The Nation Newspaper

Category: SouthEast

German investors to build power plants in Imo

There is hope that power supply will no longer be a problem in Imo State. This is because a consortium of German investors will soon establish independent power plants in the state.

The leader of the German delegation and indigene of the State, Mr. Wilson Chukwunyere disclosed that the investors are going to establish a 50 megawatts plant and another 30 megawatt solar energy facility to boost the state’s industries.

He revealed further that the group once made attempts to establish a motorcycle plant under the then Sam Mbakwe administration before it was thwarted by a military coup.

Chukwunyere also stressed the need for government to provide them with the enabling environment to invest in the state.

Another member of the delegation and the Business Development Manager of the said Company, Mr. Volker Gutijahr assured that they will not disappoint if given the opportunity.

In his response, the State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere, who received the delegation in his office, affirmed that the state government will not go back in its promise to create a conducive environment for sincere businessmen who are willing to invest in the state.

He noted further that the state government will also provide adequate incentives that will encourage and motivate investors coming to the state.

Lamenting the dearth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), which he attributed to poor power supply, the Deputy Governor assured the group of the state government’s support, adding that “power remains the key for revitalisation of SMEs and establishment of industries in the State”.

August 14, 2015
Aba residents react to tricycle, okada ban

Some residents of Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State, have welcomed the restriction of commercial tricycle and motorcycle movement in the state, saying they hoped it would keep kidnappers at bay.

Others were not quite sure if the restriction was what would curb kidnapping, some adding that it hurts operators who have families to feed.

The state government, adopting the policy of its immediate predecessor, banned motorcycle operators from working in the capital city, Umuahia and Aba, while tricycle operators are allowed in both cities only between 6am and 7pm.

However, motorcyclists are permitted on the outskirts and communities.

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Godwin Adindu, in a statement, said,

“Security reports confirm that these hoodlums operate with keke (tricycle) and Okada motorbike.

“As part of the security measures to check the activities of these hoodlums, government is hereby re-enforcing the old rule and order as it relates to the operation of keke riders and okada riders in Abia State.

“Henceforth, Keke riders are only allowed to operate within the hours of 6am and 7pm in Aba and Umuahia, while okada remains banned in the metropolis. Okada can only operate in the outskirts and communities. This order takes effect immediately.

“The Government is determined to maintain law and order and protect the life and property of the law abiding citizens and therefore warns all criminals and evil minded persons to desist from their evil acts or face the full weight of the law.

“The government is also using this medium to remind the people to be security conscious and to offer information to security agencies through the free security toll lines”.

A resident who gave his name as Chidi Madu told our correspondent, “It was a good decision by the state government. I’m sure you know that in recent times, kidnapping and abduction of Aba residents have been on the increase. Though the ones I have heard were entirely carried out using the individual’s car. But one cannot rule out the use of Keke to trail and whisk their victims to beat security men on patrol and those of them at strategic checkpoints.

“But my fear is that some security agencies will take advantage of this to exploit the commercial tricycle operators. Government should also spell out their position on the use of motorcycle within the urban areas by security personnel whom it seems that those civilians were emulating to be riding their own machines on the road.

Corroborating Madu’s position, a tricycle operator alleged “recently we were asked to remove the rail tarpaulin even when they know that we are in the rainy season and that we use it shield our customers from the rain. Unannounced, they (police) started stopping us and charging us. The amount of money you pay depends on your power to negotiate.

They collect as much as N10, 000 from us. I am sure that their ogas are not aware of what their junior officers are doing. There should be proper sensitisation of the public before they start enforcing such orders. Look around, you can’t see any keke with the tarpaulin again and we are on the losing side especially when it start raining because no one want to be inside keke and being beaten by the rain.

“For us to resume work by 6am is good, but I want them to also consider extending the time we close work. Let them please extend it to 8pm”, he pleaded.

Another resident that simply gave his name as Ephraim while commending the government for showing concern over the security of its citizens also called on the government to also provide an alternative that would cushion the effect of the ban.

“Government decision is good. But the problem I have with that is that they (government) have not been able to provide alternative means of transportation that would be conveying people home from 7pm till may be 10 or so as the case may be.

