On August 9, 2025, the management of Legacy 95.1 FM, a private radio station based in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, suspended Mr Godfrey Chikwere as acting General Manager, following his criticism of Mr Francis Nwifuru, the Governor of the State, during radio broadcasts and on social media.
Mr Chikwere’s suspension was announced on the radio station by Legacy FM’s management, which accused him of flouting the station’s code of conduct.
According to the announcement, “The management of Legacy FM 95.1, The Sound of Now, hereby suspends the acting general manager, Godfrey Chikwere, with immediate effect, till further notice.
“This is due to unruly behaviour and disobedience to the code of conduct guiding the Legacy FM,” the station’s management said in the announcement.
He was directed to hand over all company property in his possession to the next senior officer.
In one of his Facebook posts on August 8, the journalist urged the governor to take decisive action to protect his image and that of Ebonyi State, saying that the public perception of the governor’s administration was deteriorating. He criticised the administration for what he described as poor communication, underperformance by appointees, and unfulfilled pronouncements. Mr Chikwere warned that the governor’s goodwill was dwindling and advised him to “step on toes” to achieve results.
Governor Nwifuru’s spokesperson, Monday Uzor, and the Ebonyi State Commissioner for Information, Mr Ikeuwa Omebeh, condemned Mr Chikwere’s criticisms of the administration.
Mr Uzor described the journalist’s criticisms as unfounded and accused him of ungratefulness for using his platforms to attack the governor, despite that the radio station was benefitting from government support.
On his part, Mr Omebeh described Mr Chikwere’s criticisms of Governor Nwifuru as “derogatory and inciting,” saying such remarks were unacceptable as they were an affront to the collective identity of the Ebonyi people.
While noting that the government welcomes constructive criticism, the Commissioner warned against attempts to incite citizens against their leaders.
However, as of the time of the writing of this report, Chikwere had been directed to resume work with immediate effect from August 12, 2025.
