The Nation Newspaper

Category: Insight

  • Plantain: From Cameroun with harm

    Plantain: From Cameroun with harm

    It takes almost a whole day to transport a lorry load of plantain from Okada, Uruomi and other parts of Edo State where it is grown in large quantities to Idi-Oro in Mushin and other markets in Lagos.

    At Idi-Oro, which is reputed to be the largest plantain market in Nigeria, there are various categories of traders. There are those who buy from farmers within the country and those who import from Cameroun, Benin Republic and other West African countries.

    It takes those in the latter group a minimum of two days to move their wares from wherever they are buying to Idi-Oro market where they sell to retailers and consumers.

    Although many customers rarely notice, traders at the market say there are slight differences between imported plantains and local ones.

    One of them, Alhaja Taibat Shittu, said the plantains from Cameroun and other countries are smaller in size compared to those grown locally. She added that traders who import do so because it is cheaper to buy from other countries and bring them into the market illegally.

    “Our plantains are bigger than the ones they import. But some traders here prefer buy from Cameroun and Benin Republic because it is cheaper and they bring them into Nigeria through illegal borders. I prefer to buy from our farmers here because I am used to them and even though it is expensive, I think it is better than the ones they import”.

    Trading in a perishable product like plantain comes with a catalogue of risks and the traders have various ways of dealing with them. To preserve their wares, some traders at the market especially retailers engage in some unhealthy practices. Those who sell ripe ones use carbide and ashes to quicken the ripening process while those who sell unripe ones sometime dump them in filthy places when offloading from the Lorries.

    Kingsley Izeh, one of the lorry drivers at the market, said the traders use the carbide and ash methods to enable them recoup their investments fast.

    According to him there is no health risk associated with ashes but there have been complaints about carbide because it contains some chemicals that are dangerous to human health.

    “If the plantains don’t get ripe on time, the traders will lose their money. That is why they use ashes or carbide. The ash is naturally because they also use it in the villages but there have been some complaints about the use of carbides but these traders won’t stop”.

  • Frozen foods: Tasty tongues, damaged organs

    Frozen foods: Tasty tongues, damaged organs

    That imported frozen foods, particularly chicken and turkey, are favourites of Nigerians is stating the obvious.

    To satisfy the growing demand of Nigerians whose menu are incomplete without these, many smart businessmen and women have tapped into this opportunity and are smiling to the bank in the process. But this has not come without a price.

    Some years ago, the Federal Government placed a ban on the importation of turkey and chicken, citing the unhygienic conditions under which they are brought into the country. However, this has not deterred many unscrupulous businessmen and women from smuggling in these products; they take advantage of the countless illegal routes along the border between Nigeria and neighbouring Benin Republic, where the products are brought in.

    Official statistics put the worth of imported frozen foods at about a whopping N40billion annually. Investigations however revealed that this figure is grossly understated.

    A Customs officer who works at the Seme border told The Nation under the condition of anonymity: “The figure (N40billion) is a rather conservative estimate. It’s much more than that if one takes into consideration the hundreds of trailers and trucks that bring in these products into Nigeria on a daily basis.”

    Shedding more light on the modus operandi of smugglers of these products, the Customs source said: “These products are bought in from some Asian and a few European countries and imported into Cotonou in Benin Republic. But because of the ban placed on them in Nigeria, these smugglers bring them in through the over one hundred illegal routes along the border.

    “From the trailers, these products are discharged into smaller vehicles. This process takes about a week or more, which is too a long a time for the foods to remain in good condition. Add this to the number of weeks it took to ship them from the source to Benin Republic and you realise the health danger Nigerians are facing.”

    He added: “Because of the delicate nature of these foods and to ensure that they don’t become rotten, all kinds of chemicals are mixed with it thus endangering the lives of people who consume it.”

    Unconfirmed reports have it that the chemical referred to by our source is formaldehyde popularly known as formalin, which is used to embalm corpses in morgues. This chemical, it was learnt, ensures the preservation and non-contamination of the foods.

