Category: Southeast report

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has donated medical items and other relief materials to victims of flood disaster in communities across eight local governments of Anambra State.

The items included first set of supplies of 100 drums of chlorine for disinfection of water sources, 40 cartons of Aquatabs for household water treatment and 320 cartons of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF).

Making the presentation at the weekend, the Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, Mrs. Juliet Chiluwe, said no fewer than 600 people died and 1.3million rendered homeless, following September/October flood across 34 states.

She sympathised with the government and people of the state on the recent flood, especially with women and children, who were vulnerable during the incident.

Chiluwe said: “UNICEF is making available, essential medicines and health supplies, sexual reproductive kit, chlorine for disinfection of water sources in health centres, schools and communities.

“We acknowledge that since September 2022, the worst flood in a decade affected 2.8 million people, of which an estimated 60 per cent are children, across 34 of the 36 states in Nigeria. Of those affected, 1.3 million people have been displaced, and over 600 people have died in relation to flood, according to the government data.”

“Continuous heavy rains have destroyed hundreds of public health facilities, water systems and sanitation facilities, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases, such as cholera, diarrhoea and malaria.”

Read Also: UNICEF: 6,800 young girls infected with HIV in 2021

“To contribute to effort of the government and other development partners, UNICEF, with funding the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), has initiated a multi-sectoral response comprising Health, Child Protection and WASH sectors, to mitigate the impact of the flood and support the early recovery-phase of the affected population in Anambra State.

“For child protection, the response will focus on protection concerns in three key areas: the provision of psychosocial support for flood-affected children; prevention of family separation and the reunification of separated and unaccompanied children, as well as the strengthening of community-based protection systems related to GBV.

“For health, the response will focus on emergency primary health care services to address waterborne and vaccine-preventable childhood diseases by ensuring continued access to health services via mobile brigades, prepositioning essential medicines and supplies, supporting the restoration of basic health services and improving health-seeking behaviours through community engagement.”

Responding, Governor Chukwuma Soludo hailed the interventions UNICEF had been making in the state in aspects of human endeavour, especially as it concerned women and children.

Soludo, represented by his deputy, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim, said there would be collaboration with the world body, stressing that modalities were being worked out to mitigate the harshness of the flood on victims in parts of the state.

Ibezim said proactive measures were being put in place to checkmate recurrence of such emergencies.

Enugu Good Governance Group has faulted the claim by former Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Enugu State, Chijioke Edeoga that he defected to the LP because of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s emergence as the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) presidential candidate.

It insisted that Edeoga left the PDP to pursue his “desperate personal ambition” to govern Enugu State.

The body faulted Edeoga on the claim that he only congratulated, but never pledged his support to the PDP governorship candidate in Enugu, Dr. Peter Mbah.

It was reacting to Edeoga’s interview published at the weekend wherein he said he reconsidered his position to support Mbah following the failure of the PDP to zone its presidential ticket to the Southeast, in line with the principle of rotational presidency in the party’s constitution.

Read Also: Ogun 2023: Not yet Uhuru for PDP as litigation continues

In a statement issued yesterday by its National Coordinator, Odinaka Okechukwu, the group said: “The sequence of events shows that Edeoga was economical with the truth in the interview.”

While Atiku emerged as the presidential candidate of the PDP on May 28, Edeoga issued a personally- signed statement on June 6, where he not only congratulated Mbah, but also called on his supporters and Enugu people to support the PDP candidate. That was a sequel to Dr. Mbah’s visit to him after the governorship primary election.

The governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has pledged the commitment of his administration towards ensuring that the state recorded huge success in the 2023 census to be conducted by the National Population Commission (NPC).

Ikpeazu, a special guest at a two-day State Level Workshop on Compendium of Enumeration Demarcation Areas Localities held at Bishop Anthony Nwaedo Pastoral Center in Umuahia, the state capital, said that the importance of the workshop towards a successful census enumeration exercise in the state next year cannot be overemphasised.

Ikpeazu who was represented by the chairman of the state census committee and former Deputy Governor of the state, Rt. Hon. Eric Acho Nwakanma noted that the success and failure of the exercise in the state lies in the hands of the traditional rulers and local government chairmen who described as critical stakeholders.