“The order I was coming back from Port Harcourt. I actually came in very late and on getting to Milverton, I couldn’t see any keke that will take me home. I trekked home from park road to Ogbor Hill and you can imagine how stressful it was for me that day.

If government is banning the commercial tricycles from operating after 7pm, they should provide alternative through which the people in Aba and Umuahia can get to their homes and don’t forget that there are places keke will enter and buses won’t because of the terrain of some places in Aba especially,” Ephraim said.

August 14, 2015
Joy in community as water project starts

The people of Abam community in Arochukwu Local Government Area have expressed their delight at the take-off of a water project in their locality which was promised them by the federal lawmaker representing the area.

For years, clean water was very difficult to find in the community, the reason the lawmaker representing Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon Uko Nkole promised to help.

That promise is yielding fruit. The site for the water project has been ticking with activity. Some equipment, including a giant rig, have been installed there.

Abam people including such other communities as Ndiokereke, Ndioji, Ndiokorie are happy, relieved that after years of beglect, they could smile again.

Lack of this precious liquid left them sickly and quite unkempt sometimes, for all they had to drink was not much more than stream water.

The situation necessitated an action plan by the federal legislator who mobilised contractors to commence drilling of boreholes at the various communities.

This was after a hydrological survey indicates that it is possible to bring water to these areas at the depth of 550 feet using rigging machine, which has commenced to the joy of the people.

This water project has an estimated cost of more than ten million naira considering the enormous mat erials and equipment deployed to the site that include tanks, manpower, amongst others.

According to the project supervisor Okenwa Kalu Eleanya, all the necessary logistics have been taken into consideration by the federal legislator. Hon Nkole and promised to deliver the job in the shortest time.

The traditional ruler of Ndiokereke Abam, Micah kanu and union Chairman, Chukwuma Egbuta thanked the federal legislator for the efforts and hinted that the project site would be well secured.

This is the first time in the history of Abam Community that such magnitude of water project is being installed, the nearest to water project was a hand-pump which was sunk over 50 years ago.

August 14, 2015
Ebonyi steps up anti-malaria crusade

The battle to kick out malaria from the country is alive and well in Ebonyi State, whose Malaria Action Programme for States or MAPS office is helping to drive the campaign against perhaps the continent’s deadliest scourge.

But how best to drive that campaign but enlist the media. That is exactly what the state, in conjunction with USAID and other donor agencies, has done.

The programme, according to Mr Lawrence Nwankwo, state MAPS Monitoring and Evaluation Programme Officer, is aimed at enlisting the help of journalists to sensitise residents on the habitual use of long-lasting treated nets.

Nwankwo who stood in for the Commissioner for Health, Dr Daniel Umezuruike said the state government will continue to do its part in the war against malaria.

In a lecture at the event, a consultant to the MAPS programme, Garba Umar said the programme seeks to provide insight to journalists on the LLINs distribution campaign in the state; reorientate journalists on malaria prevention and control with special emphasis on LLINS and motivate journalist to develop interest in coverage and reporting on the campaign.

Mr Garba regretted that malaria is under reported in the media despite the fact that it is a leading health problem in the country.

“And when it is reported, the format of presentation is not often information helpful to the beneficiaries”, he noted.

The support of the media, he said, is crucial because the media offers great services and provide opportunity to save lives and help people to live better.

He said: “The media is best suited to support the essence of the campaign which is the sustenance of the net use culture”.

“The media can deploy facilities such as human angle stories, dramas, etc, to reach beneficiaries with messages they will understand and appreciate”.

“As an advocate of the voiceless, the media can credibly define and articulate their concerns around malaria especially prevention issues such as LLINs.”

“The media is most positioned to help place pressure on or encourage public officials to do better job of sustaining the essence of the campaign-getting people to sleep inside the LLINs properly and constantly”

Mr Garba said the nets are the most available tool for prevention of malaria and also the most easy to use component of the IVM strategy.

“It has been proven to reduce malaria related morbidity and mortality among the most vulnerable target groups and if every community sleeps inside the nets constantly it leads to the reduction in overall population of mosquitoes”.

“Usage of the net has also been proven to cause a drastic reduction in health facilities visits, reduction in maternal and placental malaria and low birth weight”.

