A private radio station in Ebonyi state, Legacy FM, has suspended its acting general manager, Godfrey Chikwere, due to his ongoing criticism of Governor Francis Nwifuru.
On Saturday, Legacy FM’s management announced Chikwere’s suspension, stating that he violated the station’s code of conduct. “The management of Legacy FM 95.1, The Sound of Now, hereby suspends the acting General Manager, Godfrey Chikwere, with immediate effect, till further notice,” the statement read.
“This is due to unruly behaviour and disobedience to the code of conduct guiding the Legacy FM.” He was also instructed to “hand over all the company property in his position to the next senior officer.”
In a Friday Facebook post, Chikwere had urged the governor to be more strict in his administration, claiming that Ebonyi’s public image was “low and dwindling daily at a very embarrassing level.”
He wrote, “On your appointees, you have appointees who are injuring your administration daily, yet you pamper them. Your Excellency, under your watch and on working days during working hours, some of your appointees are roaming around pa Ngele Oruta Township stadium in the name of sporting activities.”
He also criticized the governor’s “Izzi political brothers,” saying they were “spending energy responding to your critiques through media chats and press briefings instead of seeing this Governorship position as their own by practically assisting you to succeed.”
In response, the governor’s chief press secretary, Monday Uzor, issued a statement on Monday criticizing Chikwere. Uzor alleged that Chikwere had been hired to undermine Ebonyi state’s growing profile.
The statement read, “It is regrettable that despite the radio station thriving only on government support, the supposed helmsman dedicates a greater percentage of the station’s airtime to attack and run down the government whose support has kept his medium afloat.”
Uzor highlighted the government’s support for the station, noting that “the governor gifted the medium a brand new Changan SUV, donated a brand new transformer that powers the station, and constructed the road leading to the broadcasting house.”
He added, “But rather than give at least balanced coverage of government activities, it has been turned into a slaughterhouse of the governor’s genuine development efforts and goodwill. What a way to be ungrateful to good deeds.”