The Nation Newspaper

Category: Southeast report

  • New estate opens in Enugu

    A multi-billion-naira housing estate named Jedidiah Gardens has been inaugurated amid fanfare in Enugu. The estate is the fifth developed by the Copen Group in Enugu with a total of 239 three-bedroom housing units.

    The group managing director of Copen group, Rev (Surveyor) Ugochukwu Chime during the commissioning thanked all those who made it possible to achieve the feat.

    He was particularly grateful to the Enugu State Government, Ministry of Power, Works and Housing and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria.

    Elated Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State ýsaid at the occasion:

    “I will start by congratulating the COPEN Group and particularly, the Managing Director/CEO, a worthy and exemplary son of Enugu State, Rev. (Surveyor) Ugochukwu O. Chime, on the completion of yet another Housing project in Enugu State.

    Indeed, with the several housing estates, plazas and other projects that the Copen Group has built in the State, we are proud to say that we have found in the company, a veritable and reliable partner in our quest to provide affordable housing for our people and to develop new urban settlements that will help boost economic activities and reduce the current pressure on the state capital.

    “There is no doubt that this estate would help to provide more decent and affordable shelters for our people and also boost housing development and ancillary activities in the state. It also comes as a welcome complement to the current efforts of the state government to attract investments and create jobs and wealth for our people. We use this occasion to reiterate our resolve to do whatever is necessary, to ensure a conducive environment for such investments or ventures to flourish in Enugu State.

    “I want to thank the Federal Mortgage Bank and other partners of Copen Group for their commitment to the actualisation of this project and many others across the State.”

    Those who were allotted houses in the estate were presented with keys to them.

    Bishop Amaechi Nwachukwu performed the dedication ceremony.

  • Hoodlums torch police station in Abia

    Hoodlums have attacked a police post in Ahiaukwu Olokoro, Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State, setting ablaze property worth millions of naira.

    The invaders burnt an operational vehicle, a commercial tricycle and broke the windshield of a Volkswagen car parked within the police station, The Nation learnt.

    The situation, our reporter gathered, triggered fear among the residents who said activities of criminals have been on the increase in the area in recent times.

    Some of the residents who spoke anonymously said they were afraid, adding that if hoodlums could attack a police post and get away with it, their lives and property are not safe.

    The residents could not confirm whether anybody was killed in the incident, but they said important police documents may have been destroyed.

    Abia State Police Command spokesman, Geoffrey Ogbonna could not be reached at the time of this report, but a senior police officer in the command who confirmed the incident, said that the police were on the trail of the suspects.

    According to the source, the police were working on intelligence gathered so far which they believe would aid them arrest the suspects.

    The source debunked reports that the hoodlums carted away arms and documents of the command, but confirmed that they facilitated the escape of two of the four suspected drug dealers and armed robbers earlier arrested by policemen attached to the police post.

    The source said the suspects were about to be transferred to Ubakala Divisional Police Headquarters before the hoodlums struck.

    The source vowed that the police would ensure that they tracked down the hoodlums involved in the invasion.

     

  • Otti urges supporters to obtain voters card

    Otti urges supporters to obtain voters card

    The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2015 general election in Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti has urged his supporters and members of the party that are yet to obtain their permanent voters card to do so before 2019 polls.

    Otti, who stated this at the commissioning of the Abia South Zonal office of Abia First, his political organisation, reminded his supporters that they won’t be able to make any meaningful change in the state and the country if they do not have a permanent voter’s card.

    Otti lamented the state of infrastructural decay in the state two years into Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration, saying the state was yet to see true governance. He said providing real governance was the reason he came out to vie for the governorship position in the state in 2015.

    The financial expert who lauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting a credible governorship election on November 18 in Anambra State, predicted that the party in the state would record a similar landslide victory.

    He said, ”We recorded 21/21 in Anambra and we will get 17/17 in Abia,” referring to APGA’s sweeping of all the 21 council areas in the election.

    Otti said APGA clearly won the governorship election in Abia in 2015, but that the PDP government in the state aided by federal might, re-wrote the result in a place other than the collation centres, thereby denying the party victory.

