First Wike Executive Council

Last updated
First Wike Executive Council
Cabinet of Rivers State
5 June 2015 – 24 June 2017
Date formed5 June 2015 (2015-06-05)
Date dissolved24 June 2017 (2017-06-24)
People and organisations
Governor Ezenwo Wike
Deputy Governor Ipalibo Banigo
Member party People's Democratic Party
Status in legislature PDP led government
Opposition party All Progressives Congress
History
Election Rivers State gubernatorial election, 2015
Legislature term 8th Rivers State House of Assembly
Budgets
Successor Second Wike Executive Council

The First Wike Executive Council was the Executive Council of Rivers State between 5 June 2015 and 24 June 2017. It was led by Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike with Ipalibo Banigo as Vice-Chairman. The first set of appointments to the cabinet were made on 5 June 2015. The designees included Kenneth Kobani, Chukwuemeka Woke, Emmanuel C. Aguma, Fred Kpakol, Onimim Jacks, Emmanuel Okah and Opunabo Inko-Tariah. Governor Wike appointed Desmond Akawor, Ambassador to South Korea, to serve as Administrator of the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority. [1]

Contents

On 16 July 2015, former Permanent Secretary of Rivers State Ministry of Environment Rufus Godwins was sworn in as the Head of Service.

Further appointments to the Wike Executive Council were announced formally on 20 November 2015 and included 20 commissioner nominees, all of whom were confirmed by the Rivers State House of Assembly and sworn in on December 18. [2]

Executive Council members

The Wike Executive Council was composed of the following members:

OfficeIncumbentTerm began
Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike 29 May 2015
Deputy Governor Ipalibo Banigo 29 May 2015
Attorney General Emmanuel C. Aguma June 2015
Secretary to the State Government Kenneth Kobani June 2015
Chief of Staff Chukwuemeka Woke June 2015
Head of Service Rufus Godwins July 2015
Director-General of the Bureau of Public Procurement Igonibo E. Thompson February 2016
Media and Publicity Special Adviser Opunabo Inko-Tariah June 2015
Administrator (GPHCDA) Desmond Akawor June 2015
Commissioner of Agriculture Onimim Jacks June 2015
Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning Isaac Kamalu December 2015
Commissioner of Chieftaincy and Community Affairs John Bazia December 2015
Commissioner of Commerce and Industry Bright Jacob December 2015
Commissioner of Culture And Tourism Tonye Briggs-Oniyide December 2015
Commissioner of Education Kaniye Ebeku December 2015
Commissioner of Employment Generation and Empowerment Ephraim Nwuzi December 2015
Commissioner of Energy and Natural resources Shedrack Chukwu December 2015
Commissioner of Environment Roseline Konya December 2015
Commissioner of Finance Fred Kpakol June 2015
Commissioner of Health Theophilus Odagme December 2015
Commissioner of Housing Emmanuel Okah June 2015
Commissioner of Information and Communications Austin Tam George December 2015
Commissioner of Justice Emmanuel C. Aguma June 2015
Commissioner of Land and SurveyDecember 2015
Commissioner of Local Government Affairs Rodaford Long-John December 2015
Commissioner of Power Mike Anwuri December 2015
Commissioner of Social Welfare & Rehabilitation Damiete H. Miller December 2015
Commissioner of Special Duties Monday Onyezonwu December 2015
Commissioner of Sports Boma Iyaye December 2015
Commissioner of Transport Hon. Ibinabo Michael West March 2018 [3]
Commissioner of Urban Development Chinyere Igwe December 2015
Commissioner of Water Resources and Rural Development Walter Ibibia December 2015
Commissioner of Women Affairs Ukel Oyaghiri December 2015
Commissioner of Works Bathuel Harrison Iheanyichukwu May 2016
Commissioner of Youth Development Prince Ogbogbula December 2015

Resignations, suspensions and dismissals

Media and Publicity Special Adviser, Sir Opunabo Inko-Tariah resigned his cabinet position in a letter of resignation dated 6 November 2015. Inko-Tariah stated that unfolding developments in the state indicated that his services were no longer needed. [4]

