By Okey Alozie
Administrative war is said to have started at Imo State Secretariat located along Owerri Porthacourt road Owerri.
Trumpeta gathered that the war causing crisis at the Secretariat especially Ministry of Environment, Mines and Solid Minerals and others.
At Ministry of Environment, our source revealed that mismanagement of official vehicles at the Ministry is causing a lot of problem now.
The Commissioner and the Permanent Secretaries are said to be at war over office vehicle which was returned by State Project Cordinator of Imo NEWMAP. The said Toyota Hilux vehicle for now is not functioning well as we gathered from a reliable source but the Commissioner and the said Perm Sec are fighting each other because of it.
Further information revealed that the said Permanent Secretary who is now on transfer to another Ministry has been given 48hrs to return the Hilux vehicle.
The Commissioner of Environment also demanded for the return of UFS as we further gathered. We also learnt that the said Permanent Secretaries whose names are withheld for now may be arrested because of the Hilux vehicle if he failed to return it back to the office.
Report has it that Ministry of Mines and Solid Mineral Resource is also at war with Ministry of Environment over access sharing and the management of Ministry of Mines and Solid Mineral Resources have raized eyesbrow on the overlapping activities of the Ministry of Environment. The Commissioner for Environment is alleged to have monopolized some of the vehicles that are supposed to be used for the service of Ministry of Mines and Solid Minerals.
The Ministry of Mines and Solid Mineral as we gathered may any moment from now drag the Commissioner for Environment to Government House to face the Governor of Imo State Senator Hope Uzodinma.
Investigative report revealed that the Ministry of Mines and Solid Minerals was carved out from the Ministry of Environment and Ecological Department in 2021.
The two Ministries as we were told have similar collaborative functions in terms of Environmental degradation. While the Ministry of Mines and Solid Mineral is currently bereft of official and operational vehicles. Ministry of Environment is said to be having a lot of vehicles.
The two Ministries are said to be in serious war now because of operational vehicles and other working equipments.
Our source revealed further that Imo NEWMAP as at the close of its project cycle has enough vehicles at her disposal to which to the Ministry of Environment benefited from.
Report has it that the immediate past Commissioner is yet to return one of the official vehicles. The present Commissioner for Environment is alleged to have not done any thing positive to recover properties belonging to his Ministry.
More over good number of consultants are said to be in possession of Ministry properties especially vehicles and the Commissioners are not doing any to recover those properties rather they choosed to engage Permanent Secretaries in internal fight.
Impress money is another thing that is bringing problems between Permanent Secretaries and Commissioners.
Our roving reporter gathered that Commissioners and Permanent Secretaries have started to fight again over impress money.
As at last year, the worst hit on these fights was Ministry of Special Duties where the Perm Sec allegedly wanted to collecting 60 percent and give the Commissioner of the Ministry 40 percent. Other Permanent Secretaries were said to have borrowed a leaf from her.
This time as we gathered, the reverse is the case. Commissioners of various Ministries because of impress money have worked for the removal of their Permanent Secretaries.
Greedy Commissioners as we were informed prefer level 12 officers to come in and serve as duty covering personnel so that they cannot drag power with them like the substantive Permanent Secretaries did in the past.
Right now some Commissioners take all the N500,000 impress that come to their Ministries without giving any to those covering the Permanent Secretaries and this is causing a lot of problem at various Ministries now.
The gen sets are said to be on when the Commissioner is in the office. Most times office document are typed outside in order to save cost.
Another issue causing problem now is the share of bags of rice brought by Governor Hope Uzodinma.
Some Commissioners are accused of cornering Bags of Rice to the detriment of the staff and Perm Secs.
