Category: South East

The embattled Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ebonyi chapter Mr Tochukwu Okorie has described his alleged suspension by some members of the State Executive Committee (SEC) as a “huge joke.”

Okorie, at a press briefing on Tuesday in Abakaliki, noted that the allegation of financial impropriety levelled against him by ‘dissident’ members of the SEC was libellous, adding that he had briefed his lawyers on the matter.

The party leader, therefore, urged PDP faithful, supporters and the general public to ignore and disregard the purported suspension and alleged financial impropriety made against him.

He said: “The allegations of financial impropriety against my person are libellous, a huge joke and I have briefed my solicitors accordingly.”

Okorie was allegedly suspended by some members of the SEC in an emergency meeting it held on July 4 which was presided over by Mr Ifeanyi Nworie, the state deputy chairman of the party for alleged misappropriation of the party funds to the tune of N55 million.

Okorie, reacting to the alleged suspension and allegation of financial misappropriation, noted that a sum of N50 million was withdrawn by Mr Silas Onu when he was removed briefly from office by a Federal High Court in Abakaliki on April 13.

According to him, while the appeal was pending in the Court of Appeal, and in disregard to a letter to the management of the Access bank advising against having any financial dealing with Onu who was recognised by a federal high court judgement as chairman.

He said: “Before I left, I got brief of what was about to happen and my lawyers immediately sent a caveat in other words a pre-warning to Access Bank telling the bank that there should be no dealing in that account whatsoever way either by me or anyone else.

“Because there was a pending case, any matter of PDP is subjudice and the letter was sent and duly acknowledged, but notwithstanding the letter, Onu by hook or by crook gained access to the fund.

“By the Appeal Court ruling of May 24, Mr Silas Onu was never a chairman of the PDP in Ebonyi and has no right to access the party’s fund.

“I cannot be accused of any financial misappropriation because I legitimately did what I had to do as the chairman of the party for the party to move forward.”

The Ebonyi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it would participate in the forthcoming local government area election as announced by the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC).

According to a timetable released by the electoral body, the council poll has been slated to hold across the 13 local government areas of the state on July 30.

Tochukwu Okorie, state chairman of the PDP indicated the party’s readiness to participate in the July council poll at a briefing on Tuesday in Abakaliki at the end of the party’s State Executive Committee (SEC) meeting held at the party secretariat.

Okorie announced that the sales of Expression of Interest Form and Nomination forms had commenced on Tuesday, July 5.

He noted that the PDP would participate in the election provided the process would be visibly transparent and insulated from the government’s influence or interference.

He said: “Consequently, the PDP hereby announces the sale of forms to commence Tuesday, July 5, 2022, and end Thursday, July 14, 2022. The expression of Interest form for Chairmanship sells for N100, 000 only.

“Nomination forms for chairmanship sell for N400, 000 only; Expression of Interest for Councillorship sells for N50, 000 while nomination goes for N100, 000.”

The chairman also announced the suspension of his deputy chairman, Mr Ifeanyi Nworie and three other members of the State Working Committee over an alleged infraction.

Other members affected include State Publicity Secretary, Chika Nwoba; Legal Adviser, Mr Mudiaga Erhenede and Mr Obinna Iteshi.

The embattled chairman, who was earlier suspended by his deputy over alleged financial fraud, noted that the purported suspension was a mockery of the Constitution of the Party.

“Allegations of financial impropriety against my person is libellous and I have briefed my solicitors accordingly.

“That Mr Ifeanyi Nworie will gather a bunch of dissidents and purport to suspend a State Chairman is laughable and illustrates the depth of his pitiable ignorance.

“As a lawyer that he claims to be, Nworie ought to know the following; every meeting of the party or any organ thereof is at the instance of the state chairman according to Section 21 (3).

“Any request for an ‘extraordinary meeting’ must be routed through the state chairman, section 21 (4); any gathering which falls short of 4(a) and (b) above shall be considered a meeting of the committee of friends and not a party meeting.

“He, Nworie, has absented himself from all the meetings of the SWC validly convened by the state chairman.

“Consequently, it amounts to self-abuse for Nworie to arrogate to himself the powers to convene a meeting of the SWC, powers that he does not possess,” he added.

The Abia State Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) Mr Joseph Ilo has reportedly been held hostage by the members of staff of the commission in Umuahia, the state capital.

Ilo was said to have been held hostage for close to two hours by the workers at the commission’s headquarters located at the Government Layout in Umuahia North Local Government Area of the state.

Sources said the members of staff held the INEC Commissioner hostage over the refusal of the state INEC REC to pay their accrued benefits over the years.

