Urges him to take governance seriously for the betterment of the people
From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
A group under the umbrella of Tarabans in Diaspora has called on Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas to stop alleged wasteful spending and take governance seriously for the betterment of the people in the State.
Spokesperson of the group, Martins Joel in a statement on Wednesday noted that there are alot of reasons that suggested that governor Kefas does not consult or seek the opinions of either his aides or relevant stakeholders before arriving at critical decisions.
Joel said the idea of going around meeting consultants or embassies without first discussing or critically examining such issues as education, economy, security, or even projects is not a good path to take.
According to the statement, “It will only mean that Taraba goes for those meetings without the right data for engagement and with a shallow understanding of the situation.
“This has also led to a lot of rumours that the Governor trusts outsiders for decisions affecting the state rather than relying on the abundant human resources in the state. Are we stopping him from consulting outsiders? No! But he shouldn’t ignore the people within, and if he is consulting them, it should be clearly seen.
“Governor Kefas promised there would be a paradigm shift in governance and he hoped to start with appointments. He told everyone who cared to listen that his government was the government of the youths. When he was ready to appoint commissioners, he sent a memo to the party office through the office of the Secretary to the Government of the State, to nominate candidates for appointment.
“The memo contained a number of criteria, one of which is ‘nominee must possess cognate experience’. Though Gov Kefas did as promised, the youth demographic, I am afraid, is a far cry from even the Governor’s standard.
“No one in the whole of Taraba State can distinguish between official communication and social media posts by data boys. Everyone seems to be a government or branch of government. The Governor sits in the comfort of his sitting room or office and makes statements to the press and expects civil servants to carry out the “instructions” without official memo to minute on.
“A very good example is the implementation of minimum wage. As of the time of writing this, Taraba State workers have not been paid their October salary. The reason is that the Governor promised on media that minimum wage will be implemented by October. He did not communicate this officially to the right authorities.
“When it was time for salary, and vouchers were raised with the old salaries, he asked them to return it and ensure minimum wage is implemented or “heads will roll’’, a news, carried by these ‘media team’ to mean that the Governor meant business.
“Still, I stand to be corrected, this was without an official communication from the Governor to the right authorities.
“Governor Agbu Kefas has been in office for 5 months and 10 days today. He has not spent one whole week at a stretch in any part of Taraba State and has not spent more than one month combined in the State in the period stated. And he travels with a chartered plane.
“More than 50 percent of these travels are done with more than half the cabinet members – heads of ministries and key government offices, notably the Commissioner of Information and Finance, thereby crippling the administration of these offices.
“Credit to Governor Kefas. He organised a retreat in Abuja for the newly appointed commissioners, Permanent Secretaries and Directors, and other government functionaries, to get them up to speed. But as we write this, the people of Taraba State have lost count of the retreats that the commissioners and legislators have had. As a matter of fact, the commissioners have spent more time on retreat than they did in their offices since they were sworn-in in July.
“It is getting to the sixth month of this administration, and Tarabans still cannot state in clear terms what the policy directions of the Agbu’s government are all about. Months after the inauguration of the State cabinet, the commissioners have not been able to articulate and communicate in clear terms what their focus or any new reform that will kick-start the Taraba economy.
“The new ministries have not been able to come out and educate the citizens on what to expect or what reforms they intend to carry out. This has left us to wonder if at all, the governor has any plans for the State outside traveling all over the place. If these travels are for this very purpose, then there should be a clear picture of what will happen and how it will happen, and quickly too.”