Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom has warned that anyone desperate to make the new State Executive Council, EXCO, who has pushed persons of influence to recommend them for consideration has lost their chance of being chosen.

Eno hinted that he would this week, submit names of commissioner nominees and other appointees to the Akwa Ibom State House Assembly for clearance to reconstitute a fresh EXCO.

The governor gave this warning at a farewell dinner for the sacked cabinet Friday night in Uyo, the state capital.

At the Friday Valedictory EXCO meeting, the out-gone EXCO members had among themselves moved and unanimously supported the motion for dissolution of the cabinet with the governor sealing their disengagement by dropping the gavel.

Eno harping on his prerogative to pick his new cabinet warned stakeholders, "Please don't ask anybody to contact me, my phone lines are switched off already, and they will remain switched off until names will be sent to the House of Assembly next week.

"Don't contact me. The surest way to make anyone fail is to send me any name. It is the sole prerogative of the governor to appoint people to the EXCO. There's the first eleven and he (the governor) takes responsibility for bringing them on board.

"And their loyalty will be to him and him alone. If you want anybody not to make it to the EXCO, the surest way is to send the person's name to me. I have read speculations of those who have already made the list. Thank you for making them fail.

"I can assure this audience that I have not pencilled down a name, I don't know where they saw the names. The only person I would have probably whispered to would have been my wife but she is in Heaven."

On the task ahead and expectations on the incoming cabinet, the governor stated, "At the end of March we will be flagging off 31 brand new projects for our state.

"So those of you whom God will give the privilege to be in the Executive Council must know that it will not be a time for joke, it will not be a time for play."