Category: South East

A call has been made by a digital advocate, Mr. Emmanuel Asika, to stakeholders, on the need to deepen digital inclusion in Nigeria’s educational sector.

Asika who has over 18 years’ experience in telecommunications and information technology is the Country Head for HP Nigeria and the Omni-Channel Manager for HP African Central & East (ACE) made this call recently at a media briefing.

The digital advocate explained that with the myriad of challenges that confront us at almost every level, the very important task is to raise the level of awareness about  education and digital inclusion.

“How can we get the vast number of the digitally excluded into the digital net. Of course, the basic first step is how do we get more people educated.

Speaking further, the digital educator said the basic education stats in Nigeria are dire and that the country has the highest out of school children in the world .

He stated that UNICEF identified rightly that even though we have a good number of in-school children, 70% are not actually learning and this speaks to the quality of our education.

Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has vowed to make the best of the opportunity available as he moves to the next phase of his political career.

Uppermost on his agenda is good governance and proper opportunities for all. Over the years, his target has always been laying good footprints on the sands of time.

Little wonder he obeyed the clarion call of his people and resigned as Secretary to the State Government to contest the governorship election of 2015, which he won overwhelmingly under the flagship of the People’s Democratic Party.

As a governor, during the first 100 days in office, His Excellency had a wide landscape with the inauguration of several developmental projects across the state that will be a swift action plan for the federal level when elected.

He launched a moral rebirth and self-motivation initiative, the dakkada campaign, urging Akwa Ibomites to rise to the faith of greatness and ask the people of Nigeria to key into such a laudable project. Governor Emmanuel is contesting for the presidency in 2023 under the flagship of the PDP not just to contest but to make Nigeria a habitable country for all and a tourist-attractive nation.

In view of the mandate of the Emmanuel-led administration to consolidate on the gains of uncommon transformation witnessed across Akwa Ibom state today and his commitments to completely industrialise the state is a fact that this will be achieved in the centre.

As regards infrastructural consolidation and expansion, the Emmanuel Udom administration has delivered on its promises.

Delta State Government has said it is investing N5.1 billion for the construction of an International conference centre in Asaba, the state capital.

Delta Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, said the construction of the International conference centre had become necessary as the state capital continues to develop into a mega city.

According to Aniagwu, the state government intends to complete the project within 12 months and had also approved 35 percent mobilisation fees to the contractor to ensure prompt delivery of the project.

“Although we have an events centre, it doesn’t serve the purpose of an international conference centre where different break-out rooms and committee meetings are usually held hence the need to have something of a world class standard just like the one in Abuja.

Aniagwu further said Exco also approved the construction of a Cottage Hospital at Ovwor-Olomu at a total cost of N423 million.

Aniagwu further said Exco approved several roads for construction including the 2.49km internal roads in Kokori and 2km Eku internal roads in Ethiope East Local Government Area, 1.17km Obi Palace Road Ubulu-Uno, Aniocha South, 2km Anioge Street Idumesah, Ika North East, Construction of 1.8km internal roads in Burutu and 1.2km rigid pavement of Dr Mike Loyibo Street in Tuomo, Bomadi Local Government Area.

Others include Ellu internal roads in Isoko North, 1.2km internal road, Iwezue Lane Boji-Boji Agbor, Ika South, 5.2km Emede Internal Road, Isoko South, 3.9km Utagba-Uno-Ndemili road in Ndokwa West, 4.7km Phase two Obiaruku-Umuebu road in Ukwuani LGA and the 6.6km Flood control measures along Madonna Collage Road and 3.6km road.

Other decisions taken at the Exco meeting including repudiation of the Mini sports arena in Koko in Warri North, approval of N543 million as compensation for verified property owners at the defunct Abraka market in Asaba.

Aniagwu also said that due to rising cost of materials, ten projects were brought to exco for review.

On the issue of IPOB’s resolve to enforce sit-at-home in Asaba and environs, the Commissioner said that security agencies were on top of the matter and urged the people to go about their lawful duties without fear of intimidation.

“Let me assure you that security agencies have been put on red alert to ensure that our people go about their business legally and lawfully.

