Category: South East

Enugu State High Court has issued an interlocutory injunction stopping the Ministry of Education from imposing, demanding or collecting fees for basic education examinations.

The examinations include Common Entrance Examination, First School Leaving Certificate Examination (FSLC), State Uniform Examinations and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

The presiding judge of Udenu Judicial Division, Justice C. C. Ani, granting the prayers of the applicants on June 21, ruled that the state should cease from further imposition, demand, collection by force or extortion of sums of money from primary 1 to JSS 3 in public and private schools pending the determination of the substantive suit.

The plaintiff, Proprietors Association of Private Schools (PAPS), through its counsel, J.M.C.C. Ogbuka, had in the main suit, 0B/22/2022, challenged the legality of the collection of the fees by the government.

He argued that imposition, demand and extortion of sums of money from basic education class pupils for any of the mentioned examinations was not only unauthorised by any law and therefore illegal, but was also contrary to the provisions of the Compulsory Free Basic Education Act 2004 as well as the Child Rights Acts 2003, which were extant laws made by the National Assembly.

Ogbuka said the Common Entrance Examination, First School Leaving Certificate Examination and State Uniform Examination ceased to enjoy the force of Law with the introduction of the 9-3-4 system of education in place of the obsolete 6- 3-3-4 system of education under the compulsory free basic education policy of the Federal Government, as provided under the UBEC Act 2004.

The President of Proprietors Association of Private Schools (PAPS), Pastor Ejiofor Godwin, described the order as justice for parents and proprietors, who were forced to part with their hard-earned money.

He said: “The Ministry of Education, in 2019, introduced the Compulsory State Uniform Exam for private and public schools, in addition to the Common Entrance and First School Leaving Certificate Examinations at huge cost for each of them, which most private school proprietors did not receive with open arms.

“To worsen the matter, the state Uniform Exam was made a condition for registering candidates for such national and external exams as BECE, NECO and SSCE or WAEC. The Uniform Exam puts a lot of pressure, stress, suffering and financial loss on parents and proprietors of private schools.

“For example, the exam was introduced with the payment of N300 per child, but now costs N700 per child. They also collect N3,000 per pupil for the common entrance examination and the First School Leaving Certificate Examination and N6,000 for the BECE exam.

“In addition, the Uniform Exam has never been used by the Ministry of Education for the purpose of evaluation and promotion of pupils for which it was said to have been introduced because of no or late  publication of the result of the exam”.

Ejiofor said proprietors of private schools, after paying for the fee for the Uniform Exam, also spent more money in making photocopies of the question papers and in uploading their candidates’ names with their photos to a portal owned by a group of people who made a lot of money from every transaction made on the portal.

He said: “To prove that the Uniform Exam was introduced to make money from parents and proprietors of private schools, the Ministry of Education compels proprietors, who refuse to participate in the exam, to pay the fees before they are allowed to register their candidates for any external exam.

“With the introduction of the 9-3-4 system of Universal Basic Education in replacement of the old 6-3-3-4 system, writing of Common Entrance and FSLC examinations is no longer necessary and constitutes a waste of money on the part of parents and stress for the proprietors.

“With this new system, basic education starts from basic one and terminates with basic nine in this order: primary 1-3 is lower basic, primary 4-6 is middle basic and JS 1-3 is upper basic. It is ridiculous for a child to write an entrance exam (Common Entrance) to enter into basic education he or she started in basic education 1, which he or she is to complete in basic education nine, which is JS 3.

“With this new system, the first certificate a child should have now is Basic Education Certificate, which is issued after writing the Basic Education Certificate Exam in JS 3. This makes the FSLC examination written in primary six unnecessary and a waste of money and time.”

Ejiofor added: “What pupils need as evidence that they attended a particular primary school is the school’s testimonial, which can be given to those who are still in the old testament of primary school education.

“But as far as basic education policy is concerned, what we have now is basic education of nine years, senior secondary education of three years and university education of four years.”

Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has appointed the pioneer Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Mr. Enyinnaya Onuegbu, as his chief political adviser and head of political bureau.

This was made known yesterday in Owerri in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the Governor, Mr. Oguwike Nwachuku.

According to the statement, his appointment takes immediate effect.

Onuegbu also had a stint as the commissioner for Power before the governor dissolved the Exco that affected him.

The statement said Uzodimma announced the appointment last Saturday at a meeting with candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“Onuegbu, an ex-officio member of the APC, is a committed member of the party and has many years of experience in legal practice.

“He hails from Ngor Okpala Local Government of Imo State and as the traditional prime minister of his community, goes by the title of Ebekuodike,” the statement added.

Uzodimma urged Onuegbu to bring the wealth of experience he had acquired in the traditional, political and legal institutions into the office.

Traders at Ochanja market, Onitsha, Anambra State have expressed joy over plans by the government to demolish over 1,000 illegal structures.

