Category: SouthEast

A former presidential aide, Senator Ita Enang, has again rejected Obong Akanimo Udofia as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State.

Enang, who contested the party’s governorship primary election last May, is at the Supreme Court seeking to upturn Udofia’s declaration as the party’s candidate.

He stated his position at the weekend when the party’s Reconciliation Committee led by Retired Justice Andrew Okon held a meeting with him at his home in Uyo.

Enang told the committee that he and his team were disposed towards the unification of all factional blocs of the party in the state to ensure electoral victory for candidates of the party, especially the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He, however, insisted that he would not withdraw his appeal at the Supreme Court, adding that he did not recognise Udofia as the party’s governorship candidate.

“Let it be for the unification of all the other families. There is the Udoedehe defunct bloc that is standing aloof, Obong Umana Okon Umana, Obong Nsima Ekere and other structures in the party.”

“These are things some of you don’t know. We should no longer be manipulated in this party. What I am saying is a statement of fact.

“APC does not have a governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not monitor the exercise. INEC in Akwa Ibom State wrote to INEC Abuja, that’s why we are where we are today.

“The Federal High Court ordered for fresh primaries, but Udofia appealed the judgment, and I took it further to the Appeal Court. Why then should I be blamed for our predicament,” he said.

Presenting court judgments on the litigations involving himself, Akanimo Udofia and former aspirant, Augustine Utuk, Enang pointed out that never did any court order INEC to recognise Udofia as candidate of the party.

According to him, the controversial primary has weakened the party by triggering a mass exodus, which has so far continued unabated.

In his opening remarks, the leader of the APC delegation thanked Enang for approving the visit, saying the development and ongoing peace talks were good omen for the party ahead of the elections.

Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo has assured people of justice over alleged criminalities and human rights abuses involving some police officers at Zone 13 Headquarters Ukpo and Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Awkuzu, Anambra State Command.

He hailed the Inspector General of Police for setting up a Special Investigation Panel to investigate the allegations.

In a statement by his Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, Prof. Soludo asked the state Attorney General to call for, and review files of cases on allegation of commission of offences created by the laws of the state, being handled by the said RRS.

The governor appealed to the people to remain patient and allow the law take its course, stressing that his administration with zero tolerance for crime, would allow the rule of law to reign supreme at all times.

The statement said: “The attention of the Governor of Anambra State, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has been drawn to media reports on alleged criminalities involving some police officers at Zone 13 Headquarters, Ukpo, Anambra State and the alleged human rights abuses by some officers of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Awkuzu, Anambra State Command.

“Preliminary inquiry has revealed that the Inspector General of Police has set up a Special Investigation Panel to investigate the allegations, at the end of which a report will be issued.”

“Governor Soludo commends the Inspector General of Police for that timely intervention. Consequently, it has become imperative in the light of the above to await the outcome of the investigations, which is expected soon.

“The governor assures the public that the government is monitoring the situation and will ensure justice is done at the end of the day if anyone is found culpable.

“In the meantime, he has requested the Attorney General of Anambra State to call for, and review all the files of cases on allegation of commission of offences created by the laws of our state, being handled by the RRS.

“This will enable the Attorney General give such directions or take such necessary legal actions in line with Section 211 of the Constitution and sections 148, 149 and 150 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Anambra State 2022.

“The governor therefore appeals to the people of Anambra State and the public to remain patient and allow the law take its due course.

“Ndi Anambra should be rest assured that the Soludo administration has zero tolerance for criminality and will always allow the rule of law to reign supreme at all times, while justice must be given to those who deserve it.”

Anambra State chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYC) yesterday described as political insult, the culture of voter apathy prevalent in Anambra State and Southeast.

NYC Chairman, Obi Chukwudi, a surveyor, said this at the beginning of a three-day youth sensitisation/electoral awareness programme for the 2023 general election across the three senatorial zones.

He said such negative disposition showed certain level of unseriousness of people of the region towards nation building.

The programme with the theme: ‘We have 2.5 million votes, use it to determine the future you want’, began with a road show in many parts of Awka, including Eke-Awka market, UNIZIK temp-site, Amawbia flyover, Umuokpu building materials, among others.

