Our Reporter

IMO State Governor Hope Uzodimma has promised potential investors in the state that they will have an enabling environment that will guarantee ease of doing business and good returns on their investments.

The governor made the promise Monday, October 5, 2020 at the opening Ceremony of a five-day Executive Capacity Building Programme for the Governing Board of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) at Protea Hotel New Owerri, Imo State.

Flagging off the ceremony, Governor Uzodimma lauded the NCC for her contribution in the economy of Nigeria and urged the members to feel free to discuss their business interests and programmes in Imo State, promising the readiness of government to contribute her quota, both tangible and intangible, to ensure that Imo citizens benefit from their outing.

The governor noted that NCC capacity-building programme will benefit the youths and the unemployed, and impact the health and security sectors of Imo in particular and Nigeria in general.

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Governor Uzodimma further enjoined NCC to come to the aid of Imo State and support her in the areas of infrastructure which he said is in a distress; youth unemployment, mainly ICT based employment market.

He also appealed to NCC to expand their Centres to the tertiary and secondary institutions in the State and assured that Government is willing to ensure that any business or investment in Imo is protected and supported to succeed.

Governor Uzodimma congratulated the NCC Board of Directors for their choice of Owerri for the programme and assured that the State will do her best to justify the confidence of their choice.

Earlier in their address, Chairman, Governing Board of the NCC, Prof. Adeolu Akande, informed that they are in Owerri to expose its Board and key members to relevant training programmes within the limits of available budget to achieve the commission’s mandate which is to “provide needed policy direction for effective regulation of the telecomm industry in Nigeria” which he said they are working very hard to achieve.

 Tony Akowe, Abuja

A 100-LEVEL student of University of Uyo-turned fish seller, Destiny Abraham Nelson, has won the September edition of the Hard Worker competition sponsored by Princewill Trust.

Miss Nelson, who said she resorted to selling fish to raise money for her school fees, was presented with a cash price of N100,000 by the founder of a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Princewill Trust, Prince Tonye Princewill.

Princewill, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, said the aim of the trust was to contribute to the economic development of Rivers State by encouraging hard working residents.

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He advised the winner to make judicious use of the money and inspire others like her to upgrade their businesses too.

The “Help the Hard Worker” monthly competition is organised by The Princewill’s Trust for entrepreneurs, youths and other Rivers State residents engaged in micro businesses and all forms of hard work across the state.

Princewill said the trust has a special place for the voiceless and encouraged more women, more youths and the disabled to enter the contest.

“The more the merrier,” he adde.

Miss Nelson said she needed funds to upgrade her business but was helpless.

The UNIUYO student said it had always been her dream and desire to work hard to succeed in life.

She urged fellow youths in the state to be creative and engage in productive activities.

 Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

ABIA State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has assured the residents that his administration will revive moribund industries across the state.

Ikpeazu spoke as the special guest of honour at a stakeholders’ validation workshop on Abia State Industrial Policy and Strategy at the Michael Okpara Auditorium in Umuahia, the state capital.

The workshop was organised in conjunction with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

The governor sought the support of the House of Assembly to ensure that the policy sails through.

Ikpeazu, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chris Ezem, said: “This draft document, as soon as it is executed, will form the policy thrust for Abia State with respect to industries. I want to assure you that government will implement it to the latter all that is in that document once it is executed.

“This programme is key to us. It is very important because we don’t want to just bring out a document, strike out a policy thrust statement and pass it on to everybody.

“What we are doing is to have the understanding and input of everybody – from all nooks and crannies of the industrial community – so that it can be part of this embracing document, which will form the policy thrust of Abia State with respect to industries.

“I know that today, we are doing a lot in the area of leather and garment clusters. We are doing so much in the area of shoe factory, and Enyimba Economic City. The Golden Guinea is on course today. We are working very hard to ensure that the Glass Industry is revived. We believe that the Modern Ceramics, in no distant time, will come back to operation, just like the Golden Guinea.

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“The government is equally not relenting in that area. The Commissioner for Agriculture, at the last Exco meeting, was given a marching order to do everything we need to do to shore up our stake with respect to our investment in the area of agriculture.

