Governor Godswill Akapbio administering oath of office to the newly appointed Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government, Engr. Nkereuwem Ekanem at the Exco chambers of Governor’s office, Uyo.
A new Secretary to Akwa Ibom Government has been sworn in with a charge on him to come on board with zeal, commitment, determination and love to render service and further the gains of uncommon transformation in the state.
He is Engr. Nkereuwem James Ekanem, immediate past Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works, Uyo. He replaces Mr. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel who resigned his appointment last month to contest for the governorship position under the platform of PDP in the State.
Engr. Ekanem, who is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, a registered engineer with COREN and a holder of M.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Loughborough University of Technology, United Kingdom, hails from Ikot Okpoudo in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
Governor Godswill Akpabio who performed the swearing-in ceremony Wednesday at Governor’s Office, Uyo further urged Engr. Ekanem to bring a strong set of skills, great wealth of experience and a good heart to the job of Secretary to the State Government.
The Governor remarked “He should, however, be reminded that he is joining this administration at the twilight of our transformational journey. I urge you to learn techniques, imbibe our agenda speedily and lend yourself to the demands of your office for the benefit of the State.
“Be further informed that this office, like the Office of the Governor, demands high sacrifice for the good of the people. It is an office,
which has no local government area, because you are here to serve every Akwa Ibom person and every Akwa Ibom hamlet without bias or prejudice. It is an office, which must reflect in character and content the lofty dreams of this administration about every Akwa Ibom person.
He enjoined Akwa Ibom people to pray for Engr. Ekanem, saying that “Your prayers for this administration brought us to this enviable position we are today as a State, and your prayers today will take us to where we will be in future. We crave for more your prayers particularly in this final lap of our transformational experience”.
According to him “It is to a common part of the world’s popular wisdom that you do not change a winning team. But in life, there are force-majeure situations in which case circumstances beyond your control force changes in the winning team.
“We found ourselves in such a situation with the resignation of the erstwhile Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel. Today we have come to strengthen the team and sustain its winning streak with the addition of Engr. Nkereuwem Ekanem as the new Secretary to the State Government”, he maintained.
Akpabio stated “Therefore, as we swear-in this gentleman, Engr. Nkereuwem Ekanem today as the new Secretary to the State Government, let us thank the immediate past Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel, who resigned his appointment to pursue his aspiration of serving his fatherland in a higher capacity.
“The Government and the good people of Akwa Ibom State acknowledge with gratitude the dedication, passion and commitment of Mr. Udom Emmanuel in the service of Akwa Ibom State. We salute his humility, passion and commitment to serve his fatherland. When we beckoned on him to come and lend his wealth of experience to building our State, he left his lucrative career in the financial sector and responded to that clarion call.
“He distinguished himself as an asset of inestimable value, served the State passionately and displayed rare competence in the discharge of his duties. The Government and the good people of our dear State appreciate him for his contributions to the Uncommon Transformation of the State and we collectively wish him success in his future endeavours.
“The Uncommon Transformation of our State is gathering greater momentum daily. There is great need, therefore to sustain the speed, and end our transformational journey on a laudable crescendo. To achieve this objective, we have, after a diligent search found in a technocrat who has paid his dues in the service of our fatherland, Engr. Nkereuwem Ekanem, a perfect fit for the office of Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government”, the Governor added.