Iriansyah will replace Irwandi Yusuf who was dismissed from the gubernatorial post following his conviction in a corruption case.
"On behalf of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, I, as the Home Minister, inaugurate Mr. Nova Iriansyah as Aceh governor," Karnavian said at the swearing-in ceremony, held here during the plenary session of the Aceh Legislative Assembly (DPRA).
No more than 100 persons physically attended the plenary session. Many others followed the swearing-in ceremony outside the legislative assembly's main hall.
At the event, which was held under the strict implementation of the government's health protocols to prevent potential COVID-19 spread, Tito Karnavian said he believed Iriansyah will discharge his duties responsibly as the Aceh governor, as mandated by the state's laws and regulations.
Commenting on Iriansyah's inauguration, local legislator Teuku Raja Keumangan urged him to make an all-out effort to lower the poverty rate and boost the Acehnese people's social welfare in the remaining two years of his gubernatorial term.
"We are optimistic that Mr. Nova Iriansyah will work hard to make the Acehnese people prosperous," Keumangan said.
Hopes are running high that, in the remaining two years of his gubernatorial term, Governor Iriansyah will bolster Aceh's economic recovery efforts by optimizing development programs in all prioritized sectors, he added.
To achieve this end, Keumangan stressed, Governor Iriansyah will need to optimize the utilization of the provincial government's budget to revive the economy, which has borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Iriansyah’s predecessor, Irwandi Yusuf, was officially dismissed from the Aceh governor’s post for the 2017-2022 term after President Joko Widodo issued a decree discharging him after he was convicted in a corruption case and sentenced to prison.
After Yusuf was found guilty of involvement in a graft case pertaining to the Aceh special autonomous fund (DOKA) for 2018, the Supreme Court sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rp300 million, or an additional three months in jail.
Yusuf is currently serving his jail term at the Sukamiskin correctional facility in Bandung, West Java.
Located in the northernmost tip of Sumatra Island, Aceh is Indonesia's westernmost province.
Prior to the signing of a memorandum of understanding sealing the peace between the government of Indonesia and the separatist Free Aceh Movement in Helsinki, Finland, on August 15, 2005, the province was ravaged by armed conflict.
The Helsinki peace deal brought an end to the nearly three decades of armed conflict in the region, which claimed over 12 thousand lives.
Since then, Aceh has seen an improvement in various sectors of life. (INE)
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Rahmat F, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2020