According to him, 57 million nets have been distributed so far in the 36 states of the federation and FCT Abuja in between 2009 to 2013.

He, however, noted the nets would be effective for three years if used properly after which the insecticide wears off and it no longer would be able to kill targeted vectors.

“As a result, the NMEP and the roll back malaria partnership proposed LLINs replacement campaigns in the country”.

“The replacement programme aims to distribute 1 free LLINs to every 2 persons in Nigeria, to achieve household usage of LLINs by at least 80 percent and to contribute to the reduction of malaria mortality and morbidity by 50 percent,” said.

Describing malaria as a dangerous ailment which can be contracted through the bite of a female mosquito, Mr Garba said proper use of the LLINs can reduce the rate of contracting malaria.

“Malaria is usually more severe and life threatening among children under five years, pregnant women and unborn baby and can be prevented by not allowing mosquitoes to bite us. one assured way (and most cost effective) is to sleep every night inside a properly hung long lasting insecticide treated net”.

“LLIN protects by preventing mosquitoes from reaching the person sleeping inside the net and by killing or repelling mosquitoes that spread malaria on contact with the net”.

“The LLINs lasts for three to four years if used appropriately and you can wash it 16 times and it will still be effective”.

“However, if we have malaria, it is advised to treat using appropriate and effective anti-malaria drugs (ACTs) within 24 hours of observation/notice of symptom”.

August 14, 2015
Lawmaker fetes widows

The lawmaker representing Afikpo North West Constituency at the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Ogbonnaya Ikoro has reached out to needy women especially widows, giving them cash and wrappers.

Some of the recipients returned home for the month-long August Meeting, an opportunity for the lawmaker to help the needy among them.

The event which took place at Central School Oziza drew people from the four villages in Amasiri, Ibi, Akpoha and Oziza which make up the Constituency.

Ikoro, who is Deputy Leader of the House, promised to set up a fish farm and other agro-businesses to empower youths.

He said:”I decided to use the August Meeting period to thank all the women of the constituency for supporting me, the governor and my party, the PDP [Peoples Democratic Party] during the last general elections which led to an overwhelming victory of the party.”

“I am in the business of service delivery; politics is about service delivery to the people. To me I have not done anything yet to the people, the distribution of wrappers and cash today is a tip of the iceberg of what I have in stlck for the women and youths of the community.

“We are looking at establishing agro-business farms for the youths to operate and in turn share the profits amongst themselves. That way the youths will be gainfully employed.”

“We are doing this in realization that there are not many jobs out there for the youths, so we ard emphasizing on self reliance by going into agriculture.”

“We have already set up a fish farm for some of these u employed youths to manage. We shall set up more of such agro-businesses for them as time goes on.”

He also promised to use his office as deputy Leader to attract projects to the community from the state government.

Speaking at the occasion, the PDP Chairman Ibi/Oziza ward, Mr Egwu Okpani in his opening remarks noted that Ogbonnaya Ikoro performed well in his first term at the house leading to the people overwhelmingly voting for him to return to the house so as to continue the good works he has started.

The visit, he said, is to appreciate the support of the people in voting in the legislator for a second term.

Mrs Anthonia Ndukwe, National President women’s wing of Oziza Development Union, praised the legislator for remembering the people of the constituency. He described the legislator as a gentleman with milk of kindness who is destined for greater achievements in his chosen profession of politics.

August 14, 2015
Apathy cost Southeast Senate presidency, says Moghalu

The National Auditor of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief George Moghalu has said that the Southeast could not clinch the Senate presidency slot because of the zone’s apathy to politics.

Moghalu was speaking in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, during an event to officially welcome a group of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) defectors to the APC.

Moghalu attributed the leadership squabble in the Senate to the inability of the southeast to vote Senator Chris Ngige of Anambra State into a position that was ceded to the Southeast even before the 2015 election was concluded.

