Why I suspended Ebonyi health commissioner – Gov Nwifuru

The Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, on Wednesday explained why he suspended the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma, for three months.

The governor had on Tuesday suspended Ekuma and his Housing and Urban Development counterpart, Francis Ori, for various acts of misconduct.

Unlike Ekuma who got three months, Ori was suspended indefinitely by the governor.

Nwifuru, who addressed stakeholders from different sectors during the citizens’ engagement forum for the 2025 budget proposal in Abakaliki, said Ekuma did not show capacity to manage the ministry.

He said that the health ministry “is sick” despite having an abundance of qualified personnel.

The governor 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.”

READ ALSO: Ebonyi Gov Nwifuru suspends 2 Commissioners

He regretted that the government had invested heavily in the health sector but there was little to show for such efforts.

“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 governor added.

He revealed that the state government would constitute committees to inspect health facilities across the state.

“We have made several interventions, such as drug revolving funds for general hospitals and this has attained 60 percent delivery.

“We are equipping the health facilities so that when people fall sick in the rural areas, they would receive immediate treatment before being referred to specialist hospitals,” he concluded.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now