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News Manager Suspended
indefinitely for allegedly Disclosing information
Mr. Stephen Alefia, the Controller of News and Current Affairs at the
Ebonyi State Broadcasting Service was, by a letter dated February 5,
2007, suspended indefinitely from office for allegedly causing the
publication in some newspapers the arrest and interrogation of nine
commissioner of Ebonyi State.
The letter suspending Mr. Alefia with
reference number 10-0015-160-A, and signed by Mr. David Otu-Fiamn, said
in part: “In compliance with Reg. 11.18 of Operating Conditions of
Service, the EBBS management at its meeting on Tuesday, February 5,
2007, directed that you should be suspended indefinitely from duty
without pay with effect from February 2007, pending the resolution of
your anti-government activities against the state government and public
officers without cause or facts, which is capable of inciting the people
against the government and public officers.”
Mr. Alefia petitioned the State
governor Sam Egwu denying the charges and pleaded with him to intervene
and reverse the “illegal and wrongful suspension” saying the allegations
against him were baseless and that his suspension was a violation of
civil service rules as no explanations were demanded from him in form of
a query. He also entreated the governor- to advice Onyike to desist from
threatening his life
Alefia, a senior management staff who
had worked with the state-owned radio station for 26 years, fingered the
State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Abia Oyuike as
the mastermind behind the suspension and accused him of unjustifiably
victimizing him.
He said: “This is the height of
injustice and clear case of witch-hunt designed to give a dog a bad name
in order to hang it.”
In a telephone
reaction however, Onyike denied either ordering Alefia’s suspension or
threatening him, saying he did not signed the letter. He dded: “The
Ebonyi State Broadcasting Service is one of the parastatals under my
ministry. I was not the one that issued him the suspension letter. It
was done by the management of the service.”
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