Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru has suspended the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Uchenna Igwe, over alleged gross misconduct and dereliction of duty.

Nwifuru disclosed this while briefing journalists at his office in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, on Monday, December 2, 2024.

The governor said Igwe’s suspension was with immediate effect.

It was gathered that the commissioner failed in his duties to effectively carry out an assignment given to him by Nwifuru, on issues concerning the payment of local government pension by a council chairman in the state.

This brings it to a total of four commissioners recently suspended by the governor.

It would be recalled that Nwifuru, in November, suspended the commissioners for housing and urban development, water resources, and health over dereliction of duty and gross misconduct.

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Nwifuru later disclosed that he suspended the Ebonyi State Commissioner for Health, Dr Moses Ekuma, for three months because he did not show capacity to manage the ministry.

The governor lamented that the health ministry “is sick, despite having abundance of qualified personnel”.

He said: “When one is in a position of authority, such a person should know that it comes with lots of responsibilities.

“People in authority should not be lackadaisical in their approach to work and should deliver on their mandates.”

Nwifuru said the government had invested heavily in the health sector but there was little to show for such efforts.

The governor added: “One contractor collected N3 billion to supply equipment and consumables to primary healthcare centres in the state.

“The government also spends billions of naira to bring primary healthcare centres and general hospitals in the state to standard but there are no results.”

The Star