Suspension of EBRUWASA GM: ‘I Resigned Last month’ – Dr. Opoke
Following the announcement by the Ebonyi State government over its alleged suspension of the General Manager (GM) of the Ebonyi State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (EBRUWASA), Dr Opoke Sunday Andrew, the accused person (Opoke) has described it as laughable stating that he resigned from office last month, April 14, 2022.
In a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government , Dr.Ugbala Kenneth and made available to the press on Friday, Dr. Ugbala stated that the Governor has approved the immediate suspension from the office of the General Manager, EBRUWASA, Dr. Sunday Opoke for poor performance.
He maintained that the government noticed with dismay the non-supply of potable water to the good people of Ebonyi State despite the huge investment in the water resources sector particularly Ebonyi State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (EBRUWASA).
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He further disclosed that the state government has set up a committee to investigate the activities of the Agency under Dr Sunday Opoke to ascertain the reason behind the non-supply of potable water to the citizens of Ebonyi State.
Reacting, Dr Opoke said he expressed surprise after reading on the social media, the announcement alleging his suspension from being the General Manager of EBRUWASA after he resigned from his former office.
According to Dr Opoke, “it was surprising when I read where it said I’m suspended from the office for non-supply of water to Ebonyi State. Well, I resigned from my job long ago and because I have resigned, I have no business being suspended by the Ebonyi State government.
“Though, I can still tell you what happened in my office before I resigned. As I speak to you from 2015 till the day I resigned, no one Naira from the state government has entered my office – no overhead and any other thing. So, practically, it was because of my ingenuity and Wisdom – my professionalism and expertise, that I have used to run the office from 2015 till now.”
He stressed that “if the government maintained, it suspended me for not supplying potable water to Ebonyi State is laughable because the state water rural supply and sanitation has nothing to do with urban water supply. It’s about the rural communities and the rural communities in Ebonyi State, no political will has been provided when I was in the office and even to this date. But the love and wisdom, I have for Ebonyians, made me do a lot of training, engage them in the capacity building, borrowed money from families and friends, and from my salary even when it couldn’t sustain this, I met with some staff to make some contributions to run the office.
“The records are there, the Accountant General, the Auditor General of the state can attest to these if they can tell the truth. But if they want to make me unnecessary popular, they can come after me because the records are there, the courts and all the legal systems are there because I’m not afraid for whatever threats.”
Dr Opoke added: “The only thing is that I love Ebonyi State, just try to go to my office then to interview them, they will tell you how I run my office from 2015 before my resignation. I’m a consultant – the first and the only water consultant in Ebonyi State. As a consultant, I’m limited to the places or people I will attend, with my knowledge. The little resources I got from families and friends, I have been using to run the office, even when I came back from the USA, I ran the office with my money, when one commissioner asked me why I used my money to run government projects, I said that if this is my private project, will I allow it to collapse, of course, I can’t allow it to collapse.
“So, I resigned on the 14th day of April 2022, and the ministry in charge has received my official resignation letter. We don’t intend to fight the government, its officials and any Ebonyian because I love this state, but I wish one day I will become the governor of this state, to show the Ebonyi people, the kind of love I have for them and that’s why I ran my office almost eight years with my money, without a kobo coming from the government in power.”
