Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has suspended the Honourable Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matter, Uchenna Igwe.
The Commissioner has been asked to proceed on indefinite suspension over gross misconduct.
Recall that the Governor had suspended the Honourable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development and three (3) months suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Health respectively.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by Commissioner for Information, Hon. Jude Chikadibia Okpor said also to proceed on a three-month suspension are the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, the Executive Secretaries of the State Primarily Healthcare Development Agency and that of the Ebonyi State Health Insurance Agency.
He further said in view of the development, the Special Assistant (SA) to the Governor on Primary Health was directed to take charge of the ministry in the absence of the suspended Commissioner.
The suspended government officials are to hand over all government properties in their possession including vehicles to the Secretary to the Government on or before the close of work on Monday, November 25, 2024.
Recall that Governor Nwifuru on Saturday ordered for the arrest of six civil servants that were caught selling Hospital materials meant to be distributed for free.
The arrest was revealed in a statement in Abakaliki, on Sunday, by Governor Francis Nwifuru’s Chief Press Secretary, Monday Uzor.
The statement read, “The Ebonyi State Governor, Chief Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, has ordered the arrest and prosecution of one Mr Ndukwe Ayansi and five others for allegedly diverting materials meant for the state’s Ministry of Health.
“The governor, on his way to a project inspection, sighted a Toyota Dyana truck loading registers, books and other materials from the warehouse in the Ministry of Health.
“The governor drove in and made inquiries but not satisfied with the answers given, probed further and discovered that patients’ data registers, cards and a host of other documents were moved into the vehicle.
“It was also discovered that all the documents had been sold without government approval.”
