Pro-Wike ex-commissioners left no documents in ministries-Fubara

On Tuesday, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara stated that some commissioners who recently departed from his cabinet had left no documents in their respective ministries.

On Tuesday, the governor remarked while swearing in eight new commissioners who were confirmed by the state House of Assembly as loyal to him.

Nine commissioners loyal to Fubara’s replacement and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, resigned lately following the ongoing feud between the incumbent governor and his estranged political godfather.

Speaking shortly after the new commissioners were sworn in late Tuesday at the Executive Council Chambers of the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital, Fubara stated that after the former commissioners left, government officials began looking for records that they couldn’t find in their respective ministries.

He advised the eight new commissioners to establish a culture of keeping accurate records of their interactions in their respective ministries.

This was said in a statement released by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Nelson Chukwudi, and made available to journalists on Wednesday.

Fubara believed that such culture was necessary for the effective operation of any structured system, particularly the civil service, because it provided a useful history of events, decisions, and acts, as well as productivity indicators.

The eight new commissioners are Charles Bekee, Collins Onunwo, Solomon Eke, Dr. Peter Medee, Elloka Amadi, Basoene Benibo, Tambari Gbara, and Dr. Ovy Chukwuma.

The statement quoted the governor as saying, “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.

“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.”

Fubara urged the incoming commissioners to replicate his work style and pay attention to detail, emphasizing that this should be reflected in the documents they keep.

“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.

“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.”

The governor stated further, “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.”