Aregbesola, Minister of Interior, confesses he lacks knowledge of ministry’s operations

 

BY OUR EDITOR

Newly-inaugurated Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, was down-to-earth in his brief exchange with senior officers of the ministry who formally received him into his new office after the swearing in ceremony Wednesday.

Aregbesola did not have difficulty confessing to the ministry personnel that he lacked knowledge of the operations of the ministry he will be supervising, while promising to formally assume the reins of the ministry next Monday.

During his maiden visit to the ministry, the former governor of Osun State told top officials of the ministry that apart from stories about the ministry on the pages of the newspapers, he had no idea of its policies and operations.

“My relationship with the ministry is distant. What I know about the ministry is what I read in the newspapers,” Aregbesola confessed.

He thereafter directed the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Barr. Georgina Ehuriah to continue overseeing affairs until Monday when he would formally resume work.

“I will come to take over on Monday. I give the Permanent Secretary the grace to run the ministry till then. We will be ready by Monday to take on the huge assignment,” Aregbesola said.

He however assured staff of the ministry and its allied services of a “realistic and reasonable” leadership, urging them to be ready for more work as he would be demanding more from them.

“I promise you a realistic, reasonable and commendable leadership,” Aregbesola pledged.

Earlier, the permanent secretary welcomed the new minister, explaining that the Interior Ministry needed a focused person like him to lead it because of its strategic importance to the nation’s security architecture. (VANGUARD)