    Interestingly, many Nigerians and small scale traders of these products are either ignorant of this development or are downright nonchalant about it.

    A trader, Mr. Gbolahan Animashaun, who runs Asekun Foods at Ogba area in Lagos, said he is unaware that any chemical is mixed with frozen chicken and turkey by the importers.

    He said: “I’m hearing this news for the first time. Believe me I’m not aware at all. I went into the business simply because it is lucrative.”

    Asked where he buys the product, Animashaun, who runs the business with his wife, said his major supplier operates a big showroom at Ketu in Lagos.

    He, however, was not sure if his supplier is an importer of the products or a distributor.

    Another trader, Mrs. Joyce Osuji, told The Nation that her decision to start the business in Magodo, an upper class residential area of Lagos, was purely for economic reasons. “I started the business to fill a void within this area and I have not had any regret so far.”

    Admitting that they are aware that the importation of frozen products are under ban, Animashaun and Osuji responded that the ban rather than curb the consumption of such foods by Nigerians has further increased it, thereby making it a goldmine for people engaged in the business.

    Animashaun said: “There was a time in this country that the government banned the importation of rice, but did that stop people from smuggling it into the country? Again, how many Nigerians eat locally produced rice?”

    For Osuji, the lax enforcement of the ban has encouraged more people to go into the business. She said: “Not once has the Customs or the police harassed me, so why should I bother my head?”

    The National President, Nigerian Institute of Food, Science and Technology (NISFT), Prof. Lateef Sanni, identified pathogens such as Escherichia, Coli, Clostridium bottling, Staphylococcus as the major health hazards associated with consumption of frozen foods.

    He said if the pathogens are deactivated but not killed, they could be activated again when the frozen foods thaw, leading to severe health implications. Sanni said: “Regulatory agencies must be supported to ensure proper handling and storage while consumers should properly cook frozen products before consumption.”

    He added that constant electricity would also help as well as good road networks to aid quicker distribution of the products.

  • Beans: From Northeast to Lagos

    Beans: From Northeast to Lagos

    Though many markets, supermarkets, and neighbourhood kiosks sell beans, the official beans ‘warehouse’ in Lagos State is the Irepodun Market, Iddo. Traders popularly refer to it as Iddo-Elewa.

    There, the stalls are all laden with bags of beans and the heavy duty vehicles and trailers that throng the market daily deliver just one product – beans.

    According to Abdulfatai Akanji, the secretary-general of the Irepodun Market Association, the bulk of the beans consignment comes from the Northwest region of the country.

    Whether, it is oloyin or banjara, drum, Olo 1, or Olo 2, it is largely Yobe, Gombe, and Borno states that produce the beans consumed in Nigeria. And in those states, the bulk of the farming of beans takes place in the rural areas.

    After harvest, the beans farmers take their commodity to specialised beans market where traders from other parts of the country come to buy them.

    This is usually a tough journey. Akanji said: “Farmers from the remote areas do bring their goods after harvesting to the major cities where they have larger markets. Some of these markets are daily, weekly or five-day markets. Whenever they bring their beans there, our people from here who are traders would go there and purchase some of those from the farmers.”

    In Kano, the beans market is called Dawanau; in Borno State, it is the Muna market Maiduguri while it is Potiskum market in Yobe State. These markets operate daily and it is to those markets that the Iddo traders from Lagos go to buy beans.

    Akanji also said that though trade in beans is huge in Kano, planting of beans doesn’t thrive as much. With the transaction between the traders and the farmers over, the traders then pool resources to charter trailers to convey the beans down to Lagos.

    This is usually a 30-tonne truck loads about 300 one hundred kilograms bags of beans or 600 fifty-kilogram bags. And this journey takes about three to five days, according to Akanji, depending on how sound the engine of the truck is. For Lagos-bound trucks from Kano, it usually takes about three days.

