By Anne Azuka
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State has issued a firm warning to members of the State Executive Council, emphasizing that performance, rather than tale bearing will determine their continued stay in office.
Speaking on Monday during the inauguration of eight newly built duplexes at the Commissioners’ Quarters in Asaba, the governor praised his commissioners for their loyalty and hard work, but stressed that under-performance would not be tolerated.
“I want to, once again, commend our commissioners for being loyal, dedicated, and hardworking.
“You know there are a lot of rumours saying the Governor wants to dissolve the Exco. These people haven’t even heard from me; this just shows that people like too much talk”, he said.
The Governor clarified that while there is no blanket dissolution plan, under-performing commissioners would be shown the door.
“If you are not performing, we will drop you, and that will not affect other people,” he said. “If you are performing, you will stay. Like now, two or three people are not performing. I told one of them today at the chapel, you are not doing well”, he added.
The governor emphasized the need for initiative and visibility from commissioners.
Governor Oborevwori, said. “As a commissioner, we don’t see you. You talk, carry your memo, and look for the Governor, because the Governor will not come looking for you. There are others who are seeking me out; you have to bring energy and initiative into your ministry.”
He affirmed his administration’s commitment to accountability by holding each commissioner directly accountable for their ministry’s progress.
He said, “If there is a problem in any ministry, hold the commissioner responsible. Any ministry that is doing very well shows that the commissioner is doing very well.
“We have a lot of projects to commission. I don’t think we will stop before the end of this year. We may not be able to commission all of them, but I believe we will do our best.
“We want to emulate Mr. President in what he did on Saturday during the commissioning. They articulated all the projects and decided to stay in one particular location to commission them.
“That is exactly what we will do in Warri on Wednesday. Since we have several projects to commission; we will articulate them, put them together, and stay in one place to cut the tape and commission all of them.
“But today, we are here to commission eight units of four-bedroom duplexes, each with two boys’ quarters attached. We decided to build these because, when we came in, we discovered that there were only 22 buildings here at the Commissioners’ Quarters, and the number of commissioners is more than 22.
“So, there was no way we could accommodate all of them, which led us to this decision. This is a demonstration of our commitment to the well-being of top government functionaries.”
The Dean of Commissioners and Commissioner for Finance, Chief Fidelis Tilije, thanked Governor Oborevwori for approving the construction of the new residential quarters and appealed for the renovation of the 22 old quarters.
The Commissioner for Housing, Hon. Godknows Angele, said the project consists of eight duplexes with attached two boys’ quarters and lounges, among others, and commended Governor Oborevwori for his support for completion of the projects.