Trouble began when Ilo arrived at the headquarters to tidy up his table (as he was said to have served out his tenure), to give way for a new REC when the members of staff of the electoral umpire emerged from their offices to press home their demand for the payment of their accrued benefits as they feared that the next commissioner may be indisposed to pay such accrued benefits.

It was gathered that the staff members locked the entrance leading to the administrative block and also went ahead to block the commission’s exit gates with the staff welfare bus insisting that the REC will not leave the facility until he pays all their outstanding benefits.

The benefits that the workers were reportedly being owed include the 2019 general election allowance and allowance for the monitoring of the just-concluded party primaries.

They also added that part of the allowance for the current ongoing continuous voters registration exercise was yet to be paid by the outgoing commissioner.

It was later learnt that when the protesters refused to shift their grounds, Ilo was forced to instruct that the members of staff be paid their benefits for the registration exercise immediately.

The members of staff of INEC were reported to have allowed the REC passage when the implementation of payment for the ongoing voter’s registration allowance began.

The embattled INEC REC, at the time of filing the report, was yet to react to a text message sent to his mobile phone.

The Bayelsa State Government has called on the Federal Government to expedite action on the establishment of a marine safety corps to effectively address security challenges on the waterways in the country.

The State Deputy Governor Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, made the call yesterday when a delegation from the Nigeria Police Trust Fund visited him in Government House, Yenagoa.

Ewhrudjakpo pointed out that establishing the marine equivalent of the existing Federal Road Safety Corps would help in the fight against sea piracy, kidnapping and other crimes in the Niger Delta.

He said policing the creeks of Bayelsa demanded a lot of logistics, noting that the state needs more support in terms of gunboats to enable the marine division of the state Police Command to effectively secure the creeks.

While expressing the state government’s preparedness to collaborate with the Federal Government on security, he added that the Marine Safety Corps would support other security agencies to safeguard critical national assets such as oil facilities in the state.

According to him, until the Federal Government and the 36 states work closely together to fight against insecurity, Nigeria would not be able to achieve sustainable peace and tranquillity.

Expressing delight over the infrastructure projects earmarked by the Nigeria Police Trust Fund for Bayelsa, Ewhrudjakpo said the projects would go a long way to complement the efforts of the state government in the security sector.

The deputy governor, who passed a vote of confidence in the Commissioner of Police, CP Ben Nebolisa Okolo, and his team, expressed the hope that the visit of the NPTF team would facilitate the take-off of the Marine Police Training Institute at Toru-Orua in Sagbama Local Government Area.

Ewhrudjakpo said: “Our security challenges are more in the riverine areas and if we are able to properly police those areas, we would have done a lot to boost our security architecture.

“So, we need more gunboats to help police on our rivers and rivulets and help cover, where we believe, are to be their (criminals) escape routes. This will also help improve our oil production.

“That is why we have been calling on the Federal Government to establish a marine safety corps just as we have the Road Safety Corps to effectively police our waterways.

“We are ready to collaborate with you on the provision of a Police Headquarters as the present headquarters is not befitting. We believe you can do your own contribution in your 2022 budget so that we can come and assist you to get a befitting Police Headquarters.”

The leader of the team, Mrs Gladys Odegbaro, explained that the Nigeria Police Trust Fund officials were on an inspection visit to police formations under Zone 16, which has its headquarters in Bayelsa.

Odegbaro, who is a board member of the NPTF, said the fact-finding visit would enable them to know the basic needs of the various police divisions in the state.

She said the NPTF in its current budget had earmarked to rehabilitate the Sagbama and Ekeki police stations as well as provide some infrastructure at the Marine Police Training Institute, Toru-Orua, police driving school and staff quarters.

While requesting the state government’s support in the building of a more befitting headquarters for Police in the state, Odegbaro promised to convey the requests for gunboats to the appropriate quarters for action.

The Anambra State Government yesterday said it would spend N2.5 billion to transform Agulu Lake into a leisure and entertainment centre.

The Commissioner for Culture, Entertainment and Tourism, Mr Don Onyenji stated this during the ongoing 2022 Revised Budget defence before the state House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation in Awka.

Onyenji said the Agulu Lake project would be harnessed to international standards to attract local and international tourists to further boost tourism in the state.

He said: “The administration is committed to harnessing the rich tourism and cultural heritage of the state for local and international tourists.

“This is why Agulu Lake will be transformed into Anambra State Leisure and Entertainment Centre with a boat ride, golf course, children’s park, entertainment hub and other fun and relaxation sites.

