Women in Anambra State have held an event in honour of the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Rita Maduagwu. Why? Maduagwu is the third woman to hold that position in the state, and the women felt it called for celebration.
Two of the organisers of the event, Mrs. Helen Obi and Chief Mrs. Rose Nwankwo said, “Before now, two other women, Eucharia Asodo and Chinwe Nwaebili, had held this position of Speaker in the state and Maduagwu`s turn has made it three”.
“So, we have every right to thank God and celebrate the new Speaker because the women have come of age in Anambra State and it has shown that the affirmative action in Beijing, China is working in the state.
“We do not want to be the head, but to be by the side; before now, women were not meant to be seen or heard, but today, they are everywhere not only in this state but throughout the country with juicy positions.
“We are proud of our lawmakers in this state for finding the women worthy of leading their male colleagues and who are in turn happy with the leadership qualities of the ladies, we appreciate the support of our men folk in this state” the ladies told the Nation”.
Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano and his wife, Ebelechukwu, were not around because of official engagements outside the country, but their representatives, Chief Law Chinwuba and Dr. Mrs. Uju Nwogu, commissioners for Works and Information, and Culture and Tourism, respectively.
The women were led by Lady Helen Obi, a lawyer, and Chief Mrs. Rose Nwankwo, a lecturer and one time chairman of State Primary Education Board (SPEB).
Virtually, all the state lawmakers were in attendance with numerous state government functionaries, academics, businessmen, contractors among others in the all-night event.
The Deputy Speaker of the House, Hayford Oseke seized the opportunity to douse tension on the alleged plans to impeach Governor Obiano.
Oseke said, “We do not know the word impeachment, we must support Willie Obiano to succeed and take the state to a higher level, and the state Assembly is the most peaceful in the country”.
“Whoever thinks about impeachment is out of his or her mind and it’s the figment of the person’s imagination. Willie is working and that is why the legislature is giving him all the full support.”
Maduagwu told TheNation that the rumour of impeachment was from the opposition, adding that no amount of speculation could lead the lawmakers to work against the administration of Obiano. She described the relationship between the two arms of government as very, very cordial.
The speaker further described the gesture of Anambra women as an embarrassment of love to her, adding that she lacked words to thank them.
Obiano’s representative, Law Chinwuba described the Speaker as an embodiment of excellence, a worthy mother and epitome of beauty and brains.
In Imo and Enugu states, soldiers are proving that they can diagnose and treat ailments with as much ease as they can take down the enemy. OKODILI NDIDI, ROSEMARY OGBODO and CHERECHUKWU OKOYE report
Do they not only lift their weapons, take aim and fire? That was why the ailing residents were just as curious as they were anxious to be well again when fully kitted army personnel showed up in their communities clutching stethoscopes and medicaments rather than guns.
That was the atmosphere in Mgbirichi community in Owerri West Council Area of Imo State, and also in Iji-Nike in Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Are soldiers also doctors, and if they are, do they treat civilians?
Their curiosity was resolved as soon as the trained combatants started asking them questions that doctors usually ask, taking their blood pressures and checking for signs of malaria among other things.
Residents of Mgbichiri and Iji-Nike indeed felt the humanitarian side of the Nigerian Army when the ailing ones among them were given free medical treatment during a medical outreach organised by the 34 Brigade Obinze as part of activities to mark Nigeria’s 55 independence anniversary.
The impression that soldiers are only for battle fields was corrected as the sick were professionally and tenderly taken care of by the military doctors to the amazement of the people who had thought it impossible to have a close relationship with the soldiers.
At the end of the two-day exercise, over 500 villagers were treated for various ailments including dental and optical infections, high blood pressure and diabetes while other diseases were diagnosed.
The Brigade Commander, Brigadier General K.A.Y. Isiyaku, said it is necessary to reach out to the locals through quick-impact projects like the medical outreach to foster a cordial relationship with communities.
He said that the medical outreach was part of the social responsibility of the Brigade as a corporate body, adding that it was designed to correct the impression that the Army is hostile.
The Commander said, “We all know the security challenge the country is going through, so we need the support and cooperation of the populace. If you stay close to the people, they will stay close to you.
