Ebonyi State Governor Suspends Attorney General & Two Commissioners for Dressing “Casually” to a State Function

Is there any connection between dressing casually to a function and performing one’s duties effectively? The Ebonyi State Governor thinks so.

Yesterday, the Ebonyi State Governor, Martin Elechi, suspended the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ben Igwenyi, and two other commissioners for what it called “improper dressing”.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, named the two commissioners as Hyacinth Ikpo, Commissioner for Culture and Tourism and Chukwuma Nwandiugo, Commissioner for Works and Transport.

The commissioners were said to have dressed casually to a state banquet organised for the members of the Society of Gyneacologists and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON) at the Government House on Friday night.

According to the statement published by The Nation, the suspension was for a period of three months. The statement further directed the commissioners not to attend any state function throughout the duration of their suspension.

The governor was said to have been enraged by the commissioners’ “lacklustre dressing to the occasion which had in attendance members of SOGON from various states of the federation which seemed to portray a bad image of the state in the eyes of the visitors”.

Sources close to Government House revealed that the suspension is without pay, adding that the commissioners have been directed to hand over all government properties in their possession to their permanent secretaries.

What do you make of this news? The report did not state exactly what they wore to the event, but according to the state governor, “casual dressing” is “lacklustre dressing” which implies it is “improper dressing”.

Do you think they deserved a suspension for dressing casually to a state function?