Ossai’s Suspension: No Cause For Alarm – Information Commissioner

By Miracle Enuji

Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu has said that there is no cause for alarm following the suspension of a Special Assistant (SA) on Special Duties to Governor Okowa, Mr Ossai Ovie Success who is reported to have broken information protocol of the State Government.

Speaking to Journalists at a post Exco briefing on Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at the Press Centre, Government House, Asaba, Mr Aniagwu bemoaned diverse interpretations of the suspension, explaining that, “when a Staff is not progressing according to certain rules, it is natural that some certain decisions are taken for the purpose of ensuring that individuals come back to line.”

Adding, “I don’t want us to make a heavy weather out of this issue. If as a Commissioner, I progress in error, it behoves on the Governor to also take certain steps, to make me conform to those rules that will be to the aspirations and policies of the government.

“There are those who have been reporting wrongly that because he is talking about the…, it is very far from it. What we believe is that, individuals; not only Ossai, anybody who is in this administration, who does not realise that there is what they call line of reporting and that you must conform in such a way that you don’t embarrass the government, we will take similar action.

“Ossai reports to the Chief Press Secretary, and should also clear from me if he is should also deal with the media. He is not entitled to issue statements because when we begin to have different statements being issued from different offices, you cause more trouble in the system.

“Even when you are a Commissioner, you can only speak in respect to your ministry. You cannot issue statement for the entire government. By the virtue of my position, I am the only one on the side of government that can issue statements across ministries because I speak for the government. The CPS can also speak on any State issue because any issue that touches the government, also touches the governor.”  Aniagwu informed.

He however maintained that, Mr Ossai who had been part of Okowa’s government since 2015, is still a member of Okowa’s government. “So, there is no cause for alarm. He is still a member of this government.”

It would be recalled that, Mr Ossai Ovie Success, the youngest appointee in the Okowa administration, was slammed with a two-month suspension without salary due to a publication on his Facebook Profile where he posted that the O5 Initiative Foundation of Dame Edith Okowa, had received a financial grant of N3.5bn from a United States based non-profit organisation, the Initiative for Global Development.

A publication which seemed offensive to the State Governor Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and swiftly issued him a suspension via a letter signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Chiedu Ebie.

Meanwhile, Dame Okowa has denied the receipt of such financial grant for her foundation explaining that, there was no financial commitment accorded O5 Initiative by the Initiative for Global Development.