Ebonyi State government has received the report of the Committee on the State’s Fertiliser and Chemical Plant which recommended that matters of unprofessional conduct, criminality and shoddy transactions by the former general manager, Prof Ogbonnaya Chukwu, be referred to the police for proper investigation.
Briefing journalists on the outcome of this week’s State Executive Council meeting held in Abakaliki, the commissioner for information and state orientation, Engr Jude Okpor said that the report of the committee was read and adopted by the council.
Okpor said Governor Francis Nwifuru had explained to the council that crises at the plant started when the former general manager refused to leave office even when the past governor sacked all the appointees.
He said an audit panel of the office of the auditor general further indicted the general manager for financial impropriety adding that other issues which emanated from his unprofessional conducts necessitated the setting up of another committee on the 11th September, 2023.
Okpor said that part of the findings of the committee as read out alleged that the suspended general manager, used his private company for procuring equipment and materials for the fertiliser plant with government fund which was not properly accounted for.
He said that the committee recommendations among other things includes that the matter be referred to the state attorney-general for further action.
“Other recommendations of the committee includes, that the government should charge the embattled former GM for using the state storage facility for his private company.
“That the Board of Directors should be properly constituted for proper supervision of the company. That other matters of criminality and shoddy transactions by the former GM should be referred to the police for proper investigation.
“The committee concluded that the former GM, Prof. Ogbonnaya Chukwu, did not comply with the code of conduct for public officers in his transactions in the company, and such conduct should be followed with recommended process of public probe.