By Stephen Adeleye

The new Kogi State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology (MOEST), Hon. Wemi Jones, on Thursday assumed office and promised more rapid innovatve and creative transformation in the sector.

Jones, a former banker and a Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2019 House of Representative election for Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency, was among the 17 new commissioners sworn-in, by His Excellency, Gov. Yahaya Bello, on Wednesday at Government House.

Jones expressed his gratitude to the governor for finding him worthy to be made commissioner in the ministry that was as important as education, science and technology, stressing that education remained the bedrock of any sustainable development.

He noted that he had gone round all the departments in the ministry and also had brief meeting with the management and staff, noting that he could see plenty of potentials which only need to be tapped through capacity building.

He reiterated that nobody would fix the state for them except the people themselves, stressing the need to leave a good legacy behind which the unborn generations would be proud of.

”By the grace of God, we are going to bring in innovative and creative ideas that will make Kogi MOEST the best among other ministries in the state and in Nigeria.

”It is going to be a big task but I believe we have the personnel and the human resources to do that; capacity building is what we are going to focus on to optimise the staff potentials,” Jones said.

He said he was impressed with the kind of equipment and tools he met on ground at the department of Adult and Non Formal Education (ANFE), saying the ministry would be building on that by partnering with more donor agencies both nationally and internationally.

While soliciting for the full support and cooperation of the management and staff, he advised them to be punctual, warning that he would not condone any act of indiscipline from any staff.

”We are here for serious business and we cannot afford to do government work as if it is nobody’s business; it our business, it is our state and we cannot allow it to fail,” he restated.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr Eric Aina, on behalf of the staff and management of the ministry, expressed happiness to receive the new commissioner, assuring him of their total support.

He noted that he had made it known to the new commissioner that he was coming to inherit and efficient and hardworking staff and a crop of diligent officers who were prepared to willingly accept official responsibility with the least supervision to deliver.

He promised to give his full support to the present administration in Kogi State to succeed, saying, ”Kogi is our state and nobody elsewhere is coming to fix it for us; we will assist and support the present administration to fix Kogi state,” Aina reiterated.

End.

  Kogi