“We decided to take the medical outreach to our host community to show them that we also care about their health and that we are all one. They always see the military as hostile but it should not be so. We will continue to strive to live up to our social responsibilities to our hosts. We can also undertake other quick impact projects like cleaning the gutters, providing boreholes, among others”.
He however urged the people to be law abiding and live peacefully with each other, adding that, “the Army like the Police is your friend when you are law abiding. People should not engage in any form of criminality that will put them on collision course with the law, because if you are caught the law will certainly take its course”.
Meanwhile beneficiaries of the medical outreach have described it as unprecedented, especially as coming from their armed neighbours, who they had thought were only trained for warfare.
Grace Amaizuzu, 67, said she has been suffering from arthritis in the last three years, but was relieved after she was diagnosed and treated by the soldiers.
She said, “I thank God for the soldiers. I never knew they were this kind and their medicine is more original than the ones we buy from the chemist shops. In my own case I have been suffering from very painful arthritis for some time now I can hardly walk on my own but today I am relieved”.
Another beneficiary, Johnson Uzoma, who was treated of eye infection, commended the soldiers for the gesture, “before I can hardly see clearly with my right eyes and I had no money to go to the hospital. So when I heard about the medical outreach I rushed down to the venue and I was attended to free of charge and given enough drugs that will last me for a long time.”
•Military doctors attending to patients
At Iji-Nike, the military outreach was tagged “Know Your Blood Pressure: Avoid Silent Killer”, military medical personnel from the 82 Division hospital tested for HIV, sugar and blood levels and malaria, among others. They also diagnosed and prescribed drugs to patients suffering various ailments.
The turnout at the Holy Cross Primary School Iji-Nike was impressive as ailing residents surged forward to be treated.
The GOC 82 Division, Brig. General Ibrahim Attahiru supervised the outreach, ensuring that it succeeded. Other top officers of the Division accompanied him.
Also with the GOC at the venue was the traditional ruler of Nike, Igwe Julius Nnaji who had earlier received the GOC and his entourage in his palace.
Both Attahiru and Igwe Nnaji also submitted themselves for the checkup.
The GOC later told reporters that the health outreach was part of the army civil work to keep in touch with their host communities.
He said such community outreach programmes include construction of roads and bridges and provision of other necessary services deemed important to the common man.
He explained that the main idea behind the medical outreach was to “enlighten people about lifestyle diseases such as high blood pressure, HIV, malaria etc.”
Attahiru enjoined residents of the area to avail themselves of the opportunity and come out to be tested and treated of their various ailments.
Igwe Nnaji on his own expressed gratitude to the 82 division for the gesture and prayed for God’s protection for men and officers of the Division.
He said: “I can tell you that this is not the first time the army is giving to my subjects these
free medical services. I cannot say much but all I can say is that God will continue to protect them in all their endeavours.”
At the outreach were dentists, doctors, nurses and a team from the ministry of defence.
A member of the community, Onuh Nnaemeka expressed delight in the exercise, saying: “This is one of the ways we benefit from the army as Nigerians. I am saying a very big thanks to the Nigerian Army and 82 Division in particular for remembering us always”.
The Abia State government has said that it will go ahead with its plans to demolish illegal structures in commercial hub Aba despites protests from the opposition All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state.
The opposition had alleged that the state government was targeting the buildings of its members in the demolition exercise with the aim to demoralise them and bring them to submission.
But the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, Godwin Adindu said that the demolition exercise in Aba will continue from street to street until to make way for free flow of waste water.
Speaking in Umuahia, Adindu said that the exercise was not targeted at any group or individuals but is aimed at restoring the city to the status of a modern city which has been defaced with illegal structures over time.
He said, “There is no selection pattern in the demolition exercise that is going on in Aba and there is no one or group that is the target of government; what we are demolishing are all illegal
structures that contravene town planning regulations”.
The CPS said that contrary to the insinuations by the opposition that the demolition was the state government’s way of paying Aba people back for not voting PDP in the last election, that the reverse is the case in this matter.
Adindu said, “If the government should think or behave in relation to who voted or did not vote for PDP, it will not start its developmental work in Aba at all in view of the voting pattern in the election; we are not as petty as APGA would want people to believe.
To us, Aba is beyond the voting trend of one election, the city is beyond the election, it belongs to everybody, to all Ndigbo and entire Nigerians, by developing Aba the governor is developing a place that is home to all and not to APGA people”.
