Category: SouthEast

Anambra State Deputy Governor Onyekachukwu Ibezim has celebrated with member representing Awka South I State Constituency in the House of Assembly, Henry Mbachu, on his victory in the election.

The deputy governor also ‘sympathised’ with Mbachu because of the enormous responsibilities awaiting him as representative of his constituency.

Ibezim, during a thanksgiving service in honour of Mbachu, said God uplifts people from being nobody to somebody. He expressed happiness that someone like Mbachu was representing his constituency, and urged him to contribute his own quota through policies and constructive criticisms.

He said: “I congratulate you because this victory is a clarion call for higher responsibilities. People normally see it all about celebration when they win election, but it’s beyond that.

“It’s good you are thanksgiving to God for your victory which is more important than fanfare. We’re also here to give hope to the youths. Youths are owners of today and no longer tomorrow. Though we’re in perilous times, but we must get it right.”

Mbachu, who is one of the seven lawmakers from the Labour Party, attributed his election victory to God. He pledged to be accountable to his constituency, including fighting to get what is due to them, adding that such projects will be tabled before his constituents to decide.

Read Also: Vigilante kills three suspected gunmen in Anambra community

“I will start where my predecessor stopped and carry my people along because people misrepresent lawmakers when they are not carried along, especially in executing projects for which Constituency fund is allocated.

“We won’t also be rubber-stamp. Anything that comes to the table that will benefit our people, I will get it by all means.

 “But we will not fight. We are seven members of Labour Party and we won’t go there to fight. All our allowances will be channelled to the purpose for which they are meant,” he promised.

Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno has vowed to arrest and prosecute persons perpetrating violence over recent moves by government to provide a map for the state.

 Governor Eno issued the warning at the weekend while addressing government officials and stakeholders who converged on the Latter House Chapel, Governor’s Lodge, Uyo, for the June Government House Monthly Prayer Summit.

 Some community youths have been expressing grievances and issuing threats over the move to remap the state, alleging that their ancestral lands have been ceded. But the governor urged the irate communities to seek redress in court rather than cause violence, saying ‘allow the courts exercise their jurisdiction rather than fuel crisis that would hinder progress and general development in the state’.

Read Also: Seven Days of Umo Eno: Advent of the golden governor

 He added: “I know communities have gone to court and when the case is in court peace should reign. Yesterday, pictures of what happened in some places were all over the social media, and people were saying there’s trouble. Please the cases are in court and we trust our courts, let the status quo be maintained.

 “Let’s allow peace to reign, nobody is coming to drag you out of your land. All the fireworks should be taken to the courtroom. Let’s allow the court cases finish. Let’s not go and instigate any community.

 “Advise your community leaders and everyone that there should be peace. Let’s not fight. Any community that attacks another community would receive the wrath of the law. Community leaders would be called out for such incidences. Please we should maintain peace.”

• ‘Party’s candidate can’t govern’
• NWC wants them sacked for misappropriation, says Anyanwu

Seven members of the State Working Committee (SWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State yesterday announced resignation from their positions. They also withdrew their membership of the party.

At a news conference yesterday, Collins Opurozor, who was until now the Publicity Secretary, said the party’s candidate for the November 11 governorship election, Samuel Anyanwu, doesn’t have what it takes to govern Imo.

Others who resigned their membership are Ray Emeana (Secretary) ; Greg Nwadike (Youth Leader); Martin Ejiogu (Deputy State Chairman);  Maria Mbakwe (Woman Leader); Josiah Eze (Treasurer) and Chibuisi Obido (Vice Chairman, Orlu Zone).

All of them were present at the press conference and agreed with Opurozor.

Opurozor however refused to announce which party they were joining, saying it would be announced soon.

Read Also: NNPP voids suspension of Imo chairman

He said: “In unequivocal terms, we announce to you that the PDP in Imo State has been damaged beyond redemption by the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu (Samdaddy), and the party is moving irreversibly to its terminus.

“It is necessary we remind you that in the last three years, this working committee has built a strong, formidable and enviable PDP in Imo State. To enable the party realise its promise of being a truly democratic entity, we envisioned the need to expand the internal democratic space by forming nearly five thousand chapters across all the polling units in the state. We took the party to the people, and that made us the darling of Imo people. We accomplished this task despite our lean resources as an opposition. No other political party has attained this feat in Nigeria.

“More so, we institutionalised the culture of accountability in party administration, and demonstrated a readiness to govern and reform Imo.

