Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State he has fired several of his political appointees in the state.
Secretary of State Government (SSG) Chris Ezem revealed this in a statement on Thursday.
Mr. Ezem, a lawyer, said those affected include: special assistants, senior special assistants, special advisers and technical advisers.
This implies that commissioners in the state were not affected.
“The governor further directs the state accountant general to ensure immediate payment of the March 2023 stipends to all appointees,” Ezem said.
The SSG said the governor thanked the fired appointees for their contributions and services to the state and also wished them well in their future endeavors.
The dismissal came days after Ikpeazu-appointed gubernatorial candidate Okey Ahiwe of the Democratic Party of the Peoples (PDP) lost in the state gubernatorial election on March 18 to Alex Otti of the Labor Party (LP).
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr. Otti, the LP candidate, polled 172,386 votes to defeat his closest rival and PDP candidate, Mr. Ahiwe, who polled 88,174 votes.
Governor Ikpeazu also lost his senatorial bid in the Southern District of Abia to Enyinnaya Abaribe of the Grand Alliance of All Progressives.
The PDP is the ruling party in the state.
The firing of the political appointees also comes just 24 hours after Otti, the governor-elect, sounded the alarm that the state government was engaging in late-night labor rackets in the state.
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Ikpeazu would later deny the accusation, noting that even if the accusation were true, his administration, “with executive powers to manage the affairs of the state,” has the power to hire government employees if it wishes.
Otti is expected to be sworn in as state governor on May 29, when incumbent Governor Ikpeazu’s term ends.