Governor Wike sacks commissioner for finance, accountant-general

– Reports say Wike did not sanction finance commissioner’s widespread BVN story

– Sack may have been as a result of disloyalty to governor

Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike of Rivers state may have fired the two men out of disloyalty.

Rivers state governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has suspended the state commissioner for finance, Dr Fred Kpakol and the state accountant general, Sir Abere Dagogo.

A statement by Simeon Nwakaudu, special assistant to the Rivers state governor on electronic media revealed that the suspension takes immediate effect.

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Two days ago Kpakol shocked the civil servants in the state when he directed that all Rivers state civil servants must present their Bank Verification Number (BVN) before their salaries would be paid from the month of February.

Kpakol, who may not have gotten the approval of the governor, struggled to clarify that new policy in the state government to purge the state workforce is not vindictive but aimed at correcting anomalies in the state civil service.

He made the clarification that the aim of insisting that without BVN, no salary for any civil servant would be paid in Rivers state, was to fish out those whose names are still in salary vouchers inappropriately.

“We will pay salaries to only authenticated staff in the state workforce. You must give accurate information about you details as any information found not to be correct would sent to EFCC for prosecution,” he stated.

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He also emphasized that civil servants will only be paid February salary on presentation of BVN, adding also that the fall in crude oil prices has plunged federal allocation to the lowest never experienced in the state.

Observers are of the opinion that the governor may have been miffed by the decision of both the finance commissioner and the accountant-general to rattle the civil servants at an election period in the state.

Wike had accused some top notchers of government, especially those in his cabinet, of disloyalty before his January 27 victory at the Supreme.

It is not clear if Dr Kpakol and the accountant general fall into that category.

Meanwhile, the Rivers state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned Dakuku Peterside, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last elections, to respect Governor Wike or have himself to blame.

Today.ng reports that the warning was contained in a statement made by Jerry Needam, the special adviser on media and publicity to the chairman of Rivers state PDP, Bro Felix Obuah.

The party issued a statement shortly after Peterside addressed a press conference where he accused Wike of disrespecting President Muhammadu Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

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