    And daily, as trucks arrive in Irepodun market, retailers, restaurants, and individuals in need of beans in large quantity also throng daily to Iddo-Elewa to buy beans.

    “People from Badagry, Epe, Lekki, Ikorodu, Ikotun, and from all over Lagos State,” he said, “come here to buy beans.”

  • Rice: From Thailand, Malaysia with pains

    Rice: From Thailand, Malaysia with pains

    Considered as Nigeria’s staple, rice is everyone’s delight. Millions of Nigerians cannot go a day without consuming the commodity. It is easily affordable and available to everyone. Children savour it as much as adults revel eating it.

    At Daleko, the biggest rice market in Mushin, Lagos, the commodity arrives nearly every moment in trucks and lorries. The closeness of the market to Apapa seaport attenuates its relevance. There are as much buyers as sellers. Loaders and carriers also swell the expansive market.

    Most of the rice arrives from Thailand, Malaysia and even Brazil. Several more however arrive from Benin Republic through bushes and illegal routes, no thanks to smugglers. The active connivance of Customs officials ensure this illegal transaction continues to thrive.

    Chidi Samuel, a seller at the market, confessed that many unethical practices take place around the commodity. “Many of these bags are repackaged. Many are mixed with water to ensure swelling and different variants of rice are added together,” he stated. All of these, according to him, are to maximise profits at all costs.

    Investigations also revealed certain chemicals are added to the commodity for preservation. Nigerians consume all of these because local rice production is almost zero.

    The Director of Consult, YABATECH, Mr. Okoro Emeka, said rice is a safe commodity for consumption if processed and consumed within the first six months of importation. The ceaseless importation of the product however ensures there are always more than that can meet consumption demands in supply.

    Emeka said the importation of the commodity however can expose them to weather attacks such as rain, water and moisture. The food technologist pointed out such attacks could breed mould, which causes mycotoxin. This, according to him, is a poisonous substance, which can give rise to cancer.

    There is also the possibility of the rice losing taste, flavour as well as colour if exposed to the attacks. Though this does not have health hazards, it deprives rice consumers the essential nutritional value of the commodity.

  • Deadly journeys of the food on your table

    Deadly journeys of the food on your table

    That sumptuous and inviting meal on your table has gone through a lot to get there. Whether processed or raw, foreign or local, it has an interesting train of movements.  In this report, we consider the amazing journeys of at least five main foods in the country as well as the varying hazards they have gone through on the way to your table amid serious health concerns.

  • Canned foods, canned deaths

    For a few rich, canned food products are the way to go. Nearly everything is canned these days, beginning from drinks to beans, maize, meats, fruits, paste and fish. Nigerians who can afford them throng supermarkets and stores to buy these commodities. For them, it is a status symbol and a sign of good living.

    Investigations revealed that these canned products are largely imported and expensive. Yet, rich Nigerians prefer them to fresh variants of the commodities. Canned fruits are becoming increasingly popular, finding their way to the feeding tables of many.

    The Head, Department of Food Technology in Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos, Mr. Akin Opeifa, said canned food products are largely safe for consumption having undergone rigorous laboratory and industrial tests. According to Opeifa, the principle of commercial sterility ensures that only one out of every one hundred canned foods can be bad.

    “So, if one is unfortunate to consume the only bad can, what happens? That is sudden and instant death,” he stated. He alsopointed out that the high level of connivance between manufacturers and importers make the commodities especially dangerous.

    “We have NAFDAC and all other regulatory agencies that are doing great jobs. But to what extent can they regulate and ensure compliance with strictest technological requirements? We all know importers can bring in the products and change the labels of expired products. These can jeopardise lives no doubt,” the don stated.

    Most canned food products, he disclosed, are susceptible to Clostridium Botulinum, a viral bacterium that paralyses the nervous system rapidly. The heat-resistant bacterium, he added, can be found in expired canned foods that have been compromised.

