Woeful Southeast roads have inspired an urgent message to the Federal Government from an organisation known as Southeast Assembly Forum in Anambra State.
The forum made up of people who contested legislative positions in the last election sent a Save Our Soul (SOS) message to President Muhammadu Buhari on bad federal roads in the zone.
•A section of Port Harcourt Road, Aba
The organisation in Awka listed the roads, some of which are: Oba-Arondiuzogu-Okigwe Road, Onitsha-Enugu Expressway and Aba-Port-Harcourt Expressway, among others.
The meeting was attended by representatives of Anambra, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi and Imo states.
The group said that if those roads were fixed by the president, they would boost economic activities in the zone, ease transportation of commodities and equally reduce road mishaps.
The group hailed the president on the anti-corruption fight, assuring him of their support in ridding the country of sleaze.
Furthermore, they described the appointments of ministers by the president as demonstrating equity and statesmanship, adding that the names from the Southeast were indeed the best.
Some of the people who attended the meeting in Awka were Comrade James Chikwendu (Chairman), Ifeanyi Justin Okeke (Secretary General), Hon Bright Benson (PRO), Hon Frank Ndibe (Organising Secretary).
Others were Hon Ifeyinwa Kalu (Abia Secretary), Chief Uche Anakor (Anambra Coordinator) and Hon John Agha (Enugu Coordinator), Dr Ejike Ogoegbunam, among others.
They appealed to President Buhari to urgently come to the assistance of the region in rehabilitation of federal roads there.
“These roads,” they said, “have become impassable for many years as a result of lack of maintenance from past administrations, and many lives have been lost on the roads.”
An attempt to snatch a two-week-old baby in a village in Abia State has been thwarted by police, The Nation learnt.
Two armed men were said to have attacked a house in Amaede community in Isiala Ngwa Local Government Area of the state in a bid to kidnap a baby.
They were stiffly resisted by the child’s parents, forcing the hoodlums to flee upon also sensing the presence of police in the area.
The hoodlums fired some shots and inflicted a machete injury on the baby’s mother Glory Nweze before abandoning the operation.
The suspects were said to be struggling for the baby with Mrs Nweze, leading to cut on her left hand.
The hoodlums fled the scene as soon as they learnt that the police were in the neighbourhood. They left behind one locally-made double-barrel gun, one machete, two expended cartridges, a mask, two Itel handsets, a rubber slippers and two set of head torch.
The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO Ezekiel Onyeke Udeviotu confirmed the incident.
Udeviotu who said that the boy’s mother was responding to treatment in an undisclosed hospital added that one of the gang members identified as Azunna from Umuokoro village.
He said that the house of the suspect was raided and two long locally made single-barrel guns, one live and two expended cartridges, one iron rod and a photograph portrait were found.
The PPRO further appealed to members of the public to avail the police of useful information on the whereabouts of the suspects who were still at large at the time of this report.
Community Neigbourhood Watch units in Enugu State will soon receive security equipment that will help them combat crimes effectively in their localities.
The state Commissioner for Human Capital Development and Poverty Reduction, Mr. Obinna Mbaeke made the disclosure while flagging-off a training workshop for Iwollo Neigbourhood watch group at Agueke-Iwollo in Ezeagu local government area of the state.
Mbaeke noted that the state government was aware of the handicap of the Neigbourhood watches in the state and was poised to alleviating the handicaps by providing security equipment that would help them police their neigbourhood better.
The commissioner also said that the neigbourhood watch groups have so much complimented the job of orthodox security agencies in the state that investors now struggle for presence in Enugu State.
He noted that Iwollo Neigbourhood group was the first to undergo formal security training, adding that such training was also being packaged by the state ministry to sharpen the skill of the members of vigilante groups across the state.
The acting president of Iwollo Town Union,Chief Lazarous Ilediagu urged members of the group who are mostly youths to avail the opportunity provided by the workshop to learn how to provide better security for the community.
The president pleaded with the Ezeagu Divisional Police Officer to help the local vigilante members on how to be more efficient on security control.
