Delta govt demotes two engineers over certification of uncompleted projects

In what appears as a signal of walking the talk, the Delta State Government has demoted two serving engineers for issuing certificates of job completion on road projects which were yet to be completed.

The affected officers, Engr. Gabriel Evuarhere and Engr. Samuel Nwokolobia was demoted from Deputy Director to Assistant Director and Assistant Director to Chief Engineer, respectively.

The action was a sequel to a letter conveying the outcome of a disciplinary committee signed by William O. Ogolokpe for the Head of Service.

According to two separate letters, which read in parts; “That you Engr. Gabriel Evuarhere is found culpable of corruption, dishonesty, and failure to adhere to laid down procedure and thereby reduced you in rank by one salary grade level from the post of Deputy Director (Civil Engineer) SGL 16 to that of Assistant Director (Civil Engineer), SGL 15 with effect from 1st January 2024.

“That you Engr. Samuel Nwokolobia is found culpable of corruption, dishonesty, and failure to adhere to laid down procedure and thereby reduced you in rank by one salary grade level from the post of Assistant Director (Civil Engineer) SGL 15 to that of Chief Civil Engineer, SGL 14 with effect from 1st January 2024.

“Accordingly, your next promotion to the post of Deputy Director and Assistant Director will now take effect from 1st January 2028 and 1st January 2027, respectively.”

Governor Sheriff Oborevwori had earlier hoped that there would be no sacred cows in the quest to ensure quality project delivery and value for money for Deltans.

At a recent ceremony in Asaba, Oborevwori, a compassionate but firm leader, particularly appealed to the disciplinary committee to temper justice with mercy by commuting the sentence from outright dismissal from service to reduction in rank.

He warned that subsequent offenders would face the full wrath of the law.