    Opeifa advised Nigerians to stick to fresh foods and avoid canned products as much as possible. “Fresh foods are cheaper and readily available but the time it takes to bring in the canned products can expose them to dangers that cause health hazards,” he further explained.

  • Fruits: Tales of hazards

    Fruits: Tales of hazards

    Nutritionists and food technologists unanimously agree fruits are essential intakes for healthier living. Fruit-rich diets reduce risks of some cancers, strokes and other chronic diseases. They offer essential vitamins and mineral as well as fibres helpful for sound health. It is said that half of daily diets should include fruits and allied ingredients.

    Nigerians believe and practise this. Fruits are sold in nearly every nook and cranny of the country. The worry is most fruits consumed are imported, a development that comes with several dangers.

    Investigations revealed that most of the bananas consumed in Nigeria are from neighbouring Cameroon noted for its forest rains. Uganda, Tanzania and other East African nations also ship in large quantities of bananas. Nigeria’s burgeoning population and purchasing power make the market attractive for the commodity.

    Apple, which is difficult to grow in the country is mostly from South Africa and neighbouring Benin Republic. They are openly displayed in stores, supermarkets and even public markets across the nation. Nigerians revel in purchasing the eye-catching fruit, which is perceived as classy.

    Other fruits heavily imported into the country include orchards, celery, strawberry, peaches, spinach, grapes, bell peppers, blueberries, cucumber, runner beans and cabbage.

    … In Nigeria with much pains

    The imported fruits come in mainly through the sea and land borders. This is despite the fact that fruits are on the prohibition category of the Nigerian Customs website. A Customs official who craved anonymity said the commodities still find their way to the country despite the prohibition order.

    According to him, “Many of the fruits come through bushes and illegal routes. We are trying our best but the truth is we are grossly overwhelmed. Despite our best efforts, the commodities still find their way in.”

    It was gathered that some of the fruits spend weeks on the high seas under hygienic and refrigerated conditions. But the problem starts from when they arrive on the Nigerian shores. “When we take delivery, we cannot start distribution immediately. We have to contact our dealers across the country, which takes days. During this period, we have to apply preservatives to keep the fruits fresh because they are highly perishable. We then move them to dealers who get them across to the markets,” a fruit importer told our correspondent under strict anonymity.

    Most of the imported fruits, it was discovered, have undergone several laboratory experiments in frantic bids to increase yields. Most supermarkets have ‘seedless’ fruits already engineered in laboratories in a scientific process known as ‘genetic modification’.

    They become unsafe and dirty in the process though they eventually yield more for the producers and sellers. Also, the shipping procedures expose them to bacterial infection, which make the fruits harmful for consumption.

    Salmonella, a bacterium that causes food poisoning and typhoid fever in humans or shigella, a bacterium that causes dysentery, is easily contacted in the process.

    Pesticides, fungus and insect threats also force farmers to spray various chemicals on their orchards to improve and preserve production.

    More dangers with fruit juices

    But it is in the importation of concentrates for production of fruit juices that the nation loses much more. Nigerians take a lot of fruit juices, most of which are imported though the nation boasts of at least 14 local companies in the sub-sector listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, said Nigerians spend $1 billion yearly importing fruit juice, a development he described as disheartening.

    Nigeria consumes 50 per cent of the total volume of fruit juice sold in Africa, according to the Director General of Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Azikiwe Onwualu.

    The ban on importation of fruit juices has boosted local manufacturing but concentrates are still mainly imported. The concentrates come through the same processes and routes as the imported fruits.

    The country loses more foreign exchange and nutritional values with the gross import of concentrates for production of fruit juices.

    Local fruits: Same of the same

    Lettuces, potatoes and other vegetables are locally produced mainly in the North-Central states of Plateau and Benue. These local efforts are hampered by poor yields and environmental hazards. A local fruit seller agreed that most farmers in the North contend with insects, pests and poor storage facilities.

