Category: South East

Hundreds of Edo State pensioners, who dressed in black and were protesting their unpaid gratuities since 2012, yesterday took over major roads and streets in Benin, causing gridlock.

Motorists and commuters groaned.

The protesters, led by  Amadin Okoro, lamented that the Governor Godwin Obaseki administration had refused to continue the payment of gratuity from where the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole government stopped, having started the payment in 1998.

Okoro said: “We are aggrieved. A lot of us are dying. A lot of us are not well; many are supposed to go for operations, but no money. 

“Besides gratuities, local government retirees are owed arrears and their gratuities since 2008. For the state retirees, Edo government has not paid the gratuities since 2012.

“Our plea is to Governor Obaseki, whom we are begging to pay us, so that we can enjoy the fruit of our labour, which we suffered for 35 years. In fairness, we receive our pensions monthly, but the crux of the matter is our gratuity.”

Another protester, Esther Ehigie, said she retired in 2012, while she and others were screened and invited for a meeting in 2017, where the authority for payment, called yellow paper, was collected from them, but their money was not paid.

Commissioner for Communication and Orientation Chris Nehikhare, reacting through the phone, claimed that the Obaseki administration had been paying the gratuities of pensioners who retired since he became governor.

He said provision had been made to clear the backlog.

Nehikhare implored the pensioners to be patient.

He described Obaseki as a listening governor, who would always do the needful.

Former Akwa Ibom State governor Obong Victor Attah has expressed regret about the absence of the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Pastor Umo Eno, at a meeting of governorship candidates with the state Council of Elders.

The Council of Elders, chaired by Attah, had invited governorship candidates of parties to an interactive session, to enable them articulate and discuss their programmes of actions.

However, Eno and other candidates, including the Young Progresssives Congress (YPP) standard-bearer, Senator Bassey Akpan, did not attend the session. 

Till the end of the session held yesterday at the main auditorium of the E-library, IBB Way, Uyo, the candidates of the PDP and YPP did not send any representative. They also did not communicate any reason for their absence.

Candidates of Accord Party, Emem Coffie; New Nigeria Peoples Party, Senator John Akpanudoedehe; Allied Peoples Movement (APM), African Action Congress, Mr. Iboro Otu, African Democratic Congress, Ezekiel Nya-Etok, the Boot Party, Akan Ekpenyong and others attended the meeting.

The governorship candidate of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) in Rivers State, Leyii Kwanee, has expressed concern that 31 years after Ogoni Bill of Rights (OBR) was launched, none of the provisions had been implemented. 

Kwanee, in a goodwill message he sent to mark the 31st Ogoni Day celebration, held yesterday at Bori in Khana Local Government, noted with great concern, some of the dreams and aspirations of their leaders, who wrote that the OBR was yet to be met by any standard after three decades.

He said: “After these years, the people of Ogoni are not yet in control of their political affairs, economic resources for the development of their place.”

 and also do not have right of protection to their environment and ecology from further degradation; neither do they have adequate and direct representation in all national institutions, among others, as enshrined in the Bill of Rights.”

Kwanne said:  “Let us be clear about these things as we gather again this year. From the perspective of the Ogoni Bill of Rights, we should be concerned that the Ogoni are still not in political control of Ogoni affairs.

“The exercise of control over Ogoni resources and the use of same for Ogoni development is still far-fetched. Control over Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme local governments by Ogoni sons and daughters is routine and not exclusive to us.”

Kwanne, the former deputy speaker of the House of Assembly, noted the need to develop ‘Ogoni Charter of Equity’, to enforce the protection of their rights, oil, environment, heritage, among others.

Igbo youths under the auspices of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide have hailed Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi on the listing of Enugu as an oil producing state. 

Following the outcome of a meeting late last year by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in Abuja, it ratified the request of the Ugwuanyi administration for Enugu to join other states to enjoy oil producing status.

The governor had told a delegation of the University of Nigeria Alumni Association (UNAA), Nsukka branch, during a solidarity visit at the Government House: “As I am leaving office, I am happy that the money that will be coming to Enugu won’t be what I witnessed. It won’t be what we suffered.”

Reacting, the youth, through the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, in a statement yesterday in Enugu said the development was as a result of Ugwuanyi’s doggedness. 

He said Igbo youths were delighted that “the Governor of Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, relentlessly pursued this goal until it was achieved. 

“What this means to the economy and development of Enugu State is monumental. It is a victory for the entire people of Enugu State, including those yet unborn. 

“We the entire Igbo youth laud the governor for his unwavering push and never give up spirit, which gave birth to the success story we are celebrating.”

Okwu added: “These achievements and others have justified our endorsement of the governor for the Enugu North Senatorial District seat.  

“Our stand has always been that the Senate is for experienced people, who can quietly work and attract developmental projects to their senatorial districts and Governor Ugwuanyi is one of such persons.”

•Delta CP meets association
•Promises speedy investigation

By Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba and Polycarp Orosevwotu, Ughelli

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Delta State branch, has expressed apprehension about the rising spate of workplace violence, particularly among health workers.

It said with the recent murder of Dr. Uyi Iluobe, doctors in Delta State “feel anxious, insecure and restive.”

Delta NMA Vice Chairman Dr. Okwuze Anthony said yesterday in Asaba, the capital  that unless the killers were brought to justice, the association could not guarantee smooth health care delivery.

