Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State has suspended his Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Omoun Perekebena Perez, for allegedly diverting funds to a private account.
The funds were for the agricultural programme, ‘Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (AADS).
The suspension was sequel to the outcome of the review of implementation of the Greenhouse project by the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Kingsley Emu, announced this, sayin a seven-man committee he chaired has been constituted to investigate the claims and perceived infractions related to the management of the scheme by the ministry.
Emu said: “Consequent upon the interim report of the committee and in order to have an unimpeded access to information during the investigations, Governor Oborevwori has approved the suspension of Omoun Perez, Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources.
“While Messrs Bennett Ezon-Abode Agamah, Permanent Secretary; Oki Preowei Yintareke, Assistant Director, Agricultural Engineering and Mr. Gabriel Idiatacheko, Chief Accountant, are to proceed on compulsory leave until further notice, in line with civil service extant rules.”
He said the government’s action was in no way a presumption of guilt, but rather a necessary measure to uphold the sanctity of the investigative processes already instituted, which was to ensure that the investigation was conducted without any potential for undue influence or bias.