Ikpeazu, while charging the traditional rulers to ensure the safety of the NPC officials in their various localities, urged them to ensure that their areas were properly covered.

The governor who lamented that the 2006 population census data doesn’t in any way represent the true population of the state, stated that the 2023 population census was an opportunity for the state to address the anomaly of the 2006 census and therefore, needs the involvement of every stakeholder to correct.

In his speech, the chairman Abia State Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze J. Nwabeke promised the commitment of the traditional rulers of the state towards ensuring that the exercise was a success.

Read Also: 2023: Ikpeazu assures Abians of Fed Govt. presence

Nwabeke while urging his colleagues to prevail on their subjects especially those living outside the state to come back to their communities in order to be counted, pleaded on security agencies in the state to ensure that no group of persons or individuals would truncate the exercise in the state.

In his address of welcome, the Federal Commissioner Representing Abia State in NPC, Chief Johnny Nwabuisi lamented the nonchalant attitude of the local government chairmen who he accused of being in the clogs of wheels of progress made by the NPC in the state so far.

Nwabuisi said that the essence of the compendium was to give stakeholders traditional rulers and local government council chairmen the opportunity to go through what the NPC did during the capturing of the 1,332 localities in the state and to also make corrections where necessary before the document would be submitted to the NPC national headquarters.

The federal commissioner who lauded Ikpeazu for being the first Chief Executive to institute a committee to oversee what the agency is doing said it was important that Abia gets its population right in 2023 census window.

“What this workshop therefore seeks to achieve today is for stakeholders in the states, being people at the grassroots, to take a final look at the localities’ lists with a view to validating it, particularly as it affects their individual communities,” he said, adding that “The localities’ lists will afterwards be compiled into a national compendium following requisite parameters.”

The governments and people of Enugu and Ebonyi States have agreed to end the protracted boundary dispute between the two states before the end of January 2023.

The creation of the two states had brought about boundary problems, which the National Boundary Commission had waded into the issues with the composition of a High Profile Sensitisation Campaign to be carried out along the border communities of the two States.

The Sensitisation Campaign was successfully carried out and hosted by Enugu State where all the boundary contending Local-Government Chairmen, Vice Chairmen, Traditional Rulers, Presidents General and Youth leaders pledged their full support and commitment towards the boundary demarcation and pillar emplacement for a peaceful boundary tenure.

With the inauguration of the Joint Field Team and commencement of field work for the pillar emplacement field work on the consensus points and sectors of the boundary line by the two States, they successfully emplaced 49 Pillars out of the 149 intended.

Speaking at on the occasion of joint meeting of ofeicials on Enugu/Ebonyi interstate boundaries held at Convention Hall, Nike Lake Resort Hotel, in Enugu, deputy governor of Enugu State and chairman of the state boundary committee, Barr. Cecelia Ezeilo commended the governors of the two states for their support and concerted efforts to ensure a peaceful boundary regime.

He expressed optimism that more progress would be made at the boundary line to conclude and finalise the pillar emplacement exercise and bring about a lasting peace.

“This exercise is no mean feat, to say the least, it is ground breaking. I wish to thank the joint field team, the security agents, the traditional rulers, community leaders, the media and everyone involved in this land mark achievement for being supportive thus far.

“On this note, I want to thank the conveners of this meeting and all stakeholders involved for all their positive and sincere contributions which will be of help in the determination and demarcation of the boundaries of the two states,” Ezeilo said.

Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Dr. Kelechi Igwe lamented that the resolution of the boundary issue was taking so much time to conclude, and urged the national boundary commission to expedite action for a timeline of delivery for resolutions.

The Director-General of the National Boundary Commission, Adamu Adaji, commended the Enugu and Ebonyi States governments for doing so much to give NBC maximum support in resolving the dispute.

Ahead of the 2023 governorship election in Delta State, the Igbo extraction under the auspices of Ohaneze Ndigbo, weekend, thrown its weight behind the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru.

