ABOUT three months to the governorship election, Abia State Governor Theodore Orji has appointed 457 special advisers, senior special assistants and personal assistants.

A breakdown of the appointees whose names were released on Tuesday by the governor's Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Kingsley Emereuwa, showed that eight of the 457 appointees are advisers, 397 senior special assistants and 52 personal assistants.

No reason was given for the appointments but the state Information/Strategy Commissioner, Anthony Agbazuere, told The Guardian on Wednesday that the governor may have done so to reduce unemployment and or injecting fresh bloods as the need arose.

Similarly, the CPS said it was a move to bring in some people with vibrant ideas and contributions to state governance, stressing that most of them were tested and certified competent in their areas, including a way of compensating them for their loyalty and steadfastness.

Some of the appointees comprising indigenes and non-indigenes including non-Igbo cadre are Israel Amanze, former Commissioner for Agriculture; J.C. Mbonu; Emma Omokwe, erstwhile adviser to former Governor Orji Kalu on Legislative Matters; Chuzzy Iboko, former director-general of the state's Radio/Television, among others.

http://odili.net/news/source/2011/jan/21/6.html