Members of staff of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Enugu State Command have arrested suspected pipeline vandals, bunkering perpetrators as well as teenage commercial sex workers (CSWs).
Also apprehended was a woman said to be about selling her two-month-old baby.
The NSCDC equally sealed off a facilities described as brothels where the teenage CSWs and some younger girls allegedly in sex-for-cash activities.
It was a spectacle for Enugu residents as the suspects were paraded before the press and public.
•The suspected pipeline vandals and recovered items
Among those paraded was a woman who was on the verge of selling her newborn baby. There were 15 suspected vandals and bunkering operators, pre-teen and teenage CSWs as well as proprietors of the brothels allegedly housing them.
The girls aged 15 claimed they were working to raise money for their school fees. They came from Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi states. The proprietor of one of the brothels, George Obike who is in his late 70s, admitted that he collected N1000 daily from each of the girls after receiving a down payment of N21,000 from each of them.
It was also gathered that the girls were being used for baby factory business.
Arrangements were being made, it was said, to hand over the girls to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and operators of the brothels to the police for prosecution on charges of child trafficking and abuse.
•The teenage suspect
The brothels were located at Coal Camp and Abakpa areas of Enugu metropolis.
One of those paraded, Nkechi Isioko, was said to be bargaining to sell her two-month old baby boy for N100,000.
The state Commandant of the NSCDC, Mr. Stephen Lar said the woman, who hails from the Mpu in Aninri Council Area of the state, was said to have concluded plans to sell the baby to one Mrs Blessing Egbo for N100,000 before NSCDC operatives, acting on a tip-off arrested her and the suspected buyer.
Isioko, who spoke to newsmen claimed that Mrs Egbo, initially gave her part payment of N10,000 but later completed the payment.
•Nkechi Isioko with her baby
She, however, said that she later gave back the N100,000 to the buyer after she was advised not to sell her own baby, adding that she wanted to sell the baby because she needed money to seek medical treatment and solve the problem of hunger.
On the 15 suspected pipeline vandals, Mr. Lar said that the suspects were apprehended at Nenwe in Aninri local council of Enugu state in the night while in “action”.
He warned pipeline vandals to look for another business, or be ready to face music, if apprehended. He said the command has intensified surveillance the unholy act.
trouble.
He stated that the state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has directed them to employ all they have in their arsenal to ensure that prostitution and illegal sale and adoption of babies was stopped in the state.
Said the man of God: “Enugu state government is ready to see that these practices are stopped, particularly child trafficking and abuse. We will rehabilitate these young girls paraded today and ensure they become useful to the society”.
Bishop Chukwuma advised parents not to allow their children to go astray no matter the level of poverty in the family while also admonishing young and growing girls not to allow randy men take advantage of their weakness and shortcoming.
A hanging bridge at Ikem in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu State has collapsed.
The bridge served as the only outlet for transporting agricultural products from the area.
Although no life was lost but the bridge that connected five communities, other local government areas as well as Ebonyi and Benue states had cut-off the commuters motorists and other road users.
The collapse of the bridge has paralysed vehicular movement in and out of the town and caused serious hardship to the people of the area and other road users.
The bridge which was constructed during the Nigerian civil war by the federal troops collapsed when a tanker that went to supply diesel to the generating set powering one of the telecommunication masts in the place was trying to cross the bridge, leaving the tanker hanging in the middle of the bridge.
Commuters now have take two different vehicles for their journey. Commercial vehicles and motorcycles stop people at the two edges of the bridge to enable the passengers to cross the river with their legs where they will rejoin another vehicle to continue their journey.
A resident of Ikem Mr. Toochukwu Ngwu called on governor Ifeanyi Ugwanyi to do something immediately to reduce the suffering of the people whom he said have been completely cut-off from their brothers living in the other side of the town.
The Chief Judge of Anambra State, Justice Peter Umeadi has urged his colleagues on the bench to read widely and carry out extensive studies in addition to embracing the information technology.
The aim, he said, is to improve themselves and their judgments.
He made the appeal while declaring open the maiden Bar Week, which featured a dinner and award night.
The event was organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) branch at Anaocha area of the state.
