The Nation Newspaper

Category: SouthEast

Uzodimma compensates security officers

Governor Hope Uzodimma has compensated the security agents who were killed in an ambush by gunmen at Ehime Mbano Local Government of Imo State in the course of carrying out their duties.

He doled out N185million to the families of the deceased as well as to those who survived the attacks.

Performing the ceremony yesterday on the premises of the Government House Chapel, Owerri, Governor Uzodimma appreciated the fallen heroes and those of them who sustained various degrees of injuries in the course of the attack, working as operatives of ”Search and Flush Operations.”

Addressing the audience in an emotion laden voice, the governor, who remembered how the security agents put their lives on line to protect the citizens of the state, not only prayed God to grant their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss, but also to grant the survivors quick recovery from the injuries they are currently nursing.

The governor noted that the occasion has brought to the fore the situation of insecurity in Imo State “as being beyond what people think and goes a long way to showcase the problems and the negative impact inflicted on the state.”

The governor recalled that this is not the first time the state government is appreciating those who died or were injured while carrying out their assigned duties and promised to continue to show love to the families and agencies affected.

so that they will continue to discharge their duties without fear or discouragement.

He said though he is aware that the Federal Government and the Security Agencies have different compensation plans for their personnel, “yet this is an opportunity to appreciate the invaluable jobs the security agencies, that is, Police, Army, Air Force, Navy, NDELA, Civil Defence and other Para-Military Agencies are doing in Imo State.”

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Governor Uzodimma proceeded to announce that the Government will give out N185 million to those affected and prayed God to give the families the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss, “and the repose of the souls of those that paid the supreme price to their fatherland.”

Earlier while leading the audience into the reason for the event, the Secretary to Imo State Government, Chief Cosmas Iwu welcomed the bereaved families to the solemn event and thanked Governor Uzodimma for “being responsive to the plight of the security agencies in the State.”

He also appreciated the Government for coming to the aids of the families of the deceased and for assisting those who were wounded in the course of performing their duties.

Iwu said that “the attacks and killings of security agencies will not deter them from fighting against insecurity and restoring peace in the State,” and assured that “Government will continue to support the families and the various security outfits in the State.”

Those who died and were compensated include; Isaac Yakubu and Mr. Samson Edeh of NDELA; Ezeagu Emeka Tobias of NSCDC; Abraham Anas of Nigerian Air Force and Abas Ejiofor of the Nigerian Police.

The injured officers include; Ibrahim Abubakar, Umeh Lawrence, Akwaraji Charles, Abubakar Haruna, Inspector Odukwe, Onyekachi Ndubuisi and others.

In a vote of thanks on behalf of the others, a survivor, Umeh Lawrence of the Nigerian Immigration Service, thanked the Governor, the Government and people of Imo State for the compensation and the various support for the security agencies, families and well-wishers.

He promised that they will not relent in their assigned responsibilities, but rather will continue to discharge their duties gallantly.

Present at the programme were the Deputy Governor, Prof. Placid Njoku, Deputy Governor-elect, Lady Chinyere Ekomaru, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Chike Olemgbe and other members of Imo House of Assembly, members of Imo State Expanded Executive Council, Eze Imo, HRM Eze (Dr.) Emmanuel Okeke and Principal Officers of the Security Agencies and Para-Military Agencies in Imo State, the religious ( Christians and Muslims), among others.

November 21, 2023
Varsity hospital set for mass burial of 33 unclaimed bodies

Godfrey Okoye University Teaching Hospital, Enugu has secured a court order to conduct mass burial for 33 bodies abandoned at the mortuary of the hospital.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Christian Anieke, said some of the bodies had remained unclaimed for 18 years at the former Ntasi Obi Ndi Nona Afufu Hospital.

He advised the public to go to the place (former Ntasi Obi Ndi Nona Afufu) and check if the abandoned bodies there were those of their relations or people they knew.

