The Nation Newspaper

Category: Southeast report

  • Refuse takes over in Aba

    Refuse takes over in Aba

    Residents of Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, fear that they could soon have an epidemic outbreak on their hands.

    Why?

    Garbage bins in the city are full and overflowing. Not just that. They stink.

    Will the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA)do something?

    The residents said it is the responsibility of the agency to evacuate domestic and industrial waste in Aba and its environs.

    Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the situation was so bad that refuse along the Port-Harcourt Road by Tonimas to Coca Cola Bus Stop has taken over a portion of the dual carriage way.

    The story is even worse at Ngwa Road where hawkers display their wares at any available space beside the mountainous garbage.

    The heap of garbage at Ngwa Road was so massive that it  caused serious gridlock as motorists and other road users struggled for space.

    Traders who spoke to our correspondent admitted that they run the risk of inhaling the stench from the garbage. They question why ASEPA should wait for so long before evacuating the garbage.

    The traders said that they did not have shops inside the New Market and had to hawk their wares on the road, especially when there is traffic jam.

    “Despite the fact that these garbage heaps are here, we still pay levies to stay here and sell our wares. There is nothing we can do about the situation. It is the duty of ASEPA to evacuate it. We must sell our goods in order to feed our families. So, we must come to market. What we are experiencing is that customers who were supposed to come and buy from us now go inside the market to buy. Some of our customers call us on the phone to place orders and we package what they want to  give them. It is a little distance from the military base.”

    Elder Friday Nwulu, a trader at Ngwa Road Market spoke about the garbage heap that has taken over the road. He said the traders, in an effort to reduce their suffering, contributed money to remove nine tipper-loads of garbage.

    Nwulu, who also expressed fears of probable outbreak of epidemic, appealed to the state government and ASEPA to come to their aid by ensuring that the harbage heaps were evacuated daily to ease the sufferings of traders and inhabitants of the area who are exposed to airborne diseases daily.

    The situation is the same at Ukaegbu Road, Opobo Junction, 7up Road off Ogbor Hill, Abayi Girls by Aba-Owerri Road, Ohabiam Primary School, Ibo National Grammar School, among other areas within the city centre where garbage are now dumped indiscriminately and being allowed to decay to produce deadly stench and unhealthy odour.

    Some shop owners along Port Harcourt Road alleged that the the over 10km stretch garbage heap was caused by the lackadaisical approach of the waste disposal agency in the discharge of their duty, stressing that if the situation continues unchecked, there could be a possible outbreak of airborne diseases.

    The General Manager of ASEPA, Aba zone, Ikechukwu Anyataonwu, in a text message said the agency is “working very hard. Bear with the agency. We had challenges. Thank God we are back. We assure of better services ahead”.

     

  • Police parade ‘baby factory’ suspects

    Police parade ‘baby factory’ suspects

    The Abia State Police Command has paraded a suspected baby factory owner based at Umunkpeyi in Isiala Ngwa South Local Governmennt Area of the state who has been evading arrest by various security outfits in.

    The owner of baby factory who is known as Mma Achumba has been under surveillance from the police, State Security Service (SSS), Army and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) was arrested in Akwa Ibom State and brought to the state capital.

    Early last year, Mma, who has been in the business for years with the name Mma Maternity Home relocated her operational base from Umunkpeyi to a remote area in Olokoro, where the police raided and demolished the operational base.

    The relocation of her former operational base from Umunkpeyi to Olokoro was as a result of constant raids on her maternity home where it was believed that teenage pregnant girls were housed until they are delivered of their babies.

    Parading the suspects, the state Commissioner of Police (CP), Habila Joshak said one Ogechi Kalu (female) of Ivoyi Akaeze in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, reported that one Uchenna John and Ngozi Onyekachi conspired and sold her six-month-old son, Chisom Eze to Mma.

    Joshak said it was alleged that the baby was sold for the sum of N150,000 and that the child was recovered at Umunkpeyi from an old woman, while Mma was arrested in Akwa Ibom State.

    The police boss noted that the suspect has been under the searchlight of all the security agencies and has been in the child trafficking business for years, adding that she has been evading arrest all these years.

    The Abia police boss also paraded six suspected robbers for allegedly killing a traffic warden while on duty at Brass Junction in Aba on February 24 year.

    The suspects are Chisom Solomon, 17, Temple Ikpeazu, 21, Justice Wisdom, 19, Sunday Nwabueze, 21, Orji Jacob Ikechi, 17 and Uche Jumbo, 22, while a locally made pistol was recovered from them.

    Joshak said a team of police men arrested one Chisom Solomon and while he was being searched, one locally made single barrel pistol was found on him. “During interrogation, the suspect confessed to being a robber and a cultist of Vikings group,” he said.

