Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has appointed
the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Dame Patience Jonathan, as one of the
seventeen new Permanent Secretaries in the state civil service.
Jonathan, according to a statement
from the Office of the Head of Service, Mrs. Gloria Izonfo, on Wednesday, was
appointed alongside 16 senior civil servants. The statement was read on the
state radio.
“By the constitutional power
conferred on the state governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, in section 203
sub-section 2c, Dame Patience Jonathan and seventeen others have been elevated
to the position of Permanent Secretary in the state civil service,” Izonfo
said.
Our correspondent, however, reports
that the appointment has stirred a controversy in the state with some Bayelsans
expressing misgivings about the appointment.
The other seventeen permanent
secretaries are: Mr. J.E. Oye, Samson Ayibeboa, Mrs. Antonia Koroye, Ziwari
Billie, Buruboyefa John, Dikuro Ayebameh, Serge Williams, Olu Kuruom,
G.I.Izein, Mrs.Philomena Alodie, Dr. Omietimi Kojo, Ese Izonebi, Ohougha
Maythias, James Clinton, Mrs. Linnet Tebepah, Moses Teibowei, Dr. A. Sanayi and
Vivian Odiwei.
Jonathan, a native of Okrika in
Rivers State, had served in the Rivers and Bayelsa states civil services before
her husband’s election as deputy governor. However, our reporter couldn’t
confirm if she had been due for appointment as permanent secretary before her
husband’s first election.
The wife of the President has a
National Certificate of Education in Mathematics/Biology, which she obtained in
1989 from the Rivers State College of Education. She also has a degree in
Biology and Psychology (Education) from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers
State.
Contacted, the Senior Special
Assistant to Governor Seriake, on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Mackson
Iworiso, confirmed the appointment, adding that the development was a ‘routine
action’ in the civil service