The Nation Newspaper

Category: Southeast report

  • Imo community holds town hall meeting

    The Special Committee for the Actualisation of “the Oguta dream”  has held a meeting  to reposition the area in Imo State  politics.

    It held at the Oguta Civic Center. The event with the theme Oguta, The Way Forward in a New Dispensation  was convened by Mrs Yuvonne Afuluenu Kogolo and Frank Unyimadu

    Speaking at the gathering, Unyimadu said the meeting was to raise the political consciousness of the people towards a progressive and united  Oguta.

    He said when the Oguta people migrated from ancient Benin Kingdom, they settled at a place called Obodo Akpuruekwe.

    “It was the last settlement before the promise land called Ugwunta. At this place in 1461, they exhibited communal unity by sailing together with  King Agadagba behind and it was also love that made members of the age grade to share drink in one glass cup among others,” he said.

    On the issue of Oguta’s participation in Imo State government, Unyimadu said the community was incorporated into the Imo State executive power  during the Ukpabi Asika regime in the East Central State.

    “This era was a period of opulence and splendour for Oguta. It was the time the late Professor Flora Nwakuche, Late Justice Henry Okwuosa and Late Reverend Father Ifeanyi Anozia were appointed as members of a 10-man Executive Council of the defunct East Central State within six years,” he said.

    He added that after that the community was ignored.

    He said: “Mbakwe used executive power against Oguta by announcing in 1983 the creation of Oha Oma Local Government Area with headquarters at Kalabari beach, including Enuigbo Abatu, Enuigbo Umuosu as parts of the local government area. This was stopped by a peaceful protest at the Government House, Owerri led by Ogbuagu Gogo Nwakuche. That plot was saved by a military take-over on December 24, 1983.”

    He also added that subsequent civilian administrations, such as Evans Enwerem, Achike Udenwa, Ikedi Ohakim and Rochas Okoroacha have never appointed any Oguta person into key positions.

    “Udenwa during the time of rule suspended indefinitely an elected local government chairman (an Oguta Indigene) for no just cause. He also set up a kangaroo Judicial Commission of Enquiry headed by Justices Maranzu that made damaging recommendations to the government against Oguta as well as set up ISOPADEC on the recommendation of National Assembly without recognising the volume of oil and gas credited to Oguta community and no meaningful development came to Oguta through ISOPADEC during his regime,” he said.

    The chairman of the occasion, Professor Ike Azogu, encouraged sons and daughters of Oguta to rise for Oguta politically and economically.

    The special guest of honour and gubernatorial deputy governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Imo State, Alphonsus Gerald Irona, spoke about plans to solve the six-year electricity blackout and insecurity in Oguta. Irona assured the people that he would serve with integrity and honour if elected.

    Other Oguta personalities at the event include Eze Igwe of Oguta and Eze Chinedu Nzeribe.

  • UNN don gives inaugural lecture on oral drug delivery

    A professor of Pharmacy at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Kenneth Ofokansi, has said more potent oral drugs have been invented in the last three decades.

    Ofokansi these advanced drugs were made in forms, such as tablets, capsules, sachets, suspensions, emulsions and solutions. He added that they were superior to the conventional oral dosage forms.

    Presenting the 140th inaugural lecture of the University of Nigeria titled “Breaking the Barriers to Effective Peroral Drug Delivery”, inside the Princess Alexandra auditorium, Nsukka,  the university don, who is the chairman of the Senate ceremonials committee of UNN, ssaid in the last four and half decades,  peroral drug delivery has undergone unprecedented changes.

    “This transition has been mainly driven by the increased understanding of pharmaceutical and biological constraints at the molecular / atomic level, increased generation of drug candidates and emergence of several advanced technologies.”

    Ofokansi said this area made significant technological advances, not only in drug delivery aspects but also in fabrication technologies, adding that it was  anticipated that trends would bring the much-awaited revolution in the delivery of therapeutic agents, particularly biotechnology-based molecules.

    He added that the purpose of any drug delivery system was to enhance or facilitate the action of therapeutic compounds, stressing that it should now be apparent that conventional drug delivery systems were associated with a number of limitations which can reduce drug efficacy.

    He also enjoined other well-meaning and patriotic Nigerians to call on governments to fund  specialised reference laboratories in  universities.

    He paid glowing tribute to his late father, Chief Gabriel Ozoekwe Ofokansi, for laying a solid foundation for him and his mother, Mrs. Cecilia Mbanugo Ofokansi. He thanked his mother’s brother, Christopher Ogbonnia Anijah, who trained him and his brother, Dr. Uchenna Ofokansi. He also praised his wife, Nneoma, for her love, prayers and understanding.