Anieke said an Enugu High Court had granted an order for the management of the hospital to carry out mass burial of the bodies if they were not removed from the mortuary within the 21 days allowed.

The vice chancellor, who described the abandonment as challenging, said the directive was to enable the management renovate the mortuary and make it befitting for a teaching hospital.

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He said the concerned families should take the 33 bodies away and give them befitting burial.

Anieke said the university would begin admission of students into its School of Nursing and Midwifery before the end of next January, stressing that academic and administrative officials, facilities, including a bus donated by the Parents Forum of the university, were ready for the take-off of the new courses.

He praised the workers for their commitment to service, noting that Godfrey Okoye University is known for discipline and cannot disappoint the public as new tertiary institutions look on to the university for leadership.

He urged the workers not to relent in their duties.

November 21, 2023
Carnival: We will set new record of success, says Cross River govt

Cross River State Government has assured tourists and fun seekers that this year’s Carnival Calabar, being the first to be hosted under the administration of Governor Bassey Otu, would set a new record of success by any measurement standard.

It gave the assurance at a news conference addressed by the Commissioner for Information, Police Commissioner, Special Adviser (Security) to the Governor, Executive Secretary, Carnival Commission and Special Adviser, Events Management.

Information Commissioner Erasmus Ekpang said Cross River State was ready for the Season of Sweetness Calabar Festival, stressing that security architecture was in top shape.

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Executive Secretary, Cross River Carnival Commission, Mr. Austin Cobham, said Carnival Calabar 2023 would be an opportunity to set a new record and set a mark to prove to the world that the carnival was running 20 years already, except for the two years that were lost to COVID-19.

Police Commissioner CP Gyogon Grimah, represented by Deputy PPRO, DSP Igri Ewa, said security was a holistic issue that involved all citizens, adding that the command was working to ensure peace and unity.

State Security Adviser South, Rtd Commander Patrick Odiong, said security was in top gear, stressing that there was a good working relationship between the security agencies.

Special Adviser, Events Management, Office of the Governor, Mr. Effiong Ekpenyong, said a full timetable showing 31 days Calabar festival activities would soon be released to the public.

November 21, 2023
Akwa Ibom gives Fed Govt nod to offtake power from Ibom Power Plant

Akwa Ibom State Government has given approval to the Federal Government to offtake power generated from the Ibom Power Plant located in Ikot Abasi Local Government.

Governor Umo Eno made this known during an interaction with a delegation of the Senate Committee on Power led by its Chairman, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and members of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

He said the approval was an expression of the state government’s commitment to partner the Federal Government to enhance power sector infrastructure and improve supply in the state and country.

The governor said: “I believe we can do better with our power system, but a lot has to do with the Federal Government. If the Federal Government gives us the leeway to do it and with a promise to refund, then we can begin to think of it.

“But we’ll like to work together because we need to get those permission to be able to link these things up, so that we won’t need to get into too much talk after the process. At the end of the day, it will be to the benefit of our people and then to Nigeria.

“Power is something dear to our heart; so the work you are doing needs to be encouraged because without power, we cannot really do anything and the economy cannot move forward.”

He expressed gratitude over the return visit of the senators barely a few weeks after the Senate retreat in the state, noting that the preference of Akwa Ibom for conferences and retreats had put the state on its toes to improve on facilities to retain the confidence of such high profile visitors.

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Eno said: “We are delighted at the increasing interest in our state for conferences, retreats and others. It behoves us to ensure that our facilities continue to be topnotch.”

He described the synergy between the Senate Committee on Power and NERC as healthy for the power sector, saying both arms would be on the same page for enactments and regulatory policies.

Senator Abaribe said they were in the state for a three-day retreat, and expressed satisfaction with the choice of Uyo for the retreat, as against earlier plans for locations outside the country.

He said previous retreats of the body were held in Ghana, Morocco and other locations outside the country, adding that after the last Senate retreat in Akwa Ibom, they realised that Akwa Ibom had quality facilities sufficient for their engagement.