    He said Solomon gave the names of members of his gang, “which led to the arrest of his gang members and they all confessed to being members of Vikings secret cult group”.

    He said the suspect revealed that one Teco, Daco other gang members now on the run were responsible for the killing of Emmanuel Nwankwo, a traffic warden while on duty in Aba. He warned that anyone who kills a police man must be apprehended.

     

  • Cured leprosy patients seek new life

    Cured leprosy patients seek new life

    They have been cured and certified fit to go home. The concern is that they have nothing to start a new life.

    That is the situation of some leprosy patients who have been discharged from the Mile 4 Hospital in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.

    They have overcome the health challenge but have no idea how to start something on their own upon which to sustain themselves and their families. That is why they have appealed to anyone who can help, from individuals to organisations and governments. Cash will come in handy but they said they really need a skill acquisition centre in the leprosy colony where they can learn a trade and become self-reliant.

    Speaking to our reporter during the Easter celebrations organised for the leprosy patients by the Hospital Visionaries of Mary, a charity organisation under the Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki, about six of the victims of the disease lamented that although they have received cure and been discharged they can’t go home because they have nothing to start life with.

    Confirming their plight, a staff of Mile 4 Hospital Mr. Dennis Ndubusi said the challenge is not only that the victims can’t go home but also that most of their children have not been enrolled into primary school. The negative effect of such is that the children could be a burden to the government and society at large when they grow up.

    Mr. Ndubusi said urgent academic assistance to the children and the aged ones becomes necessary because some of the discharged patients who went back home have died because nobody was there to help them and could not help themselves because the sickness effected them seriously.

    Touched by the appeal from the patients, the founder of the charity organisation Rev. Fr, Dr. Chidi Obasi said he and his team would do something to help them stressing that the NGO depends on public assistance to render help to the indigent patients.

    Fr. Obasi said on their own (the organisation), they may not solve the problems but was optimistic that with the support from people, hospital visitationaries will do the little they can.

    He went further to commend those who have contributed to the organisation.

    He disclosed that last year the organisation paid the total sum of 1.5m to offset hospital bills of indigent patients at federal teaching hospital Abakaliki and is poised to do more this year.

    President of the charity organisation, Kelvin Muolokwu assured them of their prayers adding that they should love each other and have hope of healing from God.

    He Explained that the Easter visit was to show them how important they are to the society and God that was why the organisation took it upon themselves to come and celebrate with them on the Easter celebration.

  • We need continuity in Imo

    We need continuity in Imo

    Stakeholders in Imo State have said that there is considerable improvement in the well-being of the people since 2011 when Governor Rochas Okorocha became the governor of the state.

    A member of Imo State Elders’ Council who is the Vice-Chairman of Imo State Elders’ Council in the United Kingdom (UK) and also Cultural Adviser to Igbo Union also in the UK, Nze Emmanuel Onukwugha Ejimonyeabala said the people are enjoying real benefits of democracy since the Rochas-led administration came on board because he is fulfilling his campaign promises to the people.

    Nze Ejimonyeabala, the Epum Nde Amaimo Ancient Kingdom in Ikeduru Local Government Area of the state said the achievements of the governor have impacted positively on the lives of the people. Nze Ejimonyeabala stated this in a chat with reporters inLagos.

    He said although all the political parties fielding candidates are making frenetic efforts to enhance their electoral chances, it is unarguable that the battle is clearly among two major contenders, namely the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Emeka Ihedioha and that of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rochas Okorocha.

    Nze Ejimonyeabala said Okorocha’s achievements in the past four years will speak for him and swing the people’s votes to him which will make him the candidate to beat in tomorrow’s elections.

    He noted that Governor Okorocha has creditably delivered on his 2011 election manifestos, saying “he greatly surpassed on several areas such as free education from primary to university levels and payment of stipends to primary and secondary school pupils.”

    Nze Ejimonyeabala noted that Governor Okorocha has built modern schools and rehabilitated dilapidated ones across the state.

    “Governor Okorocha has built over 27 modern storey-building school blocks one in each of the local government areas of the state.

    “On roads, he has constructed several thousand kilometers of roads. All the local government areas are wearing new looks as a result of massive infrastructural development,” he said.

    Other development projects which he said Governor Okorocha carried out included making Orlu, Okigwe, Amaraku, Nwaoriubi, Obowo and Mbaise attain township status, adding that “Governor Okorocha has established 27 new hospitals one in each of the local government areas, all completed waiting for inauguration. He built Ochiedike Dialysis and Diagnostic Centre Owerri, first of its kind in Nigeria, a university of nursing in Orlu, Imo State University permanent site in Mbaise/Ngor-Okpala; International University in Orlu, College of Advanced Professional Studies in Owerri, the Prestigious State House Chapel which is the first of its kind in Nigeria; Dark Blue Suite for civil servants, payment of N20,000 minimum wage, payment of arrears of pension to retired civil servants and prompt payment of salaries to civil servants in the state, among other achievements.”

