Anambra govt rescues, rehabilitates ex-tennis player Okpala
The Anambra State Government under the leadership of Professor Charles Soludo, has rescued Tania Okpala, a former US based tennis champion who was found wandering the streets of Awka, the State capital.
Okpala was captured in a viral video on social media by a good spirited member of the public. She looked distressed and unstable in the video, prompting quick response by the Anambra State Government to rescue, rehabilitate and reunite her with her family.
Governor Soludo said on Social Media network X that Okpala is now in the custody of the Anambra State Government.
Meanwhile, the Women Affairs Commissioner, Ify Obinabo received the directive from Governor Charles Soludo and his wife Nonye Soludo and immediately swung into action.
Interacting with Tania over the phone, Nonye Soludo assured her that the State Government will not forsake her and informed her that she would get the best treatment and rehabilitation to enable her to bounce back.
While narrating her ordeal to the first lady, Okpala who hails from Nkpologwu in Aguata Local Government Area of the State, said she was a US based tennis champion but due to bad peer influence became a crack cocaine addict.
She also explained that she had the best of education in and outside the country. Okpala, whose mother is from Belarus, said she lost her mother to cancer a few years ago and ever since has not been able to get over her death.
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According to the former US based tennis champion, she has a 6 year old daughter currently staying with her father in Nkpologwu and urged the governor’s wife to help her reunite with her daughter.
The Governor’s wife further assured Okpala that the state government will ensure her full recovery and re-integration into society. She extended her sympathy and explained that the difficulty faced by Tania was only temporary.
The State’s First Lady also promised to use her non-governmental organisation, Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo, to assist her in certain areas of needs, including nutrition and mental health counselling.
Tanya Okpala and her sister Katya Okpala both represented Nigeria in tennis in the 1990s. The Okpalas are of mixed race, with a mother from Belarus and a father of Igbo extraction.
An official source disclosed to Voice of Nigeria that Tania is already taking treatments at an undisclosed hospital in Anambra State.