Special Adviser, General Duties and Chairman Special Advisers’ Forum, Barr. Ekpenyong Akiba.
BY Dominic Kidzu
The strength of a leader or lack thereof sometimes depends on his advisers and subordinates, especially in a complex framework such as government. This is why some chief executives are fastidious and very intentional about the people they entrust certain strategic offices to in terms of their intellectual capacity, work history, human relations and even personal peccadillos and nuances.
In Governor Bassey Otu’s government, five Special Advisers stand out to me for having achieved their core mandates, and some, which has buoyed up the overall positive performance of the administration so far. The choice of these five Special Advisers was made through my singular perspective and therefore it is subjective and by no means the result of a forensic scientific evaluation. If you think differently, I will respect your perspective too.
1. BARR. EKPENYONG AKIBA, SPECIAL ADVISER, GENERAL DUTIES
Probably the most active member of the entire government. Young, energetic and upwardly mobile, he is a longstanding ally of Governor Bassey Otu, all the way back to when the governor was a member of the National Assembly. It is impressive that he has not taken his close relationship with his boss for granted and has planted his footprints all over the state in service to the people. It was pleasant seeing him meander through the difficult roads in Boki on his way to the second term endorsement in Boje sometime last year.
There is hardly a local government area he has not gone to in representative capacity for the governor. His role for the position of special duties seem to have been very well thought out because he is an adviser who doesn’t wait to be prompted, who sets his own agenda and who leaves no stone unturned. He carries the administration wherever he goes to and the people see him as a critical part and parcel of government. He is by all means the governor’s Man Friday and also the chairman of the forum of special advisers.
2. BARR. GILBERT AGBOR, SPECIAL ADVISER, ASSET MANAGEMENT AND RECOVERY.
Young, cool-headed and impassioned, Gilbert Agbor is a young attorney from Etung local government area who seems to have dedicated his life to the optimum management and recovery of public assets with a single-minded mission to protect their inviolability that has spared neither friend nor foe. Under his leadership the department has reclaimed several government properties including houses and lands illegally acquired by unscrupulous government officials and has even received some awards from private institutions for his good works.
The governor himself lauded Agbors efforts aas both courageous and impactful. “Agbor has shown a rare blend of tenacity, integrity and a high sense of duty. His work has brought to light many assets that have either been abandoned or illicitly acquired.” It is for his tenacity and integrity that I believe he has contributed to the People First aganda and enabled good governance in Cross River State. Unfortunately, most of his best works cannot be exposed here because of the sensitive nature of the department. Take your flowers, Barrister Gilbert Agbor. The civil servants are also very happy that for the first time there is a complete inventory of government owned assets throughout the state as directed by the governor and implemented by the department. No one can in the future appropriate government property for their personal use without following officially certified channels.
3. RAPHAEL MURPHY ADOGA, PROJECT MONITORING AND EVALUATION
The core mandate of this department is to function as the governor’s independent watchdog on capital projects and to ensure that these projects are delivered according to specified scope, budget, timeline and standards using key performance indicators. To this end the Special Adviser has truly delivered on his mandate by the way he has rigorously applied himself to the task and pressured contractors to stick to their various targets and frameworks.
Adoga has been uncompromising when it comes to bills of quantity. It was his reports that led to the termination of the initial contact for the renovation of the state library complex, leading to its eventual takeover by the office of the Commissioner for Special Duties. He also halted the construction of a bridge in Yala local government area because piling was not included in the bill of quantities until the contract was reviewed and piling included. For his dedication to duty and attention to specifications, Murphy has been of great value to the administration.
4.MR. LINUS OBOGO, SPECIAL ADVISER/CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY
Linus Obogo came to the job with a wealth of experience both in the newsroom and in the corridors of governmental power. He was an understudy to Christian Ita, the longest serving Chief Press Secretary in the history of Cross River State, who served both governor Liyel Imoke and Ben Ayade, and that was after his very fruitful years at the Vanguard newspapers. Simple, jovial and humble, Linus Obogo is a wordsmith in his own right who string English words together like a cobler putting together cracked shoes during harmattan.
Interestingly, it is not his prodigious grammatical prowess that only stands him out, it is also his amiable disposition and passion for the well-being of all journalists both in service and in retirement. This fellow feeling has endeared him to his colleagues and helped to win more media friends for the government and kept social commentary about the administration on an even keel.
5.MAJ. GEN. OKOI UBI OBONO, STATE SECURITY ADVISER
Major General Obono (rtd) is a former army general with enormous experience in tactical and intelligence work, which has had a lot of bearing in the way he has delivered on this assignment. Even though details of security matters are not publicly shared in the media it is obvious that working in concert with other security agencies he has been able to bring down the crime rate in the state.
Before he came into the job, incidents of kidnapping had become a frequent occurrence in the state, especially around the state capital. There is no doubt that he has been able to send most of these boys packing. Today, the people of Cross River are now able to sleep with their two eyes closed while the state has dropped very low in the national crime index. For ensuring a general atmosphere of peace and security in the state, the SSA has tremendously contributed to enabling Governor Bassey Otu’s sweetness agenda.
My appreciation goes to the governor himself, for his keen discernment in selecting an excellent team of mostly young people to work with him. These hidden diamonds would not have had the opportunity to excel this way if the governor did not discover and appoint them into office.
Kidzu is a Journalist and Political Analyst based in Calabar.