The state commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Mr. Charles Ndukwe, in his remark outlined the importance of providing adequate security in the community to protect government establishments in the area, noting that since the establishment of the neigbourhood watch, crime has reduced in the area.
The people of Ibagwa-Nike community have pleaded with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to reverse the appointment of Mr. Albert Edoga as the chairman of a judicial commission of inquiry on Ibagwa Nike crisis.
Ugwuanyi had recently set up a judicial commission of Inquiry into the land crisis rocking the community in Enugu East Local Government Area of the state, with a view to providing a lasting solution to the lingering crisis.
But the Ibagwa Nike General Assembly in a letter to Governor Ugwuanyi dated October 27 2015, while appreciating the effort of the governor, raised serious objection against the chairman of the commission, Edeoga, whom the community alleged has vested interest in the land crisis.
According to the letter signed by ten prominent leaders of the community including Chief Anike Nwoga and Mr. Cyril Mbah, an engineer, the people alleged that Edoga, who is a former commissioner for lands in the state, contributed in no small measure to the problem of the community in area of land allocation.
Part of their petition reads: “Barrister Edeoga on many occasions connived with Igwe Emmanuel Ugwu to disposes individuals and families of their land in the name of government acquisition when he was commissioner for lands and urban development.”
The petitioners cited the so called Gateway layout as a clear case where individuals and families were dispossessed of their land.
The petitioners further alleged: “Igwe Emmanuel Ugwu realising that he cannot have access to the land without resistance now ran to Edoga and all manner of government machinery was deployed to forcefully take over people’s patrimony.”
They pleaded that the commission be peopled by those with no immediate or remote attachment to any of the issues in the community.
They congratulated Governor Ugwuanyi for coming to their rescue and pledged more support for his administration.
One remarkable thing about the graduation ceremony of the Rochas Foundation College, Kano was not merely the presence of dignitaries among whom were four governors, but that the graduates, being children of the poor, would probably never have made it to secondary school. OKODILI NDIDI reports
There were tears but they were of joy. If it was not for the Rochas Foundation College Kano, the 460 graduates of the school would have found it difficult getting any form of education. That was why their economically challenged parents wept for joy seeing their children applauded at the event.
•From left: Governor Okorocha; Governor Tambuwal; Alhaji Maitama Sule and a representative of Emir of Kano at the ceremony
It was an unimaginable moment for the students as they stood before the president of the College and Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha and his Kano, Niger and Sokoto counterparts, as well as other highly placed Nigerians as they received their graduation certificates.
Ordinarily, graduation ceremony for secondary school students is hardly remarkable but this one was special because the students were the children of the poor, who could not have had secondary education because their parents could not have afforded it.
Some of them could have ended up as motor park touts, political thugs, street hawkers and prostitutes, among others, as is often the case with children of the poor but these ones were rescued by the benevolence of the President of the College, who founded the tuition-free college to cater for them and others in their category.
So, their joy and that of their parents on that special day was understandable. For them, it was a rare privilege to acquire quality education, which is usually the exclusive preserve of children of the rich.
That is something to celebrate.
Although some of the graduating students are already undergraduates in some of the best universities in the country and abroad, the import of the ceremony was not lost because that was where their story was changed.
As they filed out in a long procession, some of their parents who could be identified by their pale looks and cheap dresses could not hold back their tears as they watched their children receiving ovation from the high and mighty. For them it was truly an unimaginable moment.
Another peculiar feature about the students was the bond they share. They related like children from the same parents, irrespective of their religious and ethnic backgrounds. This is so because they were all adopted by the president of the college.
This affinity does not even end after the secondary school years as the students continue to relate under another platform, the Rochas Foundation Old Students Association (ROFOSA).
The President of ROFOSA, Mr. Iheanetu Chukwudera, said that the association has over three thousand members currently studying in tertiary institutions within and outside the country, with over 150 university graduates in all areas of study.
He noted that the association is “a living testimony of unity in diversity and the epitome of one Nigeria despite the religious, behavioural and tribal differences”.