    To ensure food security, he said, Governor Okorocha has remained committed to agricultural development. For the first time in the history of the state, palm-for-palm planting and tomato growing have become a way of life for the people.

    “The Community Government Council (CGC) is a genuine innovation towards community development; with the traditional rulers as heads of these governments which bring development to the grassroots.

    “The Imo Security Network has made Imo State the best place to live. Imo Peace Advocates have brought justice, peace, joy and happiness to problematic areas and warring communities. He established specialised markets for traders and also established micro-finance banks to enhance businesses.”.

    Praising the governor for his commitment to move the state forward, Nze Ejimonyeabala said: “Governor Okorocha is up and doing and a listening governor. What makes a good leader is no matter how many years you have been in politics, you should be able to listen to the advice and yearnings of the people, take the right ideas, study them and put them together for implementation. That’s what governance is all about.

    “He is a man who wants to better the welfare of the downtrodden. Many technocrats in Imo State had maintained that free and compulsory education is not possible but he has proved them wrong.

    “He is not into enhancing the people’s well-being alone. His wife, Nneoma has built 137 two-bedroom houses for needy widows across the state.

    The London-trained economist and financial consultant disclosed that critics of the policies and programmes of the governor were ignorant of the impressive achievements recorded by the APC administration in Imo State.

    “The Rochas’ fame for good governance is applauded by an anonymous many even beyond his state. He has, in a positive manner, touched the lives of the common man to the chagrin of his opponents,” he said.

    On infrastructural development, he maintained that Okorocha has performed wonderfully well.

    “Consider the number of roads he has constructed to link various communities. People are asking where the money is coming from.  Imo State has enough money to do whatever it wants to do. The unfortunate thing is that previous administrations had been siphoning the money meant for development and taking care of the welfare of the so-called godfathers who take enormous share of the state’s fund every month.

    “Rochas has no godfathers except the Almighty God. He is really God-send because he is doing things the way the people want them done,” he said.

    On the effort of the state government to mentally empower the people through free and compulsory education, Nze Ejimonyeabala stated that “the free education introduced by the government of Rochas Okorocha is one of the best people-oriented policies aimed at human capital development,” even as he added: “We want people to be educated. The more education and knowledgeable the people are, the better for the development of the society. Illiteracy is a disease. Gone are the days when we say education is expensive even though no one had tried ignorance.”

    On the mandate for every local government to construct 15 kilometre roads, Nze Ejimonyeabala said: “If all the 27 local government areas in the state construct 15 kilometre roads, it will ensure rapid development. For instance the Nkwo-Amaimo-Ihitte-Umuozu Road will bring rural development in all the towns and villages which the road crisscrosses.”

     

  • Honour for philanthropist in Anambra

    Honour for philanthropist in Anambra

    Good work pays. In the case of philanthropist Godwin  Ezeemo, the reward came in the form of recognition and an award.

    Mr Ezeemo is appreciated by many for his humanitarian outreach. He has lifted many homes and groups in the society and has brought change in the education sector in the state with his Back to School programme to reduce the drop in male enrolment in schools.

    Ezeemo, who hails from Umuchu community in Aguata Local Government Area, Anambra State, has left his footprints in many areas, ranging from education and agriculture to rural development.

    That was why the organisation, Leaders and Award Model Foundation of Nigeria, selected him for award based on his exemplary leadership in the state.

    The foundation is led by Alhaji Ahmadu Yakubu, who was represented at the award presentation by Mr. Uche Aguoru.

    It was held at the office of the Orient Daily newspaper behind Anambra State Government House in Awka.

    The award recipient has changed the lives of widows, the needy and other less-privileged persons, youths in many communities in Anambra state.

    He singlehandedly built state secretariat for the Nigeria union of Journalists (NUJ) in Anambra state, which the state government and other individuals could not do for many years.

    At Umuchu community, he rehabilitated state roads, established agricultural industry that employed over 100 unemployed youths, built a huge Anglican church among others.

    Already, he has over 700 workers in his employ in some of his industries, all established in his community.

    The leader of the foundation in Anambra State, Mr. Uche Aguoru, told TheNation that Ezeemo has become a role model to many of the youths of today.

    He described Ezeemo, 61, as a man of many parts, adding that what shocked the foundation when it came to see the man nominated for the award, was the level of development he had brought to his area without being in government.

    “When somebody nominated him at Abuja and we were detailed to go to Anambra to see with our eyes… when we got to Umuchu community, we were shocked that such men still existed in the society.”

