Category: South East

The Chief Edozie Njoku-led All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), on Saturday begged the party’s pioneer chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie to return back to the party.

Njoku, who led the party’s national working committee members to apologise to Okorie for all the injustices he suffered in the party in the past 20  years, said his leadership would attempt to make amends and build a new APGA in years to come.

He said, “I want to tell you that anytime I see you, Chekwas in APC would feel ashamed all because of the injustice those who hijacked APGA meted to you.

“I don’t want to say much. But we’re here to apologise to you and tell you that this is your family. APGA is your home. APGA is your baby, and we say please come back to your home.”

The leadership of the Abia State wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has threatened to embark on an indefinite industrial action over accrued salary arrears.

This is even as the union has given the state government two weeks to offset the arrears of entitlements being owed its members by the state government.

According to a letter titled “14 DAYS ULTIMATUM TO ABIA STATE GOVERNMENT OVER ENTITLEMENTS/CONDITIONS OF SERVICE” signed by the state secretary of the union, Comrade Mrs. Nnenna Okonkwo, and addressed to the governor of the state, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu after the state wing’s executive meeting held in Umuahia, the state capital, which was made available to journalists, the teachers’ union frowned at the unbearable plight of primary and post primary school teachers in the state public schools.

The teachers recalled that in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively, a strike action was initiated by NUT Abia State wing, but was suspended after agreements were reached to address the issues as raised by the union, but regretted that the agreements were breached by the government.

According to NUT in the letter, the approach was to draw the attention of the state governor to fulfill all the agreements and promises made with the union even though it stated its readiness to dialogue further with the state government.

While listing out their grouse, the Abia teachers warned that should government choose the pathway of silence to the all-important letter, that they would be forced to embark on an indefinite strike.

The current arrears owed them by Abia state government include:  14 months of arrears of secondary school teacher’s salary; Nonpayment of TSS(27.5%) to primary school teachers over the years; Non-payment of promotion to primary school teachers over the years; Pay primary school teachers full salary and make a refund to the previous paid in percentage; 11 months arrears of 18,000 minimum wage outstanding to secondary school teachers; Pay in full April to December 2021 salaries since the agreement reached has been breached; 12 years of leave allowances to secondary school teachers and end outrageous sale of the cost of forms before implementation of promotion exercise; 11 months arrears of junior secondary school teachers’ salaries; 13 years arrears of leave allowances to primary school teachers and pay minimum wage, both old and current, to primary school teachers.

A fake returning officer allegedly recruited by one of the governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) was arrested in Bende Local Government Area with fake unfilled result sheets, an unauthorised APGA stamp and a stamp pad.

This is even as an attempt to hijack the three-man delegate election of APGA in Abia was equally yesterday aborted.

Briefing journalists on the development, APGA Leader in the state and member representing Aba South state constituency, Hon Obinna Ichita, said the suspect and others were allegedly engaged by a desperate governorship aspirant who wanted to hijack the congress.

He vowed that nobody would be allowed to destroy APGA which they suffered so much to build.

The lawmaker said: “APGA believes in internal democracy that guarantees equal opportunity to all and cannot tolerate any form of impunity.”

“An incident occurred in Bende LGA where somebody was caught and he claimed that he was engaged by one of the governorship aspirants.

“He was arrested and handed over to the police. The situation would have caused a serious crisis but for my intervention as aggrieved party members wanted to lynch the suspect.

“You know the security situation in the land now particularly South East is such that no room should be given for escalation. People are growing impatient with the undemocratic process.”

When contacted, the State Secretary of the party, Elder Sunday Onukwubiri, said that the name of the said suspect was not among the returning officers sent to conduct the exercise.

Cross River State office of the Agro-Processing Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) Project yesterday held a bid opening event for the construction of 15 aggregation and cottage processing centers to be sited across the three senatorial districts in the state.

Mr. Marcel Agim, the State Project Coordinator of the APPEALS presided over the exercise held in Calabar the state capital and he disclosed that 41 entries were received and all 41 opened.