They lamented that buildings housing the shops did not meet the required standard, thereby threatening their lives and property.

Speaking at the weekend when the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Dr. Obinna Ngonadi and Chairman, Anambra State Town Planning Board, Chike Maduekwe, visited the market, one of the traders, Mrs. Ifenyinwa Ude, said they lost a member in a recent collapse of one of the shops.

“Transacting business under these shops has been risky. Most of these plazas are so weak that we sometimes experience drops of sands falling on our heads. We’re happy with today’s visit and hope it doesn’t end in visit alone,” she said.

Ngonadi had expressed disappointment about erection of illegal structures at the market, describing the development as disaster waiting to happen.

He said the visit was informed by reports of illegal construction going on in the market without approval, as well as loss of life in a recent building collapse.

The commissioner said: “Before any structure is put up, there’s supposed to be a letter of approval from the Physical Planning board. The market chairman said they got approval from my office, which I didn’t issue. My office doesn’t determine qualified structures. We only give letters of recommendation.

“People’s lives means a lot to our governor. This is why we’re here today. We got reports of building collapse that claimed a life, and we can’t afford to lose any other.”

Maduekwe reiterated government’s determination to decongest the market, noting that structures that failed structural integrity test would be demolished.

He said: “We’ll invite the material testing team and test the structural integrity of these buildings. Anyone that passes will be required to come for approval and will be directed on necessary amendments.

“Anyone that fails the test will come down. The reason is simple, as we were going round the market, the traders asked us to come to their aid. That the building would soon collapse on them.”

The Chairman of the market, Bonaventure Muo, said: “Government’s decision will take precedence. We won’t tell them what to do. We’re just servants and representatives of the people in the market.”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, intends to form a government of unity if elected next year, spokesperson for Team Umo Eno,  Dr. Uwemedimo Umanah, has said.

He said Eno was reaching out to those who contested the PDP ticket with him in a bid to make peace and solicit their ideas and inputs if he became the governor.

Umanah made this known to our correspondent at the weekend.

He said the PDP governorship candidate believed in the governance principles of inclusion and diversity, as such, his administration would be encompassing.

Umanah added that Eno had complemented the efforts of the PDP reconciliation committee by reaching out to his opponents, who contested against him in the primary election.

“First and foremost that was a party affair. After the primaries, political parties set up reconciliation committees. So the PDP did just that and the committee has been reaching out.

The Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Anambra East Local Government of Anambra State, Chief Joseph Ekwealor, has said the Governor Chukwuma Soludo administration required the support and prayer of all and sundry to deliver on its campaign promises.

Ekwealor, speaking at the weekend at his country home, Umuoba Anam, Otuocha, called for patience from residents as the government began implementation of its developmental initiatives.

He said there was no doubt that Soludo was carrying heavy burden of expectations on his shoulders, stressing that it could take some time before the impacts of his ‘Soludo Solutions’ mantra would be felt.

Hailing the governor for his systematic and innovative models of governance, the APGA chieftain urged residents at home and in the diaspora to support the government to take the state to greater heights.

He said: “We know Soludo is carrying a heavy burden of expectations on his shoulders right now, as people expect so much from him. But let us bear in mind that things like development do not happen overnight or in a few months.

Akwa Ibom State Government has ordered the closure of a Chinese firm, Golden Tripod Company, over carbon monoxide pollution.

The Nation learnt the government has also arraigned the Managing Director, Mr. Lin Zi, and the Marketing Manager, Mr. Peter Yuan.

It was gathered that the duo were arrested and detained last Thursday, but were arraigned on Friday following an alleged attack by their workers on the officials of the government.

Golden Tripod Company, located in Uyo, produces brake pads for tricycles and motorcycles through the use of aluminium and its activities have polluted the environment with carbon monoxide.

Workers at the company, our reporter learnt, had attacked government officials and members of House Committee on Environment with stones and bottles when they visited the place.

Reacting to the incident yesterday, the Commissioner of Environment, Mr. Charles Udoh, who said the government had ordered immediate shutdown of the company, noted that the ministry tried to stop the company from operating in the area, but they refused to quit the place.

“We have gone there several times and they refused my team entry. That was why I had to lead the team there.

“While we were asking the leadership of the company questions, they ordered their workers to attack everybody,-the entire team of the House Committee on Environment, the team from my ministry including myself and my permanent secretary.

“We have ordered them to shut down the place. The place is like a slave camp. It is horrible. They produce brake pads for tricycle (keke) and motorcycle, and they use aluminium. You can imagine melting aluminium in the heart of the town. It is injurious to health,” he said.

Abia State Governor Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has directed the Chairman of Ariaria International Market, Elder Emeka Igara and his team to ensure that blocked drainages were desilted within seven days.

He gave the directive yesterday in Aba at the end of a meeting with stakeholders.

The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Chief John Okiyi-Kalu, said he was disturbed by the news about the effect of flood on traders at Ariaria, following torrential rains in the past three weeks.

