Category: South East

The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Edo State chapter, Comrade Sunny Osayande, is dead.

Osayande, elected on April 25, 2019, passed on in the early hours of yesterday.

Governor Godwin Obaseki mourned the death of the labour leader, noting that the state was in great grief over the loss of a true comrade and an icon of the Nigerian labour movement.

He said Osayande’s roles in the maintenance of industrial harmony in the state would remain evergreen.

Obaseki hailed the deceased’s forthrightness, stressing that he maintained a calm and balanced disposition towards the government, whenever labour disputes arose in the state.

He said Osayande’s positive disposition made the transformation exercise in the public and civil service to be seamless.

The governor commiserated with workers, the leadership and members of the NLC, as well as the family and friends of the late chairman.

He prayed God Almighty to grant the soul of the departed labour leader eternal rest.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State has declared one week mourning for its members, who were killed during a meeting last week.

Gunmen last Tuesday invaded the meeting of APC in Enugu South Local Government at Ward 3 party office in Obeagu Awkunanaw, killing two members, Kelvin Nnaemeka Ezeoha, former Enugu South Local Government APC chairman, and Chidera Ogaba.

The hoodlums also abducted the local government candidate of the party in the proposed council election, Mike Ogbonna, aka Okwadike, who was released two days later.

Speaking after visiting the families of the victims, the Chairman of APC in Enugu State, Ugochukwu Agballah, expressed shock about the invasion of the meeting by the gunmen.

Thanking God for the release of Ogbonna, Agballah described the attack as dastardly.

He said: “We are committed to the liberation of Enugu State and we will not be intimidated by this dastardly act.

“As we declare one week mourning for the deceased, we assure our members and the good people of Enugu State that the death of our comrades will not be in vain.”

Agballah said APC was an opposition party in the state trying to build an alternative choice for the people, adding that it was also the only party in the country that would fulfil the presidential aspirations of Ndi-Igbo.

He said the state chapter of the party implored the police command and sister security agencies to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.

The chairman, who promised that the death of the faithful would not be in vain, directed members to pray to God to give their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

The Unyenge community in Mbo Local Government of Akwa Ibom State has urged the state government and security agencies to begin investigation into the attack on workers of the Universal Energy Resource Ltd (UERL).

Armed men suspected to be militants last Thursday planted dynamites on the road leading to the company.

They opened fire on the company workers, killing a driver, even as the dynamite exploded but missed its target. Two security men were reportedly injured.

Speaking at a media briefing at the weekend, the Chairman of Chiefs of the community, Chief Ovong Xavier Ekpe, condemned the attack, describing it as unfortunate.

He said the incident was unprecedented in the history of the community’s relationship with UERL, which had been operating in the area more than a decade ago.

In a text read by the Secretary, Unyenge Development Union, Elder Edet Edietteh, the monarch, while sympathising with the families of the deceased, said such act could only have come from enemies of the land, to paint the community in bad light.

He said:  “The chiefs, elders and youths of Unyenge community regret the unforeseen incident that occurred on January 20, when two policemen and an employee of the Universal Energy Resource Ltd were attacked by the hoodlums.

“The community frowns at the inhuman and unpatriotic act and sympathise with the victims’ families, the UERL family and Akwa Ibom State Government.

“The community sees such act as unacceptable, unpatriotic and devoid of the character of Unyenge people. Such dastardly act must have been caused by enemies of Unyenge people and Oron nation at large, with the intent to paint the people in bad light.

“We disassociate ourselves from the activities of the attackers and reassure Akwa Ibom State Government that Unyenge community is safe for any investment

“We, therefore, call on the state government and security agencies to use their might to unravel the perpetrators of this crime with a view to bringing them to book. Whoever is found culpable should be made to face the full weight of the law.”

Speaking on the scene of the incident, a community leader and President, Akwa Ibom State Community in Rivers State, Evangelist Bassey Empimah, said: “We are not known for this kind of act. We don’t think there is anybody in the community that can be part of this heinous crime because since this community has been in existence and the UERL has been working here for a long time, more than a decade, we have never witnessed this kind of development before.”