“We know this is the way to go. We know what the crude oil market is doing today and we know that the best way to go is to sustain ourselves in the area of food by making sure that we support farmers and all the stakeholders in agricultural business.

“In the area of waste management, I can tell you that we are not losing sight in that direction. We have a lot of proposals in that area. We want to get those that have the competence and operational reason to take waste to wealth.

“I can assure you that in no distant time, the government will be entering into an agreement with one of the companies that we have in that area.”

Our Reporter

THE Federal Government, Southeast governors and other stakeholders have hailed Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for his administration’s support towards the completion of the administrative block of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Academy at Udi in Udi Local Government Area of the state.

The FRSC Academy, a centre of excellence for skills acquisition in road traffic administration and safety management in Africa, was relocated from its temporary site in Jos, Plateau State, to Udi in 2014.

This followed the approval of Enugu State government for the FRSC to acquire 35 hectares of land in the state and its commitment to providing the road network to the facility as well as a befitting administrative block.

Speaking during inauguration of the administrative block, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, expressed the appreciation of the Federal Government to “the Enugu State government, under the amiable leadership of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Enugu State, Lawrence Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for the show of uncommon support for the Corps”.

Mustapha told Ugwuanyi that “your goodwill and that of the good people of Enugu State is highly acknowledged by the Federal Government”.

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Represented by the Director of PRS, Jamiu Adelabu Abdukalreem, the SGF also expressed confidence that the establishment of the FRSC Academy in Enugu State will continue to aid the realiwation of the corps vision.

He added that the purposeful partnership between the Federal Government and the Enugu State government “should, therefore, be emulated by other state governments, organisations and individuals to enhance the country’s road safety management efforts”.

The Corps Marshal of FRSC, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, thanked Ugwuanyi for what his administration was doing for the Corps.

“I am short of words to convey the gratitude of the Corps to the government and good people of Enugu State,” he added.

Governors of Imo, Ebonyi, Anambra and Abia states lauded Ugwuanyi’s efforts, support and magnanimity towards the realisation of the FRSC Academy.

Inaugurating the project, Ugwuanyi acknowledged the sacrifice by the royal fathers and people of the three communities in Udi Local Government Area, who jointly own the parcel of the land where the academy is located.

The governor also lauded the giant strides of the FRSC leadership.

By Bisi Olaniyi, Southsouth Bureau Chief, Benin

Edo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Tony Azegbiemi has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct by-election to fill 14 seats in the House of Assembly.

The 14 seats, occupied by All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers, were declared vacant last December by the factional Speaker Francis Okiye, a loyalist of Governor Godwin Obaseki.

Okiye became Speaker during the controversial inauguration on June 17, 2019.

Azegbiemi warned yesterday in Benin, the state capital, hinted that the PDP would formally write to INEC to conduct the by-election to ensure that the constituents of the 14 lawmakers are not disenfranchised.

He said: “We are very worried because about a million people have lost their voices in Edo State House of Assembly. Their voices are not being heard; nobody is talking about them and nobody is representing their interests.”

The Speaker of the All Progressives Congress (APC) faction comprising 17 members in the 24-member House of Assembly, Victor Edoror, was sworn in last August 6.

But he could not be reached last night for his reaction.

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An APC lawmaker, Washington Osifo, who is also a former Education Commissioner, had said: “Declaring our seats vacant is a joke. The matter is before a court of competent jurisdiction. When a matter is before the court, such an action is prejudice.

“We are challenging the illegal inauguration of the Assembly. Anything put on nothing cannot stand.”

The seven PDP lawmakers hold plenary inside the Government House in Benin, while the 17 APC legislators regularly sit at an undisclosed location in the state capital also.

This followed the August 6, 2020 heaping of tipper loads of granite and sand at the main entrance to the House of Assembly and removal of the roof sheets of the complex “for renovation”, according to Obaseki.

By Chris Njoku, Owerri

The International Association of World Peace Advocates (IAWPA) has named Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma the 2020 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Most Friendly Governor in Nigeria.

