Abia governor nominates 19 Commissioners designate to state Assembly

To hit the ground running, Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has submitted a list of 19 commissioner-nominees to the State Assembly for confirmation.

This comes exactly one month after Mr Otti was sworn in as state governor and 16 days after the House was inaugurated.

The governor, in a letter dated 30 June, seen by PREMIUM TIMES, asked the State Assembly to screen the nominees for possible confirmation as substantive commissioners in the state.

The letter was addressed to the Speaker of the Assembly, Emmanuel Emeruwa.

Others are Uzo Nwachukwu, Chima Emmanuel Oriaku, Nwaobilor Ananaba, Chimezie Ukaegbu, Ngozi Felix, Otumchere Oti, Okebugwu Onwuma, Ikechukwu Monday, and Mathew Chikodi Ekwuribe.

Three professors were among the commissioner-nominees, the list showed.

The portfolios for the nominees were not indicated in the letter.

The governor submitted the list hours after he suspended permanent secretaries and the head of the civil service in the state.

Meanwhile, Mr Otti, on Friday, also suspended principals of all state-owned nursing/midwifery institutions in Abia State.

Kazi Uko, the spokesperson to Governor Otti, who disclosed this in a statement, said the suspension will remain effective “pending investigations and directives.”

It is unclear if the suspension was also connected to the ongoing efforts to recover government properties and funds from past officials who served under the former governor of the state, Okezie Ikpeazu.