Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike on Thursday, inaugurated 50,000 Special Assistants to the Governor on Political Affairs for the Rivers West and Rivers South-East Senatorial Districts.
The 50,000 SAs are half of the 100,000 whose appointment the governor recently announced their appointments in a wave of sudden political appointments being carried out by the governor as part of his empowerment programme for the people of the state.
The governor who has been roundly criticised for his poor showing in job creation and human capital development recently announced that having made an appreciable mark with infrastructural development he would be turning his attention to “stomach infrastructure”.
The appointment and inauguration of the 50,000 Special Assistants are part of moves to actualise that promise with an earlier appointment of Ward and Constituency Liaison Officers.
Swearing in the appointees at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Ikwerre local government area Wike charged them that their main duty was to be the eyes and ears of the government at the various political units.
He said; “What is your duty? Your duty as Special Assistant to the Governor on Political Units is to the people where you come from. We have inaugurated Laiason Officers to the Governor at the constituencies, and we have inaugurated Liason Officers for the 319 wards of the state.
“Now your own is more important because it’s you that hears directly from the people, it’s you that knows the feelings of the people about us. It’s you that will come and tell us what the people are saying. Are we doing well or we are not doing well, what do they want, what are they lacking?
“It’s you that we want to hear from, from you it gets to the Ward Liason Officers, from the Ward Laiason Officers it gets to the Constituency Laiason Officers and then from there they move it to the office of the governor.”
Wike added; “So we will know whether actually, the people are happy with us. Where do they want us to go? We will hear from you, what are the things we are doing in terms of roads and the rest, you will tell us. The ones we have done are they happy with us?
“This is a political period, hear from the people. What are they saying, be able to advise the governor so that I know the decision to take? It is you that will determine what decision the governor of Rivers State will take at the end of the day.”
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