No fewer than six workers of the Ebonyi State Ministry of Health have been arrested for the alleged theft of government property, TheNigerian Metro has learnt.
Our correspondent learnt they were intercepted and arrested at the ministry’s premises on Saturday night while trying to move the said items to points of sale.
The arrest was revealed in a statement in Abakaliki, on Sunday, by Governor Francis Nwifuru’s Chief Press Secretary, Monday Uzor.
The statement read, “The Ebonyi State Governor, Chief Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, has ordered the arrest and prosecution of one Mr Ndukwe Ayansi and five others for allegedly diverting materials meant for the state’s Ministry of Health.
“The governor, on his way to a project inspection, sighted a Toyota Dyana truck loading registers, books and other materials from the warehouse in the Ministry of Health.
“The governor drove in and made inquiries but not satisfied with the answers given, probed further and discovered that patients’ data registers, cards and a host of other documents were moved into the vehicle.
“It was also discovered that all the documents had been sold without government approval.”
He said the governor described the action as a “sabotage to government’s efforts to reposition the health sector.”
The statement further quoted Nwifuru as saying, “You are selling government documents without approval on a Saturday afternoon.
“Our hospitals in the rural areas are requesting registers and data entry forms and hospital cards.
“Sadly, the ones the government has produced are being sold by you.
“This is pure sabotage to our efforts in the health sector. It will not be tolerated.”
Meanwhile, the suspects have been handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.
