Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has lifted the suspension of the Commissioner for Works (Highways and Urban Roads), Reuben Izeze, clearing the way for his return to office after 10 weeks.
Oborevwori announced the decision on Tuesday during the swearing-in ceremony of the state Auditor-General and members of the governing councils of the University of Delta, Southern Delta University and Dennis Osadebay University at Government House, Asaba.
The governor said Izeze had appealed to him for forgiveness and was prepared to face the public after his suspension and subsequent detention.
According to Oborevwori, Izeze sent him a message on Tuesday morning asking him to forgive him and telling the governor what he should say publicly about his return from the correctional facility.
The governor said he declined to dictate the narrative for the commissioner, stressing that public officials must conduct themselves properly while in government.
Oborevwori, however, said Izeze’s plea and decision to face the public influenced his decision to lift the suspension.
He directed that the commissioner should resume once the 10-week period from the date of his suspension had elapsed.
Izeze was suspended indefinitely on August 10 following allegations linking him to the assault of the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Protocol, Simon Mudi, popularly known as Temple.
The alleged incident occurred during an All Progressives Congress stakeholders’ meeting at the Petroleum Training Institute, Effurun.
The state government had said the suspension was necessary to allow security agencies to conduct an impartial investigation into the allegations without interference.
Before his suspension, Izeze was arraigned before a Delta State High Court sitting in Effurun over the alleged assault and was remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Service facility in Okere, Warri.
His period in custody, however, produced another twist.
Reports said the commissioner became concerned about inmates who remained in detention because they were unable to pay fines imposed by courts as alternatives to prison sentences.
His intervention reportedly contributed to efforts that led to the release of 15 inmates after their fines were paid.
Now, weeks after leaving custody, Izeze is set to return to the Delta State cabinet.
The governor’s announcement ends the administrative uncertainty over his suspension, although the allegations arising from the Effurun incident remain subject to due process.
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