He said, “The association has helped the indigent people of our great nation through its reach-out-and-touch programme, like the administration of medical treatment to the people in the different parts of the country by its various branches.
“Most of our members are studying in China, Russia, Benin Republic, Ghana, USA and the UK and the association contributed immensely to their successes”.
During the six years stay in the school, the students were clothed, fed and accommodated by the college for free.
Recounting how he got the inspiration to build the tuition free college in Kano, Governor Okorocha who spoke amidst tears of emotion, said he was moved by the number and the plight of children hawking at a petrol station he stopped to refuel his car on his way to Kano.
He said, “In one of my trips to Kano, I stopped over at a filling station and a flock of children hawking various items crowded me but when I asked one of them a simple question in English language, he could not answer until I spoke Hausa language. It was then that it dawned on me that we were sitting on a keg of gunpowder and something has to be done to avert the impending disaster. That was how the idea of the Rochas Foundation College Kano started.
“For the fact that these children are poor does not mean that they should be denied the opportunity of going to school like the children of the rich.
“Children cannot choose the family they are born into and even the most gifted children cannot flourish in a world mired by poverty and hardship where education is only available to the children of the wealthy. And who knows whether one of these children hawking on the street could be the one to find the cure to HIV and other dreaded diseases. That is the idea behind the Rochas Foundation Colleges across the nation”.
“Poverty does not have to mean hopeless future. It is my vision that by 2025, one million children would have received a world class and completely free education at Rochas Foundation Colleges. There are already five colleges set up throughout Nigeria, Kano, Ibadan, Owerri, Jos and Ogboko. Each year a further one thousand children enroll. That is my joy and my reward”.
The chairman of the ceremony and elder statesman, Alhaji Maitama Sule, commended the Governor for investing in the education of the children of the poor and needy.
He compared the efforts of the Imo Governor in providing free education for the people to that of the late Obafemi Awolowo, Sarduana of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello and Nnamdi Azikiwe.
The frontline northern leader noted that Okorocha, who he said is the direct successor of the late Azikiwe, through his actions is uniting the country more than any other Igbo leader.
He said, “Our founding fathers laid the foundation for Nigeria’s unity and Okorocha is the symbol of that unity today this is so because his actions are uniting the country and he is using the best tool of uniting a people, which is education. His benevolence does not benefit on his people but the entire nation’’.
Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, in his remarks, observed that the Rochas Foundation Colleges across the country has laid the foundation for free and compulsory education in Nigeria.
He commended the Imo governor for citing one of the colleges in Kano, assuring that the state government will give every available support to the College.
Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, in his speech, described Okorocha as an exemplary Nigerian who is contributing to the greatness of Nigeria through education.
He called on other Nigerians with the means to follow the example of the governor.
Demonstrating that they are indeed friends with the public, the police have provided free eye checks in Enugu State.
The medical unit of the command held a one day free eye check to mark the 2015 World Sight Day.
No fewer than 500 members of the public were attended to. Police officers and men as well as their relations were also administered.
According to the coordinating police medical Unit optometrist Dr. Ituko Ogie, the programme which took place at the police Headquarters Enugu was an annual event celebrated every October 8.
The exercise was aimed at creating awareness on blindness and vision impairment, she explained, adding that the theme for this year’s celebration is Vision for All.
She further maintained that this year’s exercise was unprecedented as it was the first of its kind in the history of the command by reaching out to the members of the public as a way of community service.
The state commissioner of police, Abubakar Adamu Mohammed told participants that the programme was amongst the laudable programmes of the Inspector General of police, Solomon E. Arase to reach out to the members of the public by way of community service through the Force medical services Unit Under AIG Dr. Grace Okudo.
He enjoined all and sundry to make effective use of the one day free eye check to discover the status of their eye since it is an important organ of the body.
Some of the participants who spoke , expressed joy and satisfaction in the programme.
A beneficiary, Mrs. Martha Amah pointed out that the gesture by the Nigeria Police Force was the first of its kind where police eye doctors will examine patients medically and give proffer solutions.