Abaribe hailed Eno for his purposeful leadership and attributed the pace of development in the state to continuum in leadership.

November 21, 2023
Group to Uzodimma: use your second term to right your wrongs

Imo General Assembly (IGA) has called on Governor Hope Uzodimma to intensify efforts towards tackling challenges of insecurity and infrastructural decay in the state.

The president of IGA, Nnewi chapter, Chinedu Igwe, who gave the advice in a chat with newsmen on Monday, November 20, described security as the highest point of any administration.

Igwe, who doubles as chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Suzuki Don International Limited, noted that not much could be achieved in a crisis-ridden society.

He argued that although security remained a collective responsibility, the government must spearhead the efforts.

While congratulating Uzodimma on his reelection, the IGA boss stressed that the governor’s second tenure was a unique opportunity for him to right the wrongs observed in his first tenure.

He said: “Now that the governorship elections are over, I congratulate Sen Uzodimma for his reelection, I hope he will address the infrastructural decay in the State in his second tenure.

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“Imo has always occupied a unique position in Igboland, it is imperative that infrastructural facilities in the state be stepped up so that our beloved state can continue to take her pride of place in Southeast in particular and Nigeria in general.”

Reacting to the outcome of the recently concluded governorship election in the state, Igwe said he was not surprised that the incumbent governor outclassed candidates of other political parties.

He stated: “I said before the election that opposing political parties were fielding weak candidates against the incumbent governor, so how can I be surprised to see what I saw a long time ago coming to pass.”

November 20, 2023
Enugu to train 40,000 youths in digital, entrepreneurial skills

Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah has said his administration would continue to train at least 40,000 youths across the state in digital and entrepreneurial skills that would enable them compete in the global digital and entrepreneurial markets.

He spoke at the weekend while delivering a keynote address at the Tech and Entrepreneurship (TxE) Summit in Enugu where he disclosed that the state government under him had begun the training of youths in digital innovation, programming, digital marketing, financial technology, entrepreneurship, among other requisite technology, financial and business skills.

Speaking on the theme of the summit, “Innovation Unleashed: Transforming Enugu’s Future”, Mbah said the strategic role of his government in enabling better and viable future for the youth operating in the state was to provide an environment full of opportunities for them to thrive.

He said measures were being put in place that would ignite the young ones to unleash the creative energy in them by embracing the emerging future of robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, innovation through skills in information and technology.

The governor, who observed that the global order was rapidly moving away from analogue and anachronistic ways of doing things to a modern perspective enabled by technology, advised the youth to take the opportunity the TeX summit had afforded them to learn new ways of doing things in order to remain relevant and economically self-reliant in a competitive global sphere.

“We are talking about robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, among other emerging skills today. These are perhaps skills that will keep you relevant in today’s world. Ours in Enugu State is to provide you with the right environment, the support and the skills,” he said.

While looking at the synergy between technology and entrepreneurship, the governor enjoined the youth to think creatively and come up with ideas of what to do to add value to the market by repositioning themselves to solve some of the needs of the society.

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According to him, the youth could create their own greener pasture in Nigeria without having to travel overseas with the right training and skills, which he said his government would facilitate by partnering tech industries.

“My objective here is to get you to begin to think digitally, to understand that the emerging future is the one that requires you to acquire a digital skill to thrive. And with those digital skills, you do not need to contemplate leaving this country. I know you may think that the pastures are greener in Europe and America, but that is not true. Anybody that told you that has perhaps lied to you. The innovation landscape here is not barren at all.

“With your innovation here, you are able to create a greener pasture right here on our soil than any other place in the world. See this event as a serious business where you have come to acquire a skill; a skill of a lifetime. A skill that will enable you to conquer the world right here in Enugu State,” Mbah said.

The Founder of TxE Africa, Williams Uche-Mbah, had said this year’s event represented the huge potential and promise that Enugu held for youths in the fields of technology and entrepreneurship.