“Nobody is happy about what is happening in the South East because it is affecting the economy of the South East and so we are appealing to those asking people to stay at home to look for other means of agitating for the release of their leader Nnamdi Kanu.

“We also believe that if the Federal Government had treated the issue of Nnamdi Kanu well, we wouldn’t have gotten to where we are now,” he stated.

Devastating shoreline erosion is threatening to sack the Anyama community in Ogbia, the Local Government Area of former President Goodluck Jonathan in Bayelsa State.

Investigations revealed that already, the erosion has affected the Magistrate Court, a police post, a concrete landing jetty and Anglican Church located in the community.

It was found that some buildings in the community had been washed away by the disaster, which residents said had become a recurrent decimal.

The apex youth organisation in the local government, the Ogbia Brotherhood Council (OBYC) in a visit to the scenes of the disaster, painted a gory picture of the development.

The National President of OBYC, Johnny Jonathan, said on Friday that the coastal erosion had washed more buildings away into the Ekole River.

“This situation has brought untold hardship to the people as the environment, revenue potential, agricultural activities, cultural, social and economic activities have been negatively affected”, he said.

Jonathan, who led members of the council to Anyama said the community was at the verge of extinction if urgent steps were not taken to remedy the situation.

He lamented that most communities in the state had continued to witness terrible devastation despite the existence of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Ecological Fund.

The Dodo River Communities Rural Development Association (DRCRDA), Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State said on Friday that it spent N98.34m on community development projects in 2021.

The expenditure is marginally higher than the N95.43m spent by the association in 2020.

The Chairman, DRCRDA, Mr Francis Amamogiran, made this known during the 10th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital.

He explained that the funding came from Chevron Nigeria Limited under the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) with the oil firm’s five host communities in Ekeremor LGA.

Amamogiran noted that the fund was deployed for infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects including town hall buildings, scholarships, adult education programme, cottage hospital staff salary, amongst others.

He said that the association was holding the last AGM under the GMoU model following the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and looking up to the government to provide further guides on the host community funds administration.

Also speaking, the Secretary of the association, Mr Christmas Mark, applauded the peaceful disposition of residents of the host communities that resulted in the successful oil and gas exploration in the outgone year and urged them to sustain the peace.

In her speech, Mrs Ruth Etebu, Permanent Secretary, Bayelsa Ministry of Mineral Resources, expressed satisfaction at the governance structure adopted by the association in implementing projects.

The highpoint of the event was presentation of certificates to 10 female beneficiaries of the Adult Education Scheme by Etebu.

Mrs Mien Sunday, who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries, expressed appreciation to Chevron and leadership of the association for giving them another chance to learn to read and write.

The administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State through the State Scholarship Board has secured fully-funded scholarships for another 28 post graduate students who are indigenes of the state to study in Europe and America.

Addressing newsmen when he led the beneficiaries to the Government House, Enugu, on Friday, to thank Governor Ugwuanyi, Executive Secretary of the Enugu State Scholarship Board, Levi Abonyi, disclosed that the scholarship mentorship programme was designed and developed by the Board to expose Enugu students to available funding opportunities around the world.

Abonyi, a lawyer, revealed that the scholarship programme was approved by the State Executive Council (EXCO), adding that the programme has produced 46 fully-funded Masters and PhD students from the state.

It would be recalled that the first batch of the programme launched in October 2020 had 18 Enugu State indigenes as beneficiaries.

The Executive Secretary explained that programme prepares fresh graduates to enroll directly into PhD programmes without first obtaining a Master’s degree.

He added that Ugwuanyi administration’s “goal is to produce a generation of intellectuals who will be better equipped to turn the state around economically and who will be better disposed to compete favourably globally.”

Pressed further, Abonyi said that it “pays the 6 scholarship mentors monthly allowances as honorarium for their services, takes care of the cost of Visa, flight tickets, initial living expenses and other logistics of all successful students at the cost of N1,000,000.00, and comes in as a guarantor for the issuance of visas to the benefiting students.”

