Our Reporter

 

ABOUT 260 arms and 5,510 ammunitions were on Monday destroyed in Cross River State. The arms were surrendered by the Bakassi Strike Force and Khaki Boys.

The arms were destroyed yesterday at the opening of the Ecowas-European Union Arms destruction exercise at UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar.

Governor Ben Ayade, representatives of Ecowas- EU and service commanders were part of the exercise.

Ayade called for the inclusion of the Bakassi Strike Force into the Federal Government’s Amnesty programme.

He recalled that a similar exercise was carried out by his government in 2018, where over 5,000 militants surrendered their arms, but regretted that ’till now, they are waiting to be enrolled into the Amnesty programme’.

“I would prefer that we find an alternative job for them. Let members of the Bakassi Strike Force and Khaki boys be included in the Federal Government’s Amnesty program,”he said.

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Ayade lamented that with over 32 immigrant routes in Cross River, the state has became a veritable source for harvest of arms and young men. He, therefore, appealed to the Federal Government to give the state special consideration in terms of financial assistance.

Joel Bisina of Lite-Africa, who represented Ecowas-EU, said the arms destruction was part of the mandate of the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons.

He hailed Ayade for strategically facilitating the voluntary surrender of arms.

 Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

 

ABIA State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has redeemed his pledge of full scholarship to 15-year-old waste disposer, Chibuike Ibekwe.

Until fate smiled on him, Ibekwe was a garbage disposer at Ariaria International market. He chose to support his mother (a petty trader) after dropping out of school when she couldn’t afford his fees.

Ibekwe, who hails from Mbano in Imo State, came to public knowledge after Mrs. Goodness Uzoukwu, a trader in Ariaria, told the story of how he returned a bag containing new shoes to her. She had given him the bag to dispose, thinking it was trash.

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On December 15, 2020, Governor Ikpeazu promised to fund Ibekwe’s secondary education when he met him and his mother. The governor yesterday, represented by his media aide, Enyinnaya Appolos, handed over Ibekwe’s schools fee to Chairman of Ariaria International Market, Emeka Igara and Chibuike Okebugwu.

Though the scholarship amount was not disclosed, The Nation gathered that Ibekwe would be registered at Living Word Academy, Aba.

 Chris Njoku, Owerri and Damian Duruiheoma, Owerri

 

CHAIRMAN of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in Imo State Comrade Austin Chilakpu has accused the government of hiring hoodlums to protest against him and invade his office.

Some people, believed to be workers, yesterday stormed the NLC Secretariat, bearing placards suggesting they no longer wanted Chilakpu’s leadership.

The protesting workers destroyed Chilakpu’s photographs on the walls. They said Chilakpu was retired and so should quit as NLC chairman.

The workers, over 2,000 marched from Assumpta Roundabout in Owerri, to Labour House on Port Harcourt Road, causing a gridlock.

They accused Chilakpu and members of the executive of being insensitive to the plight of workers.

Caretaker Committee Chairman Ndubuisi Uchehara said the Chilapku-led executive was sacked because of its continued maladministration and confrontational nature to government and governance.

According to him, it was insensitive of the sacked leadership to call workers to embark on strike knowing the economic meltdown around the world.

He said: “There is economic meltdown world over. Almost every government is grappling to solve its problems. Labour and government must work in synergy. Labour exists to complement government not to confront it on every issue.”

According to Uchehara, the Governor Hope Uzodimma-led government, which labour has repeatedly accused of not paying salaries, has paid workers up till December 2020.

“We are not politicians; we are public servants, our conducts should be limited to what concerns advancement and betterment of the state,” he added.

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But Chilakpu accused the government of hiring hoodlums to protest against him and invade his office.

According to him, the people were protesting because his leadership wrote to inform the governor that about 17,000 workers and pensioners were yet to be paid since last year, after the governor claimed he had cleared workers’ salaries.

He said: “These are people government-hired. They are not workers. Is it the workers who have not been paid that would carry placards, or those ones whose parents have not been paid their pensions?

“As early as 5am today, the government used police to barricade our office, preventing workers from coming in. The government also hired thugs to ransack our office to look for me.

“This is because the governor, in December 2020, said he had paid every worker and pensioners. This elicited reactions from many workers who besieged our office to clarify the situation.

“We investigated this and discovered that a lot of workers and pensioners have not been paid. We then wrote to government that almost 17,000 workers and pensioners have not been paid from February 2020 till date. That’s the only problem we have with the government.

“If labour had kept quiet, nothing would have happened. To know what is on ground, just visit any community and ask about pensioners and workers that have been paid. Out of 10, you would find that about five have not gotten their pay since March.

“These people are alive. Why don’t you want to pay them? If you are downsizing, let us know the procedure to that. You don’t just lay people off. That was the wrong labour did. That’s why they’re sponsoring people here and saying Chilakpu has retired.”

But Uzodimma’s media aide, Modestus Nwamkpa, described Chilakpu’s allegations as laughable, saying the governor had no hand whatsoever in the internal matters of any organisation or union.

He said: “From what the protesters were saying, they have lost trust in Chilakpu’s leadership. So, how does this concern the governor?

“Also, the workers said Chilakpu has retired and that as a pensioner, he cannot head the NLC. So, how does the governor come into this? Chilakpu should go and sort himself out with his members. If the workers are saying they don’t have confidence in you, it is your duty to convince them to have trust in you. If they’re saying you have retired, sort it out with them and leave the governor out of it.”

 

By Simon Utebor, Yenagoa

Bayelsa State got N27 billion, and not N38 billion, from the Federal Government for federal projects executed from 2005 till date, the government has said.

The Senate, on November 24, 2020, approved promissory notes and bond issuances worth N148.1 billion as refunds to some states for executing federal projects. Beneficiaries are Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River, Osun and Ondo states.

A breakdown of the money shows that Bayelsa got N38.4 billion; Cross River (N18.4 billion), Ondo (N7.8 billion), Osun (N4.5 billion) and Rivers (N78.9 billion).

Promissory notes and bonds are debt instruments which one party promises in writing to pay a determinate sum of money to the other, either at a fixed or determinable future time, under specific terms and redeemable before maturity at a discount.

Governor Douye Diri gave the clarification while giving the financial update for November and December 2020. There have been speculations that the government got N38 billion in cash.

Read Also: Wike confirms 78bn refund from FG

Represented by his Technical Adviser on Treasury and Accounts, Timipre Seipulo, the governor explained that the debt instrument had a tenor of between four and five years maturity.

According to him, the refund was structured such that benefiting states would have to wait for between four and five years before they can access the full amount of the refund.

He explained that for states who wanted their funds, it had to be discounted and, as such, the N27 billion announced by the government is the discounted amount from the N38 billion.

Although the government did not disclose details of the spread of the instruments in promissory notes and bonds, the discount amounted to 71 per cent of the N38.4 billion value.

It, therefore, implies that the state forfeited 29 per cent of the funds, amounting to N11.4 billion.

Before the clarification, speculations were rife that the government collected over N38 billion refund from the Federal Government, but said it received N27 billion, a development that set tongues wagging as to the whereabouts of the remaining over N11 billion.

By Bisi Olaniyi, Benin

Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Edo State Col. David Imuse (rtd), and a party member in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area, Senator Domingo Obende, have disagreed over Obende’s membership and support for Governor Godwin Obaseki.

Imuse yesterday petitioned the party’s national secretariat to reverse Obende’s appointment as Chairman of the Niger State Registration Committee.

He said the petition became necessary since Obende’s appointment was causing ripples in the party, especially as he ceased to be a member of the party since June 2020.

The party chief said Obende was suspended in 2020 by members of his Ward 2 for anti-party activities.

He said: “Senator Obende’s suspension has not been lifted because he has refused to purge himself of his anti-party activities, especially his continuous encouragement of factionalisation in Ward 2 of Akoko-Edo council.

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“Obende got his supporters in Akoko-Edo to defect to PDP in 2020. The senator has since ceased to be a member of APC. Most of our party leaders and faithful in Edo are threatening to jeopardise the registration and exit the party if disloyalty becomes the hallmark of recognition.

“It is for the interest of our party that Obende’s appointment be reversed. The morale of members is at its lowest ebb. If Senator Obende wants to revalidate his membership of the APC, he can do so in his unit, during the registration exercise.”

But Obende denied involving in anti-party activities. He insisted he remained a bonafide member of APC.

Obende said: “In November 2020, I paid one year rent for the APC’s Secretariat in Akoko-Edo. Nobody saw me in any meeting or rally organised by the PDP. The keys to my house in Igarra are with me and whenever I go home, I enter my house. I did not see anybody come to share money in my house.

“I supported Governor Godwin Obaseki till the end in the APC, but we parted ways when he defected to the PDP. So, I remain a member of the APC…”

By Nwanosike Onu, Awka And Emma Elekwa, Onitsha

Southeast leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), say the emergence of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2023 is a must for Ndigbo

Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, Senator Chris Ngige, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and Sharon Ikeazor, spoke on Saturday in Awka, Anambra State

The governor and the ministers spoke during the Southeast meeting of APC at the Olivia Montage Hotel in Awka, which was attended by the leaders of the party in the zone

Addressing the APC members, Uzodinma said if Ndigbo were serious in getting the presidency in 2023, the journey must begin with the governorship election in Anambra State

He said what Ndigbo was seeking in Nigeria was justice, fairness and equity, adding that they would not get it through ethnic politics in the country

For Ngige, Onu, Ikeazor and Nnamani, the time to get Igbo presidency was now, starting with the Anambra election in November.

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They said Ndigbo must be at the centre in 2023, adding that Ebonyi State had joined APC while efforts were in top gear to get other Southeast states to the mainstream.

Ikeazor said, “We need Igbo presidency. But let us win Anambra State first. If we win Anambra, we have one leg on the presidency. Ndigbo must be at the Centre. Igbo must be president in 2023,” she said

Uzodinma also said the November 6 election was a must win for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

He regretted that the party had played second fiddle in state politics for a long time, despite the calibre of people that make up the party.

He said, “APC can’t continue to sink in the ship of the opposition party. We must be ready to take the initiative to win the state in the November 6 election. But it can only be possible if we’re united.

“It’s the desire for peace and unity in the party that brought us here, for the sole purpose of reconciling the different groups. We know all of them that prefer to work alone. Our main job is to reconcile all of them.”

Former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, applauded the Imo State Governor for his role in the party since he joined.

He said, “Uzodinma’s presence has added impetus; brought a lot of respect to our zone.”