The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • Okowa seeks review of revenue allocation formula

    Okowa seeks review of revenue allocation formula

    By Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

    Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has called for a review of the current revenue allocation formula in favour of states and local governments.

    He said a review became imperative to reflect the current socio-economic realities in the country.

    The governor spoke on Thursday when he hosted the National Executive Council (NEC) members of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), led by their National President, Mr. Kolade Alabi, in Asaba, the state capital.

    The governor said states currently face huge financial responsibilities, same with local governments.

    He said the local government administration was growing and that “it is our hope that we get them stabilised financially so that they can impact on the lives of our people”.

    Okowa added: “I believe that local government administration must be autonomous. Here in Delta State, we have never tampered with their funds. Rather, we assist them and provide bailout funds for them on a monthly basis to augment their payment of salaries.

    Read Also: Okowa lauds Buhari for railways development

    “We have generally as a nation made local government administration take up serious responsibilities, like payment of their workers and primary school teachers’ salaries without providing the necessary funds for them.

    “We need to have a re-work of the revenue allocation formula because none of the arms of government should shy away from that.

    “We need to be able to provide funding so that they can reach out to the people and the people will feel their impact.

    “The Federal Government is an important tier of government but they can’t perform well in terms of reaching out to the various communities because of the issues of monitoring and evaluation.

    “There is a need to rework the laws of this nation in such a way that we are able to redirect governance the way it ought to be done.”

    Alabi said the group was in Delta State for its NEC meeting and that it chose the state in recognition of its sterling accomplishments of the governor in local government administration.

  • Enugu wins President’s teachers, schools excellence award

    Enugu wins President’s teachers, schools excellence award

    Our Reporter

     

    ENUGU State has sustained its outstanding performance at the annual President’s Teachers and Schools Excellence Award (PTSEA).

    The Principal of Urban Girls’ Secondary School, Enugu, Mrs. Chioma Ebue, was the first Runner-Up (Best Administrator in Junior Secondary School category in Nigeria) at the 2020 edition of the event at Eagle Square, Abuja, to mark Teachers’ Day celebration.

    Model Secondary School, Nsukka, also in Enugu State, during the 2019 edition of the PTSEA, was the fifth best school in public category in Nigeria.

    This followed the general assessment of infrastructure, e-library, quality teaching and learning in public secondary schools in the country by the Federal Ministry of Education.

    Read Also: ‘70% of Enugu DisCo customers not affected by tariff hike’

    The outstanding feat, according to the Executive Chairman of Enugu State Post-Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB), Nestor Ezeme, who received the award on behalf of the school, was the result of various educational interventions by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s administration.

    Ezenme said these ensured the overhaul of all classroom blocks at Model Secondary School, Nsukka, construction of dormitories and dining hall with modern facilities.

    Other pivotal interventions, according to the PPSMB chairman, include “installation of ICT/E-Library through the works department of the Post Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB) and recruitment and training of quality teachers, leading to excellent performance of the school’s JSS3 and SS3 students in junior and senior WAEC, respectively, among others”.

  • Police, youths ‘stop’ banners for Chimamanda’s father’s burial

    Police, youths ‘stop’ banners for Chimamanda’s father’s burial

     Nwanosike Onu, Awka

     

     

    •Tension heightens in two communities
    •Novelist buries father today in Anambra

     

    THERE is renewed tension in Ukpo and Dunukofia Communities in Anambra State, following the alleged refusal by the police and some youths to mount the burial flex of the late Prof James Adiichie at Abba-Ukpo junction on the Onitsha-Enugu expressway.

    The late 88-year-old Prof Adichie died on June 10, 2020, and was the father of award-winning novelist and motivational speaker Chimamanda Adichie.

    There had been a case of land dispute between the two neighboring communities, which had lasted many years.

    Ukpo is home of oil magnate, Prince Arthur Eze, and it is in Dunukofia Local Government Area, while Abba is in Njikoka Local Government area.

    But they share boundaries.

    Save for the intervention of some policemen sent to the Adichie family to plead with their colleagues at the junction, there might have been a bloody clash among the youths of both communities yesterday.

    The Nation gathered that the policemen at the junction, with some group of men, disallowed Abba residents from erecting the banners.

    The late Adichie was the first Nigerian Professor of Statistics and, upon retirement from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), he lived in Abba, where he held the prestigious traditional title of “Odelu Ora” Abba.

    A community leader in Abba, who spoke in confidence with The Nation, alleged that some banners of their brother were torn in the presence of policemen.

    He said: “It took the timely arrival of few policemen attached to Adichie’s family and pleas from Adichie’s brothers to save the situation from degenerating into a squabble.

    “Concerned youths from Abba had insisted that the banners must be erected at the junction, on the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.”

    Contacted, Anambra State Police Command’s spokesman Mohammed Haruna, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said he had not received a report on the incident.

