Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State insists that the return of government property in the possession of his sacked appointees is non-negotiable.
On January 15, Uzodimma relieved over 500 appointees of their duties, including Commissioners, Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants, and Special Assistants.
However, some of these former appointees have reportedly failed to return government property after their dismissal.
To enforce compliance, the governor has directed Charles Orie, the Managing Director of Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ISOPADEC), to assume custody and conduct a thorough inventory of all official vehicles assigned to the former political appointees.
In his directives to Orie, Uzodimma emphasized the importance of ensuring accountability, stating that the former appointees were his principal officers, commissioners, special advisers, and general managers of government agencies.
A statement released by his media adviser, Oguwuike Nwachuku, reiterated the governor’s commitment to upholding government directives and urged Orie to employ all lawful means to secure compliance from the former appointees.
Furthermore, Orie was tasked with ensuring that no former political appointee, regardless of their previous position, evades the surrender of their official vehicles.
“Orie was further urged to ensure that no former political appointees, no matter how highly placed , refuses to surrender his or her official vehicles” part of the statement read.
Despite initial directives from the governor, this newspaper learnt that many of the sacked appointees had refused to adhere to the directives to return official government property.