Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state, Nigeria has administered oath of office on 19 newly-appointed local government sole administrators in Imo even as eight nominees have yet to be cleared by the Imo assembly.
Mr Ebere Uzokwa, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, said in a statement in Owerri on Saturday that the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Anthony Anwuka, represented the governor at the inauguration.
The statement said Okorocha told the appointees that their appointments were meant to fill existing vacancies.
He further explained that their appointment would help in restoring normalcy in council activities, pending the next local government elections.
He urged the appointees to see their appointment as an opportunity to offer service, saying that the government will remove any non-performing administrator.
He also reminded them of the need to show enough commitment in carrying out their functions in accordance with the agenda of the present administration.
Responding, the Sole Administrator for Orlu Local Government Area, Mr Hyacinth Mbachu, promised that they would perform their functions to the best of their abilities.
Mbach thanked the state government for the confidence reposed in them.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the tenure of the local government chairmen elected in August 2010 in the state has been enmeshed in controversy.
While the council chairmen claimed that they were still in power, the state government insisted that their tenure expired in August 2012.
(NAN)