The governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru has suspended the state’s Commissioner of Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma and Francis Ori, his Housing and Urban Development counterpart.
The commissioners were suspended during the State Executive Council meeting in Abakaliki.
A statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Jude Okpor, on Tuesday morning, read, “Following cases of gross misconduct and dereliction of duties by some government officials and matters related thereto, the Chairman of Council directed the indefinite suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development and three months suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Health respectively.”
The development could be linked to the alleged theft of property belonging to the Ministry of Health by its officials, as well as the reported underperformance of the Housing and Urban Development commissioner and his poor handling of the Amaeze Housing Scheme in the state’s Ishielu LGA.
Recall that the governor was in the health ministry’s premises on Saturday night when he came across a scene in which six workers were accused of diverting government materials.
He then ordered their arrest and subsequent prosecution.