Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Ogbonnaya Nwifuru, has announced the indefinite suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, and a three-month suspension for the Honourable Commissioner for Health.
A statement released on Tuesday by the Commissioner for Information, Hon. Jude Chikadibia Okpor, confirmed that the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, along with the Executive Secretaries of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency and the Ebonyi State Health Insurance Agency, would also face three-month suspensions.
The Governor has appointed the Special Assistant on Primary Health to temporarily oversee the Ministry of Health during the suspension period.
The suspended officials have been instructed to return all government property, including vehicles, to the Secretary to the Government by the close of business on Monday, November 25, 2024.
Earlier, Governor Nwifuru ordered the arrest of six civil servants caught selling hospital materials meant to be distributed freely. The arrests were disclosed in a statement by Chief Press Secretary Monday Uzor on Sunday.
The statement explained that Governor Nwifuru, during a project inspection, saw a Toyota Dyana truck loading items such as patient data registers and cards from the Ministry of Health warehouse. Upon further investigation, it was revealed the documents had been sold without proper authorization.