Abia governor sacks spokesperson

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has sacked his Chief Press Secretary, Kazie Uko, after one year of service.

Mr Uko, a journalist and Public Relations consultant was appointed to the position in June 2023.

The Commissioner for Information in Abia State, Okey Kanu, confirmed the sack of the governor’s spokesperson to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday night.

Mr Kanu said Mr Otti had appointed another person, Njoku Ukoha, as a replacement.

The commissioner said the sack of the spokesperson and the appointment of Mr Ukoha was with immediate effect.

“The governor just replaced him (Uko) with Mr Ukoha Njoku Ukoha in a bid to rejig his (Otti) media team,” he told this newspaper.

He did not give a reason for the sack of the former spokesperson.

However, sources within the government circle told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Uko may have been sacked on the allegations that he had not been “combative” in his operation.

“That’s (being combative) what they need here. If you are not attacking people, then you’re not working,” one of the sources said.

Another source, who asked not to be named, said the former spokesperson was accused of frequently ignoring enquiries from journalists.

First time

This is the first time Mr Otti would sack his appointee since he was sworn in as governor on 29 May 2023.

Earlier this month, the governor suspended the State Commissioner for Health, Ngozi Okoronkwo, for “gross misconduct.”

He said the suspension of Mrs Okoronkwo, a medical doctor, was to pave the way for allegations of gross misconduct levelled against her to be investigated.

The governor did not give details of the allegations of gross misconduct against the suspended health commissioner.