Spread the love
Re: This Piece of Advice is in Public Interest
In a piece with the above title, the Honorable Member of House of Representatives, representing Dekina/Bassa Federal Constituency, Hon. Benjamin Ikani Okolo questioned the propriety of Hon. Edward Onoja, the Chief of Staff to Kogi State Government, being the ‘mouthpiece’ of the government. He asserted that the Chief has no business speaking for the government.
First, I want to genuinely appreciate the Honorable for demonstrating his concern for the internal efficiency of the New Direction Administration of Governor Alhaji Yajaya Bello, the Honorable’s comment is taken in good faith.
Indeed, the quest to move Kogi State out of the doldrums of mediocrity and retrogression she was plunged into would be greatly enhanced if all the current leaders and stakeholders of the state engaged in healthy, constructive and progressive interactions with the government. Kogi State belongs to us all and her best interests, and of her citizens, should be the fuel that drives our actions vis-à-vis her administration and not bitter, selfish and destructive politics.
But I beg to differ with the Honorable on the propriety of Hon. Edward Onoja speaking for the government; the Chief of Staff is an integral part of the New Direction Administration who is working tirelessly for the success of the current government and for the betterment of Kogi State at large. He is a very intelligent, articulate and possesses a high amount of mental clarity and analytical objectivity; and as a pivotal insider, he is well informed and couldn’t be more qualified to enumerate the achievements and challenges of a government he is very much a part of.
As regards the recent controversial telephone interview making the rounds, the Chief of Staff was quoted out of context regarding the number of salaries being owed some workers in the state; the interview was conducted in prevalent poor network connection where the interviewer’s questions came across unclear and the interviewer didn’t give the Chief the chance to clarify or enunciate his responses before running with a half-baked story that can only be judged to serve sensational purposes.
An ill-conducted telephone interview that is sensationalised to deceive the audience and wrongly shape public opinion is hardly a yardstick with which to judge the capacity of the office of the Chief of Staff to speak for the government. The hardworking and empathic Chief of Staff who has been working assiduously for the resolution of the civil service screening and has spoken efficiently for the government countless times. He is not responsible for the lack of professionalism and responsibility that plagues some media establishments.
In his capacity as the head of all the members of the administrative cabinet of Governor Yahaya Bello – including the media arm – and as a leader, it is very much his place to speak on the activities of the government either independently or as an augmentation of the work of the competent and indefatigable media arm of the administration.
Let us continue to support the administration of Governor Yahaya Bello in good faith and for the progress of Kogi State, for we have no other state to call our own.
Long live Kogi State!
– Odaudu Joel Minister
Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Kogi State on New Media.
Spread the love