A network of fishermen in several African countries, FishNet Alliance, has called for a cautious approach to the planned introduction of genetically improved Tilapia fish into Nigeria.

The fishermen stated that the ‘artificial’ variety, if allowed into Nigeria would cross breed and eventually lead to extinction of the natural variety and distort the rich biodiversity of the nation.

The coalition appealed to the Federal Government to withhold regulatory approvals for the release of the artificially altered fish variety until the biosafety concerns around the variety is addressed and regulatory authorities strengthened.

The group made its position known on Friday in a statement issued by Stephen Oduware, Coordinator of the FishNet Alliance.

The alliance said the improved tilapia was to be introduced following “an inclusive legal agreement” between WorldFish and Premium Aquaculture Limited through a programme on genetically improved farmed Tilapia (GIFT).

It said according to the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, “This agreement will augur the establishment of a GIFT-based aquaculture industry in Nigeria.”

The group noted that Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) were collaborating with WorldFish and PAL on the endeavour.

It also called for increased transparency, accountability and public engagement before considering approving new life forms into the country’s environment and biodiversity.

The statement also quoted Executive Director of Home of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) Dr Nnimmo Bassey, as opposing the idea while reacting to moves to release genetically improved tilapia into Nigeria.

The Delta State Chapter of the Phase 2 Presidential Amnesty Programme, yesterday, threw their weight behind the former Delta State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Peter Adogbejire Mrakpor’s governorship aspiration.

Speaking to newsmen at Ughelli, Ughelli North local government area of Delta state, the state Chairman of the Phase 2 Ex-Agitators, Gen. Solomon Adu, said Dr. Peter Mrakpor, SAN, is a tested hand who has served in different capacity, adding if elected he deliver dividends of democracy to Deltans as next governor of Delta state.

Adu who stated that Dr. Mrakpor has all the potentials to continue from where the incumbent Governor Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa would stop, appealed to all Deltans to rally round him and give him all the needed supports mostly at this crucial time of PDP preparing for party primaries.

While calling on the Delta State Chapter of the Phase 2 Ex-Agitators to give maximum supports to the Dr. Mrakpor’s governorship ambition, Gen. Adu said Mrakpor has the capacity to transform the state considering his exposure if elected as next governor of Delta state.

The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) during the September 19, 2020 election in Edo State, Mabel Oboh, has urged Governor Godwin Obaseki to save the people of Esan land in Edo Central Senatorial District from incessant attacks by killer herdsmen.

Oboh, yesterday in an online statement, noted that the call became necessary as Esan people in Ubiaja, Ugboha and other communities in Esan Southeast Local Government Area of Edo state were being deprived of their livelihoods.

She noted that the people of Esan communities, which were the food baskets of Edo, could no longer boast of such feats, as women were being raped, while the farmers, including women, were either kidnapped or killed, without provocation.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Pastor Reuben Wilson, has said that the ongoing reconciliatory efforts will return the party to winning ways in the 2023 general elections in the state.

Wilson, the Founder of Pastor Reuben Initiative for Good Leadership and Accountability (PRIFGLA), an APC support group, made the assertion at a news conference in Yenagoa on Wednesday.

He noted that the Supreme Court verdict which nullified the victory of the party on the eve of the inauguration of APC candidate Chief David Lyon on February 13, 2020 affected the party adversely.

He explained that following the setback, the leaders and followers of the party lost the enthusiasm to push ahead, adding that he was inspired to rise above the setback and rediscovered the party’s winning strategies.

According to him, the APC will leverage the massive goodwill which it enjoyed that resulted in a landslide victory in the last general election to woo the electorate to cast their votes to enable the APC to win again.

The former Niger Delta freedom fighter, said the reconciliatory efforts to settle the rift between the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, and former Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, was achieving great success.

He expressed optimism that in no distant time the divisions in the party created by the camps of Sylva and Lokpobiri would no longer exist and the APC would bounce back as a party of choice in Bayelsa.

He stated: “There were speculations that this support group was started to promote my political aspirations but I have said emphatically that I have no ambition to go in for elective office. I did not pick nomination form for any position.