    ”I’m sure you know the story and we did something to ensure that what happened in 2015 didn’t happen and that is why they decided to write the results outside the collation centres. We reclaimed that mandate at the Appeal Court, but the Supreme Court reversed it.

    ”What happened in Anambra on November 18 I’m sure has shown it very clearly to everybody that writing of results cannot stand anymore because if you didn’t get accredited electronically, you cannot vote. That is actually what the issue is and like President Muhammadu Buhari has said, the Anambra example is the minimum standard and I hope that INEC will continue to redeem itself and conduct credible election.”

    Speaking further Otti said, “In 2015 when what happened, happened, it seemed like 2019 was far and here it comes. Since then, the incumbent government hasn’t been able to do anything tangible till date. We foresaw what is happening today. The people they used in committing the atrocities which they did as at then; are today regretting it.

    The 2015 APGA Abia governorship  candidate opined that good governance was his watch word and remains what the people should be expecting from him in 2019 as he was optimistic his party would come to power then.

    ”We will win the election and we will change the face of Abia State. I am sure that people do not like how Abia State looks. It took so much time for me to move from Osisioma Junction to get here (Okigwe Road) because of bad road and the rains are not here. Imagine what it could have been if the rains were here.

    ”So, we have had several years of very poor governance, years of rot, years of lack of progress and I think that we have had enough. It is time for change, positive change so that we can be like others. If you go to Anambra, I am sure that you will know that there is a difference between a state that has government and a state that doesn’t have. Abia State doesn’t have government and that is why you must get your PVC.”

     

  • Obiano to expectant mothers: prioritise hygiene, vaccination

    Expectant mothers in Anambra State have been told to prioritise regular vaccination and personal hygiene, saying they are important for the health of their babies.

    The state governor Willie Obiano gave the advice during the flag-off of December 2017 Maternal Newborn and Child Health Week.

    The event was held at the Nigerian Red Cross premises at Amawbia, Awka South Local Government Area.

    Obiano, who was represented by his wife, Ebelechukwu, said nursing and expectant mothers should maintain balanced diet and avoid practices capable of retarding the growth and proper development of newborns.

    The governor added that free immunisation saves babies from contracting communicable diseases, stressing that the state would ensure that it remained polio-free.

    He said, “The primary responsibility of any government is the security and safety of the people and attending to the health needs of ndi Anambra is a very important aspect of safety”

    “We will continue to improve and sustain the enviable status of our health institutions and ensure that pregnant women; mothers and new born are not neglected”

    “That is why this awareness is critical and must be sustained at all levels of our health system especially the primary healthcare system”

    The governor observed that the success achieved in the state’s health sector was as a result of the commitment and collaboration of various partners in the healthcare delivery system.

    He praised the development partners especially the World Health Organisation (WHO) for assisting his administration in achieving its goals and target in the health sector.

    Also, he extended same to Nigerian Red Cross Anambra state for making effective use of the resources available for providing support to those in need in times of emergency.

    The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joe Akabuike, explained that the Maternal and Child health Week was a very important programme carried out twice a year as part of the maternal and child health survival strategies which helped in improving immunisation level in Anambra State.

    Akabuike expressed delight that Obiano’s positive disposition to health issues had helped in maintaining a polio free state, among other diseases.

  • ‘How to cash in on Aba’

    ‘How to cash in on Aba’

    Churning out good products, as Aba entrepreneurs do, is fine but there are clear-cut ways to make good money from those products, especially if you are an exporter

    ‘Various speakers at the event said Abia State, owners of SMEs and freight operators would make more money, create job opportunities and improve the economies of Southeast states and the country’s economy if there would be favourable government policies that would protect local industry’

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s rhetoric and local content policy may have changed the story of Aba, Abia State’s city of commerce and enterprise. The city’s enterprise is well known, but the entrepreneurs have not always profited from that fame. Their products are not well packaged, and are sometimes dismissed as substandard. That is partly because the producers have little cash to boost their businesses, and also because Nigerians are fixated on everything foreign.

