Impeached Enugu Deputy Gov Rejects Redeployment

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Indications have emerged that the impeached deputy governor of Enugu State, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi, would not accept his redeployment to the state civil service by Governor Sullivan Chime. The former deputy governor was an employee of the Enugu State Civil Service before he ventured into politics after rising to the rank of a permanent secretary. But he was demoted to the rank of a deputy director in his redeployment, which was confirmed by the Enugu State Government on Monday.

Efforts by Punch to get Onyebuchi to comment on the development were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report but a source, who is close to him, informed Punch that the former deputy governor would ignore the redeployment.

The source, an aide, who did not wish to be named, described the redeployment as a joke borne out of mischief, stressing that

“Onyebuchi has no business with it.” The source said:
“The entire idea of redeployment is a joke – Onyebuchi had already risen far above the rank of a deputy director which he has been designated in the purported redeployment to the state civil service. He is not taking up the redeployment – he will just ignore it – he had already made that clear. In fact the question of taking up such a posting does not even arise because the governor has no powers to redeploy him since he already resigned his appointment in the service before he went into politics.
He is not an employee of the state government, the redeployment is of no consequence to Onyebuchi at all. It is simply an act of mischief, somebody is trying to be mischievous here.”

But the Enugu State Government, through the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Chukwudi Achife, defended Onyebuchi’s redeployment, describing it as an act of magnanimity on Chime’s part.
Achife said the redeployment was in order, as, according to him, Onyebuchi did not formally resign his appointment in the state civil service before he was elected as the state deputy governor. He said the former deputy governor’s appointment in the civil service was never terminated.

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