The Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has started fixing the failed portions of the Owerri-Obowo-Umuahia Road on its Imo State end. The portions of the road were a source of agony for commuters who ply the road.
The agency flagged off the repair of all federal roads in the state in July.
Speaking at the site, the Southeast Zonal Coordinator of FERMA, Mr. Rufus Onimisi, an engineer, urged road users to help the federal government and FERMA in maintaining road infrastructure by desisting from acts that could destroy the roads and initiate failures.
He mentioned indiscriminate dropping of refuse into drains and waterways as a major contributor to road failures.
Also speaking, the State FERMA Engineer, Chukwuemeka Maduagwu stated that the agency is poised to sustain the tempo and ensure that in no time, all the Federal roads in the state will be free of pot holes.
According to him, “We have the mandate of the FG to ensure that all Federal roads in the state are in good, safe and comfortable condition. This is why FERMA has started repair operations on all the critically failed portion and pot holes on all the Federal roads in
Imo State”.
A motorist, Mr. Steve Emenogu, commended FERMA for the repairs adding that the failed sections had in the past caused accidents and inflicted untold hardship on the people of the area and hindered free flow of traffic.
Over 500 graduates of tertiary institutions in the country have sat for an exam that will qualify them for a free overseas training programme.
The exam took place at Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, Abia State.
The programme is sponsored by Hon. Ossy Prestige who represents Aba North and South Constituency at the House of Representatives.
Speaking at the venue of the exam, the lawmaker said the exam was in fulfilment of his political campaign promises.
He said, “You know that when I was doing my campaign, I promised the people of my constituency many things that I will do for them and this project is one of them.
“They do not need to pay any kobo. Their school fees, accommodation and feeding will be taken care of. It is free because it is a complete package. The only thing that they need to do for those of them that will be successful at the end of the exam is to pack the clothes that they are going to be wearing inside their bags.
“It is any school of their choice in Europe with a few in the United States of America. It is a year programme or at least, a year and six months. I am confident that their families and the state will enjoy the multiplier effect because they are going there to be equipped academically, exposed to different ways of doing things, improve on their social life and at the same time returning to the country fully equipped and informed having at the back of their minds that they are going to transfer the knowledge that they have acquired to those around them. It is going to be in batches. This is the first batch and the second batch will soon take their exams.
“The only criterion to qualify for the scholarship is that the prospective candidate must be a graduate and has completed their mandatory one year national Youth Service programme…The exam is for all the graduates living in Aba North and South Federal Constituency no matter their state of originand regardless of their party affiliations”, the Abia Lawmaker stated.
Most of the students could not hide their happiness for the lawmaker’s gesture. They also hope that the organisers would be fair enough in their grading and assessments even as they called on other elected office holders in the state to emulate the footsteps of Prestige which they said would not only make Abians and its residents have the sense of belonging, but would encourage hard work among students.
Abia state transport company has said that it saves N7 million monthly, thanks to the acquisition of a loading bay in Umuahia, the state capital.
The sum was what the firm paid every month to owners of bays rented by the state transport outfit.
Speaking in Umuahia, the company’s General Manager, Ugochukwu Uwaeke said that the firm lost its passengers who could not board their vehicles at their park located outside the city.
He said that the state government has given them a new place in the state capital which they have developed into a modern park, adding that the volume of passengers has started to increase with its attendant revenue generation.
The 13th general manager of the transport company said that their major challenge is the issue of free vehicles given to the youths of the state.
He said, “This made us to lose customers who patronise them as they are out to make quick money”.
He noted that the free vehicles given to the youths which are bigger than the vehicles they have in their fleet gives them more money, “unlike our vehicles which carry smaller number of passengers and were loading at the parks in the city while we load outside the town”.
Uwaeke said that they are to commence the training of their drivers with the advent of the ‘ember’ months to enable them know the need for them to be cautious while driving.
He said that they are in the habit of training their drivers which are done for them yearly by the members of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the state Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) to ensure safety for their drivers and passengers.