The association also urged the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), Economic Commission for West African States (ECOWAS), the New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) and the international community to visit and invest in Imo State.

It decorated the governor as an Eminent Peace Ambassador, based on his pursuit of peace in his leadership style in Imo State and beyond.

The ceremony, which took place at the weekend at the Government House in Owerri, the state capital, was conducted by IAWPA President, Ambassador Per Stafsen, in company of other top members of the association.

Stafsen described Uzodimma as a politician who has uncommon interest in quality leadership and one passionately inclined to meeting the SDG needs of his people.

He said the governor is neither tribal nor ethnic in his administrative style, making him a true nationalist.

“He (Uzodimma) is carrying everyone along and leaving no one behind, irrespective of class, age, colour, and religion. Hence, the social inclusion in his administration covers the five “Ps” of the SDGs, meaning People, Planet, Peace, Property and Partnership,” Stafsen said.

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The IAWPA President assured potential investors that any investment in Imo State will meet the needs of the people as “the governor represents a true man of trust and public confidence that will rewrite the Nigerian history”.

Accepting the award, Uzodimma reiterated his administration’s commitment to good governance and support of the 17 programmes of the SDGs.

The governor emphasised that the gains derivable from the activities of the SDGs would be used to assist the poor and the vulnerable in the society.

He urged the UN and other world bodies involved in the SDGs programmes to sustain the programme, adding: “Africa needs it most, considering the level of poverty, disease, and declining educational standards plaguing the continent.”

 Emma Elekwa, Onitsha

RESIDENTS of Agbaja community at Abatete in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State have protested alleged imposition of leadership on their people.

The protesters, under the aegis of Agbaja Abatete Community Association (AACA), also alleged threats to their lives by those they called influential persons in the town who had been attempting to replace the current administration with another.

They urged Governor Willie Obiano to call the community’s “trouble makers” to order to forestall any breakdown of law and order in the community.

Addressing reporters at the weekend after a meeting with the police, AACA President, Prof. Ikechukwu Okudo, accused the Traditional Prime Minister of the community, Chief Pius Ezeigwe, of single-handedly setting up a caretaker committee without recourse to the constitution, after claiming dissolution of his (Okudo’s) administration.

He said despite the rejection of the committee by majority of AACA members, some other officials swore in the committee, even when there was no vacancy.

The AACA president said the committee wrote a petition to the police, alleging threat to lives, breach of community peace and plot to conduct election.

Okudo said: “I’ve been President for three years until we decided to hold a general election, which COVID-19 stopped us from holding. But on July 5, 2020, I convened a meeting where the association extended my tenure for one month – till August 2 – to enable us hold the election.

“When we convened a general meeting to think of a way forward, after realising we could not still hold the election due to the ban on elections by the government, we discovered that the venue had been sealed by the police and some members of Abatete Vigilance Group stationed to disperse us.

“But one of us, Chief Basil Mbanefo, who was did not know about our decision to shift the meeting and went to the venue, was arrested and was brought to the Area Command at Ogidi.

“We came to sort out his bail, but they brought out a petition, saying 10 of us were being awaited. That’s why we’re here today to answer them. Members of the caretaker committee were also invited.”

Okudo said the police discovered their claims of threats to lives, breach of the peace and planning the election were false, after AACA proved to them that the committee was unconstitutional.

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He added: “Area Commander asked us to come back next Tuesday (tomorrow) so that certain relevant persons could attend, including Chief Pius Ezeigwe and the President General, Chief Moses Chukwuka.

“We appeal to concerned authorities to call the Igwe to order. He should be made to behave himself. We are peaceful people, we’re not violent. You can see the elderly men among us.”

When reporters contacted the Secretary to the Caretaker Committee, Chief Cyprian Iloegbunam, for his reaction to the allegations, he simply said: “We’re not disposed to speak to you.”

Ezeigwe referred our reporter to the President General, Mr. Moses Chukwuka, who did not answer his calls.

Police spokesperson Haruna Mohammed, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said the matter was