“I assure you that when this project is completed it will surpass what you have in Disney World and it will be a major source of income to boost the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR),” he said.

The commissioner said the ministry was currently receiving architectural designs and concepts to drive the Agulu Lake project.

Onyenji said the ministry was also collating heritage sites in different communities in the state for development.

He urged the legislature to approve the ministry’s budget to help the ministry achieve its plans for the state’s tourism and entertainment sector.

Mr Smart Okafor, a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly who represents Nnewi North Constituency, noted that there was no breakdown on how the N2.5 billion would be spent to carry out the Agulu Lake project.

“Your ministry will have to go back and specify what the budget allocation will be spent on to achieve a transparent and realistic budget.

“The legislature wants the ministry to succeed and achieve this project because Anambra is yet to have relaxation and fun centres to drive tourism,” he said.

The ministry was allocated N2.7 billion in the 2022 revised budget proposal.

The Anambra State Government said issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to private land owners is now done within 30 working days, rather than the former two or three years.

The State Commissioner for Lands Prof. Offornze Amucheazi stated this during the ongoing 2022 Revised Budget defence.

He spoke before the State House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation in Awka yesterday.

Amucheazi said the ministry had set timelines for land or property documentation processes to address numerous complaints from residents.

He described C of O as a document issued by state governments to landowners and property buyers as legitimate proof of ownership.

“When we came in, the timeline was a major challenge, and to address that, we streamlined our timelines and I can tell you authoritatively that we are working with the timelines.

“Before, it took about two to three years to obtain C of O, but now, as a private land owner, you can obtain your C of O within 30 working days, so long as your documents are complete.

“As time goes on, we will work on a downward review of the timeline.

“We are yet to set a timeline for issuance of C of O for state-owned land because we are waiting for the report of the Land reform committee set up to investigate some issues,” he said.

The commissioner said the ministry had started digitalising land documentation processes in the state to prevent delays.

“We have stated test running the Fast Track Mortgage system. Once you submit your documents, your mortgage will be out within 10 days. And we are keeping to the timelines.

“By August, we will commence a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) system and Governor Charles Soludo has approved it.

“Once it commences, within one-and-a-half years, we will have an effective GIS system to store, analyse, and visualise data for lands.

“We also hope to have a fireproof safe to protect all land documents in the state. Ministry of land is very crucial and if we do not get it right, we cannot achieve anything in the state,” he said.

Mr Chidi Udenmadu, a lawmaker representing Ihiala Constituency l, who chaired the committee, expressed satisfaction with the budgeted projects of the ministry.

The peaceful protest at the main gate of Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on Airport Road, Benin, Edo State by inhabitants of the 52 host communities has led to a peace meeting involving the stakeholders.

Edo State Acting Governor, Philip Shaibu, yesterday at the meeting in Government House, Benin, urged the stakeholders to embrace dialogue in resolving the face-off between NPDC and its host communities.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the host communities; top officials of NPDC, led by the Managing Director, Ali Muhammad Zarah; security agencies; and other government officials.

Shaibu assured the people that the state government would work with the stakeholders in resolving the dispute.

He said: “We want Edo State to be the hub of all economic activities. We want Edo to be the operational zone for businesses and from where they will launch into other zones.

“We thank the NPDC for having its headquarters in the state. Edo people appreciate it and at the same time, Edo people must benefit from the company.

“We must protect this facility, while the facility works for us. It is our commonwealth, and together we must protect it.”

Shaibu pleaded with the people of the host communities to vacate the premises of the NPDC to allow an amicable resolution of the crisis.

He said: “You will bring four people to represent your communities.”

We will bring five people to represent the state government, while NPDC will also bring their representatives. We will sit together, look at our demands and peacefully resolve the issues.”

The spokesman of the host communities, Chief Francis Inegbeneki, noted that the displeased people had stated their demands, which he said should be addressed by the oil firm.

Edo Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro urged the people of the host communities and NPDC to embrace dialogue and ensure a peaceful resolution of the dispute.

The Ebonyi State Government has sealed one of the leading commercial banks  in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.

The state government alleged that the sealing of the bank followed its inability to pay tax .

The bank was carrying out its business transactions when the task force team from Ebonyi State Internal Revenue Board Service visited the bank and ordered the immediate closure of the bank because of its inability to pay its tax.

The leader of the team, Mr Okoro Celestine, who is the Head of Integrated Revenue, Ebonyi State Internal Revenue Board Service, alleged that the bank failed to respond to several demand notices to pay their accumulated tax.

