Reinstate Ajom As Acting Director Of Fire Service, C'River Assembly Directs HoS

By Ndifereke BASSEY

The Cross River State House of Assembly has directed the Head of Service (HoS), Dr Innocent Eteng, to immediately reinstate Mr. Emmanuel Ajom as the state's Acting Director of the Fire Service.

The Assembly presided over by the Speaker, Rt Hon Elvert Ayambem, in a resolution following a matter of urgent public interest, stated that Ajom is the highest in the hierarchy of the Fire Service in the state and therefore should be the one to replace Mr. Ndifon, who has retired as Director of the Service.

"In line with the staff disposition at the Cross River State Fire Service, Mr. Emmanuel Ajom is next to Mr Ndifon who has retired from Service, accordingly, Ajom should be placed to occupy the position of Director of the Fire Service," the lawmakers resolved.

This directive, which took effect from Tuesday when it was pronounced, was as a result of some surreptitious move by Eteng to appoint one Otugbo Okedim, who is five steps below Ajom, as the Acting Director of the Fire Service.

While Ajom from the staff hierarchy is on level 15, Otugbo is on level 14 and in line with the protocol in the Civil Service, a junior officer cannot be placed to head his senior when the said senior has no impediments in the form of official indictment or under financial misappropriation investigation. 

Calls put across to Eteng were not returned as at the time of or ng this report.