    Taking office in 2015, and with a drained, import-dependent  economy to manage, President Buhari stressed that the only way to recovery is Nigerians producing what they use. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has visited Aba to sink the message in and to stimulate local content growth. The state governor Okezie Ikpeazu has also worked hard to create the Aba brand, taking it with him everywhere he goes, tapping up investors. Their efforts are yielding fruit. Investors have started coming, and gradually the brand is shaping up. But there is more work to be done, said the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) in the Southeast. You have to make the product make more money.

    The NSC, which now has an office in Aba in anticipation of the increased volume of trade, organised a seminar for Small, and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs (SMEs) and stakeholders in shipping and freighting to educate them on how to profit from made-in-Aba products.

    Various speakers at the event were of the view that the state government, owners of SMEs and freight operators would make more money, create job opportunities and improve the economy of southeast states and the country’s economy at large if there would be favourable government policies that would protect the interest of the local industry.

    The participants at the event commended the NSC for such a laudable step towards equipping them with the right knowledge on the do’s and don’ts of exportation in order to prevent their products from being rejected for not meeting international standard.

    The participants, especially importers of raw materials and other products, also raised concerns over the deplorable state of roads in the Southeast, activities of the Nigerian Customs, poor supply of electricity in the region and Aba in particular. They also called for the construction of railway lines linking Aba to other parts of the country and for the federal government to provide technical assistance and market connections to entrepreneurs through the shippers and exports promotion councils.

    They also urged the NSC to mount pressure on major stakeholders to ensure that the Ntigha Isiala Ngwa Dry Port takes off for ease of doing business and reducing cost of moving goods within the southeast region and beyond.

    The stakeholders who lauded NSC over their roles in enhancing shipping business and protecting the SMEs, also called for a common facility centre (CFC) in Aba zone to support whatever they have been doing in order to promote the exportation of made-in-Aba goods.

    In her address, the Southeast Zonal Coordinator of NSC, Mrs. Ify Okolue said that the importance of the seminar cannot be overemphasized especially at a time when the federal government and most state governments were championing alternative sources of income.

    Okolue said that the kickoff of the Ntigha Dry Port remains a priority for government agency and stated that the multiplier effect of the dry port would touch on the facets of the state economy and that of the entire Southeast.

    She reassured the stakeholders of the agency’s commitment to ensuring that they do their business seamlessly.

    She said that the essence of the seminar which, according to her, would be regular, was part of the agency’s commitment towards ensuring that potential exporters have the necessary information about importation and exportation of finished and unfinished goods from Nigeria to other parts of the world. She added that a well-informed producer or manufacturer won’t have his or her goods turned back in terms of meeting the standard of exporting goods at the global scene.

    The Executive Secretary/CEO Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello said that the seminar was historic as it was expected to bring to limelight the industrial ingenuity and resourcefulness of the Aba man and woman as the federal government continues in its initiatives in the promotion of non-oil export potentials of the nation’s economy.

    He said, “Gone are the days when people derogatorily spoke about locally made goods of which the Aba business community has pioneered and driven over the years even without any encouragement. I want to place on record that if you were able to achieve some level of success in the sector when there was little or no support from the government, you have every reason to record much more success now that the government of the day is on your side.”

     

  • First scientists fair in Southeast coming

    There are plans to bring together for the first time inventors and innovators to showcase their products in the Southeast. A non-governmental organisation based in Enugu, the South Saharan Social Development Organisation is behind that plan.

    The NGO said that over 25 original inventions and innovations from people either from the Southeast or resident there, shortlisted from over 100 applications and entries would showcase their indigenous technological inventions.

    The Programme Manager of the Organisation, Mr Onyinye Nwachukwu said in a statement in Enugu that the fair would promote scientific and technological innovations and inventions in the region.

    According to Nwachukwu, the event is part of the organisation’s response to recession and to promote enterprise and entrepreneurship especially among youths.

    “The programme also aims to halt the disregard for innovation in the country which has been the trend since independence despite the abundance of scientists and technologists.

    “Thus, it will encourage innovation and further boost entrepreneurship in Nigeria in general,’’ he said.

    Nwachukwu said that the programme, which is tagged: “Showcasing the Can-Do Igbo Spirit: Innovations and Inventions from the Southeast’’, is under the organisation’s Ola Ndi Igbo (Jewels of the East) programme.