“I remembered clearly when we started supporting APC; nobody gave us a chance to succeed. We were just about eight; Ogbonnaya Onu, Rochas Okorocha, Senator Chris Ngige, Senator Osita Izunaso, George Morghalu, Hon. Emma Onyeukwu and Chineneye Nyerere…And because of our apathy to politics, the thing cost us a serious problem. If we had a senator elected on the platform of this party, today we will have senate president because it was conceded to us even before the election, but since we left a vacuum, we have nobody to be there and that is why the seat has been under contention and that is what created the crisis in the entire structure of the national assembly because we had nobody.

“If we had voted one of our sons who contested this election as a senator the story will be different and I want to imagine what would have happened if the Igbo had produced the senate president in an APC government. Today what we have to do is to lament”, Moghalu stated.

The National auditor who called for more support from the members of the party in the state and the entire southeast said it was time that they (APC) members became serious with political activities in the region as they aspire to produce the president of the country in 2023.

“APC today needs the support and involvement of every Igbo man and woman. If you don’t say you are, nobody will say thou art. We need to come and take over the structures of the party because we desirous of producing a president of Igbo extraction. The laws of natural justice stands in favour of Igboman come 2023.

“The southwest has done 8years of the presidency before it went to the north briefly for 2years and went back to the southsouth that has done 6years.

“It has returned back to the north, the maximum they will do is 8years and thereafter, we have every right to claim that it is our turn. My brothers and sisters, power is not given, power is taken. If we sit down and expect that after 8years they will put it in an envelope to come and deliver it in Enugu, we are wasting our time.

“I have no apologies to preach political hijacking so long as that I am going to be a beneficiary. My appeal therefore is that this is the time to hijack the structure of the APC across the entire southeast and the only way we can do this is for us to be involved in the party and elect individuals into positions where they can negotiate”.

Moghalu also used the opportunity to reinstate the concern of the Federal Government on the zone and therefore disabuse the insinuations making rounds from the opposition that the party was anti-igbo.

He therefore assured the new entrants that the party would give them the necessary support they needed and asked them to be part of the change the APC was preaching.

Speakers among the defectors including Senator Chris Adighije, Chief Tony Ukasoanya, Eze Chikamamnayo (former Abia Commissioner of Information), Senator Ifeanyi Okoroafor said that they left their former party because of the impunity that were going on there and promised that they were going to help APC garner support and capture Abia State.

In his speech, the chairman of the party in the state, Hon. Donatus Nwankpa described their defection as a sign that APC was the only choice the southeast need to embrace if the zone was to move out from the doldrums the PDP led administration has thrown the state and the southeast zone in their 16 years of rulership.

Nwankpa described them as people who were capable of taking the party beyond where they met it and urged Abians to keep supporting the party.

August 14, 2015
Man petitions Abia police on missing father

President of Aba, Mr. Onyekachi Ogbuobulu has petitioned the Abia State Commissioner of Police, Joshiak Habila on the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of his father, Christopher Ogbuobulu.

The younger Ogbuobulu wants the police chief to investigate the role, if any, played by the State Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Obehie, under Ukwa West Police Station in any matter relating to the disappearance.

The petitioner equally wants the police to determine whether or not Cobil Transport Company, for which the Senior Ogbuobulu worked as a driver, had anything to do with the incident.

In the petition written through his counsel, Charles Eduzor, Onyekachi Ogbuobulu said his father, a trailer driver with Cobil, was asked on July 16 to deliver bottled drinks of Nigerian Breweries from Aba to Umuahia, the state capital.

Onyekachi said that his father could not embark on the journey that day because it was late when the consignment was loaded into his truck, adding that his father moved to the consignment to Umuahia the following day, hoping to return to his base the same day.

According to Onyekachi, his father left Aba for Umuahia with his bus assistant also called conductor.

Both men have not been seen since that morning, Onyekachi told the police in the petition.

Part of the petition read, “After waiting till Monday, July 20, 2015 and my clients did not see their father/relation, they proceeded to the Nigerian Breweries factory in Aba where the staff initially said they were also looking for the vehicle and goods but later said they tracked the vehicle to Ofuosu presumably in Edo State being driven by a dismissed driver of the said Cobil Transport Company with the goods intact.

“Later the vehicle with goods were recovered ostensibly with the assistance of the police and brought down to Abia State, including the vehicle and goods, the said dismissed driver of Cobil and another staff of Nigerian Breweries Plc described as a Tracking Manager were handed over to the SARS at Obehie, but sadly, neither Mr. Christopher Ogbuobulu nor his conductor has been seen till today.”

