By Vera E. Abah, with agency reports
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Wednesday swore in the new Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, at the council chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Akume, a former governor of Benue State and former senator, was appointed last Friday to handle the administrative organisation of the new government.
The new SGF, who is taking over from Boss Mustapha, took the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of Office Wednesday, promising not to disappoint the president who appointed him and Nigerians.
The brief event was attended by Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Ahmad Lawan as well as some serving and former governors.
The governors include AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Hyacinth Alia of Benue, and former governor of Nasarawa, Tanko Al-Makura.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, FolasadeYemi-Esan, and the spouse of the new SGF, Regina Akume, also attended the event.
Akume is a former minister of special duties and inter-governmental affairs under President Muhammadu Buhari from 2019 to 2023.
The new SGF was the senator representing Benue North-West Senatorial District from 2007 to 2019. He was also the minority leader of the Senate from June 2011 to June 2015.
Addressing State House journalists after he was sworn in as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) by Mr Tinubu on Wednesday, Akume stated: “To have been selected to serve in this exalted position out of over 200 million Nigerians, it is a challenge to serve in line with the oath I have taken today. I assure Nigerians I will do my best; I will not disappoint the President; I will not disappoint this country and I will not disappoint my party.
“I believe Nigerians will find fulfilment in my responsibilities as I discharge that in their own interest. It is an honour to serve the country and I am strongly persuaded that guided by Almighty God, I will do my best and Nigerians will really have to reap the dividends of democracy.
He further declared: “I am someone who has been on the scene for quite some time and I know the man we are serving, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President and we just have to follow his footsteps.
“He has never been in the gallery, which is always full of critics. He has always been in the arena, where the doers are. He is a doer, so we have to tag along. We must never afford to fail,” he said.
Also speaking, the immediate past SGF, Boss Mustapha, advised his successor to brace up for the challenges ahead because it is a tough job he is taking.
“This is a tough job; I wouldn’t want to mince words about that. It is an extremely important office in terms of coordination of government’s activities and also stringing government policies, programmes and projects.
“It is his responsibility to guide the government, so there is an enormity. Under his office he has six Permanent Secretaries so, it is a combination of five to six ministries in one place that will be reporting to him on different agencies.
“But the most important part of this office is the fact that he is the beam light of this government in terms of driving, coordination and policy formulation. So, it is not a small job but I am confident that he has been ably prepared and groomed for this job and I believe he will take the office a notch higher than where I am leaving it,” Mustapha said.
The swearing-in was attended by dignitaries of the APC including the new Benue governor, Hyacinth Alia. Addressing journalists, Alia, a Reverend father, said he was elated that Benue was chosen to produce the SGF.
“I’m full of enormous joy. It is a factor of exaltation. Out of the many states, Benue is chosen and it’s one of our sons whom we are all proud of. We know his requisites; we know what he has offered in the past decades for the state and for the nation.
“We are very confident that he is again going to deliver and the nation is going to be proud that our choicest man for Benue is selected and sworn in for this great job.”
The wife of the new SGF, Regina Akume, also assured Nigerians that her husband will do well in his new position.
“My husband is a very hardworking man, very humble, kind and compassionate and I know this time too he will do his best for Nigeria,” she said.
Mr Akume’s appointment was one of the first announced by Mr Tinubu who was sworn in as Nigeria’s president last week.