The GM said, “We are well known as one of the safest transport companies in the country and this has given us several awards from the state command of the FRSC because of the low rate of accidents by our drivers”.
Uwaeke used the forum to reiterate the fact that the company has bought metal dictators to ensure that armed robbers do not join their vehicles in any part of the country to attack passengers on the road.
Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has commiserated with Senator Nkechi Nwaogu on the passing of her husband Dr. Roland Nwaogu.
The ex-lawmaker represented Abia Central Senatorial District from 2007 to 2015.
Dr. Nwaogu died after a protracted illness at the National Hospital, Abuja.
Speaking in Aba, the state APC chairman Dr. Donatus Nwankpa described Dr. Rowland’s death as unfortunate and a big loss to the entire state.
He said, “It is a very big loss to us especially this period that we are trying to organise ourselves. He was not just Nkechi Nwaogu’s husband. He was one of our leaders who have participated in the political restructuring of our place. He was very prominent in SDP (Social Democratic Party), NCPN, APP before it became ANPP, UNCP.
“So he has been a major actor in the political scene and one thing that we are going to miss about him is his straightforwardness. He is a very, very uncompromising person towards his honesty. He is a man that wants things to be said the way they should and he called a spade a spade.
“The burial is an APC affair. My people are already working, but let me also point out that he belongs to everybody. Dr. Nwaogu is beyond political party. Let me also point out that the period of politicking is over. What we are having now is government; government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and government of Abia State. So, in that regard, every responsibility towards the successful burial of Dr. Nwogu should not be looked at from the political angle; he was one of the oldest knights in the Anglican Church where he worshipped until death and a traditional leader. So, it is a burial that affects all.
“People should also condole with us; the APC because it is not only her loss, but a loss to the APC family,” Nwankpa added.
Dr. Nwaogu died at the age of 63, according to the family, which added that there would be service of songs at his Kamalu, Umungasi residence and Umuagaa Village in Mbutu-Oma autonomous community, Osisioma Local Government Area on August 23 and 24.
The Immaculate Heart of Mary’s Sisters has opened an old people’s home at Nkpor, Anambra State.
In her welcome address at the event, the Superior General of the congregation, Mother Mary Claude Oguh thanked God for the successful completion of the project. She said the project, Mater Christus home for old sisters, was conceived many years ago but could not be started until the former governor of the state Mr. Peter Obi came to their support morally and financially. She noted that Mr. Obi visited the project many times even after he left office.
The Superior General who thanked others for their contributions to the project also appealed to the people to continue to support in its maintenance.
The Auxiliary Bishop of Onitsha Archdiocese, His Lordship, Most Rev. Dr. Dennis Isizor who dedicated the building, said it was to the greater glory of God.
In his goodwill message, Mr. Peter Obi who was accompanied by his former Commissioners, Prof. Chinyere Stella Okunna and Mr. Patrick Obi, an engineer, as well as Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo, described the conception of the project as visionary.
Obi said he would continue to assist in its maintenance in line with his belief that the elderly are a critical component of the society, who, having devoted their productive years to the service of the country, need great care and compassion.
A security outfit has been set up to end the bloodletting, kidnapping and other violent crimes in Imo State’s oil-producing areas. There is a reason members of the team are drawn from the areas, reports OKODILI NDIDI
There is little to envy residents of oil-producing areas of Imo State. Their monarchs have fled their thrones for fear of pipeline bloodthirsty cultists, pipeline vandals, kidnappers, among other hoodlums in the areas. Residents who say they have nowhere to run to, have seen their neighbours and relatives killed or robbed, while their communities have remained generally unsafe.
That was why the Rochas Okorocha administration launched the Niger Delta Security Network (NDSN).
At its inauguration, Governor, Rochas Okorocha said members of the team have been trained and equipped to stamp out criminalities in the oil producing areas.
He also said members of the security outfit were recruited from the affected communities in order to enhance its performance. It takes the indigenes of an area to effectively fight crime in their domain, adding that no criminal operation can succeed without an insider who knows the terrain.
