I don’t want to be remembered for my many fights — Obaseki

By Solomon Odeniyi and Stephen Angbulu

President Bola Tinubu swore in Senator George Akume as the 21st Secretary to the Government of the Federation at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja, on Wednesday.

The former governor of Benue State and immediate-past Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs took the oaths of allegiance and office at a ceremony held at the Council Chambers, State House, in the presence of the President, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and senior government officials.

Akume received a handover document from his predecessor, Boss Mustapha, who described the job as tough.

Mustapha highlighted pending issues for the consideration of the new administration, among which are “the Draft White Paper and the Report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry for the Investigation of the former acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, Ibrahim Magu.”

He also listed the “Implementation Committee on Special Detainees Linked to Boko Haram Insurgency.”

Handing over to Akume, the ex-SGF said, “There are a few pending issues for your kind attention and follow-up, which include the following:

“Report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee to Consider pending Bilateral Agreements between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Report of Presidential Committee on the Review of Number and Strategy for Resourcing Nigeria’s Diplomatic Missions World-wide; Approval of the Recommendations of the Reviewed White paper on the Presidential Committee on the Restructuring and Rationalization of Federal Government Parastatals, Agencies and Commissions (Goni Aji Report); and Amal Pepple Report on the new Agencies created after the Oronsaye Report, which White Paper was produced by the Ebele Okeke Committee, among others.”

Describing the SGF job as though,Mustapha said, “I wouldn’t want to mince words about it, it is an extremely important office in terms of the coordination of government activities, and also stringent government policies, programmes and projects; it is his (SGF’s) responsibility to guide the government. So, it’s enormous. It’s not a small job.”

On his part, Akume promised to ensure policies of the government were in the interest of the citizens.

Speaking to journalists after his swearing-in, he said, “It is an honour to be chosen to serve in this exalted position out of over 200 million Nigerians. It is a challenge to serve in line with the oaths I have taken today. I assure Nigerians I will do my best and I will not disappoint the President.

“I will not disappoint this country; I will not disappoint my party. I believe Nigerians will find fulfillment in my responsibility as I discharge my duties.” (punch)