Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has announced the suspension of two commissioners, Francis Ori (Housing and Urban Development) and Moses Ekuma (Health), for three months due to allegations of gross misconduct and neglect of duty.
The decision was revealed by the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Jude Chikadibia, during a press briefing on Tuesday.
He explained that the suspensions were part of resolutions made at the state executive council meeting held on Monday.
In addition to the two commissioners, the Governor also suspended three senior officials in the Ministry of Health: Dr. Lawrence Ezeoke, Permanent Secretary; Dr. Philip Ovuoba, Executive Secretary of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency; and Dr. Divine Igwe, Executive Secretary of the Ebonyi State Health Insurance Agency.
Chikadibia noted that these suspensions were due to “gross misconduct and dereliction of duties” on the part of the affected officials.
As a result, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Primary Health will take charge of the Ministry of Health during the period of suspension.
The suspended officials have been ordered to hand over all government assets, including vehicles, to the Secretary to the Government by Monday.
This move follows recent calls by Governor Nwifuru for the prosecution of Mr. Ndukwe Ayansi and five others for allegedly diverting materials intended for the Ministry of Health.
It is reported that the five accused individuals have been arrested and will face charges in court soon.