    While appreciating the vice chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof. Chukwuma Ozumba, for believing in him, Prof. Ofokansi also praised the managing director of Miral Pharm Ltd, Lagos, Mr. Onyeka Micah Onyeibor, Ejike Ugwoke, Dozie Ikegbuna, Francis Edozie, Nnamdi Okoye, Chibuike Onwusoba and Chukwuma Ugezu for their support.

    The vice chancellor, Prof. Chukwuma Ozumba, re-affirmed the commitment of management to continue to invest in research and expressed joy that UNN was now ranked as the best university in Nigeria.

    The traditional ruler of Nando, Anambra State, Igwe Chinedu Nwakonuche and members of Umuriam clan of Agbudu village, Nando and members of the university community were among guests who graced the historic occasion.

  • Indian doctors on free paediatric heart surgery in Enugu

    A team of Indian doctors are at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu on a free paediatric heart surgery mission.

    The doctors are sponsorsed by the Catholic Church Spiritual Self Awareness Initiative.

    It is expected that 22 children would benefit from the free open heart surgeries which lasts for eleven days on two surgeries per day.

    The founder and chief executive of the Spiritual Self Awareness Initiative, Rev Fr. Charles Ogada, told reporters that the initiative was the first one by his organisation and would be on two times every  year.

    He said the surgeries are 100 percent free for the affected children disclosing that there were over 50 of such cases in the cue.

    Ogada assured that those who could not benefit in this first stanza would be taken care of in the next visit of the doctors.

    Leader of the five Indian doctors, Dr. Shush Katewa, who said he had performed close to 5000 paediatric cardiac surgeries in the last ten years, said one of every 100 children born has a heart defect. Most of them, he said, occur in developing countries.

    He said: “Most of these children die because they are not diagnosed. The incidence, however, is not prevalence in the developing countries. It is just one percent as in the developed world. The fact is that the number of children born in developing countries is higher than those born in the developed countries. This is where the issue of population control comes in. For example in Nigeria with a large population, about 67,000 children are born yearly with heart defects and less than 5 percent of that number is diagnosed.

    “Most of the defects are congenital and attributable to when the mother is older. If the mother is older, the chances are that the child will be born with a heart disease,” he stressed.

    “I have performed 5000 thousand paediatric cardiac surgery in the last ten years. I have performed these operations in India, Australia, Fiji, Cambodia and now Nigeria. This is my 12th year of medical mission.

    I feel that sense of satisfaction that I contribute to the paediatric surgery and there is also this opportunity in sharing knowledge with others from other countries.

    “There are lots of challenges.  One out of every 100 children born has a heart defect. Most of them occur in developing countries. Most of these children die because they are not diagnosed.”

    He added:  “The only way to solve the problem of occurrence is through population control as China did not more than one child for every couple. It worked for them. Nigeria should learn the lessons of China and India in population control. Most of the defects are congenital and attributable to when the mother is older. If the mother is older, the chances are that the child will be born with a heart disease. The cell coming from father is regenerated every 21 days. But in a woman the cells which contribute to the baby is death birth. So the cell being contributed by the woman is older and the child gets older. 25 to 35 is the ideal age of child bearing.

    “We have 11 operating days. Every day we have 2 to operate. We are expecting to achieve 20 or 21 patients. We hope to do more but considering the constraints in infrastructure it may be less.”

  • Ikpeazu urges INEC, security agencies to ensure free, fair, credible elections

    As part of his administration’s commitment to ensuring that Abia State achieves free, fair and credible elections, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has urged on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to provide a level playing ground for all political parties.

    Ikpeazu spoke at the 2019 Abia Town Hall Summit with the theme “Nmepe na  nchekwa ime obodo anyi”  organised by the Association of Abia State Town Union in Partnership with Hope Givers Initiatives at Abia Hotel Umuahia, the state capital. He said the time had come for Ndi Igbo to reflect and take a common stand on their welfare.

    Ikpeazu, represented by his deputy, Sir Ude Oko Chukwu, described the gathering as very timely.

    Chukwu said such gathering would help provide the opportunity for the sensitisation of the people of the Southeast on the need to present a united front and to also present candidates who would ensure their pride of place in political and economic matters was not lost.

    He promised that the state government would sustain the partnership it has established with town unions.

