The Enugu state House of Assembly on Thursday screened and cleared all the 15 commissioner- nominees whose names were sent to it by Gov. Peter Mbah.
The screening was a marked departure from the past when nominees were told to take a bow and leave as the commissioner-nominees were grilled for hours.
Thursday’s grilling, however, exempted three former commissioners: Chief Okechukwu Ogbodo, Prof. Emmanuel Obi and Dr Kingsley Udeh, who were asked to “take a bow and leave.”
Speaker of the House, Hon. Uchenna Ugwu (PDP-Udi North), allowed members to quiz the commissioner-nominees, especially on people’s welfare, Internally-Generated Revenue and general empowerment of residents.
Fielding questions from the lawmakers, Mr Lawrence Eze, a commissioner-nominee, said if given the works portfolio, he would ensure that contractors delivered high quality jobs.
Eze said Enugu State needed quality roads that could stand the test of time.
The roads, he added, must be such that would not cost too much money to maintain so that such money could be deployed to other uses.
“If roads were built according to standard, they will stand the test of time.
“A good stone-based foundation has to be laid to ensure that roads do not wear off shortly after they are built or constructed,’’ he said.
Another commissioner-nominee, Mr Gerald Otiji, said given the opportunity to serve, he would ensure that Enugu State enjoys sustainable energy by exploiting the gas deposit in the state.
“With your cooperation, Enugu State’s energy needs can be powered with gas for 30 years and each local government can have 50mw of electricity from the abundant natural gas in the state,” Otiji said.
Yet another nominee, Mrs Adora Chukwu, said as commissioner, she would help the governor to achieve his campaign mantra of “Tomorrow is here.”
“I will use my wealth of experience and learning to uplift the status of the state and get our people to be productive,’’ she said.