He said the bard was left with no choice but to apply for a court order that empowered it to seal the bank.

He said several demand notices had been served on the bank from January 14 to date, but they were all ignored by the bank management.

He said: “The reason we sealed the bank was that it has not been paying taxes and levies which have accumulated.

“This is not the first time we are coming here, several demand notices have been served to them from January 14, 2022, to date, and we have a procedure. We don’t just come and seal. A court order has been granted for us to come and seal it.

“First demand notice was given to them; a reminder notice was also given to them but they refused. We don’t have any other option; we are not going to fight them other than to do the needful by seeking for a court order to seal them.

“We feel that it is very necessary for it to be sealed today. We are not going to unseal it, until they comply. We didn’t just start this journey today; it has been from January.

All efforts made to get the reaction of the bank manager proved abortive as he declined to speak over the matter.

The National Assembly Joint Committee on Host Communities has again summoned the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, to present the status of the Ogoniland Cleanup Project.

Joint committee Chairman Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo gave the directive in Abuja yesterday at an interactive session with the Ministry of the Environment and management committee of the project.

Neither the minister, nor the permanent secretary appeared before the committee. The minister was represented at the hearing by Mr. Charles Ikeah.

Displeased by the absence of the minister at the meeting, Degi-Eremienyo said: “We had extended the invitation to the minister, who is the chairman of the governing council on Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) but he has failed to appear before the committee.

“The project coordinator of HYPREP was also invited, but he has failed to appear before the committee.

“This is not the first invitation. If he will not be able to attend this meeting, he should have communicated by himself or through the permanent secretary before today.”

The chairman said he took their absence as a slight and high level of irresponsibility.

He said: “I express my displeasure totally; I frown at the attitude of the minister and also the project coordinator in demonstrating constant disrespect and disregard for the institution of the parliament.

“We have invited them about three times and they evaded engagement with the parliament.

“For me it is an appearance of concealment of information to incapacitate us to go for effective discharge of our duties as a parliament, to oversight the activities of HYPREP.

“It also shows the appearance of incompetence, appearance of bad governance; it shows appearance of insensitivity.”

The lawmaker, however, commended the Federal Government for conceptualising the idea as a follow-up to the UN report on the cleanup of Ogoniland.

“The story of degradation and pollution of the Niger-Delta is an old story for it is always fresh. It is always fresh because the situation and experience continues unabated in the Niger-Delta. It is very unfortunate.

“This project is very important to the people of the Niger-Delta. It is a pilot project that is supposed to be replicated in other parts of the Niger-Delta but apparently it is not working the way it is expected to work.

“It is on that note that I, as the chairman of the committee also give my endorsement and support to the motion that the minister and of course, the project coordinator and the management team of the project be summoned to appear before this joint committee.”

Speaking, Chairman, House Committee on Host Communities, Dumnamene Dekor, said that the absence of the minister at the forum was most regrettable.

He said: “The programme and project design is also treated with levity.”

“It is shocking that the project coordinator is not also here. While we summon them, the people should know that those staying in and around the Niger Delta are still languishing.

“This project took off because President Muhammadu Buhari, felt it should take off; that the suffering of the people will be alleviated and this is almost six years down the lane and there is no activity that is going on.”

The Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) in Anambra State Isidore Chukwudi Chikere has assumed duty.

Chikere took over from Everestus Obiyo following his redeployment to Zone G, Zonal Headquarters, Benin.

During the handover ceremony at the Command’s Headquarters, Awka, yesterday, the outgone Commandant Obiyo thanked the Commandant-General, Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi for the opportunity given him to contribute to the fight against crimes and criminality.

“I also appreciate the efforts of my management team, area commanders, divisional officers and other ranks for their commitment, loyalty, discipline and cooperation without which modest achievement recorded could not have been possible.

“I urge them to extend the same if not more to my successor,” he said.

Chikere, who took over as the 14th substantive state commandant, thanked his predecessor for his leadership role, promising to follow his footprint to achieve the mandate by the Commandant-General.

He called on the people of the state to extend hands of fellowship to his administration, promising that the state will experience relative peace with the collective efforts of all stakeholders.

Assistant Commandant-General in charge of NSCDC Zone K Awka, Mr Felix Oke, praised the outgoing Commandant for a good job. He prayed for the successful tenure of the new commandant.

Chikere was enlisted into the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in December 2005 and rose through the ranks to date as a commandant.

He has held several operational, investigative and administrative positions in various state Commands of the federation. His last posting was Commandant in charge of Disaster Management at the NSCDC Zone G Zonal Headquarters Benin, Edo State.