Onyekachi said the immediate family members of the missing man have been worried about the manner in which police at Obehie hurriedly released the vehicle and the goods inside together with those arrested with them without bothering to find out what happened to their breadwinner and the bus attendant.

Abia command police public relations officer (PPRO), Ezekiel Onyeke told The Nation on the phone that he was yet to be briefed on the matter.

August 14, 2015
Otti consoles traders over shooting

The Abia State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the April general elections, Dr. Alex Otti has soothed the nerves of traders at Ariaria International Market, Aba over a shooting incident, which claimed one life and left some others wounded.

Men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) were blamed for the shooting.

The anti-narcotics agency has explained that its men were tracking a drug offender believed to be holing up at the market, adding that the traders came after them, prompting the officers to shoot into the air to scare the traders away.

The traders sniffed at that explanation, asking how their 23-year-old colleague Mr Onyinyechi Awuzie was shot and killed, and some others wounded, if indeed the NDLEA men were shooting into the air.

Otti also condoled with the family of the Awuzie.

Meanwhile, the remains of the apprentice trader have been buried in his hometown, Umuaka, Orlu in Imo State.

In a condolence message presented at Onyinyechi’s funeral service by a delegation from Abia, Otti described the incident that led to the young man’s death as tragic and unfortunate.

Otti said that no life was worth losing in the manner Onyinyechi was killed, adding that his death was a painful reminder of the sufferings traders in the commercial city go through on a daily basis to eke a living and support their families.

He regretted that as the only son of his parents, Onyinyechi’s death had left a vacuum that would be difficult to fill in his family and the entire Umuaka community.

The APGA governorship candidate said that Abia and Imo have lost a budding trader, who had the prospect of contributing to the socio-economic development of the two sister-states and Nigeria in general.

On behalf of his family, members and supporters of APGA in Abia state, Otti commiserated with the bereaved family and urged them not to mourn endlessly as people without hope.

He further urged them to repose their trust in God for divine consolation, while praying that Abia would never experience such a tragic incident again.

Onyinyechi’s father, Mr Obiwuru Awuzie, accompanied by his wife and other members of the family, expressed their gratitude to Otti for identifying with them at their period of grief.

Chibuike Asiegbu, who spoke on behalf of the Ariaria Books and Stationary Sub-Union, said that it was consoling that Otti could remember to commiserate with them as they buried one of their own.

Speaking in the same vein, Onyinyechi’s master, Mr Ethel Ugha, said that Otti’s love, concern and solidarity with him and the Ariaria traders would never be forgotten.

August 14, 2015
Imo prepares for flood

After the horrors of 2011 floods, the Imo State government has taken measures to avert a repeat. OKODILI NDIDI reports

The warning was dire. The rains this year will be heavy, resulting in flooding, the experts said. Imo State has taken the hint and started preparing against the watery menace. In 2011, the year floods swept through much of the country, the state was considerably affected. Several houses were submerged, farmlands washed off in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area. Parts of Owerri, the capital, and other areas were flooded too. Many residents who were affected by that flood are still reeling from its effects. That is what the Rochas Okorocha administration wants to prevent this year.

What step is the state taking to avert the flood? It is by coming to terms with how flood causes havoc, in the first place. In prolonged, heavy downpours, rain water finding no drains to flow out, overflows the gutters and other drains and pours into as many places it can find access.

Imo gutters and drains have been clogged because they are not regularly cleared, but the governor has other ways of doing the same thing. He directed that everybody come out to clear the channels. The people obliged him. Besides, the state also provided trucks and other tools to aid the work.

The water channels hitherto blocked with illegal structures have been reopened and the drainage cleared of refuse to allow for easy flow of water.

The state, according the Chief of Staff, Chief Uche Nwosu, is working to realise the Owerri Master Plan, which he maintained will mitigate environmental hazards.

As a result of the efforts, the state capital is now wearing a brand new look, with the heaps of refuse that constituted eyesore in strategic locations across the city evacuated and properly disposed.

