Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara on Tuesday disclosed that some commissioners who recently resigned from his cabinet left without maintaining proper records in their ministries.
The announcement came during the swearing-in of eight new commissioners, all confirmed by the state House of Assembly and loyal to Governor Fubara.
This development follows the resignation of nine commissioners loyal to Fubara’s predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
The resignations occurred amidst an ongoing conflict between Fubara and Wike, his former political mentor.
During the swearing-in ceremony at the Executive Council Chambers of the Government House in Port Harcourt, Fubara expressed concern over the missing records.
He stated, “I know what I am saying. Some of them left here as commissioners, and there are no records in their ministries. We’ve had a few meetings with people. We were looking for records which we could not find, but that is for them and their gods, I am not bothered about that.”
Fubara emphasized the importance of record-keeping for the new commissioners, urging them to adopt a culture of maintaining accurate records in their respective ministries.
He said, “But, you that are coming in now, please, do this work as seasoned administrators. Work with your Permanent Secretaries. The things that you don’t know, ask questions from them, they’ll tell you, they will teach you too. It doesn’t reduce you as not being the head. But it helps you to succeed as a good administrator.”
The governor highlighted that effective record-keeping is crucial for the functioning of the civil service, as it provides a useful history of events, decisions, and actions, and is an indicator of productivity. He urged the new commissioners to emulate his work culture and attention to detail, noting, “Let me say this. This government is birthed by high-level discipline. I don’t know about other people who are working with me, but as a person, from the time that I started working as a civil servant, from the time I worked in the Office of the Accountant-General with my boss, we didn’t play with keeping good records.”
He reassured that his administration has maintained comprehensive records: “I can boldly stand here to say that whatever transpired, the records are there right from the time when we worked from 2007 to date. They are there for anybody to go and see. Likewise, what happened from the time of the immediate past administration, I carefully kept my records clean. The records are there.”
Fubara concluded by asserting his readiness to defend any actions or decisions taken by his administration, stating, “So, I am not bothered or afraid. Call me any day, call me anytime, I will stand and defend every action, every decision that we have taken.”
The eight new commissioners sworn in are Charles Bekee, Collins Onunwo, Solomon Eke, Dr. Peter Medee, Elloka Amadi, Basoene Benibo, Tambari Gbara, and Dr. Ovy Chukwuma.
