Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi has appointed Dr Hygenius Nwokwu as the new Secretary to State Government (SSG).
The appointment came less than six hours after Prof Bernard Odoh, the former SSG, resigned his appointment.
The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Umahi, Mr Emmanuel Uzo confirmed the appointment in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki on Tuesday.
He said: “Yes, Dr Hygenius Nwokwu has been appointed the new SSG and his appointment is with immediate effect.
“The Governor personally signed the appointment letter and the SSG has assumed duty immediately. “
Nwokwu has previously held appointments as Commissioner for Education, Commissioner for Rural Development and Commissioner in the Ebonyi Civil Service Commission.
He was until his present appointment, the Permanent Member in Ebonyi Secondary Education Board (SEB).
Odoh, appointed SSG in May 29, 2015 resigned his appointment in the late hours of Tuesday, April 2.
Odoh’s notice of resignation was contained in a three-page letter he wrote to Governor David Umahi dated April 2, 2018.
He gave several reasons for resigning, part of which was that despite his sincere effort in working to move the government and the state forward, Umahi never had trust nor confidence in him.
Odoh said that the way by which Umahi’s administration had remained in the last two years had not offered conducive atmosphere for all members of the state executive council and himself to sincerely air and express their views on sensitive policy matters.
“In my opinion, this is the highest level of hypocrisy and the values I live do not allow me to operate in such deceptive atmosphere where people live opposite of what or who they are.
“Having assured you on my inception of office and at several times that I owe you the responsibility to be truthful and honest always, I wish to inform you that all is not well in your administration sir.
“If you observe carefully, almost all your appointees are nearly completely disconnected from your policy direction as they lack genuine sense of purpose, dignity, clear sense of commitment to decision taken in Council because of low morale.
“Once more on behalf of my family, friends and those who worked closely with me for almost three years now, I want to most sincerely again say thank you very much for the rare opportunity you offered me to serve our dear state.
“My appointment as the Secretary to the State government is hereby resigned in good faith.
“I have handed over the status of cabinet office to the most senior staff in the office, Barrister Ogbonnaya Otta in line with the best practices of service,” the letter read in part.