Imo state, which was among the states that experienced massive flood disaster in 2011, has not been participating in the traditional monthly environmental sanitation, because according to the Governor, Rochas Okorocha, it is not proper to wait for a given date to clean up one’s surrounding.

However to avert the impending disaster, the state held a compulsory cleanup exercise across the state, which in no small means yielded great results.

The exercise, which was supervised by the State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere and the Chief of Staff, witnessed massive turnout as traders, artisans, landlords and various trade associations came out in their numbers to clean up their business places and homes.

Movements were restricted between the hours of 7.30 in the morning to 10. 30am. At the end of the three hours exercise, mountains of refuse were mopped up and evacuated with lorries that were provided for the purpose.

The people worked with incomparable sense of commitment, apparently to forestall a repeat of the 2011 flood disaster.

Most of them who commended the state government for the initiative, however advised that the exercise should be sustained to ensure that the heaps of refuse, which were almost becoming a source of concern for the residents does not return.

Chief Roland Ibekwere, a Landlord at Douglas Street, noted that, “we are grateful because the exercise has forced most of our tenants to stay at home and participate in the exercise. And the drainages that were blocked for a long time have been reopened again. The reason we are grateful is the participation of the state government in the exercise by promptly evacuating the refuse, which had been our challenge in the past”.

The Deputy Governor, in his remarks, commended the people for coming out en mass during the exercise to clean up their environments and business centers.

He expressed satisfaction over the enthusiasm displayed by the residents of state to join hands to making it the cleanest State in the Federation.

Madumere who described the exercise as a huge success said it was part of the vision of the Okorocha’s administration to avert all flood related disasters and make the State the most desired haven for tourists and investors.

He noted that the monthly Clean-up seeks to make the State the most friendly and healthiest environment with healthy and energetic work force.

The Deputy Governor therefore advised the people of the state to always “dispose their refuse at the right places and stop littering the environment”.

He warned against indiscriminate dumping of refuse in gutters and drainage, adding that “such unhealthy habit causes flooding and breeds mosquitoes, which causes malaria and other deadly diseases”.

August 7, 2015
Ugwuanyi woos transporters on crime-fighting

Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has urged commercial tricycle operators and other transporters in the state to join his administration’s efforts against crime.

How can they help? They should gather information from criminals who board their vehicles and make it available to security agents.

The governor made the request while receiving delegations of the Enugu State Association of Tricycle Riders Transport Union, popularly known as Keke Napep and the State Executives of the National Union of Road Transport Workers at the Government House, Enugu.

The two unions were visiting the governor to pledge their support for his administration and inform him of their challenges.

Such challenges are administrative, they said, but there is also the unsavoury act of “a group of restive youths under the aegis of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria”.

Governor Ugwuanyi who thanked the unions for their continuous support and the peaceful manner they have conducted themselves in their dispute with the other transport group, assured them of his administration’s resolve not to tolerate any form of undue harassment or imposition of illegal levies on the people of the state by anyone or group in the guise of revenue collection.

He advised those perpetrating such acts to desist from them as the government will not hesitate to enforce the wrath of the law against them no matter who they may be.

On their request for appointment into his administration, the governor equally told the unions to meet with the Taxi Drivers’ Association to agree and nominate one of them for appointment as his Special Assistant on Transport, in order to give them a sense of belonging and ensure a smooth and effective relationship between them and the government, as part of his agenda for participatory democracy.

“ It is important that I let you know that we have extended our hands of fellowship to the transport union, Keke Napep and Taxi drivers to meet and agree on who will be the SA on Transport to the Governor, to open a channel of communication between you and the government.

“Enugu is one of the safest states in the country. I believe you will use your business to further enhance the security of this state by revealing any information that will be useful to the government in this regard”, the governor said.

In their separate remarks, the chairman of the tricycle riders, Comrade Ikah Benjamin Ejiofor and his counterpart in the Road Transport Union, Chief Joseph Ugwu praised the governor for his leadership qualities and appealed to him to prevail on Vehicle Inspection Officers (V.I.O), other government agencies and the transport group, RTEAN, to stop the incessant harassment and illegal levies aimed at exploiting of the commercial road users in the state.

August 7, 2015