“But, since Senator Anyanwu became the National Secretary, he has never relented in deploying the powers of his office to fight this committee, and intimidate even ordinary party members. Senator Anyanwu still sponsors his very few loyalists to cook up puerile petitions against us and flood the National Secretariat with such inquiries. He has continued to threaten to dissolve the party in Imo even after we defeated him at the Supreme Court…

Members of the working committee are reputable people who have made their marks in their various areas of endeavour. How could Senator Anyanwu destroy our reputation, and also destroy the party we have built, simply because of his fight for individual survival? The implication is that if by mistake he is allowed to govern Imo State, he will further destroy our dear state if only that would guarantee his individual survival!

“We have today opened the floodgate of resignations and defections, and in the next couple of weeks, there will be only Senator Anyanwu left in the party.”

But Anyanwu said their resignation was not a new thing in the party.

Anyanwu, who spoke through his media aide, Ikenna Onuoha, said notwithstanding the accusation of misappropriation of party’s finances, he allowed them serve out their tenure which would soon expired.

He said:” It is not a new thing for people to resign from their positions, but the issue is that before now, members of the National Working Committee had called for their resignation but I prevailed on them to allow them serve out their tenure despite the allegations of embezzlement and misappropriation of the party’s funds against them.”

Pesidents and the Landlords’ Forum of the Lower Ikot Nkebre community in the Calabar Municipal area of Cross River State have cried out for intervention over the substandard execution of the multi-billion naira World Bank erosion control project in their area.

The project was awarded in 2017 and work commenced that same year but the progress has been slow and questionable. To date this date in 2023, the project is uncompleted and deemed abandoned in a situation that poses more disaster to the residents in the area.

A statement demanding a forensic probe of the project written and signed for the community by the Chairman and Secretary of the Lower Ikot Nkebre Landlord Forum; Mr Edu Isang and Mr Oto-Abasi Uwatt respectively, called on the State Governor, the House of Assembly, National Assembly members of the area and all relevant government agencies to visit “Ikot Anwatim, Major Esang in Calabar Municipality to the havoc done to Ikot Nkebre.

Read Also: Trillions wasted on subsidies enough to save planet, says World Bank

In the Statement made available to newsmen and captioned, “S O S, As About Ten Billion Naira World Bank Project Leaves Ikot Nkebre community in Tears”, they noted that “Residents of lower Nkebre made several complaints to the CR-NEWMAP; the supervising agency on the poor quality of work; several meetings were held between the community, Construction Company and CR-NEWMAP in the CR-NEWMAP office in which promises were made to correct observed errors and effect necessary amendment, that also was never carried out.”

They alleged that “The reason for not adherence was because the agency CR-NEWMAP and their accomplice were playing for time. This fact was made manifest when the community were told in July 2022 that the project had closed since 30th June 2022.”

“Continuous complaints by the residents of lower lkot Nkebre to the World Bank, and other relevant government agencies concerning the poor quality of the remediation work by the company and CR-NEWMAP, led to another meeting at the CR-NEWMAP office, where we were formally informed that the project had closed and that CR-NEWMAP also had ceased to exist.”

The Rivers State House of Assembly has constituted a seven-member ad-hoc committee with a mandate to investigate the causes of oil spills in Aleto community in Eleme Local Government Area of the state.

The Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, assembled the committee after the House received a petition about the spill from Igwe Aforji, the member representing Eleme constituency.

The speaker said though the house was yet to inaugurate its various committees, the urgency of the matter was the reason for the ad-hoc committee.

He said the ad-hoc committee would be chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Dumle Maol, and six other lawmakers with a mandate to thoroughly investigate the activities of oil multinationals and to report to the house within three weeks.

The petition, which was signed by Gomba Osaro, Ebie Nwoke, Nwosu Ngofa and Propero Osaro, accused the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of paying lip service to oil Spillage at Aleto Community in Eleme.

The petition was read on the floor of the house by the member representing Eleme Constituency, Igwe Aforji, who urged the lawmakers to order Shell to take urgent steps to immediately contain and stop the spill.

They also prayed the House to summon SPDC to appear before it to offer explanations concerning the spill and to send relief materials to Aleto community.

Read Also: Fubara warns against resurrection of SARS in Rivers

The petitioners alleged that the oil spillage occurred on the SPDC’s pipeline right of way in ELEME

Zone 2 on June 12 following equipment failure caused by poor mechanical procedure on the part of the company.