    He noted that the programme would attract over 1,000 visitors from within and outside of Nigeria including people from the private sector, investors, government officials, the diplomatic community and the general public.

    “This event is having the support of Life Lager Beer, the Ford Foundation, MTN, Ellington Company, Fidelity Bank, Radio Nigeria, NOTAP and many others.

    “It will take place on Dec. 18 from 10a.m. to 4p.m. at the Oakland Centre, Enugu and is open to the public free of charge,’’ he said.

    In addition to N1 million grand prize and other consolation prizes, the shortlisted inventors would receive training on patenting, financial management, how to run a business, marketing and branding of the technological innovative product.

     

  • Abia community relishes peace

    Abia community relishes peace

    ‘If not for the fact that we have been withholding our youths, we would have had a serious bloodbath on our hands which would have affected our guests. We were on the verge of killing ourselves’

    The people of Umudike community in Umudike community of Abia state have given kudos to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu for restoring peace in their community.

    The community and a neighbouring one, Umuelele, were on the verge of shedding blood when  the governor intervened.

    They said that they were obliged to thank the governor for arresting an impending war which, if it was allowed to start, would have led to bloodshed. They said the government allowed reason to prevail, seeing that they are one.

    Speaking with The Nation at Umudike, a leader of the community, Chief Patrick Nwadinobi. said that Umudike community is made up of three brothers, Umuofo, Umuelele and Okwuta and that they are the landlords of both Michael Okpara University of Agriculture and National Roots Crops Research Institute.

    Nwadinobi said that there are numerous visitors living among them especially at the two national institutions, adding that any violence  among them would affect the entire community including their visitors which will not augur well for the image of their community.

    He said that in 2002 that the then government of Orji Uzor Kalu created the Umudike autonomous community with the late Eze Godwin Enyinnaya as their traditional ruler from Umuofo, “Now that he is late the stool rotates to Okwuta as we agreed earlier”.

    The community leader said that when they agreed that the stool should be rotational, “But our brothers from Umuelele who after fighting to produce the traditional ruler and failed decided to fight for their own autonomous community”.

    Nwadinobi said that the disposition of the people of Umuelele led to squabbles that nearly tour the Umudike community apart but for the grace of God, “They Umuelele people have been fighting to take over Amokwe village square which belongs to all of us”.

    He explained that the problem led to a verification group from the state house of assembly after receiving our protest letter, “After their visit they told us to wait for their decision as we were on the verge of killing ourselves”.

    The community leader said that the three kindreds live among each other as there was no definite boundary separating them from each other, stressing that they share everything in common including Catholic and Methodist Churches, markets, stream and schools.

    He recalled that The Nation had earlier in 2013 reported on the problem by the people of Umuelele which led to the entire community missing out from government projects, as government never wanted to site any project in a problem prone area.

    Nwadinobi said that despite the fact that the people of Umuelele were granted their Umudike Ukwu autonomous community, “their name was not gazetted by the state government even when they had already elected their own traditional ruler in the person of Eze Ben Oriaku.

    He noted that the problem created by the people of Umuelele would have led to a full blown war among them, “If not for the fact that we have been withholding our youths, we would have had a serious bloodbath on our hands which would have affected our guests.”

    The Umudike community leader later produced a letter from the state ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs dated 18, 2017 and addressed to the council chairman titled, ‘De-listing of Umudike Ukwu autonomous community, Ikwuano local government area’.

    The letter reads in part, “May I refer to the above subject and inform you that the former Umudike Ukwu autonomous community in Ikwuano local government area has been de-listed as autonomous community”.

    “This action is predicated on the Abia state of Nigeria Traditional Rulers and Autonomous communities (Amendment No.1) law, 2015 which came into force  on the 29th Day of May 2015”.

    “By this letter, Umudike Ukwu autonomous community should as a matter of urgency collapse to its present autonomous community, with immediate effect. You are therefore requested to facilitate the retrieval of staff of office of the former Eze Ben Oriaku while all allowances and entitlements accruable to him should cease from henceforth”.

    The people carried placards with some of them reading, Umudike express gratitude to the governor for making peace among them, We thank the ABHA for their justice after verification, among others.