On 12 February 2016, Commissioner of Finance, Fred Kpakol along with Accountant General Abere Dagogo were temporarily relieved of their duties. [5] The suspension lasted until 15 February before being lifted following interventions by different political leaders. [6] Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike also suspended Kelvin Wachukwu indefinitely from his post as Commissioner of Works. The reasons given included negligence, dereliction of duty and poor project supervision. Wachukwu was replaced by Bathuel Harrison Iheanyichukwu, who was officially sworn into the Cabinet on 9 May. [7] [8]

On 31 August 2016, four commissioners, a special adviser and the Head of Service were handed a suspension of 3 months each for unstated reasons. The commissioners suspended from office were the Commissioner of Culture and Tourism Tonye Briggs-Oniyide, Commissioner of Finance Fred Kpakol, Commissioner of Sports Boma Iyaye and Commissioner of Chieftaincy and Community Affairs John Bazia. Others suspended included the Head of Service Rufus Godwins and Anugbum Onuoha, Special Adviser on Lands. [9] Further reports, however, revealed that the Governor had taken his decision following an Executive Council meeting in August "which the officials attended late". [10] They were later recalled to their various offices on 16 September that year. [11]

On 15 February 2017, Theophilus Odagme was dismissed from the office of Commissioner of Health. He was the second commissioner dismissed openly from the cabinet. [12] On 22 June 2017, Wike fired Bathuel Harrison Iheanyichukwu from the post of Commissioner of Works, making him the second cabinet official in that ministry to be removed from office. A day after Harrison's abrupt removal, Commissioner of Information and Communications Austin Tam-George handed in his letter of resignation.

The Executive Council was dissolved on 24 June 2017. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic is a Polytechnic funded by the Government of Rivers State, located in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nyesom Wike</span> Nigerian politician and lawyer (born 1967)

Ezenwo Nyesom Wike is a Nigerian politician and lawyer who has served as the minister of the Federal Capital Territory since 2023. He previously served as the governor of Rivers State from 2015 to 2023.

Ipalibo Gogo Banigo in Obuama, Degema, Rivers State. She is a Nigerian medical doctor and politician who is the current senator representing Rivers West Senatorial District since 2023. She served as the first female deputy governor of Rivers State from 2015 to 2023.

Daisy Wotube Okocha served as the 7th Chief Judge of Rivers State, in charge of the state's High Court of Justice, and Judicial Service Commission. She was appointed to the office by Governor Ezenwo Wike on 4 January 2016, and held it until her retirement on 15 January 2016. She had also served as Chief Judge in an acting capacity before attaining the substantive appointment.

The following is a timeline of the governorship of Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, also known as the Wike administration, from his inauguration as Governor of Rivers State on 29 May 2015 to 29 May 2023.

The Government House, also known as Brick House or Governor's House, is located at Old GRA, Port Harcourt in Rivers State, Nigeria. It is the official residence of the Rivers State chief executive, the head of government, and the home to the governors of Rivers State and their families. It serves as the venue for the Governor's official business, as well as the many high-level government conferences, receptions, and functions hosted by the occupant.

Tasie Cyprian Wike was a Nigerian lawyer who, as of 2014, was Chairman of the Rivers State College of Health Science and Technology (RSCHST). His appointment to the office was made by Governor Chibuike Amaechi whose tenure expired on 29 May 2015.

Tonye Briggs-Oniyide is the current Rivers State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism. She was appointed in 2015 by Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, replacing Nnabuihe Imegwu.

Bathuel Harrison Iheanyichukwu is a civil engineer and architect, who serves as the current Rivers State Commissioner of Works. He was appointed to this position by Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, confirmed by the Rivers State House of Assembly and sworn in on 9 May 2016. He replaces Kelvin Wachukwu, who was suspended indefinitely on 1 April 2016.

Kelvin Kinikanwo Wachukwu is a Nigerian engineer who served as Rivers State Commissioner of Works from December 2015 to April 2016. He was suspended indefinitely from office for negligence, dereliction of duty, particularly his failure to supervise projects effectively. He was replaced by Harrison B. Iheanyichukwu on 9 May 2016.

Government Secondary School, Eneka (GSS) is a coeducational public high school in Rivers State, Nigeria. It is located within Eneka, a town in the Obio-Akpor local government area. The school began operations in 1977 under founding principal Uchendu Achi. Its alumni include professionals medicine, engineering, law, etc.

