By Festus Ahon

ASABA—DELTA State governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, assumed office yesterday with a prayer session at the Government House Chapel.

Okowa, who was accompanied by his wife, Edith, state Deputy Governor, Mr Kingsley Otuaro, political aides and associates, joined in the devotional session by staff of the Directorate of Government House.

Speaking at the brief service, the governor urged Deltans to continually pray for the success of the programmes and policies of their leaders, stressing that prayer was the key to success.

INAUGURATION: Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (left) subscribing to the relevant Oaths as Governor of Delta State presided over by the Chief Judge of Delta State, Hon. Justice Marshal Umukoro (right) during the inauguration ceremony in Asaba 

“Christians, especially Deltans, have a burden to pray every day for the success of the state. Delta State will go places by the grace of God. I want to assure you all that I will always join this devotional service every morning throughout my tenure,” he  said.

He called for the support and understanding of Deltans for the success of his administration.

In his exhortation, the Chaplain of the Chapel, Rev. Ben Golley, urged Dletans to shun negative criticisms, excessive and unnecessary praises, stressing that they need to pray for their leaders and support them for the growth of the state.

Okowa later inspected a guard of honour mounted by the Nigeria Police and was taken round  the various offices and halls in Government House by the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Benson Oburoh.

Meantime, Governor Okowa has suspended the ongoing recruitment exercise into the state civil service.

He said that the suspension was sequel to the flawed process which he said was fraught with sharp practices.

In a statement by the state Head of Service, Mr Patrick Origho, Governor Okowa, said: “It is public knowledge that the process was fraught with sharp practices, ranging from abuse of office to sale of job slots and therefore, cannot by any stretch of the imagination be adjudged as credible. No flawed process produces a credible exercise. This abysmal handling of the exercise culminated in the suspension of the chairman and members of the commission and the setting up of an administrative panel to review the recruitment process.”

He appealed to Deltans for support and understanding on the suspension of the exercise, assuring that action will be taken to study the report of the Administrative Panel at the appropriate time with a view to strengthening the Delta State Civil Service Commission and ensure transparent recruitment process.