Why Abia Gov. Ikpeazu sacked ASEPA GM

[From BONIFACE OKORO, Umuahia]

General Manager of Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA), Chief Eze Okwulehie, on Friday, received the sack for divulging in what may be regarded as “official secret.”

Okwulehie was swiftly removed from office, hours after he had declared on a live radio programme that the Accountant-General of the state, Kelechi Imeoria, was frustrating the operations of ASEPA by blatantly refusing to release funds duly approved for the agency by the State governor, Dr. Okeze Ikpeazu.

His removal, which came 10 months after his appointment, was contained in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Barr Chris Ezem, which gave no reasons for his sack.

The terse statement read: ”The Governor of Abia State, Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, has approved the immediate removal from office of Mr. Eze Okwulehie, General Manager, Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA), Umuahia.

 To this end, the Governor directs the Secretary to Abia State Government, Barr. Chris Ezem to oversee the activities of the Agency in the interim. This directive takes immediate effect.”

The abrupt end of Okwulehie’s sojourn at ASEPA may have started on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, the day a member of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Kelechi Onuzuruike, representing Umuahia North State Constituency, had tabled before his colleagues, during plenary, a Motion of Urgent Public Importance, detailing on the dirty state of Umuahia and Aba, the two major cities in Abia.

Hon. Onuzuruike who is also the Chairman, House Committee on Environment, bemoaned the state of the environment in some areas of the state, particularly as it relates to the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the state.

He said some streets and roads in the State capital and Aba have been taken over by refuse and emphasised that refuse in Umuahia has become an eyesore which made him have an interface with the General Manager of Abia State Environmental Protection Agency.

Hon Kelechi Onuzuruike said the General Manager disclosed to him that the agency has only one functional Excavator and one roll-on truck, and that the agency spends over N1.3m every month to hire other equipment needed for the excavation of refuse.

He further said that the General Manager said the agency have some equipment in their custody but cannot make use of them because they have not been paid for in full by the State Government.  

The lawmaker therefore prayed that the Executive Arm of Government pay for those new trucks so that the agency can effectively do their job.

After contributions from members, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, asked the Chairman House Committee on Environment to summon the General Manager of Abia State Environmental Protection Agency to appear before the committee and furnish it with more facts on the situation and efforts made so far by the agency to improve the process.

The House Committee on Environment was given up to Monday, 13th December, 2021 to report back to the House.

However, three days after the House sitting, Okwulehie appeared on the Live Radio programme in Umuahia to highlight the activities of his agency, especially after the resurgence of refuse heaps in many streets of Umuahia and Aba.

In the course of the programme, the sacked ASEPA boss narrated how the Accountant-General of the State was starving the agency of funds, hereby frustrating his efforts to achieve the agency’s mandate of keeping the state clean.

When asked what he has to say concerning the menace of refuse heaps that littered the city of Umuahia, Eze Okwulehie, said the agency under his leadership, was doing its best to evacuate the refuse, but complained bitterly that the Accountant-General, Mr Imeoria Kelechi, was frustrating his efforts by refusing to release duly approved funds by the Governor for the operations of ASEPA.

He revealed that the agency lacked equipment to function effectively. According to him, many trucks belonging to the agency have broken down and his unrelenting efforts to track the Accountant-General to release approved funds for the agency to enable him to repair the equipment for optimum performance have hit a brick wall.

 As a result, he said he has to resort to hiring of trucks at exorbitant rates to do its job despite the Accountant-General’s refusal to release funds approved by the governor for the agency, almost five months after.  “I will not use my hand to pack dirt,” he said.

 Asked why he has not pursued the release of the funds to a logical conclusion, Okwulehie said that it has been difficult for him to see the Accountant-General, alleging that he (the Accountant-General) does not come to office.

Few hours after the programme, the ASEPA General Manager, who has put up commendable performance since his appointment last February, was fired.