Okorocha sounded a warning to the team, saying,
“Your duty is to find out the hiding places of these cultists or miscreants who have been terrorising the oil-producing areas of Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta, flush them out and hand them over to the law enforcement agencies for prosecution within three months.
“There are 250 of you who have been recruited to serve in the security network. You must not involve in any criminal activity yourself. If any of you is caught in any criminal activity, he goes to jail. You must be disciplined. You have been called to serve your people. That is why all of you are from the mentioned oil-producing areas. We believe that those carrying out these cult activities are your people. You flush them out so that the majority of your people can enjoy peace.
“Recently, the Inspector General of Police emphasised on the need for community policing and even before now, we have been on that page. It takes those who know the criminals to apprehend them. The rate of cultism and other crimes in Ohaji, Egbema and Oguta has become worrisome to the government. And we have decided to take the bull by the horn.
“The activities of these cultists have resulted in the death of innocent people and some traditional rulers have fled their homes to avoid being killed by these cultists. The state government will no longer tolerate the activities of such miscreants. We are going to do all within our power to check the ugly situation. That is the reason for setting up this security network”.
The governor gave the Security Network 90 days to put an end to the activities of cultists, pipeline vandals, stating that it will be dissolved if it fails to meet the target within the stipulated time.
The Director General of the organisation, Dr. Justice Harcourt thanked the Governor for the interest he has shown in the development of the oil producing area of the state including the appointment of a son of the area.
In Ebonyi State, the wife of the governor, Mrs Rachel Umahi, has taken the campaign for the girl-child to local governments, telling parents to give equal opportunity to their children – no matter their gender. OGOCHUKWU ANIOKE reports.
The is fighting to correct the enduring error that girls are simply made for marriage. No, shouts the wife of Ebonyi State governor, Mrs Rachel Umahi. Whether girl or boy, both can rise to the peak of their careers, and both can help shape or reshape their world.
That was the message she took to Ivo Local Government Area of the state where she urged the people to give equal opportunity to their children no matter their gender.
She said one of the reasons for the slow pace of development in the country was the preference of parents to educate their male children over their girls.
•The health centre built by Ebonyi SDG/CGS office
Mrs Umahi spoke at Akaeze Development Centre in Ivo LGA where she inaugurated the MDG/CGS Community Development Committee for the area.
She also commissioned a classroom block at Mgbede Community Primary School and a health centre built by the Ebonyi State Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) office under the leadership of Dr Ngozi Obichukwu, Focal Person of Ebonyi SDG in conjunction with the state government.
She said the SDG projects are in line with the objectives of her family support project, pledging to continue partnering with the programme.
She said: “This notion that women are only good for childbearing is wrong. Women these days are achieving a lot in various fields of endeavour like their male counterparts”.
“If you train a woman you develop the nation because women are the backbone of the society. If I was not educated, the governor probably wouldn’t have married me. Wife of the President, Hajia Aisha Muhammadu Buari is also educated and she is doing well.”
On the SDG/CGS programme, she said, “The inauguration of the community development committee members today…signifies the commitment of the state government in ensuring the provision of basic amenities for the well-being of our rural dwellers.
“The emphasis being made is for the total reduction of maternal and infant deaths, elimination of diseases, and sensitisation of the rural populace on the need to patronise the health care facilities in their communities”.
She also reiterated the commitment of the state government to the enhancement of the wellbeing of the less privileged, especially children.
“This would be vigorously pursued under the auspices of my pet project, the Family Support and Upliftment Programme through its various welfare oriented programmers for the women, youths and children”.
Mrs Umahi also urged the committee members to be dedicated to the assignment for the good of the rural dwellers.
Addressing nursing mothers and women gathered to receive her, Mrs Umahi urged them to ensure the education of every girl-child in the community and the state.
She also urged them to ensure they register every new born child so that the state and federal government can utilise the data and plan adequately for the entire populace.
She said: “The child rights law was passed in 2006 in Ebonyi State and under this law it is the right of every Ebonyi child to be educated. Therefore, enrol your child in school as early child education is very important. We must achieve 100 per cent girl-child education within the shortest possible time”.