“My aim of initiating PRIFGLA is out of my love for the APC to keep the ideals of the party and rejuvenate hope amongst the followers who felt abandoned following the misfortune we suffered at the verge of forming a government.

“We are glad that there is a lot of progress on the efforts to reunite all levels of leaders in our party who held divergent views and their differences are being resolved and the party is coming together again.

“Once we get this reconciliation effort concluded, we shall bounce back to our winning streak and regain the mandate of Bayelsa people because in APC, we have the people to drive the holistic development of Bayelsa,” Wilson said.

Anambra state government has disclosed its plans to set up a special family court in Awka, to ensure speedy dispensation of child related cases.

The Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Mrs Ify Obinabo disclosed this while receiving a delegation of the State Child’s Rights Implementation Committee(ASCRIC) on advocacy visit in her office.

She said the court would handle and prosecute those in conflict with established laws accordingly.

She decried increasing child related cases being recorded in the state, expressing optimism that when put in place, such cases would receive accelerated dispensation and also decongest already existing ones.

“The ministry has also attracted organizations to support construction of juvenile Correctional Centre located at Umunze, Orumba South Local Government Area of the State.

“Since assumption of office, no fewer than eight children had been rescued from adults who exploited them for economic gains under, “See Something Say Something” campaign launched by the ministry.”

Earlier, Co-Chair/Coordinator of ASCRIC, Hope Okoye, revealed that the committee established by the state government with support from Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (ROLAC) had intervened and protected children from abuses.

In a remark, the Executive Director, My Child, My Care Initiative, Mr Emeka Ejide, explained that best interest of the child must be given priority attention in all circumstances.

Police in Ebonyi state have burst a child trafficking syndicate who allegedly stole and sold a child for N355,000.

The Police also rescued the stolen child from the syndicate who stole the child from his mother in the state and sold him in Anambra State.

Police spokesperson in the state, Loveth Odah stated this in a statement on Friday in Abakaliki, capital of the state.

She said the child was recovered in Anambra State through a painstaking investigation by the command’s detectives spanning almost one month.

According to the spokesperson, the child was stolen from the mother at a market in the state in March.

“On the 11th day of April, 2022, a case of stolen child was reported to Ebonyi State Police Command by one Okeh Nkemdiri ‘f’ against one Uchechukwu Ebenyi age 27yrs ‘m’ of Amukpa Okengwu Ezilo in Ishielu LGA of Ebonyi State alleging that on the 21st March, 2022, at about 1200hrs she went to their Local market with her 4yrs old son Okeh Makoochukwu whom she suddenly discovered was no longer seen.

“She immediately raised alarm in the market but all efforts to trace her son Makoochukwu whereabouts proved abortive,” Odah narrated.

The spokesperson said that on receipt of the information, Police detectives swung into action and arrested the suspect, Uchechukwu Ebenyi.

She said that on interrogation, Ebenyi confessed to have sold the little Makoochukwu Okeh for the sum of N5000 to one Chidiebere Ogbu ‘m’, a native of Amoukpa Okeugwu Eziulo in Ishielu LGA of Ebonyi State who resides in Anambra State alongside one Ekeh Ukamaka ‘f’ of same address.

Odah said that “Police detectives trailed the recipient of the stolen child to Anambra State where he was arrested alongside two others.

Still the child could not be located immediately as the suspects had also sold him to other persons.

“Upon interrogation he(Ogbu) confessed to have sold the child to a third party with the help of one Dr. Lambert’s wife name unknown but now at large through Nwagwu Onyeka ‘m’ currently residing at Idemili North LGA of Anambra State at the sum of N350,000.

“The child was further traced to one Chibuzor Frank Azubuike ‘m’ who later took the detectives to Ezenwa Scholastica whom the child was recovered from, on the 3rd May, 2022,” the spokesperson said.

“The Commissioner of Police Ebonyi State Police Command, CP Aliyu Garba as commended the efforts of the officers and men for a job well done and further enjoined the good people of Ebonyi to remain vigilant, law abiding and not relent in assisting the Police with useful and timely information that will help in combatting and reducing crime in the State,” Odah added.