Following the recent appointments and swearing-in ceremonies performed by Senator Hope Uzodinma as, Governor of Imo State at the heat of the Coronavirus pandemic, a cross section of Imo people have continued to lament and express surprises over the unwieldy appointment of a total of 89 personal aides to the Governor without portfolios.
Aside the fact that the governor has not assigned portfolios to the political appointees, the government as recently revealed, has not documented and pay-rolled any of them. What this means is that, they may not at the end of this month earn any salary.
According to some of the appointees who spoke to this reporter on condition of anonymity, Governor Hope Uzodinma appears undisturbed over the situation. They also observed that there is no other better time to engage the appointees aside this season of global pandemic which is ravaging the entire world, maintaining that the governor should ensure a chain of command that will lift bulk of the responsibility from his shoulders.
While the fate of the appointees hang in the balance the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and others have taken full advantage of the situation to lash at the government, describing it as unprepared abinitio.
In a recent interview, the immediate past Special Adviser to ex-governor Emeka Ihedioha, Hon AIC Akwarandu said that this is the first time a governor is swearing-in government officials without assigning portfolios to them. “What is the governor afraid of?”, he queried.
Akwarandu had also described the three (3) “Rs” administration as “Push and Start” by observing that the Governor does not pay monthly salary to workers unless he is forced or persuaded to do so, and that issues bothering on pension, environmental sanitation and refuse disposal cannot be attended to by Hope Uzodinma.
There is also a report that the appointees have hardly met with Governor Uzodinma, let alone being assigned any responsibility towards addressing the yearnings of the electorate in their areas. Even the commissioners cannot access the commissioners quarters months after swearing-in ceremony.