The theme of the annual conference was “Nigeria’s Self-Inflicted Judicial Wounds: The Calamitous Consequence of Legal Practice, SANs, the Stabilising Guidance of Legal Theory”.
The event took place at White Castle Hotel in Neni, where Governor Willie Obiano was represented by his Senior Special Adviser on Legal Matters, Mrs Vera Okonkwo.
Justice Umeadi identified two schools of thought which guide writing of judgments in Nigeria: the Babalakin and Olatuwara schools.
Identifying himself with the Olatuwara, Umeadi said a judge should never be in doubt as to the facts of a case and the justice of a matter.
Furthermore, he advised legal practitioners to embrace the appropriate legal theories-jurisprudence which was the norm of legal practice.
The chairman of the occasion, the Chief Judge commended the cooperation of the Chief Justice of Nigeria with the NBA on the issue of implementation of stamp and seal policy.
Again, he expressed worry that a lot of new cases filed by lawyers and some Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) do not meet the new stamp policy requirement.
He therefore assured the NBA of his readiness to implement the stamp policy in Anambra state.
The chairman of the Anaocha NBA branch, Mr Chris Adimora, called for a joint retreat among the three arms of government to fashion out ways of solving some legal challenges.
He urged political leaders and governors to make out case for non-northerners who were victims of insurgency.
Also, the Chairman of the Planning Committee, Mrs. Chinyere Ossy-Okoye, said that the celebration was focused on brainstorming on the professional development of members and promotion of public awareness and understanding of the law and its role in the society.
Anambra state Governor Willie Obiano, represented by Mrs. Vera Okonkwo assured that judiciary workers in the state would soon call off the ongoing strike action following efforts by the state government to resolve the faceoff.
The state chapter of the judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) on Sept. 7 had embarked on the strike action demanding for the implementation of Consolidated Judiciary Salary Structure (CONJUSS).
Obiano urged lawyers to work hard to ensure that rights of common man was not trampled upon.
A lecture delivered on the theme, the Past Dean of Law, Enugu State University of Technology, (ESUT) Prof. Race Achara, said that the Nigerian legal profession was facing many challenges.
According to him, lawyers’ demand notices were no longer respected.
According to Achara, “Worst of all is the confusing judgments of courts in the country and the attitude of throwing out cases for technical reasons”
“They don’t lead to respect for the judicial system,” he said.
The Nigerian Bar Association, Anaocha branch, which honoured the former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi with the “Lifetime Achievers’ Award”, has said the award was in recognition of Obi’s achievements, especially his ability to govern the state within the law.
Speaking at the event, which took place at the Wyte Castle Hitel, Neni, the association’s Chairman, Chief Chris Ogom Adimora said that Anambra people and Nigerians, including Anaocha Bar would continue to use Obi as an example in governance and that he would be remembered for so many firsts he achieved as the Governor of Anambra State.
His words: “He is more remembered for his dogged fight to regain his mandate freely given him by the generality of Anambra State masses through the courts. He defied all odds and regained his mandate when he was unduly and unlawfully impeached. He also got judgement through the courts to ensure that Senator Chris Ngige’s unlawful tenure did not encroach on his mandate of eight years. “
Further, Adimorah said Obi would be admired for leaving 75 Billion Naira in cash and investment, after he did not borrow nor left contractual obligations, when other Governors left debts and unredeemed bonds. He also cited what he called his frugal management of the State resources, sound education policy, inimitable road network constructed by him, and urban renewal policy as among the reasons he will remain endeared to the people.
Others award recipients are the Chief Justice of Anambra state, Hon. Justice Peter Umeadi; retired Federal High Court Judge, Hon. Justice O. J. Okeke; Senator Nathaniel Anah, SAN; and Chief Ifeanyi Obegolo.
Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has inaugurated a committee to drive urban renewal in the state with Chris Offor, an architect, as its chair.
The governor dissolved the Nsukka Urban Renewal Committee earlier constituted to modernise and develop Nsukka town, replacing it with the Enugu Urban Renewal Committee as part of his administration’s plan to develop cities in the state.
The information was contained in a letter signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Gabriel Ajah.
The terms of reference of the new Committee which membership runs across the three senatorial districts of the state are to: identify factors responsible for the slow pace of development of some Urban towns in the state; develop Enugu State Urban Plan or modify the existing one if necessary; identify structures and buildings erected without Town Planning approval or that constitute nuisance which may obstruct the new Enugu State Urban Renewal.
