President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday inaugurated 13 special advisers, saying he did not want special advisers that he would have to advise.
Jonathan had on Wednesday approved the appointment of 18 principal aides, 15 of which are special advisers.
Thirteen of the 15 special advisers took oaths of office at the inauguration in the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja, on Thursday.
It was gathered that the remaining two — Prof. Abubakar Sambo (Energy), and Yakubu Abdullahi, (Political Matters ,Office of the Vice- President) were outside the country.
Those that were inaugurated were Mrs. Sarah Akuben Pane(Social Development); Dr. Tunji Olagunju,(New Partnership for African Development), Mrs. Sarah Jibril, (Ethics and Values); Mr. Oronto Douglas, (Research and Strategy); Senator Joy Emordi, (National Assembly Matters) and Mr. Kingsley Kuku, Special Adviser (Niger Delta Affairs).
Others are Dr. Pius Osunyikanmi,(International Relations), Prof. Dan Adebiyi(Special Duties), Dr. Rueben Abati, (Media and Publicity), Mrs. Asma’u Abdulkadir (Gender Issues), Sullivan Nwakpo (Technical Matters); Mr. Bashir Sufyan (Legal Matters, Office of the Vice-President), and Senator Isaiah Ballat, (Special Duties, Office of the Vice President).
Jonathan, who again said he wouldn’t make a formal speech until all the principal aides had been cleared, stressed that special advisers should have adequate knowledge of the areas they were appointed to advise on, even more than ministers.
He noted that judging by their academic qualifications and professional experience, he expected that the special advicers would not need any advise from him.
Jonathan said, “As special advicers, you are expected to be more knowledgeable in the area that you are to advise even than the ministers.
“Let me share a joke with you. When I was talking about appointing advisers, a friend told me, ‘Mr. President, I hope you will not appoint special advisers that you will advise.’
“From your citations, I am sure l am appointing special advisers that will advise me, not the ones I will advise.”
Congratulating the special advisers on their appointment, Jonathan informed them that the challenges that came with their assignments were enormous.
He said, “I am still reserving my speech, I want to have a comprehensive speech for the government when we finish the last batch of oath-taking.
“But for today, let me congratulate all of you that have been brought on board to work with us.
“You should know that our challenges are quite enormous. If you have been following the papers (newspapers), you should know that people expect a lot from us.”
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I don’t want advisers that need my advice – Jonathan
I don’t want advisers that need my advice – Jonathan
NigerianEye
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Friday, July 08, 2011
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Thank you Mr president for being up and doing. Your swiftness in taking action is laudable.
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