukshi – Ministry of Livestock Development and Hon. Isa Babayo Tilde – Ministry of Local Government & Chieftaincy Affairs.
The rest are: Prof. Titus Saul Ketkukah – Ministry of Works and Transport; Alh. Adamu Babayo Gabarin – Ministry of Youth and Sports: Alh. Abdullahi Mohammed – Ministry of Lands and Survey and Dr. Lawal Mohammed Rimin Zayam – Ministry of Education
Additionally, the Governor stated that some Commissioners have been redeployed including: Amina Muhammad Katagum – from Ministry of Lands and Survey will take charge of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning; Ibrahim Gambo Galadima – from Ministry of Works and Transport will move to the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs; Muhammed Salees Gamawa moves to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment from the Ministry of Youth and Sports while Engr. Binni Abdulkadir – from Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment takes over in the Ministry for Religious Affairs and Societal Re-orientation.
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE