Category: Southeast report

A nambra State ex-governor Willie Obiano has renewed faith in the performance and style of governance of his successor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo.

He denied raising issues concerning the campaign funding for his wife, Ebelechukwu, who is seeking Anambra North senatorial ticket on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

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Obiano, in a statement by his Chief Publicist, Tony Nezianya, described those peddling rumours over his misgivings about Soludo and his wife’s campaign funds as mischief makers.

He said he was confident that Soludo would live up to the expectations of the people, adding that he foresaw sterling performance by him.

The Pro-chancellor and Chairman Governing Council of Pamo University of Medical (PUM) Sciences, Port Harcourt, Dr. Peter Odili, yesterday announced automatic employment for the newly- graduated nurses of the university.

He spoke at the induction/oath taking held on the university campus at Iriebe, Rivers State.

The founder of the institution and former governor also announced gift award of N500, 000 for the best graduating student, and N100,000 for each of the inductees, among others.

The 12 inducted nurses were the first set of students admitted into the Department of Nursing Sciences, when the university started five years ago.

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Odili advised them on the nFrom Rosemary Nwisi, Port Harcourt eed to give honour and respect to their parents, Governor Nyesom Wike and the government for their contributions in helping them to achieve their dreams.

The Registrar/Secretary General, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN), Alhaji Faruk Abubakar, lauded PUM for the great work it was doing to increase the manpower base of the medical sector, particularly in nursing care.

He described the induction of fresh graduate nurses into the system as a mark of great joy, coming at a time the country was faced with exodus of medical workers.

Traders at Woliwo (Ogbo Oroma), Port Harcourt road, Onitsha and Nkwelle Ezunaka in Anambra State at the weekend counted their losses, following demolition of illegal structures and shanties in the area by enforcement team of the Anambra State Physical Planning Board (ANSPPB).

The structures were reportedly taken over by a fraudulent developer, who converted the same to market amid risks occasioned by high tension cables along the area.

The victims, who spoke to The Nation, claimed to have paid for the space to the landowner over 15 years ago.

One of them, who simply identified himself as Pastor Ukoha, accused the government of lack of empathy for the poor selling at the affected areas.

He said: “I just finished developing small structures to help my business. I got approval after paying the landlord and local government authorities.”

“This is the third time government is doing this thing to us and it’s not good. I am very disappointed with the current government.”

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Another victim, who preferred anonymity, said: “We were not served notice. I was on my way when I got a call to come and remove my property before the structure is demolished.

“Just a few weeks ago, I spent over N200,000 to put up this structure. We wouldn’t have lost so much. Although I don’t know the name of the landlord, we paid him. We’ve been here for over 40 years.”

Reacting, ANSPPB Chairman, Chike Mmaduekwe, warned illegal developers against building without approval, which, he stressed, contradicted Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s objective of achieving a livable and prosperous homeland.

He said: “Whether they’ve been there for 100 years is immaterial, as long as they’re committing an illegality. That land belongs to the government. It used to be an open space before the government de-zoned it.

“I actually blame the rightful owners. If you don’t put up structures there, someone else will start selling the land to innocent people, who probably are bona fide purchasers of right without notice.

“The truth is that they were severely warned with notice. This should be the third time. Each time you come and mark it, some individuals, who claim to be influential, will oppose the move.

“In fact, one of them, who blocked a water way within the area, has been using all forms of arms and intimidation to put innocent market women there. 

“There’s no place we carried out enforcement they won’t tell you there was no notice. If you watch the walls, they’ve been marked, some as early as last year.

“Let them go and negotiate with the land owners if they want to be there. Government can’t afford to tolerate rightful owners of land being intimidated unnecessarily.

“We’ve been arresting culprits and we’re taking a lot of them to court next week. When they’re convicted and jailed, we will recover the cost of the enforcement.”

The Youth Rescue International Development Organisation (YRIDO), founded by an ex-agitator, Pastor Nature Kieghe, has flayed an allegation of N480billion fraud levelled against the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Obong Umana Okon Umana, describing it as spurious, baseless and unfounded.

Kieghe, the executive director of YRIDO, in a statement in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said the allegation was contained in a petition written by a faceless group.

He urged the public to disregard claims that Umana padded the 2022 budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and sacked about 700 employees of the commission.

Kieghe said: “I find it difficult to figure out how people can sit in the comfort of their closet and formulate unfounded lies and spew out same to the public without an iota of verification.

“The minister has explained that everything is at the proposal stage; no contract has been awarded and no money has been disbursed or expended. So, where did these people get their facts from?”

Kieghe, who is also the chairman of Strategic Communications Committee (SCC) of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), appealed to the National Assembly, particularly the Senate, to ignore the mischief makers, describing them as professional petition writers.

He advised the lawmakers to work with the Niger Delta minister to refocus the NDDC and develop Niger Delta.

Kieghe said: “Umana has good intentions for Niger Delta. This is a man that has always succeeded in every assignment given to him at every stage of his life. He succeeded as SSG to Akwa Ibom State Government and as Executive Director of Oil and Gas Free Zone, Onne. Those of us who know him know that he will succeed in the ministry.”

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Kieghe, who is equally the national secretary of the first phase ex-agitators, called on the minister not to be unduly distracted, but to remain focus on his mission of actualising the mandate of the commission.

He said: “It is also unfortunate that people can come up with falsehood that Obong Umana sacked over 700 workers of the NDDC. How callous and unfounded can such allegation be? Umana is a Niger Delta son.

“The essence of establishing the NDDC is to empower youths of the region, who suffered years and decades of neglect by oil companies operating in their communities. What could have prompted the minister, who wants good for his people, to just wake up and sack 700 workers?

“I think what the minister needs at this juncture is our collective support for him to succeed. Not petitions and unsubstantiated allegations. Let us collectively give him the solidarity he deserves to serve us better.”

A humanitarian organisation, De Norseman Club International, Akwa Ibom State chapter, has paid hospital bills and provided gifts worth hundreds of Naira to patients at Saint Luke’s Hospital, Uyo.

Beneficiaries included two women, who were delivered of a set of twins and 10 other women, who also put to bed at the hospital.

The club equally provided items such as toiletries and disinfectants, which were shared to patients at the hospital.

The President, Mr. Iniobong Akpan, said the gesture was in line with the organisation’s annual Humanitarian Day.

Represented by the Secretary, Alfred Effiong, Akpan said the club was a humanitarian organisation that rendered service to humanity, particularly to the less privileged.

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Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Uduakobong Samuel thanked the organisation for assisting them.

She said: “I am so happy because the people, who owed my husband, refused to pay him to enable him settle my hospital bills. We have been here for over three weeks. I am grateful to members of De Norseman Club International, who have taken away my shame.”

The Compound Nurse, Mrs. Eno Udo, thanked the organisation and urged similar bodies to assist the needy, particularly those who could not afford to pay their medical bills.

She said: “I’m grateful to God for giving members the idea to form this club and for them to render service to humanity.”

A socio-cultural organisation, Unwuekumenyi United Youths Forum, at the weekend held one million-man march in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, ahead of the 2023 general election.

The group, during the march, announced its decision to back the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, as its preferred candidate.

The forum, comprising six clans-  Ezza, Ikwo, Izzi, Ngbolizhia, Ezilo and Ohafia/Agba, is spread across nine local governments in Ebonyi State, namely Abakaliki, Ezza South, Ikwo, Izzi, Ishielu, Ohaukwu, Ezza North, Ebonyi and also in Onicha Local Government.

In a statement titled: “The position of Unwuekumenyi Youths on the rotation of governorship seat in Ebonyi State”, which was signed by its National President, Uche Ali-Ega, the forum said the march was in support of equity in the state.

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The forum said its decision to endorse Nwifuru was reached after assessments of the governorship candidates of all the political parties.

The forum noted that having appraised the political developments in Ebonyi State from 1999 to date, it “commends the founding fathers of the state, for their forthrightness and the unwavering belief in equity, justice and fairness, especially as regards the rotation of the seat of governorship among the three senatorial zones in the state.”

It also hailed Governor David Umahi for his massive infrastructural strides in Unwuekumenyi land and for his boldness, honesty and political will in maintaining the power rotation among the three senatorial zones in the state, with the governorship position having rotated from the North, Central, South and now, back to the North zone.

The Watchdog for Progressives Ijaw (WPI) has reminded President Muhammadu Buhari that Bayelsa State is the next in line to produce the substantive Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The stakeholders in a statement signed in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by its Coordinator, Lambert Olambo, however, said President Buhari was in order to have appointed an astute administrator, Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, from Delta State, to act as the managing director of the commission.

Describing Audu-Ohwavborua as a consummate technocrat, who understood the challenges of the NDDC, having served as a director in the commission, Olambo said the new acting managing director would redirect and refocus the agency to work in line with the Act establishing it.

He hailed Buhari for summoning the courage to end the era of administrative impunity in the commission and called on all stakeholders to support Audu-Ohwavborua pending the inauguration of a new board.

But Olambo stressed that other states in the region should support Bayelsa in producing the next substantive NDDC managing director in the interest of justice, equity and fairness.

Olambo said it would be unacceptable and a breach of the Act establishing NDDC to allow any other state apart from Bayelsa to occupy the top managerial position of NDDC and called on President Buhari to undertake due diligence on the matter to be properly guided before nominating the next managing director.

He said: “We understand that some states are lobbying for it. Investigations we conducted showed that Ondo State through its governor had relocated to Abuja to mount pressure on the Presidency to nominate the next managing director of NDDC from Ondo.

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“But the truth is that Ondo is not qualified to occupy that position. Those hanging around President Buhari and collecting money from desperate politicians seeking this juicy appointment are simply cashing out and deceiving people.

“The fact remains that the law establishing the NDDC rotates the chairman of the governing board of the NDDC alphabetically from A-R among the oil producing states, while the managing director rotates among the four states with the highest oil production quota. Ondo and even Edo states are not part of the four highest oil producing states as recommended by the Act.

“So, the recent agitation by Ondo and Edo states to have the MD slot is borne out of mischief and promoted by some selfish individuals around the President, who can do anything in exchange for money”.

Insisting that it was Bayelsa’s turn, Olambo said: “Since its establishment in 2000,  Akwa Ibom has produced two substantive managing directors; Delta has produced two; Rivers State has also got two, except Bayelsa which is the only state that has got only one MD among the four states.

“So the issue of Bayelsa in the line to produce the next substantive managing director is a matter that is evident and should not incur any contention. While the appointment of executive directors is at the prerogative of the President to assign portfolios as he deems necessary.

“Therefore, there is no iota of doubt that it is the turn of Bayelsa to have the managing director of the NDDC. Any attempt to do the contrary will not just be a breach of the Act establishing the commission, but also a recipe for crisis”.

Kinsmen of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has called on anti-graft agencies to compel the sacked Interim Administrator, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Efiong Akwa, to account for revenues that accrued to the commission under him.

The kinsmen under the auspices of the Ikwerre People’s Congress (IPC) Worldwide, commends President Muhammadu Buhari for dissolving the illegal Interim Management Committee and the Sole Administrator of the commission after a long period of condemnation and protests from stakeholders and development partners.

IPC in a statement signed by its Chairman, Livingstone Wechie, maintained that the NDDC had been run in defiance to the enabling Act establishing it and that the one-man squad sole administratorship of the defunct  Akwa was wrongly justified by the federal government.

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The kinsmen said: “We demand that Effiong Akwa should be made to account for all the revenues that accrued to the Commission under his watch including statutory allocations and contributions from the international oil companies.

“It is important to state that this dissolution saved critical NDDC funds including emergency funds from being disbursed by Effiong Akwa in the coming days during the upcoming 2023 general election which he has planned with some known politicians from within and outside the Niger Delta.

“We therefore demand that Effiong Akwa must be declare himself an arc enemy of the Niger Delta people and his likes must not be allowed to hold public office for life anymore.

“We further restate that although the issue of the Constitution of a Substantive Management and Board for the NDDC has been arrogantly emasculated by the President which has made the Commission lose its essence and subjected to a pool off corruption by those who have hijacked the system, the President is demanded without further delays to immediately comply with the NDDC Act to ensure the inauguration of the Substantive Board and Management.”

The Institute of Leadership Manpower and Management Development (ILMMD) has bestowed a lifetime recognition award on Dr. Austin Onamaro, CEO, Onas Holdings Ltd.

The investiture and induction ceremony held in Lagos recently had in attendance boardroom giants and business moguls in various national and multinational companies.

Justifying the need for he awards, Director of Membership Services, ILMMD, Dr. Theophilus Cornerstone Okonofua charged all the distinguished fellows and inductees to imbibe the traits of leadership in all ramifications, he reminded the audience that the Pan African institute is a prestige professional for development practitioners.

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“You must be an exemplary leader in your organisation and in the society at large, this institute is positioned in such a way that it must be reckoned with in Africa in the next five years.”

In his remarks, Onamaro commended the Institute for shaping the lives of distinguished fellows and its impact in developing leaders through various leadership trainings in Africa.

“This institute should be commended for its great impact in moulding people to be useful in their organisations and the society at large. I see this honour as another call to serve and this honour has encouraged me more to continue to dish out good leadership of qualities to my people both in my organisation and the society at large.”

At the ceremony, the institute was able to induct three distinguished fellows, 13 doctors of fellow and about 20 fellows.

At least 15 shops and several trucks and cars were burnt at Amoka in Anambra State by gunmen yesterday.

The hoodlums numbering over 10 destroyed several vehicles as they shot none stop.

The shooting caused pandemonium as residents and travellers abandoned their shops and vehicles to scamper for safety.

There was also heavy gridlock which stretched to Mgbidi and Awo-omma in Imo state.

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Amidst the confusion, several shops were looted by the hoodlums whose motive was yet to be ascertained as at time of filing this report.

The Anambra State Police Public Relations Officer, Ikenga Tochukwu, could not be reached.

But one of the Senior Police Officers, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed the attack.

The source said the Anambra State Police Commissioner, Echeng Echeng, had already deployed security operatives to the area.