Okiyi-Kalu, who condemned the attitude of some traders and residents, who chose to dump refuse in the drainages in and around the market, instead of at the government approved dumping sites, said the government had put plans in place to find a solution to flooding at the market.

Speaking about the ongoing first phase of reconstruction of shops at A Line, the commissioner said it was part of the plans by the government to upgrade Ariaria International Market to a modern one and appealed to the traders to be patient, as the government was working to resolve the bottleneck causing delays in the speedy completion of the job.

Okiyi-Kalu, who assured the traders that the reconstruction of shops at A Line was dear to the governor, promised them that no original shop owner would lose his or her shop(s).

Indigenous oil firm, Eroton Exploration and Production Company Limited has addressed the oil spill incident in its Cawthorne Channel Well 15 (CAWC015L/S) which occurred on June 15, 2022 in the Eastern Niger Delta.

Eroton’s spokesperson, Mercy Max-Ebibai, explained “the Well Engineering Team and the Well Control vendor assiduously worked to establish control across all the flowing points on the vandalised wellhead.”

Max-Ebibai also confirmed CAWC-047 that was also vandalised within the same month and flowing to the environment since July 10 “has just been controlled today.”

She commended members of the affected community, stating “as excellent hosts, they provided all the necessary support in arresting the situation despite the hazards posed by the incident.

“We are happy that their seafaring and economic activities can return to normal in no time.”

She noted efforts are ongoing to complete a spill clean-up of the wellhead slot, a proper securement, and the subsequent installation of subsurface downhole plugs.

“In the light of the sabotage, the team had to fabricate a platform on a work barge (as the well head platform had been initially totally cannibalized) before control valves could be installed and well shut-in achieved,” she narrated.

Max-Ebibai stated there was a preliminary Joint Investigative Visit (JIV), a JIV with all relevant stakeholders, including NOSDRA, the Ministry of Environment and the community held on July 15 to estimate spill volume and Post Spill Impact Assessment.

Anambra State Government has declared not less than 1000 shops in Ochanja market in Onitsha, the commercial city of the State as disaster waiting to happen.

Chairman, Town Planning Board, Barr. Chike Maduekwe raised the alarm during his visit to the market in company of the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Dr. Obinna Ngonadi.

Maduekwe reiterated government’s determination to decogest the market, assuring that structures that failed structural integrity test would be demolished.

He said, “We’ll invite the material testing team and test the structural integrity of these buildings. Anyone that passes would be required to come for approval and will be directed on necessary ammendments.

“Anyone that fails the test will come down. The reason is simple, as we were going round the market, the traders themselves were asking us to come to their aid, that the building will soon collapse on them.”

Describing alleged government approval of erection of shops in the market as fallacious targeted at tarnishing the image of his agency, Maduekwe urged those concerned to provide such approvals to authenticate their claims.

“Mr. Governor has said he wants to build a livable and prosperous state, it will not be easy. If we’re able to sanitize the market which is the core of commerce, then everything will be fine,” he added.

Also speaking, Commissioner Ngonadi said the visit was informed by reports of illegal construction going on in the market without approval, as well as loss of life in a recent building collapse.

He warned owners of illegal structures to quickly remove them or risk paying government if it carried out the task on their behalf.

He said, “Before any structure is put up, there’s supposed to be a letter of approval from the Physical Planning board. The market chairman said they got approval from my office which I didn’t issue. My office doesn’t determine qualified structures. We only give letters of recommendation.

“The lives of the people of the State means a lot to our governor, that’s why we’re here today. We got reports of building collapse that claimed a life, and we can’t afford to lose any other.”

Responding, Chairman of the market, Bonaventure Muo admitted structural defects in several structures in the market, urging the traders to corporate with the government to do the needful.

“Government’s decision will take precedence. We won’t tell them what to do. We’re just servants and representatives of the people in the market,” he said.

EDO State Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro, and the wife of Edo Governor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, have been urged by a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Igiebor, who hails from Ilobi in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area of the state to intervene, in order to get justice over alleged attack and rape.

Mr. and Mrs. Igiebor, yesterday in a strongly-worded petition by their lawyer, lawyer, O. Osazuwa, disclosed that on July 9 this year, they reported attempted murder/rape case to Okhuaihe Police Division at Uhunmwonde, which led to the arrest of the suspect, simply identified as Mr. Osayande, but released by the police, without thorough investigation.

The petitioners revealed that Osayande emerged from the bush and attacked them, without any provocation, with the wife also raped by the attacker.

The lawyer said: “On July 9, 2022, our client and his wife went to their farm. As they were carrying out their usual farming activities, Mr. Osayande came out from the bush and attacked them, without any reason whatsoever.

“Mr. Osayande inflicted serious machete cut on our client’s left hand, which almost resulted to the loss of his hand. He also raped our client’s wife in his presence.”