Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State on Friday
inaugurated Patience, the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, as a Permanent
Secretary in the state.
Mrs. Jonathan was sworn-in alongside
18 other persons amidst tight security in a ceremony that was held at the
Banquet Hall in Yenagoa, the state capital.
The venue was a beehive as selected
women groups trooped to the area chanting songs to welcome the President’s
wife.
Mrs. Jonathan, who arrived about
12.40 pm, walked straight to the hall on red carpet laid in her honour.
While other nominated permanent
secretaries were seated two hours before the event, Mrs. Jonathan arrived later
accompanied by Dickson. Mrs. Jonathan, who beamed with smiles, was the first to
be sworn in by the Chief Registrar of the state judiciary, Mr. Nekede Eradiri,
about 12.50 pm.
The President’s wife, who has been
described as a super permanent secretary, stood before the governor and took
her oath, vowing to be just and fair in discharging her responsibilities in the
state’s civil service.
While she stood alone to take her
oath, others were called by Eradiri to stand for their inauguration in batches
of six.
Reading his charges to the permanent
secretaries, Dickson said they were selected after due consultations, adding
that the procedure adopted by the government was transparent.
According to him, nobody lobbied for
the appointment and the government was not under pressure to choose the
permanent secretaries.
He explained that the new permanent
secretaries were selected from the list of the most senior civil servants in
each of the eight local government areas.