    “You will notice that fruits have seasons. So, when it is the season of mangoes, for example, they just waste away because the farmers cannot store them. We can’t transport them immediately and suffer more losses,” Mrs. Adeola Sulaimon, stated. The long hours of moving the fruits to major markets in the cities also hasten the rottenness of the commodity, she said.

    During off-season, the farmers and retailers are forced to induce the fruits to ripen by applying chemicals. Sulaimon confessed they are not left with much choice. “That is the only way to survive and meet growing demands. If you don’t apply the chemicals, you don’t get to sell anything,” she explained.

    Dr Adamu Onu of Garki General Hospital Abuja, said the practice is dangerous and harmful to vital organs such as the liver. According to him, the ripening chemicals distort the natural taste and flavour of fruits.

    An industrial chemist, Miss Ebere Nwachukwu, agrees. She said: “Ripening is the final stage of the maturation process; any attempt to force a fruit to ripe prematurely can destroy the natural ingredients in it.

    “Calcium carbide absorbs moisture and produces acetylene, which is a weak analogue of ethylene, responsible for triggering ripening process.”

    Headache, dizziness, mood disturbances, sleepiness, mental confusion, and memory loss, according to her, are some of the side-effects of consuming fruits with ripening chemicals.

    The dilemma is how do you identify those that have gone through this process?

  • APC’s break through in Anambra

    APC’s break through in Anambra

    It was historic weekend in Anambra State as a former presidential aspirant in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2007, Rev Dr Emma Obianagha, led over 3,000 members to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    This is coming as the APC urged Governor Peter Obi to start packing his briefcases as the party would take over Government House March next year. APC insisted that its structures are better on ground than any other party and would match the government in power and out do it with correct and accurate political strategies to win the governorship election after coasting to victory in the  local government elections slated for October 5th this year.

    Obianagha was received by the Deputy National Chairman, South APC, Senator Annie Okonkwo and governorship aspirant of the APC, Mr Goddy Ezeemo, at an impressive rally to inform the state that the APC has been formally registered at Emmaus House, Awka.

    He told the mammoth crowd of the APC that he renounced the PDP on Saturday in his country  home  Ogidi , Idemmili Local Government Area and was welcomed by Mr Edwin Okonkwo, ward One Ogidi Chairman of APC and other thousands of APC.

    He added that PDP has failed Nigeria and that there is nothing that would be an obstacle for the APC to win Anambra State in 2015, describing it as a party with human face.

    ‘’APC will govern Anambra State in 2014 because the election will be won by APC . I saw that and willingly decided to leave PDP which is at comatose now. If you are not in the APC, you are in trouble. I urge those in APC who are still hiding to come out boldly.

    ‘’Nigeria is drifting because of the PDP and it is only APC that can resolve the problem of Nigeria. The party in power which I am a member is in shatters. I am candidly saying that things have fallen apart in PDP.

    ‘’Let us not make a mistake to vote any other party but APC. Any mistake would be disastrous and spell doom for this country. Only APC candidate will win election in Anambra and at the center. PDP can’t win elections here again and since I have joined APC, you will start seeing the real mess in PDP. Those who joined PDP because of me in some states of the South-East are already decamping to APC.

    ‘’Let me warn all of you to be vigilant because PDP believes in the rigging machinery but it won’t work again. They don’t care about the vote and condition of people at the grassroots but that is where they got it wrong. PDP government has no grassroots agenda. Urban gorillas have hijacked PDP,” he said.

    Addressing the  crowd,  Senator Annie Okonkwo and Mr Goddy Ezeemo warned against people who are in the party but working against the party to have a rethink as it is dangerous to be a blackleg when nobody is looking in one’s direction.

    Ezeemo appealed to all members to ensure that a free and fair registration exercise of party members of APC is embarked on starting from Tuesday to ensure all party members are accommodated by discarding the earlier registration said to have been done before the registration since it is now contentious in some quarters to give every aspiring member the chance to join.

    He warned those intimidating members by dropping names to stop since the party is large enough to accommodate all interests in line with party rules and regulations.

