Alex Otti Suspends Govt House Driver Involved In Accident With Okada Rider, Orders Free Medical Attention To Victim

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, has ordered the immediate suspension of a Government House driver, who got involved in an accident with an Okada rider in Ohafia, on Sunday, pending investigation.

A Government House statement says the investigation will be conducted to establish the culpability or lack thereof of the driver.

Governor Otti also directed the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ngozi Okoronkwo, to follow up and ensure that the injured Okada rider, Orji Felix, received the best medical attention possible at no expense to him or his family.

Onyebuchi Steven, the driver of a Toyota Hilux pick-up, reportedly collided with the Okada rider, Felix, who had just picked up a passenger by the roadside and was about to ride off.

The incident happened on Federal Road, by Old Soldier Junction. Both rider and passenger were promptly evacuated to a hospital near the scene of the accident.

While the passenger was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital in Ohafia and discharged, Felix, according to the Commissioner of Health, Dr Ngozi Okoronkwo, suffered multiple fractures on his left leg and right arm.

The 18-year-old Okada rider was subsequently evacuated in an ambulance from Ohafia to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia after he was attended to by Dr Okoronkwo, who applied first aid on him and bandaged his injured leg and arm.

Felix is currently admitted at the Crowther Ward, FMC, where he is recuperating. Nurses on duty, as of Sunday night, described his condition as “very stable”.

The patient, who is now receiving full medical attention, was seen interacting and responding to questions posed to him. “The pain is not much again,” he replied when asked about the pain in his left leg.

The Commissioner of Health, who returned to the hospital Sunday night to monitor the patient’s progress, thanked the nurses on duty for taking good care of him. Dr. Okoronkwo reiterated the Governor’s directive that the patient be properly attended to.