    The former governor of Anambra State, and PDP Vice President flag bearer, Mr Peter Obi and the Chairman on the occasion, Chief Acho Nwakanma, advised Ndi Igbo to vote in a credible government with their interest at heart.

    They said  the summit was an eye opener for the Igbo to make good use of their votes.

    Also speaking, the State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Joseph Iloh represented by Mr Chigozie Godfrey, urged the unions to sensitise their people on the need to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), which he described as the only weapon to elect leaders of their choice.

    Highpoint of the summit was the presentation of distinguished awards on Ikpeazu,  Chukwu, former deputy governor, Chief Acho Nwakanma, Commissioner for local government and Chieftaincy Affairs and Sir Christopher Enweremadu. There was a goodwill message from the president general, Association of Abia Town Unions, Sir George Mgborukwe.

  • Anambra teenager writes community’s history

    History was made in Ayamelum community in Anambra State when a 19- year-old writer, Michael Chineme Ike, produced a 542-page book on the history of his area.

    Ike said he embarked on the project to give insights into the story of his community at the same time produce a book that would become an asset to generations to come.

    He revealed that he commenced writing the book titled “Ayamelum Clan” in 2014 at the age of 15.

    Recounting the difficulties he encountered while working on the project, Ike recalled how his late father, Chief Ike, and some other aged persons in the area, assisted him with stories and histories that motivated him to write.

    He said: “Even till the very last moment, I had no sponsor to assist me cope with the financial burden of finishing the work.

    “Besides, many people looked down on me; and no one believed that at my age, I could produce such work.

    “But God being on my side, I did not give up on the project.”

    Speaking during the launching of the book at the Ayamelum Local Government Area headquarters, Anaku, the book reviewer, Sir Udoji Amedu, gave insight into the 60 chapters; starting with the origin of the people of the community.

    He explained the meaning and origin of the name “Ayamelum”, major occupations of the people and the differences among them.

    Amedu also highlighted the challenges and major achievements of the people of the area in the modern era, among other issues concerning the community.

    Underscoring the place of history in the life of a people, book reviewer expressed confidence that the young author’s work would serve as an asset for the people of the area.

    Also speaking, the traditional ruler of Igbakwu community, HRH Prof. Onuora Nwuneli, was full of appreciation to the young author for the success story, describing it as a rare feat.

    He recalled how monarchs in the council area, in 2016, met to discuss the idea of changing the name of the local government “to a more progressive name”.

    Nwuneli, a former commissioner in the State, who wrote the forward of the book, however regretted their inability to do so, saying, “there was no history book that gave deep insight into the etymology of the local government.”

    “Since then, traditional rulers from this area have been looking for a scholar that will write the history of the local government area, unknown to us that our little son had started the project since 2014”, he added.

    The spiritual father of the day, Rev. Fr. Prof. Ben Okwu Eboh, recalled how the young author frequented his office since the day he started the project.

    He promised to do his best to ensure that the book received the necessary patronage and support it deserved.

    Many dignitaries graced the occasion including Chief Paul Odenigbo (Former SSG, Anambra State); Justice P. A. C Obidigwe (Former Chief Judge, Anambra State); Hon. Uche Okafor (Member of the State House of Assembly); Hon. Benjamin Onyeabo (Chairman, Ayamelum Local Government); Hon. Paul Obiora (Former Chairman, Ayamelum Local Government) and many other prominent persons from the area.

  • Culture, feast of masquerades in Anambra

    The end of year brings people back to their homeland. In Achina, Anambra State, the returnees revive their traditions, complete with vibrant masquerade displays. NWANOSIKE ONU reports

    At the Yuletide, home is always irresistible to those dwell far away. There is a lot to catch up on. A lot to eat and drink.

    In Achina, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, there is more to the season. It is a time to celebrate the Idegwu festival amid much fanfare.

    This season, the community also celebrated what it calls the mass return of their sons and daughters from far and near, which happens in every three years.

    Achina community is made up of three large quarters, namely Eselle, Umueleke and Umuezeiyi and the community is equally known for its historic war exploits.

    The celebration of the community’s founding brought home all their professionals, businessmen and women, and scholars from the academia, among others.

    The traditional ruler of the kingdom, Igwe Godwin Nnaemeka Obiora, the Eze Idegwu III of Achina, also marked his Ofala with a display of assorted masquerades.

    The Amaiyi field, Achina was filled to the brim with different uniforms especially from women and cultural displays from them during their ‘Itu-nya dance‘.

    The monarch used the ceremony to confer chieftaincy titles on some of the illustrious sons and daughters of Anambra, including the former Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University UNIZIK, Prof. Boniface Egboka, who is from a neighboring community of Umuchu.