     

  • Ikpeazu’s wife grooms ambassadors against sickle cell

    Ikpeazu’s wife grooms ambassadors against sickle cell

    The wife of Abia State governor and founder of Vicar Hope Foundation Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu has urged all National Youth Service Corps members posted to the state to be ambassadors for ending Sickle Cell anaemia in the country.

    Mrs Ikpeazu made this call during her visit to the state NYSC Orientation Camp at Umunna in Bende Local Government Area, urging the corps members to take the message of checking their genotype to their friends and family members.

    The governor’s wife said that after 44 years of the existence of the NYSC, it is still waxing strong and encouraged them not to be carried away by love but to make sure they know their status before marriage.

    She said that people should know their genotype before marrying, stressing that there are SS, AS, AA and others

    “Those who are SS are not supposed to marry each other, while AS are carriers, AA is free to marry any of them, AS should also not marry each other”.

    Mrs Ikpeazu explained that over 150,000 children are born every year with sickle cell anaemia while 100,000 out of the entire lot die annually, stressing that this has made the country to become biggest nation with sickle cell anaemia in the world.

    The Abia First Lady noted that the high death rate of the children with sickle cell anaemia in the country is as a result of mismanagement of their cases and called for proper management of their cases for them to live long.

    She said that her foundation offers free sickle cell screening of patients, “I am using this forum to urge all corps members to always go for test for them to know their genotype before marriage so that they would not end up having sickle cell children”.

    Mrs Ikpeazu said, “As a mother I feel pained when see children with sickle cell anaemia, which is avoidable if the parents had done the needful before marriage, which is the reason behind my foundation taking up the sensitization before marriage”.

    She said, “My assignment is that all of you should become ambassadors for breaking the circle of sickle cell, tell your friends and younger ones, before you cross the line, do the test, before you commit, do the test and before you love, do the test”.

    “I want you corps members to take advantage of the free test we are running in your orientation camp to know your status which you will in turn carry out to your places of primary assignment and even when you get back to your places of origin”.

    Earlier the chief executive of Vicar Hope Foundation, Dr Chukwuemeka Nwakanma gave an over view on sickle cell anaemia and the need for corps members to know their genotype before getting married, “I believe that most of you here have started courting while in the camp, so before you go further do that test”.

    In her welcome address the Abia NYSC state coordinator, Mrs Francesca Ifon said that, “Your excellency when Vicar Hope Foundation started, you specially requested for corps medical personnel to be part of your vision aimed at giving hope to the less privileged in the society”.

    In his vote of thanks, the chairman of Bende local government, Gabriel Elendu thanked the wife of the governor for coming to the NYSC camp to sensitize the corps members and urged them to take advantage of the program to stop the spread of sickle cell anaemia.

    Mrs Ikpeazu later donated food items to the corps members which include bags of garri, tubers of yams, bags of rice among others.

     

  • NAFDAC cracks down on fakers in Aba

    NAFDAC cracks down on fakers in Aba

    The ember-months are probably the busiest for Nigerians. They buy and sell. In Aba, the tempo is much higher. A lot of buying and selling takes place there.

    And that is where the unscrupulous and criminal-minded individuals or even cartels come into the picture. They capitalise on the feverish tempo of business at this time to push all manner of products into the market.  Among the deluge of those products are expired foods, adulterated drinks and other consumables. This is even as these fakers care less about the negative effects of their actions but rather, they concentrate on the fortunes that they are going to make from the sale of such products.

    There is bad news for them. The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said they are in for a bad season. How? The agency is ready to put them out of business.

    NAFDAC said anyone caught in the act of product adulteration and products not approved by the agency would be brought to book according to the provisions of the law.

    In an exclusive interview, the Abia State coordinator of NAFDAC, Okeke Olisa, a pharmacist, disclosed that the agency was working assiduously to ensure that the people of the state and visitors who may wish to stop and do some shopping in Aba buy original products.

    According to him, the agency in an August raid, confiscated fake products of about N20m during the operation.

    Olisa lamented attacks on its personnel by traders especially at Eziukwu/Cemetery Market, the second largest market in Aba.

    He also commended the cooperation and assistance they have enjoyed with the police and other sister agencies that provided cover for them during their operations to avoid mob action on its personnel. This is even as he stated that no amount of attack would deter them from doing what is right.