Other terms of reference include: to identify new satellite areas that could be developed as Urban Cities as part of Enugu State Urban Renewal and to make recommendations to the State Government, actions to be taken to give Enugu State Urban Cities facelift.
It would be recalled that the state governor had earlier reiterated his commitment to the principles of justice, equity and fairness in the development of the state and promised to constitute a broad-based committee that would address the developmental challenges in the entire state.
The intelligence department of Abia State Police Command has arrested a mother and her 19-year-old daughter for suspected child trafficking.
The police said both women allegedly sold a baby newly delivered by the younger one.
A statement signed by the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Ezekiel Onyeke said, “The arrest of the duo was as a result of intelligence report received by operatives of the department.”
Onyeke said that the mother whose child was sold was given N10,000 to take care of her immediate needs while part of the money was used to pay for her apprenticeship where she was learning a trade.
The police said that one Martha Ajuzieogu who operates an illegal maternity home in her residence conspired with a certain welfare officer named Ngozi and one Amarachi, both at large, and others shortly after the delivery to sell the baby.
Also, the police have foiled a possible clash between rival cult groups Vikings and Ayez at Abia State Polytechnic, Aba.
Four suspected cultists were arrested while a locally-made pistol from one of the suspects.
Onyeke said, “Upon information received by the intelligence unit of the police in Aba, Abia State that Vikings and Ayez secret cults were warming up for a clash on 30th September 2015, our men moved in…with the school security outfit.”
The four suspects were said to have made useful statements to the police.
The capital projects that would have raised the profile of the Anambra State capital have been discarded, reports NWANOSIKE ONU
Is Awka really the unloved capital of Anambra State? It is the seat of power, but what else does it have befitting a capital city? Some say pretty little. It has no stadium, not even a miniature one.
Former governor Peter Obi completed Zik Avenue initiated by his predecessor Chris Ngige, but both
The abandoned mini-stadium
failed to solve the city’s drainage problems. Obi in his last years in office built roads which linked up some Awka villages and was applauded for that.
He then promised to build a mini-stadium and even mobilised a contractor, Paul-B Construction, to handle the project. Obi also demolished some structures to connect Ezeudu Street from Zik Avenue to the expressway, handing it over to the same Paul-B.
The Nation gathered that he paid the contracting firm over 80 per cent mobilisation fee.
Al those projects have been abandoned.
Shoprite project
Another contract initiated by Obi that has been abandoned is the Shoprite at Agu-Awka, where former Ikenga Hotels built by former governor of Old Anambra State Chief Jim Nwobodo was sited. While the Shoprite complex at Onitsha is still ongoing, work has stopped at the Awka site for almost a year.
Even the three flyovers being constructed by the Willie Obiano administration are now at a standstill.
When Chief Obiano took office, he promised the Awka community that he would give the city a befitting outlook, something that previous administrations could not do. It was then he told the people that the three flyovers would cost N5b to build. The project was flagged off on June 24, 2014 with a one-year completion time.
The chairman of 20 villages out of 33 in Awka, Comrade Obi Ochije said the community is suffering from the disunity in its ranks, urging the town union leadership to rally the people. But he also said Governor Obiano has veered off from his plan.
He said, “Obiano has derailed from his vision he had for the community and that has led to the abandonment of the projects in this community. This community did not fight for the capital city when others were struggling to get it, but Babangida used his wisdom to offer it to Awka on a platter of gold and it is a shame that something like this is happening in the state.
“Awka community voted for Obiano and not Peter Obi during the elections, realising the long-standing [relationship] between us and his Aguleri community.”
Ochije, a human rights activist and coordinator, Transform Nigeria movement (TNM), appealed to the governor not to abandon the projects as others did.
The chairman of Paul-B construction firm, Paul Eridom blamed the rains for the stoppage of work, adding that the projects would restart as the downpours subsided.
The governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Media James Eze denied the abandonment charge.
He said, “The projects are not abandoned anywhere in the state…they are temporarily stopped as a result of the rains because you cannot build strong roads under such conditions. As soon as the rains are over, the people will definitely see the working Willie again in action despite the hard-biting economic crunch all over the country.”
