By Nwanosike Onu, Awka

Residents of Ndiowu, Orumba North I Local Government Area of Anambra State are at logger heads with their representative in the House of Assembly, Emeka Aforka.

The people marched on the Government House and House of Assembly. They carried placards with inscriptions like “Enough is Enough, Ndiowu does not need caretaker committee again”; “Give us account of N20 million from government”; “Governor Willie Obiano please save us from tyrants”. They described Aforka as fraudulent

Youth leader Obiora Mgbemene said some cabals, like the lawmaker, were holding Ndiowu to ransom.

The people insisted that all forms of imposition of candidates during elections must stop. They alleged that the self-styled cabals were threatening the community’s peace and security.

They appealed to the government to acknowledge the town union executives elected on December 26, 2019.

Woman leader Mrs. Obiageli Nwafor said the Oye-Ibagu market they contributed money to build was being claimed by the caretaker committee as built with the N20 million ‘Choose your Project’ from the government.

But Aforka described the protesters as miscreants. He said there must be election, and According to him, only one man was responsible for the crisis in Ndiowu. The man, he said, sued the community and state to court. The matter was still pending.

Aforka said the purported election they referred to in 2019 was cancelled to forestall anarchy, adding that the present caretaker committee had tried to restore peace unsuccessfully.

He described the protest as efforts in futility, saying most of the protesters came to Awka under duress. According to him, they were the people imposing themselves on the community.

Secretary to the State government Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu hailed the protesters for not taking laws into their hands. He said the government would address their grievances.

Our Reporter

The Enugu State Fire Service has hinted of plans to commence campaign on safety measures against possible fire outbreaks in the state from said on Tuesday, December 1, 2020.

Read Also: Fire guts Otukpo market

In a statement by the State Chief Fire Officer, Engr. Okwudiri Daniel Ohaa, the fire safety campaign, which will focus mainly against indiscriminate bush burning, will begin in markets such as the popular Ogbete Main Market Enugu, Timber Shed Enugu and 42 other markets across the state.

By Damian Duruiheoma, Owerri

Former Nigerian ambassador to Spain and wife of the former Biafran leader,   Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu has lashed  out at Igbo leaders for keeping silent on the alleged continuous marginalisation of the people of South East by the federal government.

This is just as Bianca also tongue-lashed  the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and its leadership over lack of interest in posthumous honour to her husband.

Bianca spoke during the ninth edition of Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu memorial ceremony held at Ojukwu Centre Owerri, the Imo State capital.

Ojukwu died in 2011 in London, but nine years down the line, the members of Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra and Biafra Independence Movement founded by Chief Ralph Uwazuruike have consistently organised memorial ceremony for the late Biafra leader.

Ojukwu’s widow, accused Igbo leaders of not talking for their people but being, “in a rat race to be included in the center”, thus leaving the issues affecting the generality of their people.

She stressed the need for the  government to treat Ndigbo fairly in the distribution of the nation’s resources, stating that Ndigbo had been roundly marginalized in the country.

By Simon Utebor, Yenagoa

Bayelsa State government has expressed concern over issues bordering on infant mortality rate, antenatal coverage, HIV testing, immunization, nutrition, maternal health, among others in the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Newton Igwele, expressed the concern on Friday in Yenagoa after receiving the Bayelsa Reproductive Maternal Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) scorecard for third quarter of 2020 presented by state team in collaboration with the United Nation International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

He said the scorecard was an eye-opener that the state still had a lot to do in the area of healthcare delivery.

He said from the scorecard, it was noticed that all the poor healthcare indicators were tied to one thing – maternal care, saying that the state government would do all within its power to cater to the needs of the mothers to change the narrative.

Igwele said: “From the scorecard, everything on nutrition shows that we are not doing enough. So, we need to strengthen it. In immunization, we are also not doing enough. The parameters show that we are on track in the area of tackling malaria.

“However, the situation is like joint demands. They are all tied to one thing – the maternal health. If we tackle the mothers, it will positively impact the other areas. Maternal care coverage is poor and we need to tackle it. We need to improve the number of mothers attending clinics and by so doing, we will improve our health care delivery.”

The Director, Planning Research and Statistics, state Ministry of Health, Dr Beatrice Olomiete, while presenting the Bayelsa RMNCAH scorecard quoted the National Nutrition and Health Survey (NNHS) as saying that Bayelsa recorded no fewer than 3,152 under-five deaths and 101,159 stunted children in 2018.

According to her, 32 in 1,000 children under five years died and 20 per cent of children under the same age bracket had stunted growth.

Olomiete said in the area of antenatal care, only three local governments of Ekeremor, Nembe and Yenagoa made progress while the remaining five LGAs of Brass, Kolokuma/Opokuma, Ogbia, Sagbama and Southern Ijaw were not on track.

She said two LGAs of Ekeremor and Yenagoa recorded 71 and over 90 per cent respectively in HIV testing in antenatal care coverage, while the remaining six councils fared poorly.