    ‘’We agreed to inform you to discard the previous registration in the name of APC. We agreed to discard that one to enable everybody register and be happy to enable us forge ahead to win Anambra with one mind, one voice and anybody intimidating the party members should have a rethink because this is a brotherly contest for us to win the local government election and state government election.

    ‘’Let us be accommodating one another and tell ourselves the truth and work together to enable us win elections and nothing else. We are not in the party to show off or to harass one another but to win the election, so all hands should be on deck to enable us win.

    Ezeemo said everybody should prepare to vote for whoever they want to govern them .

    ‘’I am not desperate to be governor but APC has come to stay in Anambra State. We all should join hands to take the state to the next level through APC.”

    On his part, Okonkwo appealed to members not to close the door for fresh members like those who defected from PDP, led by Obianagha, but to welcome new members to enable them ride to the Government House, Awka.

    He told the crowd that against the rumour being spread across the state that he is no longer contesting the governorship of the state under APC, he is still much more in the race until otherwise stated.  He urged members to disregard the rumour.

    ‘’APC will reclaim Nigeria and APC is the new face of Anambra State. We will embark on infrastructure upgrade, employment, just name it and anybody telling you that APC is anti-Igbo should be ignored.

    As at now, most of the national officers come from Igbo land. What other justification do you need to understand that the party is not anti Igbo but pro Igbo in all its ramifications. APC is organised and we are assuring that APC will have a free and fair primary election.

    Although Senator Chris Nwabueze Ngige has not attended any of the rallies by APC,  he is a contender in the APC governorship ticket.

    Okonkwo had earlier announced the appointment of former All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Pat Orjiakor, as APC’s interim Chairman in Anambra State, to make sure the party is not a sheep without a shepherd.

    ‘’The party found out that the only person to lead the party pending ratification of every other thing is Orjiakor. The gentleman is a vibrant person with vision, and for our party to move ahead of others, we have to appoint him before a substantive chairman emerges.

    ‘’APC cannot be allowed to operate in a vacuum, it has been like sheep without a shepherd, so we cannot continue like that.

    Okonkwo informed that he has resigned his poistion  as the National Interim Deputy Chairman to contest for the governorship of the state . He reminded that there is no provision for imposition and godfatherism in APC as everybody dreaming to be governor will subject himself or herself to the party primaries.

    ‘’Go to your wards and local governments to be fishers of members. God wants to use APC to liberate the people.

    In his remarks, Orjiakor said only God should be given the glory of the actualisation of victory of APC registration and assured he would do his best to stir the party to victory. APC has no provision for a consensus candidate, the party has no provision for imposition of anybody as its candidate. Some people are looking forward to impose themselves as demi gods, it will not work in APC.

    ‘’It is the handiwork of God for me to lead the eminent persons in APC, but what I am promising members is that I will not fail them.

    ‘’This is the era of truth , I will not lead any member astray,but one thing is sure and that is APC is going to take over from Governor Peter Obi on march 17, next year.

  • APC and the South-East challenge

    APC and the South-East challenge

    Emergence of All Progressives Congress (APC) as a registered party has raised several issues, including the strength of the new party in the South-East zone and what the party would offer Ndigbo, reports Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, who also takes a look at the leaders of the party in the zone.

    South-East geo-political zone, which of late was split between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA) began as a traditional PDP zone. The emergence of APGA, helped greatly by the influence of the late Eze Gburugburu Ndigbo, Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, changed the political equation slightly, as Anambra State first became an APGA State, followed by Imo.

    Today, with the demise of Ojukwu, compounded by the recent leadership crisis in APGA, the political future of the zone has emerged a central issue. This explains the attention of political strategists before and after the registration of the All Progressives Congress ( APC).

    Coming at the time APGA was embroiled in a leadership crisis, with the governor of Imo State, Okorocha, emerging as a pioneer APC member, there is fear within the PDP and APGA that APC may have come to battle for the political soul of the South-East zone.