    Before the event which climaxed on the eve of the New Year, the traditionalists, led by 84-year-old, Nze Nnebelam Onyetusionu, had called out all the masquerades numbering over 100 at the Oye market for rituals.

    The rituals were performed at the Eze-koro shrine, where women are forbidden to enter, located inside the Oye market square.

    The Chairman of the organising committee, Nze Modestus Umenzekwe told The Nation that the ceremony was to herald the birthday of the community and nothing fetish in it.

    He said the community is planning to make it a seven-year interval instead of the triennial arrangement to give their children both home and abroad enough space to prepare.

    The event attracted dignitaries from far and near including the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Nwabueze Ngige, Sen. Andy Uba, representing Anambra South senatorial zone.

    Also, Hon. Chidi Duru, former Chief of General Staff, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, Hon. Eucharia Azodo and Minister of power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola SAN, who was represented by Engr. Ajayi were in attendance.

    The Special Assistant to Anambra State Governor Chief Willie Obiano on Political Matters, an indigene of the community, Hon. Anayo Okpalaeke, told The Nation that it is an event where their people celebrate their culture and traditions.

    He said the ‘Iti omu‘ (masquerade parade) started long ago in the area, adding that the difference between Achina and other areas in Nigeria in such occasions is that they don’t kill anyone.

    Secretary, Idegwu Day celebration, Mr Sylvester Umenduka, said what was celebrated was Igbo heritage, inherited from their forefathers.

    “It is our own way of showcasing Achina community to the whole world, to show the people our rich culture and traditions in our community,” he said.

    For Nze Emma Nzekwe (popularly called Nzeakonobi) from Umueleke clan, there is no form of evil in the practice of their culture, bequeathed to them by their forefathers.

    The Administrative Secretary of the community, Okpala Augustine, told The Nation that the 2018 edition of Idegwu festival was special to the community in many ways because, the organisation was different led by Nze Modestus Umenzekwe. Again, according to him, it coincided with the Ofala festival of their monarch, the mass return of their people and the assemblage of masquerades from far and near.

    Also, The Nation gathered the invitation of dignitaries from far and near including the President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, made it unique for the first time.

    All thanks according to the community should go to Umenzekwe, who attracted such heavy names to the community as the chairman of the organising committee, the epoch making event featured differnt stages of programmes, cultural exhibition, award recognition and pageantries.

    Fashola in  his speech described Achina community as  sophisticated with socio-cultural and political system which they have  successfully used for develo-pments. He also used the event  to appeal to government to  create a good road networking in the community Igwe Godwin  Obiora appealed to Achina people to always maintain the peace and love that had existed among them and to always be a shining armour anywhere they found themselves.

    Miss Okpara juliet was given an award for her outstanding performance in West African Examination Council and the best result in Achina.

  • GOC decorates promoted officers

    The General Officer Commanding 82 Division Nigerian Army, Major General Emmanuel Kabuk has decorated eight senior officers who benefitted from the recent 2018 promotion exercise.

    In his remarks at the occasion, Kabuk charged them to be professional, decisive and responsive in the conduct of their responsibilities in line with the Chief of Army Staff’s vision for the Nigerian Army.

    In his remarks at the event, the GOC congratulated the promoted officers and charged them to work very hard to justify the confidence reposed in them even as he described promotion to be an act of God.

    “Promotion, he said, “comes from God and only Him alone can promote anyone. You must therefore thank COAS for finding you worthy to be so elavated. You must continue to work harder in line with the COAS vision to justify the promotion.”

    Thanking the COAS for finding Officers of the Division worthy for the promotion, the 82 Division GOC, assured COAS of the Division’s determination in executing its constitutional roles in line with his vision for the NA.

    Among the newly promoted officers included Colonels Yahaya Abdulhamid and Enoch Albara decorated to the rank of a Brigadier General.

    The Commander 14 Brigade, Commander 82 Division Garrison Chief of Staff, Deputy Directors and Principal Staff Officers of the Division as well as family members and friends of the newly promoted officers graced the occasion.

    The newly promoted officers and their family members while thanking the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Buratai and the 82 Division GOC for giving them the enabling ground to work, stating that the promotion reminds them of the need to work harder.

    Seven senior officers were decorated including two Colonels to Brigadier General, three Lieutenant Colonels to Colonels. Others were three Captains that were promoted to the rank of Major.

    The event attracted many senior military officers, invited guests and relations of the beneficiaries took place at the 82 Division Officers’ Mess.