He said the summit was conceived to ignite innovation, foster collaboration and empower the local entrepreneurial community of youths in the state to unleash a new wave of technological innovation, economic growth and a platform for the global market.

Uche-Mbah said youths embracing the right tech skills would escape from the scourge of unemployment and poverty, which was the aim of the summit.

“The objective of this summit is to create a platform to groom our youths in much needed tech and business skills to first decongest the rate of unemployment in Nigeria, and position you for global relevance. Our vision is to reach and empower one million people across Nigeria before 2027, and if you wonder how possible this is, look around you,” he said.

November 20, 2023
I won’t fight Eno, says Akpabio

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has promised to avoid fighting Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno despite party differences.

Akpabio, ex-governor of the state, made the promise at the weekend during a thanksgiving mass held in honour of Minister of Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, at Our Lady of Mercy Chaplaincy, in Abak Local Government of the state.

He said he would continue to work for the peace and development of his home state across party lines.

“As an elder statesman, my major concern now is to work for the peace and unity of the state and by extension Nigeria.

“I’m not interested in any kind of war. I am more interested in bringing development to the state. If there should be any competition among us, let it be in the overall interest of our people, like competing for development and life changing projects for our people.

“If the governor is bringing a project to street or road A, as the President of the Senate, I should be seen working on bringing water or electricity to street or road B. This is the kind of competition I want to see and not unnecessary bickering that brings no good to our people,” he noted.

Akpabio hailed Ekpo for remembering to thank God after his nomination and swearing-in as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and member of the Federal Executive Council.

He said: “We are who and what we are today because God made it possible for it to be so. It is, therefore, imperative that we give thanks always. I thank you for not forgetting the God who made it possible for you to be who you are today.

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“Let me also take this opportunity to once again thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for supporting an Akwa Ibom son to occupy the number 3 position in the country. It has never happened since the creation of our dear state.”

Governor Eno advised Akwa Ibom people to support any indigene of the state in any position of authority for the benefit of the state.

He stressed his readiness and that of his government to put the state and its people first without any political or religious consideration.

Ekpo said his sudden introduction to President Bola Tinubu by the President of the Senate, Akpabio, as the ministerial nominee from the state looked like a joke to him.

According to him, “when I was formally introduced to President Tinubu by my leader and President of the Senate for this ministerial appointment, it looked like a joke to me. Subsequently my name was announced as a nominee and when I appeared before the Senate, I was told to take a bow. Today, I am a Minister of the Federal Republic.”

Ekpo said he was in God’s presence to return all thanks to God for using President Tinubu and Senator Akpabio to make his appointment possible.

“I am here today with my family to return thanks to God Almighty for making today possible. I also thank our dear President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, for finding me worthy of this appointment.”

Ekpo pledged his readiness to do his best for the state, its citizens and Nigeria as a whole, to ensure Nigeria reaps from its enormous gas resources for the country’s development.

November 20, 2023
Doctors give Enugu govt two-week ultimatum

Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUTH), Enugu has called on the state government to increase doctors’ employment and enhance security within a 14-day time frame.

The doctors said they would embark on strike if the state government failed to heed their call.

In a communiqué issued at the weekend by Ikemefuna Nnamani, secretary-general, and Chukwunonso Ofonere, president, the association said it had been 120 days since the government promised the employment of medical officers and resident doctors, but nothing had been done.

The doctors called on ESUTH management and Enugu State Government “to declare a state of emergency in the employment of doctors at the hospital.”

They said there should be an urgent approval for the recruitment of medical officers, resident doctors and house officers at the hospital.

Read Also: Enugu resident doctors issue two-week ultimatum over recruitment, insecurity

“This recruitment should be focused especially at the Accident and Emergency department, Surgery department, Internal Medicine department, Paediatrics department, Obstetrics and Gynaecology department.

