The Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru has suspended three commissioners for gross misconduct and dereliction of duties.
Governor Nwifuru announced the suspension of the commissioners during the state executive council meeting on Monday at the New Government House in Abakaliki, the state capital.
In a statement released on Tuesday by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation Jude Chikadibia-Okpor, Governor Nwifuru suspended the three commissioners for one month following their absence without permission during the state exco meeting.
The suspended commissioners are Solomon Azi (Grants and Donor Agencies), Victor Uzoma Chukwu (Environment), and Ikeuwa Omebe (Rural Development).
He directed that the suspended commissioners be relieved of all the privileges attached to their offices within the duration of the suspension.
The Ebonyi governor appreciated the resilience and commitment of members of the council to their duties, as he urged them to redouble their efforts. He warned against absenteeism and lackadaisical attitude to work among the public servants of the state.
He, however, used the opportunity to warn all the contractors handling government projects in the state to expedite efforts in the delivery of such projects in accordance with contractual agreements.
The governor said his government would not hesitate to use all legal means to enforce compliance.
READ THE FULL STATEMENT BELOW:
PRESS BRIEFING ON THE OUTCOME OF THE EBONYI STATE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2025
The Ebonyi State Executive Council Meeting of Monday, March 17, 2025, held at the EXCO Chambers, Abakaliki, with the chairman of the Council and Governor of Ebonyi State, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru , FNIOB, FCAI, GGCEHF presiding.
Before the business of the day, His Excellency appreciated the resilience and commitment of members of the council to their duties. However, he urged them to redouble their efforts. While warning against absenteeism and lackadaisical attitude to work among the public servants of the state, the governor further announced the suspension of the following three commissioners for one month for being absent in the day’s meeting without any permission:
1. The Honourabe Commissioner for Grants and Donor Agencies, Hon. Solomon Azi.
2. The Honourable Commissioner for Environment, Rt. Hon. Victor Uzoma Chukwu.
3. The Honourable Commissioner for Rural Development, Hon. Barr. Ikeuwa Omebe.
He directed that the suspended commissioners be relieved of all the privileges attached to their offices within the duration of the suspension.
Speaking further, His Excellency used the opportunity to warn all the contractors handling government projects in the state to expedite efforts in the delivery of such projects in accordance with contractual agreements, as government would not hesitate to use all legal means to enforce compliance.
BUSINESS OF THE DAY
1. Sports and Youth Development
As part of the State Government’s efforts to advance the infrastructural needs at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Afikpo, the EXCO approved the execution of the following projects:
i. Staff quarters
ii. Female hostel
iii. Health Clinic
This is in line with His Excellency’s resolve to compliment the Renewed Hope initiative of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to provide a conducive environment for both staff and corps members of the scheme.
2. Water Resources
Following a memo seeking the council’s approval to construct a central store for the Ministry of Water Resources, the EXCO graciously approved the sum of forty Million Naira (₦40, 000,000) only for the execution of the project, with emphasis on the need to protect the Ministry’s equipment and consumables.
3. Commerce, Industry and Business Development
Arising from the earlier directive to the three members of the council, Hon Commissioners for Commerce, Industry and Business Development, Trade and Investment, and Skill Development and Job Creation to commence the clearing of the six-hectare Industrial City site at Ezzamgbo, the EXCO approved the execution of the project through direct labour, which is to be flagged off on Wednesday, 19th March , 2025. In furtherance of the above, an inter-ministerial committee headed by Her Excellency, Princess Patricia Onyemaechi Obila, was constituted to oversee its execution. This project when completed would serve as an industrial cluster, and skill acquisition and innovation hub aimed at providing opportunities to the teeming youth population of the state for self-reliance.
4. Housing and Urban Development
Recall that EXCO had earlier approved the redesign and completion of the Ebonyi Trade Centre, Presco. As a prelude to the foregoing, the EXCO of today, 17 March 2025, resolved to conduct an integrity test on the building to ascertain its present structural status. The result of this test will determine the government’s next line of action.
5. Justice: State Honours Award
The Victorious EBSU Faculty of Law Team comprising Michael Agu-Ebeke, Ibor Cynthia Nwamaka and their guardian, Dr. (Mrs) Chioma Vivian Iteshi, who represented Nigeria at the 33rd Christof Heyns African Moot Court Competition held in Kigali Rwanda in 2024 were today admitted into the prestigious Ebonyi State Honour Awardees in recognition of their trailblazing achievement.
In one of the fiercest tests of legal brilliance in the African continent, the Ebonyi State University team emerged victorious defeating other 68 Anglophone and 15 Francophone teams in a keenly contested battle of legal knowledge thereby becoming the first Nigerian faculty of law to do so in 33 years.
The Chairman of the council while conferring the awards with five million naira (#5m) reward each on the deserving persons, expressed delight on the exceptional feat and uncommon show of excellence of the recipients, and expressed his administration’s commitment to prioritising educational transformation in the state. He however enjoined the leadership of Ebonyi State University and other tertiary institutions in the state to embrace practical-based research in order to produce solution-oriented graduates in line with the demands of the contemporary society.
Engr. Jude Chikadibia Okpor,
Hon Commissioner for Information and State Orientation,
Ebonyi State
March 18, 2025.