She was optimistic that this would go a long. Way to prevent sudden blindness as well as other eye related problems.
Director General of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Dr. Paul Orhii has said the country can attain global standards in healthcare services and even play a leading role in the sector.
He was speaking to journalists who visited the agency’s facilities in the Southeast and Southsouth.
“Nigeria has the capability to be independent and also lead globally in the provision of effective and efficient healthcare delivery services if the exploits of NAFDAC are maximally sustained, encouraged, broadened and adequately financed,” he said.
Dr. Orhii expressed the hope that with the commitment of the workforce under him, especially the management cadre, the agency would achieve its mandate towards the citizenry, in service delivery and socio-economic advancement of the country.
He argued that NAFDAC under his watch has made some remarkable achievements and innovations that have boosted the country’s healthcare status and reputation internationally, adding that the conceptualisation, adoption and construction of modern technological facilities has remained the unique Nigerian approach to global anti-drug counterfeiting initiative.
Dr. Orhii noted that the introduction of Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) which drafted in the use of mobile handset (GSM) owners in the fight against counterfeit and substandard drugs was widely commendable, having given over 100 million GSM users in the country the power to detect counterfeit drugs, thereby participating in the fight against the menace in the country.
The NAFDAC boss maintained that the construction and equipping of the agency’s scientific laboratories in the six geopolitical zones to ultra-modern status has earned Nigeria World standard certifications and acceptance.
“We are indeed committed to making Nigeria a prosperous health care providing nation of note capable of competing in the international fora as indicated by our recently facilitated World Health Organisation (WHO GMP) Good Manufacturing Practice Certification for numerous indigenous pharmaceutical plants of which four namely May and Baker Nigeria Limited, Evans Medical Plc, Swiss Pharma Nigeria Limited and CHI Pharmaceuticals Limited has for now been positively considered and have been duly certified by the WHO and thus already participating in international drug production and export trade,” he explained.
Collaborating Orhii, the Deputy Director and Head of NAFDAC ultra-modern Scientific Laboratory in Agulu in Awka Anambra state, Charles Nwachukwu said, the Agency has witnessed a lot of innovation and upgrading since he assumed office as the DG five years ago.
Nwachukwu spoke when the media team visited the Agulu centre. He said although the Agulu centre had started operation before Orhii took over the mantle of leadership, the centre was furnished and equipped under the current NAFDAC leadership.
Completed and commissioned by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2009, Agulu facility has a total of 18 laboratories, comprising 10 typical and eight non-typical labs. It is apparently one of the eight other facilities the agency has across the country to ensure the mandate of ensuring that good quality and safe regulated products are circulated and sold within and outside the country.
The Laboratories are strategically located in Lagos (The food laboratory in Oshodi, Drug Laboratory in Yaba), Kaduna, Maiduguri, Port Harcourt, Agulu and Calabar for the confirmation of regulated products, including locally made and imported finished products, raw materials (both locally sourced and imported) including medical devices.
Speaking on the leadership style of the current DG, Nwachukwu described him as passionate about sustainability of standard and quality of the Agency’s mandates and structures and facilities to ensure they maintains their original status. He said it informed the DG’s decision to award contract for the maintenance of the facilities and environment at cheapest cost but great value for money.
The contract was awarded in accordance with due process (bidding),” Nwachukwu said.
In his pre-inspection briefing, Nwachukwu spoke on the centre’s job specification, staff strength and cliental, when he said,
”We have a total of 157 workers in this building, this however exclude the labourers, (gardeners and cleaners). There are 39 permanent staff, 18 interns, three corps members and 97 students on Industrial Attachment (IT).
“Our job in this Laboratory Centre is basically to do the analysis of regulated products, including drugs, food, cosmetics medical devices, herbal preparation, water, raw material used in manufacturing food and drugs, and chemicals both locally made and imported products to ascertain whether or not they are safe for human consumption, confirm their indication and contra-indication as specified by the manufacturers and import
Retired primary school teachers in Enugu State have complained about being owed 27 months of pension.