  • Free medical treatment for Ebonyi community

    A non-governmental organisation, Healthcare Educational Liaison Project (HELP) based in the United States has given free medical treatment to residents of Amaigbo-Edda, Afikpo South Local Government Area and its environs.

    The NGO carried out the health outreach because the  community is located in one of the remotest part of the community with a difficult terrain to access making it difficult for the people to have access to quality and constant health care.

    Speaking to our reporter, Dr. John Kalu Ijem, a US-based heart surgeon who led the team of medical doctors during the programme, said the programme has become a yearly ritual he started to give back to the community of his birth.

    “We are here to provide free medical care to indigenes of Amaigbo Edda free of charge. The programme is organised by Healthcare Educational Liaison Project, HELP, based in the United States. It’s a non- profit organisation, that provides free medical care for undeserved areas”.

    “I am from the area so having excelled in what I am doing overseas in the United States there is what we call giving back and so this is a way giving back to the people of my community”.

    The medical practitioner advised wealthy members of the community to imbibe the habit of sharing with the less fortunate members of the society.

    “It is not how much you have but how much you are willing to share with those who are less fortunate than you are. I am not the richest person in the community but I have enough for myself and I think I could share with other folks who are less fortunate than myself.

    “As you can see we have over 250 people here right now who are here to receive the free medical care. Many more are still coming. We have four resident doctors who have come to help us to try and provide the free medical care to the people. So, it is not how much you have but how much you are willing to share and care for those who are in need. The total cost of this project is about 30,000 US dollars,” he said.

    The cardiologist said the programme has had tremendous impact on the health and well-being of the people of the area and promised to sustain the programme.

    “The programme has been tremendous. Last year I saw a person who I put in a pacemaker about 7 years ago. She saw my mother and was thanking my her. That her son was able to save her live after many years that she was going from one hospital to the other. She is still alive today. It has been tremendously successful. Most of the people here are farmers, so they do lots of hard work and it comes with some serious pains. We give them a lot of pain medications to alleviate their pains and so they are always looking forward to our coming”.

    The Nigerian facilitator of the programme, Mr. Ijem Sunday Ogbonna commended Dr. John Kalu for coming up with the programme which he said has help to alleviate the health challenges of the people.

    “The programme is a lofty one. As you can see the number of people here is much. We thank God who has helped him to come this far and to remember where he comes from. So that yearly like this he comes to see his people to tell them yes, I know that you people are suffering this is the little I can do for my people.

    “We thank God who gave him such an opportunity. The programme is not only for Amaigbo people, it is for all of Edda. As many people as we can reach we try to help them. People from all the neighbouring communities are here that is why the number is overwhelming”, Mr Sunday added.

    A beneficiary, Mrs Rose Orji Ndukwe said she was there to get treatment even as she confirmed the efficacy of drugs given to her in previous editions of the programme.

    “I have serious fever and chest pain and high blood pressure. I also have pains all over my body. It is as if someone used iron to hit me all over my body. It also comes with serious cough. I came to get treatment because I heard that Dr. John is giving free treatment again. I was here last year when I hear similar problems and he gave me drugs and I was well again. But after the drugs finished it started again, so the drugs are very effective and I hope that he will help me to get better again. May God continue to bless him for all the good works he is doing”.

    A member of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Imo Kalu, who benefitted from the outreach last year said the programme has been of immense help to the people of the area.

    ”Last year, while I was in my final year, I was deeply sick. They told me that there was one man here that was giving free treatment. I came and was totally healed. I was at my place of primary assignment in Aba, Abia State when I heard that he was around again, so I decided to come and show my appreciation by volunteering to help organise the programme for this year. I am helping to organise the people and do the necessary documentation like writing down their names so that they will go in and be attended to in an orderly fashion”, the corps member said.

  • Ikpeazu’s wife visits Abia first baby of the year

    In line with the tradition of welcoming the first baby of the year as commonly practiced in Nigeria, the wife of Abia State Governor, Mrs. Nkechi Ikpeazu has visited the state’s first baby of the year 2019.

    Mrs. Ikpeazu who apparently spent New Year’s Eve night in Aba, the commercial hub of the state, visited one of the popular private hospitals located along Aba-Owerri Road in the commercial city.

    The baby, Jidenna Jesse, born into the family of Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Osondu, indigenes of Nsukka in Enugu State who weighed 3kg, was born at 1.42am on New Year day.

