By Peter Okutu

THE newly sworn-in Governor of Ebonyi state, Engr. Dave Umahi yesterday said his administration would create two more ministries to bring their number to 18. The new ministries include those of Religious/Welfare and Planning, Design, Evaluation and Strategy. Umahi spoke shortly after being sworn in as the third elected governor of the state at the Abakaliki Township Stadium.

Governor Dave Umahi waving to the crowd after taking oath of office at the Abakaliki Township stadium yesterday

The Oaths of Office were administered on the new deputy Governor, Dr Kelechi Igwe and Governor Umahi respectively by the state Chief Judge, Justice Alloy Nwankwo before a large crowd of cheering supporters. He said that his government would also create special Security Trust Fund to assist the state government provide adequate security for very high profile public and private properties in the state.

“Our administration, through an Act of the State House of Assembly, shall come up with a law to create security a Trust Fund which shall be maintained in the office of the Special Adviser on Security Matters.

“This fund will assist state government to provide adequate security to very high profile properties in the state, both public and private, through the use of electronic system, physical policing and other sophisticated measures. This will in turn reduce the cost of safe-guarding such properties and afford the owners 100% safety over them.

“Our administration shall have one control, evaluation and monitoring system under the office of a new Ministry of Planning, Design, Evaluation and Strategy. Under this system, all projects’ designs will be checked, costs rechecked and certificate of payments rechecked in line with work progress/quality and right pricing adopted.

“In the face of dwindling revenue and unprecedented high debt profile, we are challenged to bring forward creative and intelligent ways of running a very smart administration. If we fail to do so, we might fall short of our manifesto commitments.

“Uncompleted projects in the state are vast and spread across the entire landscape, each carrying liabilities in hundreds of millions if not in billions of Naira.

“The state is swimming in a large sea of debts especially unpaid certificates and accumulated unpaid salaries to our civil servants both at state and local government levels. We are stepping into governance with serious financial challenges and negative balance sheet.

“Our administration will continue to maintain the office of the Special Adviser on Internal Security. So far, we are lucky with the security agencies in our state. We will, however, through the Special Adviser on Internal Security, assist all the security agencies in the state.’’