Abia Ombudsman Invites Public To File Complaints For Justice
The Abia State Office of the Ombudsman and Public Complaints has called on citizens whose rights have been violated to submit their petitions for justice.
The Ombudsman to the Governor, Rtd Justice Kyrian Nwankpa who stated this today while interacting with newsmen in his office, Aguiyi Ironsi Conference Center,Finbars Road, Umuahia , assured that the office has the express mandate of the Governor to investigate and do justice to every matter brought before it free of charge.
Rtd Justice Nwankpa said that the Ombudsman/public complaints Office was established by the administration of Governor Alex Otti to ensure that no member of the society especially the less privileged who may not have resources to prosecute their matters in court are marginalized.
“Ombudsman means public complaints, so this office is essentially public complaints office where aggrieved members of the public especially the vulnerable members, the grassrooters who cannot move very high up to complain about breeches meted out to them, they come to to Ombudsman office especially with a petition and then it becomes the function of the ombudsman to look into the petition and get in touch with those stated in the petition to have violated their rights and investigate whether what they stated is correct and if so make the necessary recommendation”
While noting that the office has not been in existence before now,he said that the office upon assumption has been able to entertain about 15 petitions and has also gone ahead to investigate same with a view to ensuring Justice through recommendations to the Governor.
Rtd Justice Nwankpa said that the office was established to also give hope to the oppressed, adding that steps have been taken to regularize the Office into a full blown Commission.
He assured that the office of the Ombudsman being Public-oriented will continue to do justice to all matters brought before it no matter whose ox is gored.
“The people will get the desired Justice devoid of bias,You don’t need to doubt the purpose for which this office is established”
“If the Governor didn’t want to hear people’s complaints and know what to do for them, he wouldn’t bother to establish the office in the first instance. For the Governor to say, let me have an office that will deal with complaints from the grassroot that means it is important to him and the people were satisfied with the past issues handled by the office”.Rtd Justice Nwankpa assured.
Speaking on the criteria the public needs to adhere to while bringing in a complaint, the ombudsman chairman said,
“the most important thing is that you have to bring the complaints by way of petition because it can’t be oral so that when you have left, we can begin to look at it and have something to rely on because we must deal on facts and you know too, my background as a retired judge there are certain things you may have stated in the petition that may not have factual basis”.
Rt Justice Nwankpa urged the people to visit the Ombudsman Office located at the Aguiyi Ironsi Conference Center Umuahia with their complaints or petition or call 08068084633.
Abia Ombudsman Invites Public To File Complaints For Justice is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
