There was outpouring of love, affection and goodwill on Tuesday in Asaba between the immediate past Commissioner for Lands and Surveys in Delta state, Barr (Mrs) Kate Onianwa and staff of the Ministry who treated her to a send off party.
The organisers unanimously rated Mrs Onianwa as the best Commissioner the Ministry of Lands and Surveys ever had, who came, saw and conquered the animosity, bitterness and diabolism that characterized the Ministry over the years and accounted for the death and maiming of some members of staff.
Leading the pack of speakers was the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Gladys Peugeren.
She described Mrs Onianwa as a woman of substance, a trail blazer, a workaholic, a go getter and more importantly a daughter of Zion with a swag and a former Commissioner with a class.
The PS noted that the former Commissioner successfully threaded where the men feared to thread, pointing out that she was a passionate mother generous to a fault and always committed to puting smiles on the faces of people in need.
Others who spoke in the same vein were the Director of Admin, Emmanuel Ovuezirie; Director of Finance and Accounts, Paul Ataine; Director of Lands, Pastor Steve Edremoda; Director Mapping and Geoinformatics, Office of the Surveyor General of Delta state, Surveyor John Jibunor; the Secretary, Land Use and Allocation Committee, Mr Joshua Ekakiti; Councillor representing PDP ward 8, Ibusa, in the Oshimili North Local Government Council, Anthony Nweke; a retired employee of the Ministry, Elder John Egbunike; Miss Chioma Okoye and Evangelist Moses Uduoborie.
They added that the tenure of the ex-Commissioner was a blessing to the Ministry as she succeeded in unifying all the departments of the Ministry and engendered love among the staff.
The speakers thanked former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for appointing Mrs Onianwa into the State Executive Council and assigning her to the Ministry of Lands and Surveys, even as they appealed to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to reappoint her to an office of higher responsibility.
Responding, the former Commissioner admitted that presiding over the affairs of the Ministry of Lands and Surveys as Commissioner was not an easy task, but that with God on her side she threaded through the thorny road, using love for one another in the Ministry as a weapon.
Barr (Mrs) Onianwa thanked her former aides and staff of the Ministry for celebrating her, even as she said it did not come to her as a surprise, and promised that the bond she had with the staff of the Ministry would be sustained, as she would be calling from time to time to check up on everyone of them.
She confessed to the fact that she enjoyed her stay in the Ministry of Lands and Surveys and urged the management and staff of the Ministry to strengthen the existing cordial relationship between them in order to permanently neutralize the stigma of acrimony and bitterness in the Ministry and make the best of their careers.
The event featured the presentation of gifts to the ex-Commissioner, who in turn rewarded those she adjudged to be the most punctual, most dedicated and best dressed staff members with cash gifts.
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