Expressing gratitude to Governor Ugwuanyi on behalf of the beneficiaries, Lillian Chinenye Ekowo, who will be travelling to the University of Notre Dame, United States, thanked the governor for availing them the opportunity to benefit from the scholarship board, disclosing that “Today, each one of us was awarded the scholarship of N1million travelling expenses.”

Another beneficiary, Mathias Chukwudi Isiani, appreciated the governor for his benevolence and commitment to youth empowerment and education.

On his part, one of the 18 beneficiaries of the first batch of the scholarship mentorship programme in 2020, Odinaka Kingsley Eze, who graduated from University of Mississippi, USA, expressed delight that “this mentorship programme has up to 46 ambassadors and all thanks to His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Lawrence Ugwuanyi for the opportunity.”

The Senator representing Enugu East, Chimaroke Nnamani, has denied beating up one of his constituents during a meeting with People’s Democratic Party (PDP) delegates in Enugu state on Thursday.

In a statement on Friday by his media office, Nnamani described a media report linking him with physical violence as a ruse, falsehood and malicious.

The senator stated that the said meeting, which was attended by delegates from two local government areas, was held in an open arena at the Enugu North local government secretariat.

Narrating an incident that occurred at the venue, the statement said there was an altercation between a group of suspected thugs and security operatives over an attempt to break into the security ring around him.

The statement said: “A scuffle ensued when the former chairman of Enugu South local government area, Chiene I. Chiene confronted the security men and reportedly held the rifle sling of an operative.

“Other security operatives swooped on him in an attempt to retrieve the rifle, as the former council chairman dared them.

“Further escalation of the scuffle was averted when the senator intervened and appealed to all parties for calm. The situation was brought under control and the consultations with the delegates followed smoothly.”

A pro-Biafra group, Biafra Provisional Government (BPG) has warned the members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and all their splinter groups that their violent sit-at-home orders and attacks on public utilities and institutions are seriously affecting the progress so far made in restoring the State of Biafra.

In a statement issued in Enugu on Wednesday to mark Biafra history month of May 2022, the spokesman of the BPG, Chile Nwoko lamented that heinous crimes such as kidnappings, arson, murder, rape, cannibalism, and all sorts of evil activities all in the name of Biafra agitation, had effectively erased the positive progress made to attract the attention of the world to the plight of the Igbo in Nigeria.

“It is no more news that such actions are destroying the social and economic activities in the southeast and subsequently impoverishing the masses of the Southeast. Unfortunately, many of such victims are living in denial.

“The Biafra Provisional Government does not support these, and does not recognise such groups. The BPG hereby reminds such groups that the Biafra restoration project is neither an activity for school cultism nor for gangsterism. It is a project carried out with zeal, proper articulation, execution, and not media propaganda,” he said.

According to him, “With the rising insecurity in the Southeast part of Biafra land, the Provisional Government is handicapped in securing the lives and properties of the indigenes and residents in the area as Biafra territories are still under occupation.

“The Biafran people should know that the BPG is working assiduously in Biafra’s sovereignty restoration.”

Nwoko advised all pro-Biafra groups to avoid violence because, according to him, “an enemy can lead his opponent into self-destruct, which actually is what is going on in the Southeast.”

He reminded them that in peace time, a lot can be achieved.

“The Biafra Provisional Government got the sympathy of Americans, prompting the production of the movie titled ‘Tears of A Yellow Sun’, a movie on Biafra. Nobody was killed to attract such recognition, and no properties were destroyed.”

The spokesman explained that the ‘Holy month of May’ is used to pray for the restoration of Biafrans.

Professor of Cardiology and Vascular Surgery at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Prof. Ndubueze Ezemba, has been appointed chairman of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital’s (UNTH) Cardiothoracic Centre of Excellence.

A statement by UNTH’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Obinna Onodugo, said Prof. Ezemba took over from Prof. Basden Onwubere who retired.

Prof. Ezemba, who hails from Eziokwe, Amuri, in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State, attended central primary School, Ukpo, Dunukofia in Anambra State in 1979, and Government College, Maiduguri in Borno State, in 1984.

He later attended the University of Ibadan (UI) and graduated in 1990. He joined UNN in 2005 as Lecturer 1 and became a professor in 2015.