Chukwudi said: “As youth leaders in the state, we deem it fit to sensitise the people to come out and participate in the coming elections.

“In the time past, Anambra is with over two million registered voters and two million collected voters’ cards, but when it comes to the elections, it has less than 500,000 persons participating.

“It is a political insult for us in the Southeast and Anambra having the habit of not voting. It makes it looks like we are not ready to play our role in the nation’s polity, especially now that we are complaining of exclusion.

“So, there is need this time to do this sensitisation to ensure we vote massively. Our votes are our passport to a better Nigeria.”

The state Youth Leader of farmers, Chisom Onugha, described the awareness programme as a reawakening project in the sense that the people could not continue to complain.

“The gap is as a result of voter apathy. We can no longer continue to complain as youths when we have the capacity to determine who wins the next election.

“We want to tell our people that it is not enough for you to go and get your Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), but it is equally important that you come out to use your PVCs to vote on the election days,” he said.

The General Hospital, Awa, in Onna Local Government of Akwa Ibom State has performed the first cardiac pacemaker implantation.

It is the first hospital to record such a huge medical feat in the country.

Eyo Ekpe, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery, led the team of surgeons that carried out the procedure.

He said the implant was carried out on two female patients, courtesy of the state government.

Prof. Ekpe said female patients had their hearts blocked and needed an artificial stimulator to get the hearts functioning.

He said the feat was made possible due to the state-of-the art standard theatre procured and equipped by the Governor Udom Emmanuel administration.

The cardiothoracic professor said the implant had saved patients from travelling abroad for treatment.

He thanked the governor for the huge investment in the health sector, saying he was optimistic the hospital would be the hub for medical tourism in no distant time.

The Chief Cardiothoracic Consultant at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Ezekiel Ogunleye, said the medical equipment helped doctors to do their job well and that Governor Emmanuel deserved applause.

“Doctors are not seers; it is the instruments you provide that help us in working. So, when we see one in government hospitals, we should encourage the government to do more and other states will copy,” he added.

He said a pacemaker was required when the natural batteries and wires inside the heart developed problems due to disease or age, adding that the pacemaker was the man-made battery that kept the heart functioning.

The Chief Physician to the governor, Dr. Ignitius Akpabio, said Governor Emmanuel had impacted positively on the health sector development.

He said the governor approved ultra- modern theatre for major surgical procedures with audiovisual facilities for learning.

Medical experts, who were part of the pacemaker insertion team, included Prof. Ekpo, Dr. Ogunleye, Dr. Katherine Eyo, Dr. Taiwo Astogede, Dr. Aniefiok Francis, Dr. Emmanuel John and Dr. Ifiok Etim.

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Delta State chapter, has raised the alarm over alleged plot by officials of the Delta State Government and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to ‘truncate’ the general election by ‘tampering’ with the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BIVAS) machines.

The party cried out in a petition to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), accusing the state chapter of the PDP of plotting to induce INEC officials financially, to rig the elections.

Copies of the petition dated February 9, 2023, and signed by the APC state Publicity Secretary, Valentine Onojeghuo Esq., were made available to reporters at a news conference in Warri.

The petition said: “If the plot is allowed to come to fruition, the consequences will be devastating. The plot currently on ground is to input predetermined figures into the BIVAS machines that will be deployed in polling units, before the beginning of voting on election day. 

“It is on high gear, especially for the presidential, senatorial and governorship elections. The already loaded figures will be credited to the PDP, to give the party a head start even before the elections begin.

“Unscrupulous INEC officials have opted to perfect the nefarious mission and requested a notorious senatorial candidate, who is a strong member of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s inner circle, to come up with a list of individuals, who will be trained to achieve the subversive results.”

In a separate statement dated February 13, 2023, Delta APC also accused the Okowa administration of “a sinister plot to use APC branded vehicles to create mayhem and cause security breaches across the state, with the aim of tarnishing the glittering image and reputation of our great party, the APC.”

The Federal Government, through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has donated relief materials to victims of Ibeno/Yoruba crisis in Akwa Ibom State.

The materials are to assist the state government ease pains from the 2022 Ibeno/Yoruba communal conflict, during which belongings worth millions of naira were destroyed.

