Gov Sule Dissolves Cabinet, Sends All Commissioners, SSG Packing
The Governor of Nasarawa State, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, has dissolved the State Executive Council (SEC) comprising his commissioners and sacked Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Barrister Muhammad Aliyu-Ubamdoma.
He announced the surprising decision at a special emergency executive meeting in Government House, Lafia, on Friday, shortly after Vice President Kashim Shettima, departed the state following his one-day working visit to inaugurate some projects in the state.
The development was confirmed in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of Cabinet Affairs and Special Services, Mohammed Iliyasu-Idde. It stated that Governor Sule expressed his gratitude to the outgoing Council members for their contributions to the growth of the state and wished them well in their future endeavours.
The statement further said; “All the outgoing Council members are to hand over the affairs of their ministries and government property in their possession to the permanent secretaries in their respective ministries while the SSG is to hand over to the permanent secretary cabinet affairs and special services.”
Forefront News recalls that after winning his second term battle in court, Governor Sule had on 28th July 2023 submitted names of the now sacked team as Commissioner-nominees to the Nasarawa State House of Assembly for screening and confirmation as members of the State Executive Council.
Consequently, the Lawmakers on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, confirmed 16 out of the 17 names sent to them by the Governor. They were Yakubu Kwanta, Aishatu Rufai, Umar Abubakar Dan’akano, Munirat Abdullahi, Timothy Kasuwa, Ja’afaru Ango, Margaret Elayo, Bala Mulki, and John Mamman.
Others listed in the team, comprising 13 men and three women, included Abubakar Imam Zanwa, Samuel Kafu Emgba, Aliyu Ahmed Tijjani, Muhammed Iyimoga, Labaran Magaji, Gaza Gwamna, Mu’azu Gosho,
Meanwhile, insiders hinted that though the governor did not inform the meeting of his reasons for the surprise ‘New Year gift’ to the Cabinet members and the SSG, the development may not be far from the need to recalibrate the team for effective service delivery going forward.
A competent source, who preferred anonymity, said given Governor Sule’s antecedents, dissolving the cabinet has been his governance style of bringing on board fresh hands and injecting new ideas into the state’s administrative structure.
According to the source considered close to the corridors of power in the North-central state, the governor, during his first tenure, had in 2021 also sacked his Cabinet members in what he described as the need to evolve a robust governance structure meant to deliver dividends of democracy to the Nasarawa people.
The source added that in the unfolding scenario, political watchers in the State are curiously awaiting the governor’s next moves, especially concerning permutations concerning the 2027 general elections and the state government’s plans
