Gov Otti Suspends Abia Health Commissioner

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti on Tuesday suspended the state’s Commissioner for Health, Ngozi Okoronkwo from office over alleged gross misconduct.

Commissioner for Information and Culture, Okey Kanu announced this in a statement made available to newsmen in Umuahia, the state capital, on Tuesday.

“The suspension is to pave the way for the investigation of allegations of gross misconduct levelled against the commissioner,” the statement explained.

It said the suspension was in line with the zero-tolerance policy for misconduct of any kind, and strong adherence to the twin principles of transparency and accountability in governance.

The statement further said the measure was aimed at ensuring that the actions of appointees of the government must at all times advance the good and well-being of the people of the state.

The statement maintained that the government was committed to good governance and the rule of law under which persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

“Consequently, the the administration is painstaking in investigating and establishing facts of infractions or misconduct uncovered by its internal monitoring and feedback system.”

In view of this, it directed the ministry’s permanent secretary, Ifeyinwa Kalu to liase with the governor’s special adviser on health, Ngozi Azodo to run the ministry until further investigations into the allegations were concluded