The Ohaneze Ndigbo group made this statement when it paid a courtesy visit to the governorship candidate of the party, Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, in his country home, Abraka, Ethiope East local government area of Delta state.

The President of the Ohaneze Ndigbo Delta state Chapter, Sylvester Ndudi and Hon. Charles Okechuku, respectively, said they were in Abraka to identify with Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru as their choice of candidate, and also to ensure his victory at the polls come 2023 general elections.

“Before we came, we have sample opinions and sent our people to go and make research on the governorship candidates in Delta and all our views were pointed towards APGA governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, hence we have come to officially declare our intention to you as our son and brother.”

Responding, the Delta state APGA governorship candidate, Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru expressed joy over the courtesy visit by the Ohaneze Ndigbo, assuring that by the special Grace God the desires of all Deltans and that of Ohaneze Ndigbo will be met.

About five persons reportedly sustained injury in a bloody clash between suspected agents of Anambra state government codenamed, Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA) brigade with traders of Onitsha International Electronics market over alleged forceful collection of loading levy in the market.

The Nation gathered that trouble started when some revenue collectors suddenly stormed the market, claiming they were under directive to commence collection of N30,000 to N40,000, depending on size of articulated trucks.

The traders who were said to have resisted the payment, describing it as outrageous, insisting they would pay the normal N5,000 to their leaders who were to use to.

“While the heated argument ensued, some officials of OCHA Brigade, who were at a distance watching the drama, immediately, rushed to the scene, harassed and assaulted some of the traders while trying to force them to pay the levy.

“The traders’ resistance degenerated into a free-for-all fight which led to no fewer than five persons sustaining various degrees of injury,” narrated an eyewitness who preferred anonymity.

Read Also: Four feared dead in Onitsha market blast

A trader who identified himself as Onyeka Madume, said he narrowly escaped death as he was hit by a flying club, stating that they were about five that sustained various degrees of injuries.

Reacting, Chairman of the market, Ifeanyi Egwuenu, said the traders were not against the exorbitant levy following government’s directive, but against outsiders, coming to collect the levy in their market.

He said, “We are not against the high levy even if previously we paid N5,000 for the loading and offloading in the market. What we are saying is that since it is in our market, we should be allowed to do the collection and hand over to them.

“Doing it by ourselves helps us to monitor people who come into our market because about five of our members were previously kidnapped in the market.

“It’s not as if to say we are fighting government. Rather, we want to be conscious of transactions in our market which has helped to restore peace here.”

It was jubilation for flood victims in Anambra State following distribution of N2.5million, food items, beddings and other relief materials to them by Sir Emeka Offor Foundation (SEOF).

The food items include 600 (50kg) bags of rice, 60 (50kg) bags of beans, 60 (50kg) bags of garri, 500 pieces of 3ft 6inches of mattresses, 500 cartons of idomie noodles, 600 tubers of yams, 50 cartoons of tomatoes.

Others are 30 cartons of bathing soap, 30cartons of washing soap, 30 jerrycanes of palm oil, 30cartons of Milo beverages, 30 cartons of milk, 50 jerrycanes of vegetables oil, 10 bags of salt and 10 cartons of maggi cubes.

Speaking during the presentation, Chief of Staff to the foundation, Rtd AIG Chris Ezike said the foundation was passionate about helping the poor and the needy in the society.

“In line with the passion of Sir Emeka Offor and his commitment to charity and humanitarian endeavours that we’re here to commiserate with the government and people of the state on the recent flood disaster which ravaged about 7 local government areas in the State,” he said.

Ezike praised Soludo’s uncommon leadership skills amidst challenges as well as his desire in converting the State to a construction site.

“Your government has shown love, empathy and friendship to her citizens in need and desire support, hence our hunger to intervene in our modest ways,” he said.

Governor Chukwuma Soludo while receiving the items in favour of flood victims, called on federal government to engage more proactive measures against the perennial flooding in the country.

The Executive Secretary, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Chief Paul Odenigbo assured that the relief items would get to the victims scattered in camps in the seven affected local government areas of the state.

“We thank Sir Emeka Offor and the foundation for their gesture. The Agency will immediately commence distribution of the items to the affected local government areas,” he said.