From Agaju Madugba, Katsina
Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari has readmitted into his cabinet two commissioners and two Special Advisers who had earlier resigned their positions to contest various positions during the just concluded primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Farouk Lawal Jobe, the erstwhile Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning and his colleague from the Ministry of Rural Development, Mustapha Mahmud, had resigned to contest the governorship seat but lost out at the primaries.
Speaking at their swearing-in ceremony at the Government House on Wednesday, Masari said that, “there is very little to say beyond telling them welcome back.
“They left to contest various elective positions and they were not successful. However, they remain part of us wherever they are and we feel the best thing we can do is to request them to come back and they are willing to come back and continue from where they stopped.
“So, welcome back to the cabinet to the cabinet of which you are foundation members.
“When the Deputy Governor wanted to contest the office of the Governor, he relinquished his position and assignment as Commissioner for Agriculture which we realised later was not necessary.
“With the new Electoral Act, everybody wanted to play safe and he did.
“I have directed the secretary to the State Government that the Deputy Governor should continue his assignment as Commissioner for Agriculture and he doesn’t need to be sworn-in.
“We still have two more vacancies, the replacement of late Nasir Rabe and the Commissioner for Sports Development. In next one or two weeks, we should be able to fill the two vacancies,” Masari said.