The materials include 296 bags of 10kg rice, 300 bags of 10kg beans, 300 bags of 10kg garri, 40 bags of 20kg salt, 40 kegs of 20 litres vegetable oil, 64 cartons of seasoning cubes, 100 cartons of tin tomatoes, 78 cartons of detergent, 100 bags of cement, 100 bundles of roofing sheets, 30 bags of 3 inches nails and 100 packets of zinc nails.

Receiving the items on behalf of the state government, the Deputy Governor and Chairman of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr. Moses Ekpo, said the relief materials were additional support to the ones already provided by the state government through SEMA in the heat of the crisis.

Represented by his Permanent Secretary, Mr. Nkopuruk Ekaiko, the deputy governor frowned at the attitude of the people, who disrupted the peace enjoyed by law-abiding residents due to a minor misunderstanding.

He stressed the need for peaceful coexistence among communities in order to help sustain the prevailing climate of peace in the state.

Ekpo thanked the Federal Government for the intervention, saying it would further help ameliorate the suffering of the victims.

He told the communities that no amount of materials from the state or federal governments could compensate for the loss incurred during the crisis.

The deputy governor advised aggrieved persons to embrace dialogue in handling communal misunderstanding, which should also be promptly reported to relevant authorities, rather than take the law into their hands.

He praised the Ibeno Council chairman for his contribution in managing the crisis, stressing that the warring parties were expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in aid of lasting peace.

Ekpo urged those receiving the materials on behalf of the victims to show responsibility by ensuring prompt distribution to their end-users, warning against diverting the items to persons other than those directly affected by the crisis.

The Southsouth Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Mr. Godwin Tepikor, conveyed the sympathy of the Direction General of NEMA, Alhaji Muhamadu Habib Muhammed and that of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development to the victims.

Muhammed, represented by Mr. Damian Egwu, said the materials would give succour to the victims and complement the efforts of the state government.

The Chairman of Ibeno Local Government, High Chief William Mkpah, who received the materials at the SEMA warehouse in Uyo, on behalf of the Iwuo Okpom, Mkpanak and Inua Eyet Ikot communities, thanked the federal and state governments for their show of love through the intervention.

Receiving the materials on behalf of the Yoruba community, the Leader, Chief Jeje Bolala, appreciated NEMA for assisting them despite that the crisis occurred last year.

In April 2022, crisis erupted between Iwuo Okpom, Mkpanak, Inua Eyet Ikot of Ibeno and the Yoruba community of Ibeno Local Government of Akwa Ibom State, leading to the loss of property worth millions of naira.

Elders Council of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has appealed to youth organisations in the Southeast to sheathe their sword and accept ceasefire, to allow elections take place in the region, devoid of bloodshed.

Addressing a news conference in Owerri, Imo State capital, yesterday, the Chairman of the council, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, said the council was saddened by a statement credited to a Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, to stop the general election in the Southeast.

Ekpa, the factional leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), had repeatedly declared sit-at-home orders across the Southeast, insisting that there would be no election in the region this year.

Iwuanyanwu said such an order would do no good for the Igbo and urged Ekpa and others issuing the sit-at-home order to withdraw the threat and cease fire, to allow elections take place in the Southeast.

“We are announcing a ceasefire and calling on those issuing all sit-at-home orders to revoke it and allow peace to reign. We humbly appeal to all concerned to sheathe their sword and accept ceasefire, to allow elections  take place in the Southeast, devoid of any bloodshed.”

He expressed worry about the level of killings and bloodshed in the region recently, saying the solution of whatever had been agitated for did not lie in bloodshed or killing, but in peaceful discussions and negotiations.

The elder statesman appealed to the Federal Government to release Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally, to reduce tension in the region.

He said the council had resolved to hold a peace summit where Kanu and Ekpa would be invited to be part of the peace process.

“The elders’ council of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has been working to ensure the unconditional release of Mazi Kanu. We will not rest on our oars until he gets his freedom. At the peace summit, Kanu and some of his supporters, including Mazi Ekpa, will be expected to attend or send a representative.”

“The summit will give Igbo youths the opportunity to come together to air their grievances so that we can collectively find solution and work together to create a new Igboland built on a foundation of peace, love,  prosperity and progress.”