    The NAFDAC chief stated that the agency as part of its measures to ensure that they frustrate and nip the activities of fakers in the bud, have deployed its men in various market and production plants to carry out surveillance on what goes in and out of the markets and also to ensure that products churned out for use or consumption met NAFDAC approved standard.

    He said, ”Aba is a commercial city where we have businessmen and opportunists who wants to capitalise on the good intentions of some businessmen to bring in things that are not genuine. It is expected in a commercial city like Aba and most commercial populated cities. That is why the management of NAFDAC in its wisdom located its office in Aba instead of being cited at the State capital and it has helped in curbing the tendencies of fakers bringing in fake products in Aba and Abia State as a whole.

    “Eziukwu market for instance is a place where you have highly unsafe packaged food products. Because of the volume of trade on cosmetics and other items going in the market, some people have come to group themselves with the aim of faking good products, but most times, we have raided them.

    “We go there for routine inspection and as we speak, we have our men on ground at the market and checking what they have on the shelves. In the month of August we carried a raid on a particular zone where we got hint that people were faking products. We succeeded in carting away fake products that worth over N20m from that zone. It might interest you to know that while we were doing that, touts in that market attacked our personnel.

    “Again in September, they attacked us again in that market. It would have been more fatal if not for the assistance of police personnel that were with us. We are not deterred.

    “We have entered the Christmas period where you see influx of goods and services. There is high propensity that people are going to buy things in the market which is common place during the Christmas period. So we are all out to make sure that people who are going to cease that opportunity to bring in fake product would be nabbed.”

    “Within this period, we normally increase our surveillance activities and also rely on our informants and good citizens who are willing to give us useful information about the activities of suspected faking of product adulteration in their vicinity,” the NAFDAC chief stated.

    Stating the desire of the agency in ensuring that shoppers continue to buy original products of their choice in the market, he warned that the agency would make faking and adulteration of products an unproductive venture for those who engage in such illicit business.

     

  • ‘Don’t let Igbo language die’

    ‘Don’t let Igbo language die’

    Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has expressed grave concern over what it called the gradual erosion of Igbo language, culture and values.

    The organisation therefore called on Igbo language experts, the governors of Southeast states and other concerned groups and individuals to establish a mechanism for translation of more English and scientific words into Igbo language and to establish generally acceptable Igbo vocabulary.

    The national vice chairman of Ohanaeze and former Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Prof. Chigozie Ogbu, expressed the concern when an Igbo interest group,  Igboekulie, organised a public lecture and presentation of awards to students, teachers, schools and individuals for promotion of Igbo language and culture, at College of Immaculate Conception (CIC), Enugu recently.

    “Language is a living thing which must grow, otherwise it will die. There must be new words in Igbo language. I appeal for translation of more English and scientific words into Igbo language,” Ogbu, who was the chairman of the occasion said.

    The President of Igboekulie, Prince Ben C. Onuora stated that the group, a non-profit organisation formed in 2015, was poised to among other things advocate for the promotion and protection of the economic, social, political and cultural values of Ndigbo as well as the revival of the Igbo language.

    Onuora said the group was worried by the recent postulation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), that Igbo language faces prospect of extinction by 2025 if preservative actions were not taken.

    He called on the Houses of Assembly in the Igbo speaking states in Nigeria to devote a day in every week for the conduct of their legislative business in Igbo language.

    Chairman of the planning committee of the event,  Prof. Chibueze Jiburum, had earlier noted that Enugu was chosen as the host for the event being the headquarters of Eastern Nigeria and that the state government supports Igbo language and culture.

    The Guest Lecturer, Prof.  (Rev. Fr.) Philip Ogbonna, blamed the erosion of Igbo culture and values on the decline in speaking and writing of Igbo language.

    Ogbonna whose lecture is entitled “Language; An Indispensable Tool in Keeping a Culture Vibrant”, stated that language is an ethnic identity, and any cultural group that loses its language has invariably lost its identity.

    The event featured cultural dance and drama displays by students, as well as presentation of awards of excellence in Igbo language to students, schools and teachers as adjudged by West African Examination Council (WAEC).