The senior citizens lamented that some of them were yet to receive their gratuity after retirement since 2002.
The retired teachers from the three senatorial zones made known their woes when they paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi in his office.
A delegation of the retired teachers led by their chairman, Chief Matthias Onovo and the secretary, Chief Ben Nwachi disclosed that they had written relevant authorities in the past without any positive result saying that as a result of the lack of payment of their pension and other entitlements, some of their colleagues have died while many are bed-ridden for lack of fund for medical care.
Having exhausted every avenue possible to see that the past administration paid them their due, the retired teachers resorted to calling on the Speaker to bail them out.
They listed other grievances to include harmonisation arrears, 6, 15, and 33 percent pension increases; irregularities in payment of monthly pensions, and non implementation of promotion re-computer i.e promotion received after retirement among others.
Ubosi assured the retired teachers that something would be done to alleviate their plight saying that, “your labours will never go in vain. You have laboured and you deserve to be paid. “
The speaker said that they came at the right time when the government has set up an audit committee of the local governments of which he is the chairman, pointing out that the issue of teachers as well as their pensioners was part of the terms of reference given by the governor.
He thanked them for making the submission that would serve as a guide to the audit committee set up by Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi led administration to look into the rot in the councils with a view to making them viable.
A man who was released from prison in April has been arrested in Anambra State for allegedly impersonating the police.
Mr. Abdul Makong, 32, a native of Gari-Lamido in Taraba State, was said to be passing himself off as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP).
The suspect was previously convicted and imprisoned for the same offence but regained freedom in April 2015.
Makong told TheNation that he was a graduate of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, where he obtained a degree certificate in Political Science in 2008.
He also claimed to have been forced into crime because he could not get a gainful employment opportunity after his graduation some.
Furthermore, he said that a friend of his, whom he did not mention, lured him into impersonation.
The Nation gathered that his arrest followed a tip-off from good-spirited individuals in the state.
It was gathered that the fake police officer had gone to the palace of a traditional ruler in Awka-South Local Government Area of the state, urging the people to bring some money so that he could recruit interested members into the force.
It was said that he had been going about extorting money from unsuspecting members of the public to assist them with recruitment into the police.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hosea Hassan Karma told The Nation that the suspect was convicted in 2013 for the same offence.
He further said that his command had equally arrested 43 members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).
•The suspect, Makong
He warned members of the public to beware of the likes of Makong, adding that recruitment into the Nigeria police force is transparent process devoid of any corrupt manipulation.
The Assistant Inspector General Of Police (AIG) in charge of zone 9 Umuahia, Usman Gwary had visited Anambra on the said day.
Gwary said he was in the state in response to the directive of the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Solomon Arase that he should tour police headquarters in the zone to lecture them on the new security policy of the current administration.
South East zone from the recent investigation conducted by a special team set up by the IG, was rated among the most peaceful zones in the country.
Gwary warned officers and men of the state command not to condone act that would compromise peaceful security atmosphere prevailing in the state.
Furthermore, he warned them to ensure that they do not allow MASSOB members to disturb the prevailing peaceful atmosphere in the state.
However, he commended the state police command in its efforts in flushing out criminal elements from the area.
Again, the Police boss urged them to adopt religiously the various security policies marshaled out by the IG.
He also called on the police command to work seriously in collaboration with other sister agencies, while commending the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano for the various forms of support his administration had given the police command.
The AIG said, “Since we can’t thank Governor Obiano enough, all we shall do is to continue thanking him.”
A firm, Unigloves Medical, in conjunction with some multinational stakeholders, is donating hygiene items to hospitals and schools in commemoration of the Global Hand-washing Day (GHD).
From midweek to today, the organisations went visited hospitals and schools across the country, telling pupils and their handlers as well as hospital staff to prioritise hand-washing and other health practices.
Global Hand-washing Day (GHD) is a campaign to motivate and mobilise people around the world to improve their hand-washing habits by washing their hands with soap at critical moments throughout each day.
