Ukwa West Not Marginalized, Holds Strategic Position With Assembly Clerk — Surveyor Egbuh

A chieftain of the Labour Party in Ukwa West, Surv. Chief Innocent Egbuh, has dismissed claims that Ukwa West LGA was marginalized in the recent appointment of 11 new Permanent Secretaries by the Abia State Government.

In a statement titled “Beyond the Headcount: The Strategic Truth About Ukwa West, Meritocracy, and Political Representation,” Egbuh described the marginalization narrative as “manufactured outrage” by opposition elements after Ukwa East produced a Permanent Secretary while Ukwa West did not.

He argued that Ukwa West already holds one of the most consequential positions in the state civil service with the recent appointment of Pastor Promise Onwukwe as Clerk of the Abia State House of Assembly.

“To treat a Permanent Secretary slot as superior to, or even equal to, the office of the Clerk is a profound display of administrative illiteracy,” Egbuh said. “A Permanent Secretary manages an individual ministry, while the Clerk is the chief administrative, legal and accounting officer of an entire arm of government. Would any discerning constituency willingly trade the Clerk for a single Permanent Secretary?”

Egbuh said when viewed together, Ukwa Federal Constituency has secured two top bureaucratic positions — the Clerk of the Assembly for Ukwa West and a Permanent Secretary for Ukwa East.

He defended the Otti administration’s merit-based selection process, noting that the 11 Permanent Secretaries emerged through competitive written examinations and rigorous interviews, not political patronage.

“For decades, top appointments were shared like political souvenirs. Under Governor Alex Otti, that era has ended. Those shouting marginalization must answer: Did qualified senior civil servants from Ukwa West sit for these assessments? What were their performance metrics?” he asked.

The Labour Party chieftain said the same merit system had favoured Ukwa West in the recent transparent recruitment of public school teachers, where children of ordinary families were employed without godfatherism.

He warned against attempts to pit Ukwa West against Ukwa East, describing Ukwa as one indivisible constituency and calling the rivalry a “divide-and-rule” tactic by displaced political actors.

“Governance is an ongoing process. Everything cannot happen in a single cycle. We must celebrate the strategic ground we already hold and engage government with mature advocacy focused on infrastructure, empowerment and economic revitalization of our oil-producing communities,” Egbuh added.

He urged Ukwa people to support Labour Party candidates in 2027, including Adinigwe Ugochukwu Nwoke for House of Representatives.