    But the spokesperson for Zone 13 Command – comprising Anambra and Enugu states – Princess Nkeiruka Nwode, promised to get back to our reporter on the incident, but did not last night.

    Also, the late Prof. Adichie will be laid to rest today at Abba after a requiem mass at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in the town.

  • Akwa Ibom communities protest construction of flyover

    Akwa Ibom communities protest construction of flyover

     Bassey Anthony, Uyo

     

    YOUTHS of Ikot Oku Ikono, Ediene, Afia Nsit and Ikot Ntuen villages in Akwa Ibom State yesterday staged a peaceful protest over the construction of a flyover which they claimed blocked access routes to their communities.

    The youths took over Ikot Oku Ikono Junction, urging construction giant, Julius Berger, to fix alternative routes to Abak, Etinan and Afaha Nsit local government areas as work progresses on the flyover.

    They also pleaded with the state government to speed up construction work on Ikot Oku Ikono flyover to reduce the suffering of the residents.

    Speaking during the protest, representatives of the youths said all access roads to their communities had been cut off.

    Read Also: Cultists sack Akwa Ibom church

    They regretted that due to poor diversion of drainage, flood had taken over most houses in their communities as well as destroyed their farm lands.

    Works Commissioner, Prof. Eno Ibanga, who dashed to the site on getting the information about the protest, urged the affected communities to exercise patience.

    He said the government would provide alternative roads as soon as possible.

  • Cross River urges UNHCR to solve Cameroonian refugees’ influx

    Cross River urges UNHCR to solve Cameroonian refugees’ influx

    Agency Reporter

     

    CROSS River State government on Wednesday urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to find a lasting solution to the increasing number of Cameroonian refugees in the state.

    Commissioner for International Development Cooperation, Dr. Inyang Asibong, spoke yesterday in Calabar, the state capital, when a team from UNHCR visited her.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the visit was to discuss the state of response on Cameroonian refugees and to seek collaboration with the Ministry.

    Asibong stressed that there was need for urgent actions to address the disturbing situation.

    She added that the state government had continued to be a “bed net” for both Cameroonian refugees and other migrants in neighboring countries that have a common border with Cross River.

    The commissioner assured the team of the state government’s continued support for Cameroonian refugees and immigrants in spite of its lean resources.

    Read Also: Over 2,500 delisted Cross River civil servants protest

    “Cross River under Governor Ben Ayade has continued to provide support for Cameronian refugees and immigrants in spite of the state’s lean resources and these responsibilities should be supported by all institutions involved,” she said.

    Earlier, Ms. Janet Okello of the UNHCR had praised Ayade for providing an enabling environment for the commission to operate effectively over the years in the state.

    Okello noted that the stepping up of engagement with International partners through the establishment of Ministry of International Development Cooperation to coordinate their activities was highly commendable.

    She assured the state government of  UNHCR’s commitment to find long term solutions to the problem of Cameroonian Refugees in due course.

  • IPOB seeks release of media head, agitators

    IPOB seeks release of media head, agitators

    Emma Elekwa, Onitsha

     

    MEMBERS of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have called for the immediate and unconditional release of its media Head, Mazi Emmanuel Bassey Ekomiba, from detention in Akwa Ibom State.

    They also asked security agents to release his colleague, Mazi Victor Sunday Okoro, form detention.

    IPOB said the duo were arrested in Akwa Ibom State during evangelism on September 30, 2020.

    A statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, said there was no justification for their arrests as they were not terrorists and had not committed any crime that warranted their arrest.

    The statement reads: “We want to put the world on notice of the abduction of Mazi Emmanuel Bassey Ekomiba, the Media Head of IPOB in Akwa Ibom State; and his colleague, Mazi Victor Sunday Okoro, who were abducted in Akwa Ibom State during the evangelism on September 30, 2020.

    Read Also: IPOB’s sit-at-home flops in Imo

    “We demand their immediate release because they are not terrorists nor did they commit anything to warrant any arrest.

    “We equally demand the unconditional release of all Biafra agitators picked by security agents. We want the Army that besieged the home of our leader at Isiama Afaraukwu on the October 1, 2020, to stop harassing residents of the area because they are not terrorists.

    “Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Yufuf Buratai should send his soldiers to Sambisa Forest, Baga in Borno State and other Northern communities taken over by terrorists.

    “IPOB is a peaceful movement committed to peaceful restoration of Biafra. Biafra is a divine project designed by the Most High God in Heaven, and there is nothing anybody can do to change our resolve to actualise Biafra independence.”

  • Umahi, Miyetti Allah to meet over farmers’, herders’ clashes

    Umahi, Miyetti Allah to meet over farmers’, herders’ clashes

    Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

     

    EBONYI State Governor David Umahi will today meet with the national leadership of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) to douse rising tension between farmers and herdsmen in the state.