“Please register the birth of every child in Ebonyi State, so that we can plan for our children educationally, health-wise, their general wellbeing, etc”.
Mrs Umahi also distributed cartons of milk to the nursing mothers in the community which she noted was donated by wife of the president, Hajia Aisha Muhammadu Buhari in her quest to promote maternal and child health.
Earlier, the SDG focal person, Mrs Ngozi Obichukwu said the hospital will help in the fight against quackery, maternal, child and infant mortality and help in treatment of diseases like cholera etc which are rampant in the state.
She said the health centre is adequately staffed and stocked with drugs to cater for the health needs of the people.
The Focal Person, urged the people to take advantage of the facility for their health needs.
She thanked the state government ofr its support to the SDG/CGS programme in the state a partnership she promised will see more of such programmes continue to be rolled out in the state.
In a goodwill message, the Zonal Technical Director of the SDG, South East, Mr Okechukwu Chukwuemeka commended Go Dave Umahi for being the first governor to appoint a Focal Person for the SDG/CGS.
There is something to cheer in Alor community in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
No fewer than 35 of its residents were given free life insurance scheme, while eight got a tricycle each with which to fend for themselves and their families.
Their benefactor is Alor Development Union (ADU), Lagos chapter. The largess was given out at the Alor Christian Centre, Alafia, Lagos State.
Speaking at the event, the chairman of the community, Chief Emmanuel Ojukwu said, “The essence of our togetherness is not just to make laws only but to discuss the Progress of our community render assistance to others, pray for members and win souls for Christ and also to empower them with skills so that they could be independent.”
Ojukwu urged the beneficiaries to ensure that the purpose of the poverty alleviation scheme was not jeopardised.
He prayed for them and also called on the well-to-do to emulate the gesture of the community, saying it will reduce the rate of employment in the country.
Ojukwu’s foundation routinely feeds the rural dwellers in the community.
He said, “We do not take glory in always giving the proverbial fish to people; we teach them how to catch their own fish. That is what this is all about. Some of our members lost their business in Balogun market fire disaster. We know how difficult it is for these people to get even the smallest amount of funding for their enterprises, so we decided to kick-start it for them. We also mentor them and monitor their progress. Freely we have received; life is about sharing what you have; freely we must give. That is one of pillars our administration, and it can only get better.”
He said that the association gave N3.2millon in cash to the 37 victims of the fire, while a sachet water firm would soon be open.
One of the beneficiaries Mr Obediah Akaose thanked the Alor Community for putting a smile on their faces.
The Vice-Chairman, Chief Chijioke Uzokwe said, “The move is one of community’s modest ways of contributing to the development of our members. The Alor community is ours and we don’t have another to call our own. If we don’t take care of our own brothers’ needs, one day it will swallow us and by then it would be too late.
The only thing you can do for God is to reach others.
Many residents watch the earth move, pulling down homes, cutting off roads and leaving them in despair. OKODILI NDIDI reports on the ravages of erosion in Imo State
It sometimes looks like a horror movie in slow motion. Right before their eyes, roads and farmlands are being washed away. Some communities are being cut off, houses buried in red earth. In some places, residents of threatened homes peer down in horror on the huge gulf created by that seven-letter word: erosion.
Most communities in Imo State are coping rather badly with the phenomenon. Displaced residents have been suking, unsure when the terror will end.
Their pain has been compounded by the increasing rainfall that has resulted in flooding and the creation of gully erosion that has eaten away the already deplorable roads.
Worst hit, are the residents of Ihiagwa, Old Nekede and Umudibia.
Coincidentally, the affected communities all in Owerri West Local Government Area are hosts to two Federal institutions in the state, Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) and the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede.
The Nekede-Ihiagwa Road, for instance, can best be described as a disaster waiting to happen as residents and motorists plying the road are exposed to great danger; the road may cave in anytime without warning.
This obvious risk has compelled staff and students of the tertiary institutions to abandon their cars at home and engage the services of commercial motorcyclists at exorbitant fares.
