By Onwa Ekor, Calabar
In a bid to accelerate the policies and programs of his administration while ensuring that the welfare of all citizens are taken into consideration, the Cross River governor, Prince Bassey Otu, has formally inaugurated Executive bodies of some Commissions in the state.
Otu also swore in the newly appointed chairman of the State Traditional Rulers Council who doubles as the Paramount Ruler of Abi, HRM Edward Osim.
Speaking at the event which took place at the Metropolitan Hotel in Calabar, the governor remarked that the essence was to offer desired services to the state and its people.
According to him, “the inauguration remains an acceleration of the growth and development of the state and the full standard of living with the people, in line with the season of sweetness and of course, the People First Agenda.”
Giving charge to the newly sworn in Chairman of the state Traditional Rulers Council, the governor enjoined the institution to always discharge diligently and truthfully the roles associated with custodians of customs and traditions, warning that, “any royal father who displays questionable character would loose his office.”
To the Civil Service Commission, Otu enjoined the team to put in mechanism that would check every aspect of corruption, adding that “the civil service of any government is actually the engine room, hence we desire to see a new devoted Civil Service that would allign with the People First Agenda.”
For the House of Assembly Service Commission, the governor remarked that the responsibility of improving the working conditions of staff of the Assembly, rest on their shoulders.
Others, including Audit Service Commission and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), the governor enjoined them to be proactive, display due diligence while exhibiting the highest level of ethical standards, cautioning that he would not fail to “prosecute any staff whose conduct is at variance with the state standards.”
Otu who said the appointments of those sworn in were based on performance, trajectory and experience, directed the new SUBEB team to “ensure that skills acquisition are pursued seriously while emphasis should be placed on the need for Cross River to rank among the first five states in the country before the end of my administration,” adding that “we are also looking at the restructuring and remodeling of 1000 schools across the state.”
