Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has admonished his newly-appointed Special Advisers to align themselves with the highest standard of governance enunciated by the present administration in Abia State.

Otti spoke Tuesday at the administration of the Oath of Office and Allegiance on Mr. Ugochukwu Okoroafor, Special Adviser, Monitoring and Evaluation and Hon. Iheanacho Obioma, Special Adviser, Political Affairs, at the Banquet Hall of the Government House in Umuahia.

The ceremony was performed by the Solicitor General of the State, Lady Uzoamaka Ikonne and attended by other senior functionaries of the State, including the Deputy Governor, Engr Ikechukwu Emetu; Secretary to the State Government, Prof Kenneth Kalu; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. Caleb Ajagba; Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ikechukwu Uwanna, Acting Head of Service, Lady Joy Maduka, among others.

The Governor told the appointees to remain faithful to their Oath of Office and not allow pride get in their way.

A press release dated July 25, 2023 and signed by Kazie Uko, the Chief Press Secretary to Abia State Governor, quoted Governor Otti as admonishing the new aides thus: “You have not been appointed to seek self glory. So, you must be willing to listen to the viewpoints of others and be receptive to superior logic, consistently refuse to let self pride get in the way of rational thinking.

“You must remain faithful to your oath and do not forget that the eyes of the entire nation will be on all of us. How we perform and the quality of our output will have a major bearing on the country’s political direction,” Dr. Otti counselled the newly-inaugurated senior aides.

Three of the newly-appointed advisers were billed for swearing in, but Chief Nwaka Inem, Special Adviser on Trade, Commerce and Industry, was unavoidably absent.

Governor Otti advised the new appointees to bring their wealth of experience to bear on their assignment and to serve the State with honesty and sincerity.

He urged them to drive the agenda of the administration, which focuses on poverty alleviation, access to education, good road infrastructure among others, adding that they should work to ensure that his campaign promises were fulfilled.

Responding on behalf of his colleague, the Special Adviser, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Okoroafor said that they knew what the Governor had gone through in his quest to serve Abia and pledged to work with him and all other appointees to achieve his goal of taking Abia from darkness to light and lifting the people from poverty.

Photo: Abia State Governor Alex Otti flanked on his left by Deputy Governor Emetu; Mr Okoroafor and Hon Obioma (on his right)