The management of Legacy FM 95.1, a private radio station in Ebonyi State, has suspended its Acting General Manager, Godfrey Chikwere, over alleged “unruly behaviour” and violation of the station’s code of conduct.
The suspension, announced on-air on Saturday, came days after Mr Chikwere openly criticised Governor Francis Nwifuru’s administration during radio broadcasts and on his social media pages.
“The management of Legacy FM… hereby suspends the acting general manager, Godfrey Chikwere, with immediate effect till further notice,” the station’s announcement read.
“This is due to unruly behaviour and disobedience to the code of conduct guiding the Legacy FM. He is hereby directed to hand over all company property to the next senior officer.”
Mr Chikwere, who previously worked with the state-owned Ebonyi Broadcasting Corporation before joining Legacy FM in 2023, had in a Facebook post on Friday urged the governor to salvage his administration’s public image.
He accused the state government of underperformance, poor communication, and failing to fulfil promises, warning that the governor’s goodwill was “dwindling fast” and advising him to “step on toes” to achieve results.
The remarks drew swift condemnation from the governor’s aides. Nwifuru’s spokesperson, Monday Uzor, dismissed the criticisms as baseless, accusing Mr Chikwere of ingratitude despite the station allegedly benefiting from the government’s support.
“It is regrettable that despite the radio station thriving only on government support, the supposed helmsman dedicates a greater percentage of the station’s airtime to attack and run down the government whose support has kept his medium afloat,” Mr Uzor wrote on Facebook.
He claimed the governor had provided the station with a new SUV, a transformer, and a constructed access road.
Similarly, Ebonyi’s Commissioner for Information, Ikeuwa Omebeh, described Mr Chikwere’s comments as “derogatory and inciting,” warning against attempts to stir public hostility against the government.
However, the suspension has sparked public outrage.
A resident, Ikechukwu Elom, told PLATFORM TIMES that critical voices were essential in a democracy and that the media must be allowed to hold leaders accountable.
“Any station that suspends journalists for criticising government undermines press freedom,” Elom said.
“If that were the norm, stations like Arise TV and Channels Television would have lost their top journalists long ago.”
Mr Chikwere has not publicly responded to the suspension as of press time.
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