    Speaking during the visit, Mrs. Ikpeazu presented material gifts, paid the hospital bill and donated cash to the parents of the baby.

    She urged the parents to bring up the child in the fear of the Lord and to also teach him the virtues of hard work and love for others.

    The governor’s wife also used the occasion to call on parents to consider the task of proper upbringing of their children as a scared responsibility given to them by God and society.

    She said, “Children are gifts from God who in turn expect us, as parents, to bring them up to be good citizens that will ultimately contribute to the making of a better society.

    “I know the coming of baby Jidenna signposts greater good things that will come to the people of this state in Nigeria 2019 and I wish to use this baby as a point of contact to pray that the joy of every family living in Abia State will be complete in 2019 through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

    Mrs. Ikpeazu who later visited another hospital at Osisioma where a male and female twin were born at 4am today also offered gifts to the children, their parents and later celebrated the New Year with orphans at the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) motherless babies home off Ogbor Hill, Aba.

  • Vegetable oil firm coming to Abia communities

    The people of both Okai and Amokwe Item in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State are in a joyous mood as Dufil Prima Food Plc, maker of Indomie Noodles, has laid the foundation stone for the building of a vegetable oil refining industry in the two communities.

    It is a known fact that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had given a time limit to all companies that use refined vegetable oil as raw materials, to cease forthwith on its importation from Malaysia after the grace period which will soon expire.

    The directive by the CBN also advised such affected industries to either set up plants locally to produce their raw materials or in the alternative source same from within, this had made the Dufil Prima Foods Plc to seek out Item for their factory. Speaking at Amokwe Item during the sword turning ceremony for the two factory sites, the President-General (PG) of Item Development Association (IDA) Chief Kingsley Ogba Nwokoro said that Item people are happy with the company for siting their project in their place.

    Nwokoro said that with the coming of the company into Item that the people will support them and ensure that they and their materials will be given all the security and protection they require to succeed.

    The PG said that their coming into Item will go a long way to ensure that Item has a pride of place in the comity of communities that could be counted as being one of those that has gone into modern day production of refined vegetable oil.

    He said, “With the coming into our communities by Dufil Prima Foods Plc, makers of renowned Indomie noodles and power oil, we will be more known as one of the leading communities in the country were vegetable oil is produced in commercial quantity”.

    “It could be recalled that palm industry is one of the main businesses the people of Item are well known for, as our people had embraced palm oil since ages and which could be rightly described as our heritage, we have demonstrated a great deal of resilience and mastery with a huge deal of investment and success in that area”.

    “Historically, the palm industry has been the source of wealth and progress of the people of Item as we have developed skills in managing and promoting this precious resource and invested a great deal in it before the advent of crude and petroleum oil”.

    “As far back as 50s, Item people who dealt in palm oil organised themselves into a cooperative society called ‘Item Merchants’ who were noted for the wealth and success this produce can give”.

    “Item people were also known to have produced renowned merchants in produce business such as late Chief Ugoji Eke, Elder Egesi Akwari among others while the foremost produce inspector of the Eastern Region Sir Herbert Ukaegbu Osoka was from here”.

    Nwokoro thanked the initiator of the project and proud daughter of Item, Mrs Nnenna Ejekam, who he said leveraged in her many years of cordial relationship with the organisation and worked assiduously to convince them to invest in her homeland.

    He used the forum to confer on three directors of the organisation Item Merit Award as a way of extending the warm traditional reception of Item Okpi people to the organisation and also to show the preparedness, “Of our people to partner them and assured them of the safety of their investment in our homeland”.

    In her response at the occasion, Ejekam said the last days of 2018 could be said to be the best period for the people of Item as it is the dawn of new era which will boost palm tree and its oil which has been the wealth of the community.

    Ejekam said that with the ground breaking ceremony by Dufil Prima Foods Plc, “It will eliminate poverty, criminality and make the youths to be gainfully employed and also bring wealth for the people of Item.

    She told the people of both Okai and Amokwe Item communities that the organisation is the maker of Indomie noodles and power oil, stressing that the project has three sides such as acquiring virgin land, the mill and leasing of palm trees from communities.

    The legal practitioner said that before their own palm trees will start fruiting that they will be using the leased palm trees from the communities in Item to service the oil mill and urged the people to ensure adequate security for the mill and its workers.

    The high point of the ceremony was the ward of Item Merit Award on the three directors of Dufill Prima Food Plc which include Chief Operating Officer, Madhukar Khetan;  Executive Director Production, Adhi Narto  and Lim Saradosa including Mrs. Nnenna Ejekam.