Felicity Okpete Ovai is an engineer and academic from Degema, Rivers State in Nigeria. A member of the Rivers State People's Democratic Party, she was the first woman to be appointed Commissioner of Works, serving from 2003 to 2006.

The Rivers State gubernatorial election took place on 9 March 2019, concurrently with various other Nigerian state level elections. A rerun of the vote was held in Abua–Odual, Ahoada West, Gokana and Opobo–Nkoro on 13 April. One-term incumbent Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike of the People's Democratic Party was eligible to run for re-election. He won in 2015 with 87.77% of the vote.

Princewill Ogbogbula is the current Commissioner of Youth Development in the Executive Council of Rivers State. He was appointed to the position in 2015 by Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike.

Michael Eleonu Anwuri was the Commissioner of Power in the Executive Council of Rivers State. He was appointed to the position in 2015 by Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike. He died on 3 June 2020.

Austin Tam-George is a Nigerian academic and communication consultant who served in the Rivers State Government as the Commissioner for Information and Communication, from 21 December 2015 to 23 June 2017 when he voluntarily resigned from his post in Governor Nyesom Wike's Cabinet.

The Inauguration of Ezenwo Nyesom Wike as the 6th Governor of Rivers State took place on Friday, 29 May 2015 at the Liberation Stadium in Elekahia, Port Harcourt. The ceremony marked the beginning of the first four-year term of Ezenwo Nyesom Wike as Governor and Ipalibo Banigo as Deputy Governor.

The second Wike Executive Council is the current Executive Council of Rivers State led by Ezenwo Nyesom Wike of the People's Democratic Party. It began to take shape following the House approval of Emmanuel C. Aguma as the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice of the Rivers State government. It replaces the First Wike Executive Council which was dissolved on 24 June 2017. Among the commissioner-designees as of 8 August 2017 are seven former commissioners who served in the preceding Executive Council.

Damiete Herbert Miller served as the Commissioner of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation in the First Executive Council of Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike. He was reappointed to the same position in September 2017.

Dumnamene Robinson Dekor also known as Rt. Hon. Dum Dekor is a Nigerian politician who was Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly from 2007 to 2011. He represented Khana II in the 6th Rivers State House of Assembly. On 15 September 2017, he was sworn in as a commissioner-designee by Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike and on 20 September, he was assigned to the Rivers State Ministry of Works. Rt. Hon. Dum Dekor was elected to the House of Representatives as member representing Khana/Gokana Federal Constituency of Rivers State since 2019. He is a member of Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

References

  1. ↑ Ebiri, Kelvin (22 June 2015). "Greater Port Harcourt city phase I gets five-year completion period". The Guardian. Port Harcourt. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "Wike To Swear-In Commissioners, Today …Special Advisers, Tomorrow". The Tide . 18 December 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  3. ↑ "Ministry of Transport – Government of Rivers State, Nigeria". riversstate.gov.ng. Archived from the original on 2018-07-31.
  4. ↑ "Full text of Sir Opunabo Inko-Tariah's resignation as Governor Wike's Media Aide". DailyPost. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  5. ↑ Dennis Naku (13 February 2016). "Wike suspends Finance Commissioner". National Mirror . Archived from the original on February 14, 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ↑ "Gov. Wike lifts suspension of Finance Commissioner, Accountant-General". Global Patriot News. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Wike suspends Wachukwu, works commissioner". National Mirror . 2 April 2016. Archived from the original on February 14, 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ↑ Nkiru Homann (9 May 2016). "BREAKING: Gov. Wike Replaces Works Commissioner, Says No Room For Compromise". Nkiruhomann.com. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "Wike suspends 4 commissioners, others". Vanguard . Port Harcourt. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  10. ↑ Kevin Nengia (2 September 2016). "'Why HOS, Others Were Suspended'". The Tide . Port Harcourt . Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  11. ↑ Jimitota Onoyume (17 September 2016). "Wike recalls commissioners, Head of Service, aide". Vanguard . Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  12. ↑ Kevin Nengia (17 February 2017). "Wike Sacks Health Commissioner". The Tide . Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  13. ↑ "Wike Dissolves Cabinet". Thisday. 24 June 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.