Delta Education Commissioner, Joan Onyemaechi Resigns Over Brother's Chairmanship Bid

Joan Onyemaechi

Joan Onyemaechi, the Commissioner for Education (Technical) in Delta State has resigned from Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s cabinet.

Onyemaechi announced her resignation while addressing a congregation during a service at her church in Asaba on Sunday.

The former commissioner said she resigned from her position to pave the way for her younger brother who is recontesting the Chairmanship position of Aniocha South Local Government Area.

Onyemaechi disclosed that following the bickering and jealousy being faced by her family over her brother’s second-term bid, she decided to tender her resignation in the interest of her brother and clan.

She said: “Praise thy Lord, I just want to put it on record, I came to minister today to you here as a former commissioner of the Ministry of Technical Education. In my local government, my younger brother is the council chairman, he’s done one tenure and he is returning for the second tenure and the position is zoned to my clan.

“And there are people agitating and fighting that why am I the one always favoured in government? That I am a commissioner, why should my brother return as a council chairman for a second tenure?

“And when something is zoned to your clan, you have to be very careful and we have three clans. The Nsukwa clan has done their two tenures, Ogwashi-uku did her two tenures, so it came to Ubulu and incidentally, my younger brother is the council chairman.

“And for us to complete our second tenure, they said why should brother and sister occupy two positions and for me I was given the opportunity and privilege to rise politically so I must allow another person to rise as well.

“So, I have decided not because he’s my brother because if it were another person I would do the same by resigning for such a person’s interest. And since the position is zoned to our clan and they said because of my own position, my brother will not be allowed to do his second tenure, so I went to my boss, the governor, and appealed to him that I wanted to resign so that my brother can go back to the council to do his second tenure which is due to my clan.

“So I have resigned as commissioner to enable my brother to complete his second tenure.”

Onyemaechi was a former House of Assembly member, House of Representatives member and former Director General of the Asaba Capital Territory Agency.