Retired Perm Sec, Arit Okpo Regains Position

Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State

By Usiere Akpan

The Akwa Ibom government has reversed its earlier compulsory retirement order on one of its permanent secretaries to a suspension.

This was part of the of the far-reaching decisions at the state executive council meeting presided over by Gov. Godswill Akpabio at Government House Executive Chambers, Uyo, recently.

The affected permanent secretary, Mrs. Arit Okpo, was until the retirement order in January, in the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare.

The state commissioner for information and communications, Mr. Aniekan Umanah, who briefed Government House reporters, said the decision followed the appeal by Okpo for the setting up of a panel on the circumstances of the retirement.

Umanah explained that Okpo had made claims that she was ill within the period of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration which made it difficult for her to monitor the event successfully.

He noted that in reversing the decision from retirement to suspension, the state government considered that she could not be totally absolved from blame on the poor handling of the celebration.

Culled from The Pioneer newspaper