Category: South East

The new executive chairman of Imo Internal Revenue Service, (IIRS) Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke has warned staff of the agency to brace up to the new challenges of ensuring adequate revenue generation in Imo State.

He said the era of truancy and loitering about without doing meaningful thing to do was over and would no longer be tolerated in the agency.

Okeke however assured the staff during his maiden interaction with the senior staff of IIRS of glorious times ahead.

Okeke who was addressing the workers on Owerri on Friday, said he has come to make IIRS a place of pride and an engine room to drive development in the state.

He said with the dwindling receipts from the federation account, states are becoming strategic and ingenuous in the way they shore up internally generated revenue for development.

“It is no longer debatable that the era when states depended on oil receipts from Abuja is long gone, it is important for states to look inwards because of the dwindling oil receipts from the federation account.”

Kinsmen of former President Goodluck Jonathan have presented a former Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as their best choice for the 2023 National Assembly election for Ogbia Federal Constituency, Bayelsa State.

The kinsmen also drummed support for the re-election of the state Governor, Senator Douye Diri, citing the governor’s giant strides in the state.

Hundreds of the kinsmen led by a former Commissioner for Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Saviour Ibegi, presented Iworiso-Markson to the Bayelsa State Working Committee (SWC) of the PDP at the party’s secretariat in Yenagoa yesterday.

They described the zoning arrangment in Ogbia as sacrosanct, noting that since it was the turn of Constituency 1 to produce the next Federal lawmaker, Iworiso-Markson remained the most capable person and most popular to win election for the party.

Ibegi said though he nursed an ambition for the position, he had decided to concede to Iworiso-Markson because of his connections and capacity to offer a better representation.

He recalled that as a Commissioner for Information, Iworiso-Markson performed excellently and impacted positively on many people, especially those from Ogbia.

Ibegi insisted that Iworiso-Markson possessed the stable character required to form a formidable team for the re-election of Governor Diri.

On the re-election of Diri, he said: “We have never failed and we must contribute to the return of our governor for a second term. The preparation for our governor’s second term election starts today and Ogbia is trying to package a team that will make our victory easier.”

Receiving the delegation, the State Chairman of the PDP, Solomon Agwanana, who was represented by his deputy, Nengi Talbot Tubonah, commended the Ogbia people for their decision to present Iworiso-Markson for the position.

In his remarks, the Secretary of the party, George Isowo, urged the delegation to expand their consultations and avoid campaign of calumny against other aspirants.

Explaining his ambition, Iworiso-Markson declared total support for Governor Diri and said he joined the race to serve his people and make a difference.

Delta Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has deplored criticism by leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over proliferation of universities in the State.

He said the establishment of three new universities in the state is a necessity.

According to him, the universities were established to broaden access to the teeming number of students from the state desirous of university education.

He added that the new universities would ensure that no qualified student from the state was denied admission into universities.

Okowa spoke at the inauguration of Chairmen and members of the Governing Councils of the three new universities in the State in Asaba.

He said the ongoing nationwide strike by universities teachers arose over failure by the Federal Government to address issues raised by ASUU, adding that teachers in the state’s universities merely joined  in obedience to their union’s directive.

Okowa said the state government is not in dispute with any staff union in its tertiary Institutions, stressing that some of the issues raised by ASUU are already being enjoyed by staff of its tertiary institutions.

He said, “We are not in dispute with any staff union in any of our tertiary institutions.

“The issues raised by ASUU at the national level do not pertain to us in Delta as the allowances they are asking for are already being enjoyed by staff in our tertiary institutions for several years now.

“Let me also respectfully disagree with the position of ASUU that there is an unhealthy proliferation of state universities in the country.

“In our case, it is to fill the gap created by shortage of space and increase access to university education for our qualified youths,” he said.

Giving statistics, he added that “in the JAMB report of 2018, 80,131 Deltans, representing 4.85 per cent of total applicants sat for the board’s university entrance examination. However, only a fraction of those who passed could be admitted.”

“Also, for the 2019/2020 academic session, 25,896 candidates from the State chose Delta State University as first choice. Out of this number, 22,358 qualified but only 4,854 candidates could be admitted.

Two communities  in Cross River State,  Alisi in Ikom local government area and Odonget in Obubra local government  both  engaged themselves last Tuesday in a deadly clash that started the previous night and had left scores of lives uncounted  for and many public  and individuals’  property destroyed.

The cause of the clash had reportedly been linked to disputes over land ownership and boundaries.

The warring youths extended their clash into the federal highway where the road between Obubra to Ikom was blocked for hours and travellers stopped.

