Obiano appoints special advisers, heads of Agencies

THE Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano has announced the appointment of some Special Advisers, as well as Heads of key Government Agencies in the State.

He announced the appointments at the opening session of the retreat for the state new Executive Council members in Awka.

Some of the appointees are Chief Chikodili Anarah, who returns as Special Adviser on Security Matters, Sir Emelie Onyejepu, Special Adviser on Budget Monitoring, and Chief Ifeatu Obi-Okoye, Special Adviser on Political Matters.

Others are, Mr Paul Nwosu, Special Adviser on Farm Implements, Mrs Vera Okonkwo, Special Adviser on Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, and Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim, Special Adviser on Indigenous Medicine and Herbal Practice.

The Governor also announced the appointment of Mrs Amaka Akudo as Special Adviser on Continuous Voters’ Registration, Mrs Pat Igwebuike, Special Adviser on Legal Matters, among others.

Governor Obiano further announced the appointment of Venerable Amaechi Okwuosa as Managing Director of Awka Capital Territory Development Authority, Mr Jide Ikeakor, new Managing Director of Investment Promotion and Protection Agency, ANSIPPA, while the Board of Internal Revenue will be headed by Mr David Nzekwu.

In another development, the State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, yesterday opened a strategic retreat for members of the new state Executive Council in Awka, the State Capital.

The two-day retreat packs some of the finest minds in economics, development planning, process management and public administration in the country and has been designed to set the tone for what promises to be a most legacy-laden tenure for Governor Obiano.

Resource persons to speak at the Retreat include World-renowned economist and former CBN Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, former Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Professor Osita Ogbu and celebrated financial analyst, Mr Bismark Rewane. Other speakers are Secretary to the State Government and former Head of the Finance Subject Group at Birmingham City Business School in the UK, Professor Solo Chukwulobelu, renowned business strategist and coordinator of the Anambra Economic Think Tank, Mr. Macauley Atasie, famous motivational speaker and Presidential aspirant, Mr. Fela Durotoye, CEO of Signal Alliance, Collins Onuegbu and the Head of Service of Anambra State, Barr Harry Udu.

The retreat is expected to familiarise members of the new Executive Council with Governor Obiano’s Economic Blueprint and other relevant targets of the administration that must be met to ensure that the
Governor leaves an enduring legacy in the next four years.

The retreat will also open a wide door for the members of the new cabinet to understand current global economic trends, the current economic condition of Nigeria and the place of Anambra State in the swirl of
national and global economic matrix. In addition, the retreat will review the implementation status of the governor’s economic blueprint in the past four years and set fresh paradigms for the new term.

It would be recalled that Governor Obiano kick-started his first term in office with a retreat for the Executive Council members during which an accurate prediction was made of the economic slide that has blighted the nation in the past few years.

One of the participants at the retreat, who is the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Hon Primus Odili said, upon his assumption of office, Governor Obiano has continued to draw heavily from his private sector background and deploy global best practices in the service of the state.