PS: God used Soludo to elevate me, says he is a righteous man

Maduako Igbokwe I Tuesday, March 12, 2024

AWKA, Anambra – One of the newly appointed Permanent Secretaries(PS) in Anambra state Mr Joachin Achor has described governor Charles Soludo as a man of good heart and a believer in commitment to hard work.

Achor, from Abia State described Soludo is a man of righteousness and a man who believe so much in merit and hard work.

The new Permanent Secretary(PS) made the statement on Monday shortly after being sworn at the Anambra State government house Agu Awka.

Achor who expressed happiness over the appointment said he is fulfilled in his life and would devote the  rest of his life serving humanity doing his work. He said that God used governor Soludo to elevate him the prestigious position of permanent Secretary in the state.

Achor, who spoke at a reception in his honour, Awka said he was employed into Anambra state civil service through National Youth Service Corps NYSC in 1997 by the military governor of state  Rufai Garba.

According to him, the then governor gave him a special Award as the  best  corp member in 1997. Garba was the Military Administrator of Anambra State  from 21 December 1996 to 6 August 1998 during the military regime of General Sani Abacha.

According to him, during his service year he emerged  as one of  the best corp member and they were three and three of them  were employed.

“I was one of the best corp member in 1996/97,  three of us were given automatic employment into Anambra State civil service. Since 1997 I have been in Anambra State civil service” he said .

According to him, he had good and robust working experiences which gave him the opportunity to work in a state other than his own. He also stated that the employment gave him the privileges and rights to work in Anambra state seamlessly.

“Why some people may feel that one is not supposed to be there,  but governance is more than that , governance is more of efficiency and it requires the goodwill of whosever is the governor to accommodate and all the governor has  been nice and good to accommodated us.

“The appointment of permanent Secretary is prerogative of the governor . Normally, PS is given or allocated to town unions, villages and local government councils and since by the local government arrangement, I am not there and have nobody to speak for me. But this one is that Soludo as the governor, God used him to achieve this because he insisted on merit.

“When he wanted to appoint PS, the pressure also came on him from different angles about their turn and right but he insisted on merit and called for exams, the exams took me up as a good candidate for PS. Becuase the governor is a man of his word, he could not say otherwise.

“Today, I am made a Permanent Secretary in Anambra state despite i am not from the state ” he stated.

On whether, he knew he could be PS in the state, he said that he knew he could be only by the grace of God. He also said that he knew that for one to be PM, he must have the  pre requisite experience, knowledge within the civil service, noting that once one is a director, he can have the right to be  appointed PM.

“When I joined civil service in Anambra state,I was not in the cadre that could move up to director but I worked hard to change and transformed my position from executive cadre to officers’ cadre thereby qualifying for director position.

“I became a director in 2018 . Actually, God’s grace is the ultimate and God has granted me the grace to be permanent Secretary in Anambra state. Soludo is God given man to the state. God used him to throw up the right people in the state irrespective of where they came from.

“I have a very high respect for the governor, he has demonstrated his  love  for merit and this is the only way to move the society forward . He is a man of good heart and he believes so  such in hard work and right people being in the right places” he stated.

He advised other governors in the country to emulate Prof Charles Soludo’s style of merit in appointment and see every body as a Nigerian.

“We are all human beings and Nigerians. Always look for the best in the society, merit should be the watch word in any appointment. Not tribalism, nepotism, religious and  cult affiliate but there  should be  emphasis on efficiency.

“I’am happy and glad that I am a PS in Anambra state. I am very fulfilled, having started work as Junior staff and rose to the position of PS. I feel very fulfilled, I am promising my God and humanity that the rest of life,I will devote to serving humanity and God in where I am” he stated.