    Ahead of the meeting, the state government convened a stakeholders’ meeting yesterday where the governor was briefed by chairmen of various local government areas and traditional rulers on the situation in their areas.

    Umahi decried the increasing altercation between the herdsmen and various communities in the state.

    The governor said if such incidents were allowed to continue, they could degenerate into the breakdown of law and order and bloodshed.  He said Ebonyi is a peaceful state which opens its doors to all persons, irrespective or tribe or religion.

    “I always say that Ebonyi people seem to love visitors more than they love themselves. This recent altercation is very unlike us and there is no doubt that the people and stakeholders are not in support of it.

    “We expect that we will be able to fashion out a means for us to leave together in peace. We have also passed a law as that will lead to peaceful coexistence. We have signed an agreement in the past with Miyetti Allah and formed a committee at all levels, all geared towards peaceful coexistence.

    “We have in the past made it clear that killing of cows is an offence and also made it an offence to destroy farmlands and crops,” Umahi said.

    Read Also: Probe claims of sale of Ebonyi properties, Onyike tells Umahi

    The governor said the major problem had been the implementation of the agreements and laws passed to protect the herders and farmers.

    There have been increasing skirmishes between various communities in the state and Herdsmen in the state.

    Last month, women in Afikpo North Local Government Area protested the high rate of farm produce destruction by the herdsmen.

    The women, who gathered from four communities of Nkpoghoro, Ugwuegu, Ohaisu and Itim in Afikpo North local government areas, chanted songs of sorrow and wielded sticks to show their concerns.

  • Emmanuel approves release of 2019 promotion for 2,248 workers

    Emmanuel approves release of 2019 promotion for 2,248 workers

    Our Reporter

     

    AKWA Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has approved the release of the 2019 promotion of 2,248 workers in the state.

    The state’s Head of Civil Service, Elder Effiong Essien, announced this on Tuesday at the official opening ceremony of a five-day capacity building retreat for officers on Grade Levels 13 to 17 in Uyo, the state capital.

    “In his avowed commitment to the development of workers and growth of the Civil Service, Governor Udom Emmanuel has approved the release of the 2019 promotion to 2, 248 workers in the state government employ,” Essien said.

    He explained that the approval for the promotion had received widespread applause within and outside the state’s civil service.

    Read Also: Emmanuel congratulates Obaseki over re-election

    According to him, this is a clear testimony that Emmanuel is worker-friendly, as demonstrated in the numerous welfare packages provided for workers.

    Essien noted that the newly promoted civil servants from Grade Levels 7 and above benefited from the promotion exercise.

    He hailed the governor for his unrelenting commitment towards the welfare and development of Akwa Ibom workers.

  • Obaseki: why I can’t help 14 estranged lawmakers-elect

    Obaseki: why I can’t help 14 estranged lawmakers-elect

    By Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja

    Fourteen estranged lawmakers-elect of the Edo State House of Assembly may not get the help of the Executive to occupy their seats.

    Governor Godwin Obaseki has said he is not in a position to help them restore their mandate in the Assembly.

    The lawmakers-elect were shut out of the inauguration of the Assembly in 2019, following a power tussle between the governor and his estranged political godfather, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole.

    Obaseki said: “Even if I wanted today to bring them back, I don’t have such powers. I wish it didn’t happen. But people were playing god and promising what is not constitutional.

    Read Also: The canonisation of Obaseki

    “I am not the one that plant people into the House of Assembly. They, on their own, operated the rules the way it should be. Their seats are now vacant.”

    The governor addressed reporters on Monday at the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja after a meeting with the party’s leadership.

    Obaseki, who said he was on a thank you visit to the party’s leaders, explained that the case of the 14 estranged members-elect was still pending in court and that it is the court that will determine their fate.

    PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, had urged Obaseki to run an inclusive government.

    He advised the governor to bring aggrieved members who might have left his camp for one reason or the other on board with a view to accommodating them all.

  • REC slams N10b libel suits on APC chiefs

    REC slams N10b libel suits on APC chiefs

     Bisi Olaniyi, Southsouth Bureau Chief, Benin

     

    RESIDENT Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Akwa Ibom State, Mike Igini, has filed N10 billion libel suits against the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Col. David Imuse (retd.) and the Chairman of Edo APC Media Campaign Council, Prince John Mayaki.

    Joined as co-defendants are: Vanguard Media Limited, the African Newspaper of Nigeria Plc, publishers of Nigerian Tribune titles and The Sun Publishing Limited.

    In the writ of summons in the suits he filed on Monday at a Benin High Court through Edwin Okonedo on behalf of his lawyer, Clement Onwuenwunor, the REC is demanding N5 billion each as aggravated damages from Imuse and Mayaki.