Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State has carried out a minor cabinet reshuffle involving three commissioners.
As part of the changes, Jude Okpor, formerly the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, has been moved to the Ministry of Rural Development, while Chief Ikeuwa Omebe, who previously headed Rural Development, now takes over the Information Ministry.
Additionally, Paul Nwobashi, the Commissioner for Primary and Secondary Education, has been reassigned to the Ministry of Border Peace and Conflict Resolution. In turn, Dr. Donatus Ilang, who held that portfolio, now assumes responsibility for Primary and Secondary Education.
Announcing the reshuffle on Tuesday, the new Information Commissioner, Ikeuwa Omebe, stated that Governor Nwifuru also issued a six-month ultimatum to the Commissioners for Environment, Victor Chukwu, and Tertiary Education, Prof. Amari Omaka (SAN), warning them to improve performance or face disciplinary action.
Omebeh further said that the exco approved the 2026-2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework Work.
“The MTEF is a strategic financial planning document that encompasses the Economic and Fiscal Update (EFU), the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), and the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) for the state over the next three years,” he said.
According to him, the exco approved the supply and installation of Independent Captive Power Generation Plants to give 24-hour metered electric power to specific public and private industries/institutions in the state.
He noted that the project will commence with one unit of the plant that will generate three Megawatts and is sited at ICT University Oferekpe, Agbaja.
On rural development, Ikeuwa said exco approved the participation of Ebonyi State in the E-HEART project of the federal government and the subsequent payment of counterpart funding for the project. “E-HEART is an acronym that stands for energy for health, education, agriculture, rural development, and transportation.”
“Council received and approved the Ebonyi Business Enabling Reform Action Plan (BERAP) 2024, which indicates the progressive performance of the state in the State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) Programme. This is intended to meet the World Bank eligibility criteria for implementation of the SABER Programme in 2025,” he added.