Youth leaders from the oil producing areas of Imo State, under the aegis of Niger Delta Youth Forum (NDYF), have urged Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma to sack the management of the Imo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ISOPADEC), led by Chief Charles Orie.

The group said the commission in the past few years had failed to justify billions of naira sunk into it for the development of the oil rich communities.

Speaking to The Nation, the group’s leader, Ezekwesiri Nwauwa, said the management of ISOPADEC lacked the administrative strategy to manage the communities.

He said: “As a statutory commission, the management has received money worth billions of naira, but nothing seems to be working there to manage our people’s common wealth domiciled at ISOPADEC.

“Our youths are unemployed, our women don’t enjoy empowerment packages, no ongoing skill acquisition programmes for young people, no scholarships for our sons and daughters, no health intervention programme to cushion the effects of strange ailments suspected to have arisen from pollution, which have heightened death rate in our region.”

Nwauwa said that Addax and Seplat, two major oil companies operating  in the areas, flared gases 24 hours, adding that the pollution coming from the flaring caused illnesses such as cancer and lung diseases for the people, who lived very short distance to the companies.

“There is still gas flaring, pollution of the environment particularly at Izombe where I come from. It is very hard for you to see coconut trees. Once it grows, it dies from the roots. All manners of sicknesses such as cancer are on the rise. My own mother was a victim of cancer. She lived in a village where strange illnesses are attributed to the degradation of the environment,” he said.

Nwauwa said the commission was set up as an intervention agency to cushion the problems, but regretted that nothing had been done to justify the billions given to the commission.

Reacting, Orie, said he had executed more than 51 projects in the areas since he assumed office as the managing director of the commission.

He said: “The only problem is that the critic wants the commission to hand over project money to him. It is not business as usual. In the past, they were in the habit of collecting money meant for projects and diverting it to their pockets. We said this will not happen again, and that is the problem.”

The Palace of the Oba of Benin was agog yesterday, as Oba Ewuare II named his quadruplets amid fanfare and merriment.

The royal ceremony was witnessed by dignitaries from all walks of life.

The babies were delivered last August by Her Royal Highness, Oloi Aisosa Ewuare.

The colourful event began at the presidential office of the palace with a formal presentation of the babies to entire royal family members, chiefs and top palace functionaries by the Oba.

Different palace guilds, including Emelhe, Isikhuan groups (royal praise singers), including chiefs of different grades offered prayers and songs of prosperity to the royal family.

Omo N’Oba Ewuare thereafter proceeded to Ugha-Eroba axis (ancestral ceremonial hall) of the palace where prayers of protection, guidance and prosperity were made for the three infant princes and a princess at the ancient alter of their forebear.

Shortly after the prayers in line with the palace tradition, Oba Ewuare gave names to his new babies, which were announced by Chief Letema, who acted in the absence of Head of Ihogbe group, Chief Ihama.

The names were Odoligie, Utomwen Azaka, Amadin and Iriagbonse.

Delta State governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has counselled aspirants in other political parties in the state interested in elective office, not to waste their time and money, as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) will win the 2023 election by a landslide.

He assured PDP members in the state of free, fair and transparent primary elections ahead of 2023 general elections.

Okowa who spoke at a PDP rally in Asaba, yesterday, affirmed that the party remained one united family in the state.

He assured that leaders of the party in the state would ensure that primaries for all elective positions were free and credible. He said the massive mobilisation for the rally showed that PDP was ready to rescue Nigeria from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and advised aspirants in other political parties not to waste their money to contest elections in Delta.

His words, “I give thanks to God for what is happening here today and I thank our leaders in the PDP, our state and local government executives, our youths and women for the massive mobilisation for this rally.

“It is by the grace of God and through their hands that we have mobilised to make a statement today across Nigeria that PDP is prepared to take over this nation. One good thing about us in the PDP is that we are one family, we are not like the other people where one man takes it all. Here in PDP, we are one family.

“We work as a family with the love of God but in the other parties, they are always fighting themselves,” the governor said.

He thanked Deltans for their great support and cooperation with his administration, saying “We have been doing a great job as Deltans, but it is because Deltans voted us into power and that is why we have the opportunity to do the great job that we are doing for our state.