Ebonyi governor gets 48-hour ultimatum to sack SSG over alleged ₦1bn corruption scandal

A diaspora group of Ebonyi indigenes has called for the immediate dismissal of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Grace Umezuruike, following a court-ordered interim forfeiture of over ₦1 billion allegedly diverted from the state's coffers.

The Association of Ebonyi Indigenes Socio-Cultural in the Diaspora (AEISCID) issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Governor Francis Nwifuru to sack Umezuruike, allowing for a full and unhindered probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The forfeiture order was granted on 8 July by Justice Maureen Onyetenu of the Federal High Court in Uyo after the EFCC filed an ex parte application against Umezuruike and her aide, Ngene Nwanna Onyeabor.

In a statement signed by AEISCID President (Worldwide), Ambassador Pascal Oluchukwu, the group expressed outrage at the state's apparent silence on the scandal.

"How can such humongous corruption take place in a state where abject poverty walks the streets stark naked?

“The SSG should have stepped aside the moment a prima facie case was established," Oluchukwu queried.

The group credited social critic Nwoba Chika Nwoba for petitioning the EFCC, which led to the freezing of the alleged accounts.

They called on the Ebonyi government to join the case as a party in court, enabling the potential recovery of the funds for public benefit.

The group urged the EFCC to extend its probe to contractors and officials involved in financial irregularities dating back to the eight-year tenure of former Governor Dave Umahi.

“Ebonyi cannot breathe because former Governor Umahi still holds the state by the neck and his successor by the balls,” the group alleged, vowing to pursue the matter until all diverted funds are recovered.

Describing the corruption as “arguably more than all past administrations combined,” AEISCID warned that the failure to act would amount to a betrayal of public trust.

"It is about a people and their collective destiny to save their state from shame and eventual doom,” the group concluded.