Those aware of what government should be now know that pedigree, training, experience and probity are key elements in nomination to the position of secretary to government at federal and state levels. One has been worried about Imo State Government appointments before now.
That one whose tenure as vice chancellor of a university – a microcosm of government of sorts – was fraught with less than prudent conduct should become Secretary to State Government (SSG) in Imo State was disturbing. His tenure was disastrous with monumental distortions of records which traditionally should be sacrosanct. One can summarise the tenure of out-gone SSG as monumental betrayal of the public service.
This particular offering will ignore that dark period in Imo history and look forward to a more technical impersonal tenure from one who has appropriate exposure for the job. I now have hope anchored on his integrity that he will restore the sanctity of public records and set Imo on the right path to socio-economic recovery.
Governor Rochas Okorocha must be commended for knowing, for the first time, that there are positions that cannot be politicised. One such position is the secretary to government.
SSG is the pilot of the public service of Imo, in accordance with the extant constitution. He should be fully aware of all the roles of the various arms of the public service and, by training, exposure, and focus drive the public service towards positive goals in the interests of the electorate. Personal interests should be kept at bay at this level. The main driving force is how policy enunciated by government should be given effect in form and function for the fulfilment of socio-economic goals of government in power for the continuing fulfilment and happiness of the electorate.
SSG is a technocratic position; it is not a political position. It is an error of the Nigerian constitution that it has been an appointive position, I strongly argue, and am prepared for controversy.
For the first time since the return to civilian rule, Imo State Government has got its act right with the appointment of Sir Jude Ejiogu to that position. He has the elements for driving the vision of government with the armaments of governance without inflicting deleterious impact on the electorate. His training as a manager of men, his banking background and his spate in broad-based consultancy activities, garnished by chairmanship of sensitive boards in Imo government and his latest spell as Chief of Staff to Governor Rochas Okorocha compellingly qualify him for the position of Imo SSG. He is now in a position to give public service back-up to the vision of a governor who did not have it in his first term. One is glad that some dead woods which were locusts in his first term have been dropped. He has a chance to address development in appropriate idiom with right complement of staff if he is now to take counsel from technocrats.
We should now expect impeccable records free from manipulation from seekers of transient fortune who mutilated them at will in service of bandits and thieves of the common will whose vision for the electorate is jaundiced by their desire for wealth to indulge their earthy fancies.
Those who allied with the out-gone SSG should be flushed out of the system and made to face the full wrath of the law for treason, for they have encouraged the degradation of the common will of the electorate. One of the most unpardonable harms that could be done to any state is destruction of its heritage in records by which posterity may window into its past and make amends. For example, the records of the colonial government and its civil service rules were cast away by our military adventurists in order circumvent rules and loot the Nigerian state dry with impunity. Technocrats were removed with less than altruistic objectives. This singular treasonable act has led to the spiralling of corruption in public service and decline of productivity of the public service.
A breath of fresh air has been introduced in public service in Imo with the appointment of a technocrat. It is hoped that he will keep arbitrariness of government in check and guide development of Imo public service to use workable paradigms for maximum service delivery in a milieu of waste which it is inheriting. Nothing is beyond redemption given will of operators of the engine room of governance which the public service represents. Imo needs technocrats in all ministries, if she is to know relief from the past years of brigandage.
