Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma has appointed himself as the Commissioner for Land, Survey, and Physical Planning in the state.
The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Oguike Nwachukwu, confirmed this development on Tuesday.
Nwachukwu explained that Uzodinma’s self-appointment aims to cleanse the ministry of “criminal-minded fellows”.
He emphasized that these criminals have tarnished the government’s reputation and that the governor’s direct involvement will facilitate effective oversight and management of the ministry.
The secretary expressed confidence that most Imo residents would support the governor’s decision, as they trust his ability to safeguard their shared assets.
“The office of the governor will play supervisory role over the land ministry for now for the purpose of ridding the place of certain developments by some criminal-minded fellows which have portrayed the government in a bad light.
“I am certain most Imo people would love the governor to hold that position for as long as he remains in office because they trust his ability to protect their common patrimony,” Nwachukwu told TheCable.
Governor Uzodinma had previously appointed Enyinnaya Onuegbu as Commissioner for Lands, only to replace him later with Noble Atulegwu, the former Commissioner for Skills and Entrepreneurial Affairs.
However, Atulegwu was suspended by the governor from his commissioner role in November 2023.
KanyiDaily recalls that Governor Hope Uzodinma recently approved a bill on a new retirement age of 65 or 40 for teachers in the state employ.