Victor Ezeja
Anambra State governor-elect, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has stated that the transition committee needs experts who can bring great value to the work of ensuring smooth handover to the incoming administration and ensure robust transformation of the Southeast
Prof. Soludo stated this in his opening remark during the inauguration of an 80-man transition committee which was held at Golden Tulip Hotel Agulu Lake in Anaocha Local Government Area on Thursday.
The governor-elect who was speaking against the permutations that the number of the transition committee is large, explained that the level of task to be accomplished demands that more people with capacity to render great help should be engaged.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe committee which is headed by ex-World Bank Executive and former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili has members from both within and outside the state. Some of them include Prof. Pat Utomi, Prof. Benedict Oramah, Osita Chidoka, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, Dr Alex Otti, Prof. Osita Ogbu, Mr Ferdinand Agu, among many others.
Soludo said the goal of the transition committee is to help in achieving a seamless transition.
“The global objective of the transition committee is to help the government and governor-elect to achieve a seamless transition and we are ready to hit the ground running from day one.”
He restated his commitment to the transformation of the state, promising to deliver on his campaign promises of impactful leadership.
Soludo listed three major tasks of the committee, which include, one: “to ascertain, certify the state of affairs, the short to medium term deliverables of the vision 2070. (Two) To propose actionable agenda for the next administration, three to assist with a talent hunt to populate the Anambra change data bank.”
To achieve the third goal, the former CBN governor said, his team will advertise for expression of interest where by they would “call on all problem solvers with integrity, competence and passion to indicate which problem or problems they can solve for Ndi Anambra, whether in full time, part-time or pro bono services. Together with the talent hunt from the committee, we will then have a robust pool to ensure we continuously fit round pegs in round holes.”
The governor-elect further called for input of everyone to the incoming government in order to deliver effective services to the people.
“We envision an Anambra that will be the preferred destination in West Africa to live, learn, work, relax and enjoy, and we will welcome any and every contribution to make this work. Of course, Anambra is a state in the South East and is not an island unto itself, so we will seek the cooperation and collaboration of other states, especially South-East and South-South states, this will be critical for creating this prosperous homeland,” Soludo stated, adding that it is a collective dream and assignment of all.
He expressed his gratitude to members of the committee for accepting to serve despite their political leanings, adding that he would love to use report of the committee as a template to operate from the very beginning of his administration.
On her part, Dr. Ezekwesili thanked Soludo for the honour of making her head of the transition committee and urged the members to be fully committed to the lofty task of positive transformation of the state.
She also itemized the agenda and terms of reference of the committee, stressing the need for hard work to actualize the dreams of the governor-elect to build a prosperous smart megacity in the state.
According to a manual made available to Prime Business Africa, specifying the schedule of activities, the work of the committee is divided into nine themes, with each having responsibilities to accomplish in the transition process. Members of the committee are assigned to different themes which touches on different areas of governance structures.
According to the timeline of activities, the committee after inauguration which ends on Saturday January 22 ( today), is expected to complete their work and submit transition report to the governor-elect on March 7, ahead of the March 17, 2022 swearing-in ceremony.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
