S’East Chairmen of Association of Federal Establishments meet in Anambra, plan national body

By Tony Okafor, Awka

Anambra State on Friday February 23,2024 played host to the meeting of
Chairmen of Association of Federal Establishments in the South-East, comprising Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States.

The association discussed issues of mutual concern and interest with a view to evolving beneficial decisions and foster cooperation amongst members.
Speaking to the press after meeting, the Chairman of Anambra State chapter of the association , Dara Chijioke Okechukwu commended the tenacity of purpose of members.

He said the Anambra meeting was the second time the association had met, stating that the first( maiden) meeting of the group was held in Enugu in November last year.

Okechukwu said, “We want to form a synergy from the South-East, from there we intend to form a national body.
We are in each state of the federation but we now want to have a national body. So we formed the South-East forum. We are making progress

“There’s is this saying that charity begins at home. We want to consolidate in our zone that is why we shifted our next meeting to Abia, so that after consolidating in the South-East we now move to our nearest zone which is the South South. We reach out to them; consolidate with them; reach out to South-West; from there we move to other zones of the federation. Our intention is that by next year( 2025), we should form a robust, coherent national body.

“Apart from that, during the meeting we crossfertilized ideas about what is happening in our individual states, like what is happening in Enugu, what is happening in Abia,etc. So, generally so far so good.

“This is the second time we are meeting. The first( maiden) meeting was in Enugu in November last year. This is our second meeting and I’m very happy with the turn out. It was only Ebonyi State that did not attend. So, we resolved that in our May meeting, the five states of the South-East will attend. After that meeting we now reach out to other zones, starting with the South South zone.

Speaking, the Chairman of Enugu chapter of the association, Mr Emeka Nwokolo said the group was not a pressure group nor a labour group.

He said,”We are not a pressure group; we are just civil servants and we have our various establishments . All we do here is to agree on best ways to carry out the policies of the federal government, that’s all. As we do it, we crossfertilize ideas for the best way to see workers that work under us do the right thing as it has to do with government business.

“When we say we meet together, it’s not like we are meeting as a pressure group, no; or as labour group,no. We are meeting as just heads of various establishments. We reach out to synergize with other MDAs so that in areas of interest we fathom ways of getting the business of government done fast and well.”

The chairman of the association in Abia State, Mr Chukwuemeka Ukommadu, concurred with his colleagues that the association was not a pressure group.

He said,” Actually in all the states, we take out time once in a month to have our meeting, essentially to cool off the office tension – the pressure we go through in the offices.

“We look at the MDAs, how do we move forward the federal government’s mandates bestowed on us as heads of various establishments in our various states. So, it is not a pressure group. Like in Abia State, we meet on a Wednesday, at least for one hour to douse the tension of office files going through our heads.

“It’s even helping our members because the kind of pressure we go through these days -the stress of of high blood pressure.

“Once you come out from the office, stay for one hour or two hours, laugh over some issues and then go back, it helps to reduce stress and makes you live longer. Like in Abia State, basically, we even have to follow the head of state’s directive of jogging and walking every month. One of the Saturdays, we take out all federal workers in the state, we do jogging and it helps to increase our mental alertness and keep us fit to do the federal government job we were all employed to do.

“So, in the meeting are the heads of the five states that make South-East. You discover it’s also good for us to come together and synergize so that we can move our association forward in our various states.”