PERM. SEC. PATIENCE JONATHAN!

Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has
appointed the wife of President Goodluck
Jonathan, Dame Patience Jonathan, as one of
the seventeen new Permanent Secretaries in
the state civil service.
Jonathan, according to a statement from the Office of
the Head of Service, Mrs. Gloria Izonfo, on
Wednesday, was appointed alongside 16 senior civil
servants. The statement was read on the state radio.
"By the constitutional power conferred on the state
governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, in section 203 sub-
section 2c, Dame Patience Jonathan and seventeen
others have been elevated to the position of
Permanent Secretary in the state civil service," Izonfo
said.
Our correspondent, however, reports that the
appointment has stirred a controversy in the state
with some Bayelsans expressing misgivings about
the appointment.
The other seventeen permanent secretaries are: Mr.
J.E. Oye, Samson Ayibeboa, Mrs. Antonia Koroye,
Ziwari Billie, Buruboyefa John, Dikuro Ayebameh,
Serge Williams, Olu Kuruom, G.I.Izein, Mrs.Philomena
Alodie, Dr. Omietimi Kojo, Ese Izonebi, Ohougha
Maythias, James Clinton, Mrs. Linnet Tebepah, Moses
Teibowei, Dr. A. Sanayi and Vivian Odiwei.
Jonathan, a native of Okrika in Rivers State, had
served in the Rivers and Bayelsa states civil services
before her husband's election as deputy governor.
However, our reporter couldn't confirm if she had
been due for appointment as permanent secretary
before her husband's first election.
The wife of the President has a National Certificate of
Education in Mathematics/Biology, which she
obtained in 1989 from the Rivers State College of
Education. She also has a degree in Biology and
Psychology (Education) from the University of Port
Harcourt, Rivers State.
Contacted, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor
Seriake, on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Mackson
Iworiso, confirmed the appointment, adding that the
development was a 'routine action' in the civil
service.










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