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Governor Alex Otti‘s cabinet in Abia State has been rocked by a trio of high-profile resignations, with Dr. Ngozi Okoronkwo, the suspended Commissioner for Health, being the latest to leave the fold.
As the news sinks in, attention turns to the possible reasons behind this sudden spate of departures and the potential fallout for the state’s administration.
Dr. Ngozi Okoronkwo, who had been kept at arm’s length by the Abia State government since June 10, 2024, has chosen to resign from her position as Commissioner for Health. Yesterday’s announcement brings an end to her 44-day suspension, during which her status within the government remained uncertain.
The office of the Governor of Abia State has confirmed the resignation of Dr. Ngozi Okoronkwo as Commissioner for Health, as announced by Chief Press Secretary Ukoha Njoku Ukoha in a statement. The release revealed that Dr. Okoronkwo has officially tendered her resignation letter to Governor Alex Otti.
In a familiar pattern, the resignation of Dr. Ngozi Okoronkwo, Abia State’s Commissioner for Health, was announced without any accompanying explanation or reason, mirroring the previous departures of fellow commissioners.
Ukoha said: “The governor, while accepting her resignation, thanked Dr. Okoronkwo for her services to our dear state and her modest achievements in repositioning the health sector for better service delivery in the last one year,” adding that Otti “wished her well in her future endeavours.”
Ukoha further stated that the governor “reiterated his commitment to the transformation of Abia State and reminded Abians that they gave him the mandate to assemble his team.”
According to him, the mandate given to Otti “includes hiring, suspending or sacking his appointees or rejigging and reshuffling his cabinet whenever the need arises for the sole purpose of delivering all his promises to the people.”
Read also: Alex Otti’s Election As Abia Governor Upheld By Appeal Court
Okoronkwo, who was among the most popular commissioners in Otti’s team, was sent on suspension by the governor following alleged “gross misconduct.” But insiders had said that the said misconduct involved issues of lack of transparency and financial mismanagement.
Aside from clamping Okoronkwo into suspension, the governor also said that she was being investigated over the allegations leveled against her.
The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr. Okey Kanu, said that after Okoronkwo’s suspension that Otti’s “administration is painstaking in investigating and establishing facts of infractions or misconduct uncovered by its internal monitoring and feedback system”.
The Abia State government’s investigation into Dr. Okoronkwo’s conduct has been shrouded in secrecy, with no official word on its conclusion or findings, and now the health commissioner has abruptly tendered her resignation, adding to the mystery.
On July 18, 2024, the Abia State government witnessed an unprecedented development, as two of its commissioners, Mr. Chima Oriaku and Professor Monica Ironkwe, resigned their positions simultaneously, sending shockwaves and sparking intense interest in the possible motivations behind their joint resignation.
The mysterious exodus from Abia State’s government continues, as a third commissioner, Dr. Ngozi Okoronkwo, follows in the footsteps of her predecessors, Mr. Chima Oriaku and Professor Monica Ironkwe, who resigned simultaneously without explanation, leaving the public in the dark about the reasons behind these coordinated departures.