    This is even as South East people are alleging that they are yet to experience federal attention and good governance, compared to other zones in the federation. They have therefore alleged that they have suffered greatly and are in search of change.

    The primary allegation for the quest for change has remained that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has dominated the politics of the zone since 1999, has been unable to resolve, satisfactorily, the deep feeling of marginalisation amongst the people.

    Even the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), which many of the people saw as their own, had been stalled by continuous internal crises and intrigues, thus leaving the zone largely naked, politically.

    Given this reality, a majority of South-Easterners, especially those dissatisfied with the status quo, see the emergence of APC as the long awaited opportunity for political deliverance.

    The Nation’s investigation reveals that such electorates and political stalwarts have enthusiastically embraced the new party even before the conclusion of the registration process.

    Besides the people’s dissatisfaction with the status quo and the need for a more viable change, our investigation shows that the growing influence of the APC in the geo- political zone is also attributable to the influence and acceptability of most of the politicians that are leading the new party in the zone.

    In most of the South-East states, APC seems to have a lot of political figures, who are comparatively adjudged, by the electorate, as both progressives and radical and therefore more welfarist in ideology.

    Some of the leaders in the states include:

    Imo State:

    Leading the APC in Imo State and other parts of the South-East zone today is Governor Rochas Okorocha. Okorocha, who was elected governor of Imo State on the platform of APGA, stood out in the historical gathering in Lagos, where APC was given birth to.

    Not encumbered by the disagreement over his party’s participation in the merger, Okorocha has remained steadfast in the new political process and is widely considered as the major force behind APC in Imo and indeed the entire South-East zone.

    Apart from Okorocha, there are also other political heavyweights in the state, whose association with APC has served as a major boost for the party in the state. They include former governor of Imo State, Chief Achike Udenwa, former CPC governorship candidate, Chief Mike Ahamba, who, before the registration of APC, defected to ACN in a grand style with many supporters, put by some reports as numbering over 3000.

    Even before the emergence of APC, ACN, led in the state by Chief Charles Ubah, has attracted other powerful politicians.

    It would be recalled that in 2011, some of the major politicians from the state, who were associated with ACN, included Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, who then had governorship ambition under ACN.

    If these political heavyweights join hands, it would seem difficult to snatch the state from the APC.

    Abia State

    Abia State, a neighbouring state to Imo State, is said to be greatly influenced by the political revolution going on in Imo, where the state governor has not only turned the state to on APC state but has emerged a leader of the party in the entire South-East zone.

    Already, Governor Okorocha has promised to support APC members in the state to take over power in Umuahia.

    When he played host to a delegation under the platform of Igbo Rescue Mission from Abia State that paid him a solidarity visit in Government House, Owerri, Okorocha said, “There is political bondage in Abia State which the people needed to be liberated from. This is the time to awaken our people, as Igbo people are now free. This is the time to embrace the All Progressives Congress (APC).”

    Ben Udensi, the leader of the group said they came to visit Okorocha in acknowledgment that he is the “true leader of the Igbo people.”

    Investigations conducted at the grassroots show that APC is also poised to uproot the PDP in Abia. The Nation learnt that the new party will be led mainly by young but radical politicians. Aside the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) flag bearer in the 2011 gubernatorial election in the state, Prince Paul Ikonne, ANPP member of Board of Trustees, Dr. Francis Egu, had, according to some sources, been pencilled down to play leading roles in the APC 2015 campaigns in the state.

    Enugu State

    In Enugu State, the APC has also commenced active mobilisation for 2015 elections. In one of its earliest public gatherings, the association said the PDP has been deceiving the South East geo-political zone.

    Arising from a recent one-day stakeholders’ preliminary meeting last Friday, the party alleged that PDP has not only failed the nation in the last 14 years, but has also squandered over N50 trillion of the nation’s wealth and should, therefore, be dislodged from power, come 2015.

