The Ebonyi State Governor, Martin Elechi, yesterday suspended the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Ben Igwenyi, with two other commissioners for improper dressing.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Onyekachi Eni, named the two commissioners as Hyacinth Ikpo,

Commissioner for Culture and Tourism and Mr. Chukwuma Nwandiugo, (Works and Transport).

The commissioners were said to have dressed casually to a state banquet organised for the members of the Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON) at the Government House on Friday night.

According to the statement, the suspension was for a period of three months. The statement further directed the commissioners not to attend any state function throughout the duration of their suspension.

The governor was said to have been enraged by the commissioners’ lacklustre dressing to the occasion which had in attendance members of SOGON from various states of the federation which seemed to portray a bad image of the state in the eyes of the visitors.

Sources close to Government House revealed that the suspension is without pay, adding that the commissioners have been directed to hand over all government properties in their possession to their permanent secretaries.

When our correspondent visited the official residence of one of the commissioners, hundreds of men and women especially from his hometown were seen in clusters discussing the suspension and a possible solution to the problem.

One of the early callers, Mr. Ifeanyi Chukwu, said the announcement came to them as a big surprise. “Our son since his appointment has been dressing in a manner that portrays him as a man of high integrity. He has represented the state government at many functions and what happened may be a little oversight.”

Gistreel.com