In a swift response to a viral video capturing a distressed United States Table Tennis champion, Tania Okpala, wandering the streets of Awka, Anambra State, the government has taken action to rescue and rehabilitate her.
Quest Times reports that Commissioner Ify Obinabo of the Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, acting on Governor Prof. Chukwuma Soludo’s directive, orchestrated the rescue operation.
The commissioner’s media aide, Chidimma Ikeanyionwu, confirmed the government’s intervention.
In a statement released on Monday, Ikeanyionwu stated, “The Anambra State government has rescued one Ms. Tania Okpala, a US-based tennis champion who was found wandering the streets of the state capital and was captured in a viral video on social media by a good-spirited member of the public.
“Okpala looked distressed and unstable in the said video, prompting the quick response by the state government to rescue, rehabilitate, and reunite her with her family.”
Governor Soludo, in a phone conversation with Okpala, assured her of the government’s commitment to her recovery.
He emphasized providing the necessary treatment and rehabilitation to support her bounce back into society.
Okpala, originally from Nkpologwu in Aguata Local Government Area, revealed her struggles with crack cocaine addiction due to bad peer influence.
Despite having received the best education both in the United States and abroad, she attributed her challenges to the loss of her mother to cancer a few years ago.
Expressing gratitude for the intervention, Okpala pleaded with the governor’s wife to help reunite her with her six-year-old daughter, currently residing with her father in Nkpologwu.