He expressed dismay at the Nigeria Police for hastily concluding that the murder of Dr. Iluobe was cult-related.

Okwuze said: “The NMA Delta State and the entire medical community in Nigeria and in the diaspora is saddened by this gruesome, barbaric and senseless murder of this skilful doctor in the face of a crippling brain drain that has created a deficiency of human resources for health care. The NMA is dismayed at the hasty conclusion of the Nigeria Police, following their preliminary investigation that it is a cult-related matter.”

He urged the police to investigate a recent case where the victim was involved a brawl with some patients’ relatives due to their unwillingness to pay accrued bills and also the October 2022 incident where the victim treated a patient with gunshot injuries, who refused to pay accrued bills.

Okwuze said: “We gathered from the deceased’s wife, a medical doctor that her husband had a brawl with some patients’ relatives in the past due to unwillingness to pay accrued bills for services rendered by the doctor. We were also informed that sometime in October 2022, the deceased treated a patient with gunshot wounds. On discharge, the patient refused to pay accrued bills. The issue was reported to the police authority in Oghara. It is alleged that the police assisted the doctor in recovering his money.”

Delta State Police Commissioner (CP) Ari Muhammed Ali yesterday met members of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Delta State chapter, in his office over the death of Dr. Iluobe killed in his hospital, Olivet Clinic, Oghareki, Oghara, Ethiope West Local Government last Thursday.

The police boss, who assured NMA of arresting the suspects, said preliminary investigation showed that on the said day, a female patient, whose name and address were not known, came to the hospital at about 7:40pm, pretending to have abdominal pain.

It was learnt that while the doctor was attending to her, she phoned the suspects, whom she deceptively invited to come and pay her bill and that she was being treated by the doctor.

It was said that moments later, the hoodlums stormed the hospital in a Toyota vehicle, entered the doctor’s office, and shot him twice in the chest, leading to his death, while the purported female patient fled with the suspects.

The CP, expressing his condolences to the bereaved family and NMA members, assured them that the case would be investigated, to ensure justice.

Police spokesman DSP Bright Edafe in a statement said: “It is pertinent to state that the rumours doing the rounds that the family members of a supposedly dead patient were responsible for the murder of the doctor is false and should be disregarded, as there is no record of any patient that died prior to the unfortunate incident.

“The command wishes to take this opportunity to seek assistance of all and sundry in our efforts to lift the veil off the face of the perpetrators.”

Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) yesterday condemned the recent attack on the former governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim. 

The group, in a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, attributed the attempted assassination to the infighting between political gladiators, who were desperate to kill their opponents.

“The attack was masterminded by the political gladiators in Imo State, who were desperate to murder political opponents, to further their career,” the statement said. 

Describing the attack as uncalled for, the IPOB spokesman urged the people to protect themselves.

“The attack on Chief Ohakim is uncalled for. We must stand tall in protecting our people. Not every politician is wicked. Ohakim is one of the peaceful people among the politicians in the Southeast. 

“IPOB condemns the recent attack on former Governor Ohakim. We understand the attack was planned to achieve a political goal by the enemies of Imo indigenes because they wanted to bring their opponents in the state down and push them into submission,” the statement said.

Bayelsa State Governor Senator Douye Diri has urged the Federal Government to tackle food insecurity.

He spoke yesterday at the Government House, Yenagoa, while receiving the Technical Working Group, SouthSouth, a subcommittee under the Federal Government’s Committee on Prevention of Flooding.

Speaking through his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the governor said food insecurity had been worsened by the devastating flood of 2022 in Bayelsa and other states.

He advised the Federal Government to distribute the tonnes of rice and other food items impounded by the Nigerian Customs Service as part of its short-term post-flood management measures in states badly affected by the flood. 

Pointing out that Bayelsa’s location at the lowest base of the river basin makes it most flood-prone; Diri stressed the need to consider the peculiarities of the state for any effort at flood prevention to be effective and successful.

He said the ecological problems of flooding and erosion, which bedevilled communities across the state, were inseparable.

The governor called on Federal Government agencies to recalibrate the design of their programmes to tackle the twin problems. 

He assured the team of his administration’s preparedness to work with the Federal Government on measures to tackle the challenge posed by the yearly flood.

Said he: “First of all, I want to commend you for putting these issues in the right perspective. The two rivers (Niger and Benue) empty their waters through the river basin, which is Bayelsa, not the ocean. 

Bayelsa is one of the most impacted states. During the last flood, the waters rose by about 4.6 metres high.

“The last flood itself was a disaster, but with due respect to the Federal Government, its managing of the flood portended doom for the country.

“We are supposed to do residual farming, but because of the flood, we have not been able to do that. We are going to have food insecurity in the country. And we all know that food insecurity is more dangerous than conventional insecurity.

“There are lots of grains that have been seized by the Customs Service, which have been declared nobody’s property. What stops the Federal Government from distributing those grains to the states badly affected by the flood?”

The Team Lead of the Technical Working Group, Southsouth, Mr. Clement Nze, said they were in Bayelsa to look at locations badly affected by the flood and the measures taken by the state government to control flooding.

Nze, who is also the Director General of the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NHSA), hoped that the current short, mid and long-term plans of the Federal Government on flooding were aimed at tackling the problem holistically.