Angered by the incident, Governor Ben Ayade sent his deputy Prof.  Ivara Esu to meet elders and youths in the communities.

He warned that the State government will not hesitate to apply the full weight of the law on any individual, no matter how highly placed who is found culpable of fomenting trouble in any community in the State.

Ayade who spoke while on an on-the-spot assessment of the destruction, expressed serious displeasure on the level of destruction of property, infrastructure, primary school, palm oil factories in the areas as well as economic trees among others.

Professor Esu made it clear that the present administration in the state will not extend the latitude of its patience and look the other way when few disgruntled elements derives pleasure on the destruction of lives and property on the slightest provocation, stressing that life is sacred and no one has the right to take it while hiding under unjustifiable excuses.

The deputy governor assured that government is going to dig deep into the root cause of the crisis between the two neighbouring communities adding that a permanent boundary demarcation is necessary to be in place between the two communities,.

Also addressing the people, the Permanent Secretary, Special Services Office, Governor’s Office, Calabar, Dr. Alfred Mboto, informed the people that the visit from the State number two citizen to the affected Communities was to ascertain the level of damage done to both sides as the result of the conflict.

Also speaking, the Cross River State Commissioner of Police, CP Aminu Alhassan, also warned that the law will deal with anyone or group of persons found to destroy lives, property, houses and Economic trees under the guise of communal disputes.

CP Alhassan however admonished the two communities to learn to live together in peace while government seeks for permanent solution to their problems.

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has solicited the support and collaboration of the Bayelsa State government to fight against the trafficking of persons in the country.

The Commander of NAPTIP, Benin Zonal Command, Nduka Nwanwenne, made the request on yesterday during a courtesy visit to the Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, in Government House, Yenagoa.

Nwanwenne explained that the task of stamping out the menace of human trafficking in the zone, comprising Edo, Delta and Bayelsa states, required the collaboration of different levels and agencies of government to be effective.

According to him, a lot of public awareness campaigns are needed in the various communities, as human traffickers entice unsuspecting young girls with fake promises of securing high-paying jobs in Europe and elsewhere, which only land victims in prostitution and sexual slavery.

The NAPTIP zonal commander pointed out that human trafficking in Nigeria had taken a new dimension, whereby vital body organs of victims are removed after killing them and exported to other countries.

Responding to the request for collaboration, Ewhrudjakpo said government was prepared to close ranks with NAPTIP to fight against human trafficking in the state

Ewhrudjakpo, who drew a close relationship between human trafficking and drug abuse, expressed concern that the present level of awareness campaigns on the menace of human trafficking was inadequate.

Over 600 Local Government, Zonal and Ward executives of G17 in Enugu State, on Friday, paid a solidarity visit to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi at the Government House, Enugu, declaring their unalloyed support and loyalty to the governor ahead of 2023 general elections.

Speaking at the event, the Director General of G17, Hon. Sunday Ajogwu, commended  Ugwuanyi for his administration’s developmental strides in Enugu State as well as its remarkable achievements in the rural areas stating that the governor is “the master of rural roads”.

Ajogwu, who described Ugwuanyi as a peaceful man and the Grand Patron of G17, disclosed that “the greatest achievement of this government is the peace we enjoy today in Enugu State,” adding that “we do not take that for granted.

His words: “It is if you have security on the road that you can move around. If you don’t have security, you cannot move around. Thank you Your Excellency for providing peace and security in Enugu State. All the things you are doing in Enugu State we cannot start mentioning them one by one here.”

Pressed further, Ajogwu said, “This is just the tip of the iceberg. This is the leadership of G17. Our G17 is not the G17 of social media. This is the original G17. We are on ground. Our leadership comprises the Director General, 3 Zonal Heads, 17 LG Coordinators, 19 Executives in each of the 17 LGAs, 17 LG Directors and 260 Ward Coordinators.”

Members of the group, who had banners and wore shirts with the inscription “#2023 Gburugburu Decides”, reassured Governor Ugwuanyi that they will support his political decisions for the 2023 elections.

In their separate speeches, the three Heads of G17 in Enugu East, Enugu West and Enugu North senatorial districts, Hon. Okey Mbah, Hon. Barr. Destiny Nnagbo and Dr. Chris Onodugo, respectively, reiterated the stance of the group that they will follow the direction of the governor when the time comes, stressing that their loyalty is 100 percent.

Present at the event were the Patrons of the group in Enugu North and Enugu West senatorial districts, Chief Ikeje Asogwa and Chief Engr. Anayo Onwuegbu, respectively.