After 11 years of his dismissal from service, a former Chief Accountant with the Kogi State Ministry of Budget and Planning, Mr Ekele Sunday Okeme has petitioned the Kogi State House of Assembly over alleged illegal termination of his appointment by the administration of Alhaji Ibrahim Idris.
Okeme in his petition to the House dated 4th November, 2017 and titled ‘Save my Soul” said the then administration of Alhaji Ibrahim Idris in 2006 terminated his appointment from service for allegedly campaigning for the Late Prince Abubakah Audu.
In the petition, Okeme said, ”On October 26th 2006, I was served two queries in a day ( Absent from duty and divulging of official secrets).
“Little did I know that these queries were disguise to give a dog a bad name and to hang it. The motive behind these was speculated that I campaigned for Prince Dr Abubakar Audu which I did not.
“I made frantic efforts to make the administration understand but all proved abortive. After haven answered these queries, I appeared before senior Staff Management Committee (SMC) of Ministry of Budget and Planning instead of the Account General office.
“Thereafter, my appointment was terminated. The termination lacked fair hearing as I did not appear before my office. I made complaints to the Kogi State Civil Service Commission, the peak of the Civil Service as far as civil service matters are concerned.
” The Commission advised the State Government for my reinstatement but was ignored. My royal father Alhaji Ademu Abuh Ejeh of Olamaboro Local Government and Obaje Otalu of Atavaka saw reasons with me and made appeals to the then Executive Governor Alhaji Ibrahim Idris for my reinstatement but all fell on deaf ears.
The petitioner, however, urged the house to fasttrack his reinstatement back into the civil service and give him promotion to be at par with his colleagues, saying his retirement was supposed to take effect from 3rd December, 2015.
Meanwhile, the Speaker Kogi State House of Assembly, Mathew Kolawole, has referred the petition to the House committee on petition, ordering them to
make their findings and report back to the house in four weeks.