As he swore-in 13 new commissioners to help him run his second-term administration, Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai warned that, any of them who fails to meet up with two quarterly report of the ministry will be fired.
He also expressed support for the state house of Assembly over rejection of one of the commissioners he nominated for consideration by the assembly. The Assembly presided over by its Speaker, Aminu Abdullahi Shagali, had on Thursday rejected Alhaji Aliyu Jaafar who was nominated by the governor to serve as the Commissioner for Agriculture.
Hon. Shagali said, Jaafar was rejected for his consistent criticism of El-Rufai’s administration.
He however said, he would be making another nomination for the position very soon. “We thank the Kaduna State House of Assembly for prompt confirmation and scrutinization of our commissioners. We note that the house was unable to confirm one of our nominees, and we will shortly be proposing a replacement.
“I think they did the right thing, because it is their job to check whatever we are doing. No one is perfect; we can never always get it right. That is why our partnership with the state house of assembly is a healthy one. And we support every decision they take,” El-Rufai said.
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El-Rufai however disclosed that the ministry of health would in the time being be overseen by his deputy, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe.
He said the commissioners were appointed not based on the, “local government you come from but because you have been tested and found capable to work for the State.
“I know that some of you are qualified and big enough to be ministers but you decided to serve your State. I therefore urge your family members to cooperate with you and give you enough space to concentrate on your works.”
He urged the commissioners to report immediately to their respective ministry from the venue of the swearing in ceremony.
El-Rufai had nominated 14 cabinet members to the State House of Assembly, but nominee for the Ministry of Agriculture, Aliyu Jafaru was rejected by the Assembly.
The remaining 13 were however sworn-in amidst jubilation inside the state council chamber at the Goverment House Kaduna.
El-rufai said: “Therefore, we have appointed our commissioners to represent and work for the entire state. We chose insiders so that they can hit the ground running. That is why you can see so many familiar faces, selected for their sound education, solid experience and capacity. I thank members of the Executive Council that served from 2015-2019. We chose to refresh the team so that other colleagues can bring their experience from other parts of the government into the Executive Council. In fact, some of our appointees are too big to be commissioners, but we thank them for agreeing to serve. After all, Kaduna comes first.
“The new commissioners must quickly settle in and deliver results. Each of you will receive and adhere to job descriptions that will be followed by Key Performance Indicators and Performance Agreements. Every Commissioner must in turn sign KPIs and Performance Agreements with the top management of their ministries. All are subject to strict quarterly reviews, because we must maximise the short time left to deliver service for our people. “