Governor Nyesom Wike

Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has suspended the State Commissioner for Finance, Dr Fred Kpakol and the State Accountant General, Sir Abere Dagogo.

A statement by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor on Electronic Media said the suspension takes immediate effect.

Two days ago Kpakol shocked the Civil servants in the state when he directed them to present their Bank Verification Number, BVN, before their salaries could be paid from the month of February.

Dr Fred Kpakol,the State Commissioner for Finance who may not have gotten the approval of the Governor, struggled to clarify the new policy of the government. He said it was neither meant to purge the state workforce nor was it vindictive but aimed at correcting anomalies in the State Civil Service. He said the BVN will enable the state fish out ghost workers.

“We will pay salaries to only authenticated staff in the state workforce. You must give accurate information about you details as any information found not to be correct would be sent to EFCC for prosecution.”

He also emphasized that civil servants will only be paid February salary on presentation of Bank Verification Number BVN.

Observers are of the opinion that the Governor may have been miffed by the bad timing of the decision of both the Commissioner of Finance and the Accountant-General to rattle the Civil Servants, since some rerun elections are due in the state. Analysts said the governor interpreted the directive as an embarrassing political miscalculation.

Wike had accused some top notchers of Government,especially those in his cabinet for disloyalty before January 27 victory at the Supreme Court.

It was not clear if Dr. Fred Kpakol and the Accountant General fell into that category.