They also alleged that the spill had caused terrible damage to their sources of livelihood as it had polluted their source of water and affected fishing activities in the area.

They said: “This ugly development has caused untold hardship to Aleto community, we face a humanitarian crisis and there is no any machinery in motion towards ameliorating company has not set the sufferings of our people.” 

The House also screened and confirmed five commissioner-nominees bringing the total of confirmed nominees to 13.

The nominees are Dr. Jacobson Nbina, Charles Amadi, Dr. Roseline Adawari Uranta, Christopher Green and Dr. Adaeze Chidinma Oreh.

Rivers State Governor, Sir. Siminalayi Fubara, has warned the police against reintroducing the operations of the disbanded Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) in Rivers.

Some persons had earlier raised the alarm over their harassment by a special squad of the police disguised as the disbanded SARS.

Fubara raised the issues of ongoing SARS-like persecution of residents when the new Police Commissioner to the State, Nwoyi Polycarp Emeka, visited him at Government House, Port Harcourt on Friday.

The governor, in a statement signed by his Special Assistant, Media, Boniface Onyedi, directed the police commissioner to look into such operations and stop them to avoid harassing the people.

He said: “The importance of security is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders and so we urge you to get to the bottom of complaints from citizens in consideration of security matters, as the people were always directly affected during security breaches.”

He reiterated the commitment of his administration to sustain support to all security agencies in the state to ensure that the security of life and property was not compromised.

Read Also: Why we met Fubara in Rivers, by British envoy

The Rivers governor identified the importance of the police in the fight against crime, saying it would require regular logistics support from the government and information from members of the public.

He said: “Let your familiarity with Rivers State security terrain be an advantage to effectively combat crime and criminalities in the State, and I urge you to deploy your wealth of experience in fighting crime and insecurities in the State, the governor noted.

He told the police commissioner to be firm and forthright in tackling all forms of crime in the state.

He directed the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof, Zacchaeus Adango and other relevant agencies of government to create a strong synergy with the police and other security agencies in handling security issues.

Speaking earlier, Emeka said under his watch, accurate information and intelligence would be deployed in fighting crime in the state.

He informed that in the last two weeks, the fight against criminal elements had been formidable with appreciable results.

Emeka assured that with more support from the government and members of various communities, more milestones would be achieved in making the state safer for all residents.

He said: “My primary duty here is to tackle crime and criminality effectively. And to achieve this, all hands must be on deck as we seek the help of the Government of Rivers State and good spirited people of the State to achieve this.

“Information and intelligence gathering is key in fighting crime and it will be deployed fully as we synergise with government and sister agencies for robust policing.”

First time lawmaker, Chike Olemgbe has been elected as the new Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly.

Olemgbe, representing Ihitte/ Uboma Local Government Area of the state was elected unopposed on Friday during the inauguration of the 10th State House of Assembly in Owerri, the state capital.

Olemgbe, 40, is the immediate past Transition Committee Chairman of the Ihitte/ Uboma LGA before he contested the assembly election in the state

The motion for the nomination of Olemgbe as the new Speaker was moved by the member- elect for the Ideato South, Vitalis Azodo, seconded by Ugochukwu Obodo, member elect for Owerri Municipal Council.

The clerk of the House, Chinelo Emeghara, thereafter called for the swearing in of Olemgbe after no further nomination was made.

The immediate past deputy speaker of the Assembly, Amara Iwuanyanwu, was returned as the new Deputy Speaker unopposed.

Read Also: Ex-Imo deputy governor for burial July 21

President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Fegalo Nsuke has called on the Federal Government to evacuate residents of Eleme communities of Rivers state, affected by the fresh oil spill from the facility Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), in the area.

Nsuke also called on the government to sanction SPDC for always polluting communities are said to be affected in the incident which was reportedly occurred last Sunday.

Six communities have been confirmed to be impacted by the spill. They are, Ogale, Aleto, Agbonchia, Onne, Okpaku and Alesa.

Speaking while reacting to the development, the MOSOP Leader accused Shell of insincerity in handling issues of oil spill and decommissioning of its facilities in Ogoniland.

He regretted that despite the huge human and environmental crime being committed by Shell, particularly, operating leaking pipelines in communities resided by human beings was, yet they are not being held to account.

According to him, “the fresh spills is a testament that Shell is secretly operating its facilities in Ogoniland, “he  wondered why the company has not “decommissioned its facilities in Ogoni, following recommendations of UNEP which the duo of Shell and Federal Government claimed to have been implementing in Ogoni since 2016,” he said.

