Clear indications emerged yesterday from Government House, Asaba that the current raging corruption inferno in the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural resources may consume the Head of Service Mr Reginald Bayoko, The Townhall Ng reports.
The governor Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborevwori is very incensed that the head of service should criticize publicly his decision of suspending the Agric Commissioner and others involved in the alleged sleaze.
The suspended commissioner and head of service are Ijaws.
THE Head of Service, HoS in Delta State, Mr Reginald Bayoko is presently under fire for complaining to journalists that his office which is statutorily responsible for disciplining of civil servants in the State was not consulted before the suspension of the Commissioner for Agriculture while the Permanent Secretary, and two other officers were ordered to proceed on compulsory leave over alleged N280 million scandal.
Bayoko, had while playing host to the leadership of the Asaba Correspondents’ chapel of of Nigeria Union of Journalists NUJ in the State few days ago assured that the leadership of the State Civil Service would continue to mete out disciplinary actions on civil servants found to be involved in sharp practices to ensure sanity.
He told the journalists that what happened to workers at the Ministry of Agriculture was not the first to be handled by the State government.
His words: “such situation has always been there, the difference in this case is that it was placed on the media before it got to the Civil Service leadership.
“We have dealt with such instances on several occasions, and those involved faced disciplinary action”, he added. (Quotes from Daybreak newspaper).
The Townhall gathered that when the story was published with banner headline – ‘Delta Commissioner, Others’ suspension placed on the Media before getting to us – HoS’, the attention of the governor was drawn to it including the Secretary to the State Government SSG who were irked about the comment.
Rattled by the displeasure expressed, the embattled HoS released a Press statement today, Friday, backtracking.
The statement reads:
“The Office of the Delta State Head of Service wishes to address certain inaccuracies and misinterpretations that have arisen from recent reports in sections of the print media. These reports erroneously quoted Mr. Reginald Bayoko, mni, the Delta State Head of Service, as suggesting a misalignment in the communication process regarding the suspension of the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, alongside the directive for the Permanent Secretary and two staff members of the Ministry to proceed on compulsory leave.
“It has come to our attention that the portrayal of Mr. Bayoko’s statements has been both misleading and not reflective of the truth, especially following his interaction with the members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Asaba Correspondence Chapel, during their courtesy visit on Wednesday.
“For the sake of clarity and to eliminate any ambiguity, the Office of the Head of Service wishes to state that Mr. Bayoko, in his dialogue with the journalists, articulated that while the story of the alleged infraction became public through the press before formal acknowledgement by the authorities, the subsequent government actions — namely, the suspension and the directive for compulsory leave — were indeed communicated internally within the government corridors to the Head of Service’s full knowledge before being made public.
“The assertion that the actions taken by the government, under the guidance of the Governor, Rt. Hon. (Elder) Sheriff Oborevwori, were known to the Head of Service through media channels before any official communication is therefore unequivocally false.
“To reiterate, Mr. Bayoko was fully informed of the developments and the necessary administrative steps being taken in response to the situation at hand.
“We hope this statement serves to clarify the sequence of events and reaffirm the integrity of the communication process within the Delta State government.
The Office of the Head of Service remains committed to transparency, accuracy, and the maintenance of high standards of communication with the public and the media.
“We appreciate the understanding and cooperation of all parties as we continue to uphold the values of responsible governance and public service”.
(Signed) Mr. Ivovi Aruoriwo
Public Relations Officer,
Office of the Head of Service.
Recall that the SSG, Kingsley Emu on Wednesday issued this statement.
“Arising from the outcome of the review of the implementation of the Greenhouse project by the State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Governor of Delta State Rt. Hon Elder Sheriff F.O. Oborevwori has constituted a seven man committee chaired by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Kingsley Emu to investigate the claims and perceived infractions
“That consequent upon the Interim Report of the Committee and in other to have an unimpeded access to information during the period of the investigations, the Governor, Rt. Hon. Elder Sheriff F.O Oborevwori has approved the immediate suspension of Hon. Omoun Perekebena Perez, Hon. Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, while Messrs Bennett Ezon-Abode Agamah, Permanent Secretary; Engr. Oki Preowei Yintareke, Assistant Director, Agricultural Engineering and Mr. Gabriel Idiatacheko, Chief Accountant are to proceed on compulsory leave until further notice in line with Civil Service extant rules.
“The statement further added that the government’s action is in no way a presumption of guilt but rather a necessary measure to uphold the sanctity of the investigative processes already instituted which is to ensure that the investigation is conducted without any potential for undue influence or bias”.
