Delta State Places Commissioner on Indefinite Leave Following Alleged Attack on Governor's Assistant

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The Delta State Government has suspended the Commissioner for Works (Highway and Urban Roads), Reuben Izeze, indefinitely over allegations linking him to the assault of the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Protocol, Mr Simon Mudi, popularly known as Temple.a

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The state government announced the suspension in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Kingsley Emu, on Monday.

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The suspension takes immediate effect.

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According to the statement, the suspension was to allow security agencies to conduct an impartial investigation into the allegations surrounding the incident at the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun, Delta State.

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The government said the decision was necessary to ensure that the investigation was conducted without interference.

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The statement read in part, “The suspension is to enable the security agencies to carry out an unbiased investigation of allegations associating him with the assault on the Senior Special Assistant on Protocol, Mr Simon Mudi, also known as Temple, at the Petroleum Training Institute, PTI, Effurun, recently.”

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The government stressed that public safety and the maintenance of law and order remained priorities of the administration.

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It added that the state would continue to uphold the sanctity of human life and ensure that public institutions and officials were not placed above the law.

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The statement said, “The State Government remains committed to the maintenance of public safety in all circumstances which guarantees law and order and the sanctity of lives.”

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It added that the position remained applicable “even when institutions of state are involved.”

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The suspension comes against the backdrop of an alleged confrontation involving Izeze and Mudi at PTI, Effurun.

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The circumstances surrounding the alleged assault are expected to form part of the investigation by the security agencies.

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The state government did not state how long the investigation would last or whether the commissioner would be reinstated after the conclusion of the probe.

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Izeze, who represents the Ughelli South constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly, was appointed Commissioner for Works (Highway and Urban Roads) by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.

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The suspension is an administrative action to facilitate the investigation and does not, by itself, establish guilt.

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