He further said Environment, “Environment pollution has been encouraged in Nigeria because there are little or no consequences for the polluters. This is something the government should strongly consider in the light of present realities where people’s lives are altered by constant pollution and no one is held to account.

Read Also: MOSOP: Sane person must back Wike’s war against illegal refineries

“The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, operator of the NNPC/SPDC/TotalEnergies/NAOC Joint Venture can confirm a spill incident at a facility of the joint venture in Eleme, Rivers State, reported on June 11, 2023.

“We are working closely with a multi-stakeholder Joint Investigation Visit team led by the regulators, Nigerian Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, in collaboration with Rivers State Ministry of Environment and community representatives, as the investigation into the cause and impact of the incident progresses.”

• Demand obedience to court’s ruling in community’s favour

Hundreds of women  in Tunama community; of Gbarain Kingdom ; in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have staged a peaceful protest against Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Lee Engineering Company Limited over alleged neglect and disobedience of court judgment in favour of the community.

The protesting women, who came out in their large numbers during the week also picketed the 2nd entrance gate of the Gbarain Natural Gas site to draw public attention to the plight of the community.

They brandished placards with inscriptions such as: ‘SPDC is not doing the right thing in Tunama’, ‘Court does not permit continuous dealing with a dethroned chief’, ‘Pay up our mark-up/contract’,  ‘SPDC: Stop disobeying court order’, ‘Recognize the new leaderdhip in the community’, among others.

They equally accused the two firms of alleged insensitivity and highhandedness in their dealings with the community to the detriment of the generality of the people, which they claimed was not promoting the desired peace.

Read Also: Oil spill: ‘16,000 Bayelsa infants die yearly’

The protesters, who spoke through their leader, Mrs. Rosemary Hezekiah, said they embarked on the peaceful demonstration because of the multinational firms flagrant disobedience to court judgment and denying the rights and privileges of their community.

She stated: “The companies are operating in our vast land in Tunama community but have resorted to a divide and rule game.

“We condemn in  strong terms the approach of Shell and Lee in handling matters concerning their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with their host communities in the region.”

She pointed out that a chieftaincy matter was instituted in the High Court, Yenagoa Judicial Division, Bayelsa State, on May 4, 2023 in Suit No: YHC/220/21 by Chief Kwami Benson and others as defendants.

Hezekiah said that the matter instituted in High Court 4 in Yenagoa and presided over by Justice D. Adokeme, ruled in favour of Tunama community (plaintiffs).

She claimed that the said judgment given in favour of Tunama community ordered Shell and Lee not to deal with the dethroned Chief Benson, but with the new Paramount Ruler, Chief Wenipre Ipatolo, and the leadership of the community.

Hezekiah noted: “However, to our surprise and the generality of members of the community, Shell has refused to obey the court ruling to recognise the new executive council (exco) in the community, rather it still deals with the dethroned monarch.

“All the necessary documents have been presented to the relevant authorities in government and Shell but to no avail.”

She stated that the defendants’ appeal for stay of execution of the court judgment was struck out in favour of the claimants.

Hezekiah wondered why the two firms had refused to respect and recognize the new paramount ruler and the leadership by according them their due entitlements and privileges accruing to the community.

She, therefore, called on Shell and Lee to obey the court judgment on the matter and restore the rights and privileges to the new leadership in the community in order to ensure peace and progress.

Speaking in the same vein, the new Paramount Ruler of Tunama Community, Chief Wenipre Ipatolo, regretted that the two multinationals were not obeying court orders.

The monarch opined that it was a matter of injustice and disobedience of court order being done to the community and urged them to deal with the new leadership in the community in the interest of peace.

Imo State Chairman of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Charles Duruimo, has insisted he remains the authentic chairman.

Duruimo, who was purportedly sacked by the Local Government Zonal chairmen and some other executive members, said those behind it were former party members who were suspended for gross misconduct.

He queried his removal after a vote of confidence was passed in him by the National leadership.

While dismissing his sack and other allegations levelled against him, Duruimo maintained that he is still in charge and ‘the authentic chairman of NNPP in Imo. I urge other members including stakeholders to disregard my sack’.

He said: “It’s the handiwork of members suspended from the party for gross misconduct, and they are only trying to attract attention of opposition parties for financial inducement towards the upcoming governorship election.

“So, I call on the opposition parties to disregard their antics as they do not have any political value. They are just political merchants trying to seek relevance for their selfish gains.”