Governor Umo Eno has placed members of Akwa Ibom State’s Executive Council on notice: any commissioner who ignores the governor’s movement or skips protocol will be sacked on the spot.
During an impromptu visit to the Judiciary Village construction site in Uyo on Friday, Eno voiced irritation at what he called a growing habit of “disregard for official procedures” among his aides.
“That’s like four commissioners and I’ve not found them. Starting today, I (would) like everyone to hear, when they hear that I fired the commissioner in your local government, it is insubordination,” he said.
Lamenting that key officials often disappear after escorting him to events, Eno reminded the cabinet that accompanying and returning the governor safely is part of their core duty:
“It is wrong for the governor to go on an appointment if nobody else follows him. My commissioners, special advisers are members of my first 11, and I do not announce where I will go.
“It is mandatory for my commissioners to ensure that they take me back to the office or the lodge because, if I stop by anywhere, there can be issues that will be raised.”
He continued “A situation where we go to a place, I leave the place, commissioners take off to what I don’t know, this is a full-time job. So, if any commissioner is busy doing their thing, they are not yet ready to be commissioners.
“I was a commissioner myself; I never left my governor behind. Today is the last day I make this statement, and I’m doing it publicly.”
“Anytime I leave an event, I stop by anywhere, let the commissioner pray that I don’t look for that commissioner. If I look for that commissioner, the commissioner is not there, the commissioner will lose his or her job right there and then.”