Unigloves Medical with its partners will install dispensing machines in selected hospitals and schools. The hospitals include Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESTH), Park Lane, Enugu and Federal medical Centre (FMC). Others are Lagos University teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), National Hospital, Abuja, Delta State University Teaching Hospital (DELSUTH), Asaba. The schools are Feddemer’s International School, Apapa Road, Costain,Storknest Preschool, Ebute Metta, Spring School, Okota, Nazareth Schools 1 and 2, FESTAC, Acee School, FESTAC, Seed of knowledge School, Okota, De-Bright School 1 and 2, and Paedville British Preschool, Ire Akari, Isolo, Lagos.
According to the MD of Unigloves Medical, Kevin Onah, his company sets out to sustain the culture of hand washing in the country as students and workers would have the opportunity to wash their hands with disinfectants and quality solutions produced by the company.
Onah said, “This is a way of promoting hygiene among Nigerian children especially and hospital staff thereby preventing infections and other diseases.
“The campaign is dedicated to raising awareness on hand washing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention. The campaign was initiated to reduce childhood mortality rates related to respiratory and diarrheal diseases by introducing simple behavioral changes, such as hand-washing with soap. This simple, accessible action can, according to research, reduce the rate of mortality from these diseases by almost 25 and 50 per cent, respectively,” he stated.
The project is a core element of the WHO World Alliance for Patient Safety, launched in October 2004. Its aim is to address the issue of the prevention of health care-associated infection under the banner Clean Care is Safer Care. Professor Didier Pittet is an internationally recognised expert in hospital hygiene and infection prevention and control, and continues to support a strategy model to prevent nosocomial infections, known in scientific literature as the Geneva model. On April 14, 2005, the Geneva University Hospital (HUG) was designated by the WHO as a centre of reference for the prevention of nosocomial infections. This recognition rewards an institutional prevention strategy and 10 years of endeavour.
Onah said in view of this, Uniglove Medicals, a market-leading manufacturer of premium quality, multi-purpose disposable gloves in conjunction with two German companies; B Braun Melsugen and OP Hardt and two French companies; Holtex and Novomed and Frontier Medical Group are set to improve healthcare deliveries especially in the area of hygiene and infection prevention and control in hospitals, hospitality and manufacturing sectors in Nigeria with the donations. Unigloves Medical Healthcare Limited is a subsidiary of UG Healthcare Corporation which is a multi-national organisation and manufacturers of medical gloves and global healthcare providers. It also manufactures high quality multi-purpose medical and healthcare disposables. They are currently in 10 countries worldwide including Singapore, United Kingdom, United States of America, Germany, China and Nigeria.
According to Mr. Basile Trede, Area Sales Manager, B. Braun Melsungen AG, “We are in Nigeria because it has been observed that mortality related to hospital acquired infections could be reduced when health care personnel wash and disinfect their hands with antiseptic solution between patient contacts, as well as stringent compliance of health care workers with recommended hand washing practices. Building upon our knowledge of the world’s glove markets, we have developed a range of proprietary processes to benefit our customers.”
He said compliance with recommended hand washing practices is still very poor. Careful hand hygiene in medical field is set to become even more important in the future in the provision of high quality patient care. That is part of the reason why we will be showcasing our products at the Medic West Africa exhibition on V.I. The exhibition is an opportunity for those in the hospital and health sectors, hotels, food manufacturing companies and those in a related field to tap from the experience of these experts especially in the application of the process.
Giving reasons why their company products are special, Onah said, “We have introduced a refreshing range of scents, including citrus and peppermint, into our vitality range of dental gloves to improve the overall examination experience for both dentist and patient. We have also developed an innovative range of gloves coated with a proprietary formulation of lanolin and vitamins designed to soothe the symptoms of dehydration and irritation.
“Together, this powerful combination has been proven to significantly improve skin health. Gloves benefitting from our unique EasyDon Finish are chlorinated on both the inside and outside areas of the cuff to reduce tackiness and improve donning, particularly for those involved in regular wet work. With ultimate hygiene in mind, Unigloves products are FirstTouch manufactured, examined and packaged with zero direct skin contact.”
