The Delta State Government has suspended the Commissioner for Works (Highway and Urban Roads), Reuben Izeze, indefinitely over allegations linking him to the assault of the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori on Protocol, Simon Mudi, popularly known as Temple.
The suspension takes immediate effect and is intended to allow security agencies to conduct an impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the alleged incident at the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun.
The state government announced the decision in a statement signed on Monday by the Secretary to the State Government, Kingsley Emu.
According to the statement, Izeze’s suspension was necessary to prevent any possible interference with the investigation and allow security agencies to establish what transpired.
“The suspension is to enable the security agencies to carry out an unbiased investigation of allegations associating him with the assault on the Senior Special Assistant on Protocol, Mr Simon Mudi, also known as Temple, at the Petroleum Training Institute, PTI, Effurun, recently,” the statement said.
The government said public safety, law and order and the sanctity of human life remained priorities of the administration.
It stressed that those principles applied even where government institutions or public officials were involved.
“The State Government remains committed to the maintenance of public safety in all circumstances which guarantees law and order and the sanctity of lives,” it said.
The suspension follows an alleged confrontation involving Izeze and Mudi at PTI, Effurun.
Details of the confrontation, including what led to the incident and the circumstances surrounding the alleged assault, are expected to form part of the investigation by the security agencies.
The state government did not disclose how long the investigation would last or say whether Izeze would be reinstated after the conclusion of the probe.
Izeze, who represents Ughelli South Constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly, was appointed Commissioner for Works (Highway and Urban Roads) by Governor Oborevwori.
His suspension represents a significant development within the Delta State Government, coming amid an investigation into allegations involving a serving commissioner and a senior aide to the governor.
The decision also allows the security agencies to investigate the matter without the commissioner remaining in office while the allegations are being examined.
The suspension, however, does not establish that Izeze committed the alleged offence.
Any criminal liability or further administrative action would depend on the outcome of the investigation and any subsequent proceedings.
For now, the state government has directed that the allegations be investigated impartially, stressing that public officials and institutions must remain subject to the law.