“Secondly, management should ensure the implementation of safety policies to protect her workers against physical attacks and kidnap within one week as promised by the chief medical director (CMD).

“Thirdly, the immediate implementation of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) as our counterpart in other states; even as attached to this communique is the list of the eligible doctors and the financial implications,” the statement said.

The resident doctors said the 14-day ultimatum would end on December 1, adding that if the above demands were not met, industrial harmony could not be guaranteed.

November 20, 2023
Akwa Ibom govt to update social register

Akwa Ibom State Government says it will upgrade its social register to enable it have accurate records of vulnerable persons.

Governor Umo Eno, who made the disclosure at the weekend during the Government House monthly prayer service, said the aim was allow indigent persons access social programmes of the government.

He urged government functionaries, community and religious leaders to assist the government in providing information to update the register.

Eno said government intended to adopt the register for its intervention programmes, and warned against politicising it.

“For the record, the National Social Register (NSR) is an information system that supports the outreach, intake, registration and determination of potentially eligible persons to benefit from social programmes.

“There is a social register. It is active and it is recognised by the World Bank. We have over a million people from every local government, ward and unit. It’s done on household basis and it’s for the poorest of the poor.

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“This week we will be updating that register. All our PAs in the wards will be helping us. We all have work to do, so I ask that we please show interest.

“All our pastors, our fathers come from a place, show some interests in that social register. It will help us. This is what we want to be using as a state to help our people,” the governor said.

He appealed to stakeholders to ensure registration was done devoid of political colouration, stressing that village heads, community leaders and stakeholders should concerned themselves with ensuring that no one, who could not be traced to any household, was enlisted under their community slot.

“I like to emphasise that this is not another political jamboree. Let’s make sure it’s for everyone who belongs to that category, whether they voted for us or not. If we bring those divisions now, it won’t help us.

“So the stakeholders, please just check to make sure they don’t put the names and bank accounts of people that are not from your village,” he said.

Speaking further on the criteria for inclusion or delimitation on the social register, he said: “I don’t expect my name or any of your names to be on the social register. Please don’t do it. It is meant for people we can reach with very little things to support them.

‘Please don’t politicise everything. It is not a PDP register. It is a social register for ‘Akwa Ibomites’. So long as that person is from there and you understand that the person is on that cadre, please put their names.

“It is not also for civil servants. We know those ones already,” the governor added.

November 20, 2023
‘Fed Govt to visit erosion sites in Imo’

Federal Government construction team will arrive in Imo State next week to conduct a NEEDS assessment on erosion sites.

This initiative aims to address the devastating effects of erosion on communities.

The senator representing Imo West, Osita Izunaso, made this known to reporters yesterday in Owerri while laying foundation stone of two skill acquisition centres in Urualla and Umukegwu Akokwa, Ideato North Local Government.

On the erosion menace in his senatorial district, particularly in Ideato, he said: “In fact, the Federal Government was ready for the past two weeks to come and do NEEDS assessment on the erosion issue. They will be here one week or two weeks to do a NEEDS assessment of the erosion sites in the area. So that it can properly be factored into the budget of 2024.”

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On the skills acquisition centres, he said: “When we were campaigning we made a lot of promises. I am not the kind of person that will make a promise and I will not keep to it. I promised communities skill acquisition centres. And today we are laying the foundation stone. The contract has been awarded and they have started work. There will be borehole besides the skill acquisition centres itself.

“You can see the communities are excited. The traditional rulers and women are here. The most important thing is for them to protect the project. They should secure it. They should ensure that things that will be put inside there are secured. Because the project is for the benefit of all.”

According to one of the contractors at the project site, Queen Quilare, “we have a supporting facility like two offices. We have convinces. We also have storage facilities. To complement it, we also have borehole. Excavation is going on.”

He said that would be completed in three months’ time.

“Hopefully we will finish in three months’ time. But we are asking for extra two weeks to be able to meet up with our promises.”

November 20, 2023