Hoodlums have also cashed in on this situation to torment residents and road users alike as they now lay ambush at these points where they pounce on their victims and dispossess them of their valuables.
Recently, a Reverend Father, who was also a lecturer at the Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo, was murdered at one of the erosion points by gunmen who laid ambush there. Some others have taken it upon themselves to mend the potholes and equally demand for money from the motorists.
Piqued by the development and the continued neglect of the roads by the relevant authorities, students of the two federal institutions are now threatening to embark on protest to draw attention of government to their plight.
The traditional ruler of Umudibia Autonomous community, Eze Godwin Merenini, appealed to government to come to the aid of the residents as economic and social activities have collapsed in the community as a result of the bad roads.
The obviously disturbed monarch, lamented that indigenes who go to Owerri, the State capital for their businesses now spend more than an hour going through Ihiagwa via Obinze instead of 20 minutes it normally takes from Nekede to Owerri.
Motorists and tricycle operators plying the road are equally counting their losses as they meander through the borough created by the erosion to take their passengers to their respective destinations.
At the old Nekede road, tricycle operators have to intermittently drop their passengers who will cross to the other section of the road on foot before they commence their journey.
Indigenes of the community complained that they now live in constant fear as the fast expanding erosion is endangering most houses along the road which they fear may cave in when the people are asleep in the night.
The residents disclosed that all the entreaties to the state government to come to their aid and tackle the menace had gone unheeded.
They appealed to both the state and Federal Government to urgently tackle the erosion, imploring that the road is the only link between the community and the state capital.
Also the residents in Ndegwu, Irete and Orogwe have resigned to fate as they watch helplessly while erosion wreck havoc on their roads, houses and farmlands. For instance, the only road leading to Ndegwu, a sleepy agrarian community has been totally submerged by flood. The residents wade through the waist deep water to take their children to school and ferry their farm produce to the market.
One of the residents, Mr. Stanley Uzoadu, observed that the road became worse after the contractor handling the critical link road which connects the three communities abandoned it after excavating the both sides of the road.
According to him, “we are exposed to serious danger crossing the water and the rate of water borne diseases have increased in the last two months. We are appealing to the state government to carry out a palliative maintenance on the road to avert the impending disaster”.
Public institutions like schools and markets are also not spared by the rampaging erosion. Several school buildings have been reportedly abandoned for fear of possible collapse as a result of the erosion.
A highly placed government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the erosion menace became worse because the state have not been able to access the Ecological fund in the last four years due to politically motivated bottlenecks.
The shooting on July 31 at Ariaria International Market, Aba, Abia State will be tabled on the floor of the House of Representatives, a member representing Aba North and South Federal Constituency, Hon. Ossy Prestige has said.
One of the victims of the shooting has been buried, while others wounded are still nursing their injuries at various hospitals.
Officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Abia State Command who invaded the market said they were searching for drug offenders, and had to shoot into the air when the traders allegedly attacked them.
The police have started investigating the incident.
Hon. Prestige who visited the scene of the incident, promised to table it before his colleagues on the floor of the House.
Prestige visited the injured victims at Holy Wounds Christian Hospital at 169 Faulks Road and Horstman Orthopedic Hospital along Okigwe Road where they are receiving treatment, promising to their medical bills.
He also urged the doctors to ensure that the victims get the best treatment.
The lawmaker who was visibly angry over the unprofessional conduct of the NDLEA personnel vowed to ensure that those involved in injuring and killing innocent Abians and Nigerians would be brought to book.
While appealing to the shoe makers to remain calm and go about their normal businesses described the shooting in such a crowded market and the height of insensitivity and unprofessional conduct of personnel who were assumed to have been properly trained on how to handle firearms at all times.
He used the opportunity to reiterate his campaign commitment with the people of his constituency that he had promised to dedicate his time at the National Assembly to serve their interest.
Some of the injured victims who spoke at the two hospitals thanked the lawmaker for his kind gestures and thanked him for coming to their rescue.