    APC in Enugu also alleged that the second tenure of the Governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chume, has become a disaster, alleging that “it is riddled with corruption while the economy has become stagnant.”

    These allegations are contained in a communiqué jointly signed by the representatives of the four merging political parties.

    They include Val Nnaedozie of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN; Emma Eneukwu of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Peter Okonkwo of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and Osita Okechukwu of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

    Even before the registration of the APC, the party has made some in-roads in Enugu.

    Amongst the leaders of the party in the state include,the coordinator of APC in the state, Chief Osita Okechukwu  who was the gubernatorial candidate of the Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) in 2011, Maj.-Gen. Josef Okoloagu (retd.) of ACN.

    The Nation learnt that the party’s recent campaign for the next governor of the state to come from Nsukka zone has made it a major political force to contend with.

    While other parties are still debating over the issue, the new party has formally zoned Enugu State governorship position in 2015 to the Enugu North Senatorial District, known as Nsukka.

    In a press release, Okechukwu said the decision to zone the position to Nsukka was taken at a meeting in Enugu.

    He therefore appealed to credible aspirants from Enugu East and Enugu West to support the decision in the spirit of brotherhood.

    “In 1999, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani from Enugu East became governor in Enugu State and he ruled for eight years. Sullivan Chime, who hails

    from Enugu West, took over in 2007 and by the time his tenure comes to an end in May 2015, he must have ruled for eight years. So, we believe in the APC that for equity, fairness and justice to prevail, the next governor should come from Enugu North, which is Nsukka zone,” he noted.

    This move, we gathered, has already put other political parties, especially the ruling PDP on its toes.

    Ebonyi State

    In Ebonyi State, the National Chairman of All Nigeria People’s Party ( ANPP), Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, who is one of the principal founders of APC, is already leading the campaign for APC in the state henceforth. A former governor of old Abia State, Onu will be working with other leaders in all the parties that merged to battle the ruling People’s Democratic Party.

    Even before the merger, opposition political parties in the state had shared common ambition of uprooting the PDP in the state.

  • What is in it for the zone?

    As the APC launches it’s mobilisation campaigns in the zone, one major argument has been what the zone stands to gain by voting for the party?

    In the recent meeting held by some APC leaders in Enugu, the political association said it wants PDP out of power because the latter’s administration at the federal level has been deceiving the people of the South-East geo-political zone who have been voting massively for it since 1999.

    It listed three projects initiated by the PDP administration in the South-East but which it claimed have not been executed.

    The projects are Onitsha Sea Port, Second Niger Bridge, and 3-D Seismic Survey for Enugu Coal-Fired-Plant.

    It said, “We are bidding good- bye to the PDP because the South-East since 1999 had voted massively for the PDP at every election and none of the promises made has been fulfilled. What we witnessed is ‘April fool’ fanfare launching of Onitsha Sea Port by President Goodluck Jonathan and six months down the line no boat not to talk of sea vessel had berthed in the so called port.

    “In another make belief few weeks ago we were told that the Second Niger Bridge has been awarded and we ask – where is the design of the bridge? Where is the environmental impact assessment? Where is the property valuation report? What is the cost of the contract?

    “Thirdly, the 3-D Seismic Survey’s money budgeted for Enugu Coal-Fired-Plant initiated by Professor Barth Nnaji in the 2012 Budget ; we understand has grown wings and flew into the pockets of very important officials of President Jonathan administration,” they alleged.

    Already, besides the mere clamour for change, leaders of the party in the South-East are alleged to have claimed the zone will, under the APC, get at least the vice presidential ticket in 2015 and other influential political positions.

    But Chief Israel Ukaukwu, an APC chieftain in Abia State, in his reaction to the claim, to.d The Nation, “We are not even crazy of top political positions for now. What is of more importance to us is that we want governors that will transform all South-East states the way the current APC governors are doing in the South-West, Edo and in Imo. That is enough conviction that we should consider APC. “