Governor Alex Otti of Abia State 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 said investigation would be conducted with a view to establishing 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 road side and was about riding 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.
A statement by Kazie Uko, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, said 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 at 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 at 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.
