An Enugu State High Court Presided over by Justice C.I Nwobodo has declared as illegal and unconstitutional the premature removal from office of the former Chairman of the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board, ENSUBEB, Mrs. Ethel Nebo-Ezeabasili in 2012.
In a ruling that lasted several hours, the Court also awarded a N10 Million damages and a N100,000 Naira cost against the Governor Sullivan Chime led Government for illegal and unconstitutional actions against the Mrs. Nebo-Ezeabasilli.
Mrs. Nebo-Ezeabasili had approached the State High Court in Enugu to declare her removal from office as illegal and unconstitutional and to award her damages over a trumped up allegation that she embezzled over N245 Million Naira belonging to the Enugu State Government.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Ethel Nebo-Ezeabasili who had fled the State over alleged attempts on her could not be reached to react to the judgment.
However, her lawyer Chief Tagbo Ike said he was happy that the attempt to tarnish the integrity and reputation his client had built over the years had failed. He described the judgment as a “triumph of justice over injustice and impunity”.
“This shows that evil and political tyranny will never prevail over truth, justice, and due process forever”, he stressed.
On his part, a civil society activist, Mr. Damian Okenwa described the judgment as victory for democracy.
He added: “The fact that the ruling was given by a courageous and Honourable Justice of the Enugu State High Court against a sitting government of the same State shows that the judiciary remains the last hope of the common man; and that all hope is not lost for this nation.
“The ruling is another food for thought for the State Government and a warning to retrace its steps. The poor woman might have lost the battle to prevent the Enugu State Government and the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo from demolishing a whopping N3.6 Billion by awarding 583 projects to just three companies, but she has won the war by exposing to the world the manner of government we have in the State.”
He further stressed that the former ENSUBEB Chairman had also made a point to the effect that “a public servant who has integrity and courage can say no to corrupt orders from even at his or her own peril”.
It could be recalled that Mrs. Ethel Nebo-Ezeabasili was prematurely removed from office in 2012 following an alleged running battle between her and the Chief of Staff to Governor Sullivan Chime, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo over the running of the State Universal Basic Education Board.
In an in-depth petition at the time to the Insector-General of Police entitled “Save my Soul: Threat to My Life, Harassment and Intimidation by Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, Chief of Staff to the Governor of Enugu State” and dated February 13, 2013, Mrs. Nebo-Ezeabasili had alleged that the crux of the onslaught against her by Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo was her principled stand against irregularities in award of contract.
She wrote: “By the Procurement Act, no contractor is expected to tender or be awarded more than one lot, but in this case the Committee approved only four companies to execute 583 projects, in spite of the fact that I told them that it was not politically expedient and did not follow Due Process”.
The former ENSUBEB Chairman also alleged that in addition to the N3.6 Billion and 583 projects being carried out by four companies, which was later reduced to three, Eremite Ltd was to roof all the school buildings, Intercolour Paints Ltd was to supply all the paintings, while the Chief of Staff and Mr. Cornelius Nnaji were to supply the furniture- school chairs- at the unit cost of N29,000.
“I pointed out to them that the approved unit cost by UBEC for the chairs was N8,000, but the Executive Secretary, Mr. Dan Onyishi was directed by the Chief of Staff to increase the budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Education to accommodate the increase and that will be an extra N21,000 (Twenty One Thousand Naira) per chair”, she alleged.