    “The recommendation we got from people in this state and what we have seen made us to select him for the award and not for any pecuniary attachment”

    Aguoru, however called on other individuals and organisations in the country to emulate Ezeemo in helping others to live.

    “He has exhibited so much kindness to the less privileged in the society and he should not relent, he should keep it up irrespective of any distraction from enemies of progress”

    Also, Comrade Matthias Emeke, who told The Nation that he is the state chairman of the Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA), described Ezeemo as a dynamic person for being a form of saviour to the less privileged and the needy.

    Beaming with smiles and looking fulfilled, Mr. Godwin Chukwunenye Ezeemo, told The Nation that his major aim is to see a society far better than what exists today.

    He said, what he is doing is not to earn praises, but for the poor, the widows, the less privileged to be happy in the world where people are abandoned and neglected.

    The philanthropist said there were many honest and sincere persons in the society today despite the situation, adding that such people should be fished out for such form of awards.

    According to him, “I did not know how the foundation came up with my name for the award, but this day will ever remain memorable in my mind”.

    “This is an event that will go down in the annals of Anambra history, the medal and plaque given to me by the leadership and role model  foundation will not be in vain as long as we live” Ezeemo said.

     

  • Buhari won’t disappoint Ndigbo

    An organisation, Ndigbo Unity Forum (NUF) has assured the Igbo that the in-coming Gen. Muhammadu Buhari administration will not let them down.

    NUF gave the assurance in a statement issued from its Onitsha, Anambra State headquarters. The statement was signed by the organisation’s president, Augustine Chukwudum and publicity secretary, Ugochukwu Obinka.

    The organisation also congratulated Gen. Buhari on his victory at the presidential polls.

    The statement said: “NUF is confident that the President-elect will give Nigerians the desired change that will steer the economic and security situation towards the right direction. We also want to assure Igbo that the incoming administration will not undermine our collective interest. So, everyone needs to co-operate and make our needs known. This message also applies to our brothers in the Niger Delta and to all the ex-militants that threatened to go back to the creeks.”

    NUF equally listed what they termed “urgent demands” to include building the Second Niger Bridge as scheduled, having reputable persons from the Southeast in the Buhari government, give the Southeast one additional state to balance the regional equation, reduce accidents by constructing dual-carriageways on our federal roads andimplementing the report of the National Conference.

     

  • I want to revive Aba

    I want to revive Aba

    Enyimba City, known for commerce, enterprise and ingenuity, has suffered remarkable infrastructure collapse. In this interview with SUNNY NWANKWO,  an All Progressive Congress candidate for the state House of Assembly representing Abia South, Prince Chibundu Igwe pledges to restore the commercial city to its glory, if elected. Excerpts:

    Why are you vying for the state House of Assembly seat?

    I want to ensure that Aba becomes a better economic city. This is so because Aba is noted for its ingenuity. Its ingenuity in manufacturing, fabrication, crafts and arts and grooming of raw talents into something meaningful is something that should not be allowed to waste.

    Again, I want to ensure that free education becomes one of the benefits of democracy the people would enjoy. This is because education is the pivot for development. I also want to provide more health facilities for the people. Currently, there are no good health care facilities to take care of the people’s health.

    I also intend to bring about massive road development. One of the many challenges that Aba experiences currently is lack of motorable roads. Most of the roads in Aba are in a very sorry state, and for the governor to really build roads in Aba, my role as the member representing Aba South State Constituency is to use my oversight function to attract the attention of government to the deplorable state of the roads.

    Port Harcourt Road is one of the federal roads that crisscross Aba South and it is the worst road in Aba currently.

    We already have a President-elect on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). It will be easier for me to talk to our President based on the fact that I am of the same party with him. This will enable me to build that road which the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government couldn’t rehabilitate.

    You are vying for the position for the fourth time. How convinced are you that you will succeed this time around?

    I contested for the position between 2003 and 2011 on the platform of three different political parties. Now that I am in the APC, which is the ruling party, I think I am going to emerge victorious because I am more experienced now than then. I am more known now than before. In Aba South, I am the most consistent young politician that youths are supporting freely and selflessly. They are even putting in their resources to ensure that I succeed because they believe in what I can do.

    You are contesting against an incumbent legislator. Don’t you think she has more prospects than you?

    I trust and believe in God that He will give me victory. Secondly, I know that the member representing Aba South State Constituency in the Abia State House of Assembly is a member of the PDP. Though she has been in the House for a few months, serving out her husband’s tenure, the legislative experience she has acquired didn’t bring in any benefit to her constituency in terms of infrastructural development. As a result of this, the citizens of Aba South constituency will not vote for her.

    Also, you would have noticed that the PDP failed to clinch a seat in the National Assembly election. Hon. Uzo Azubuike who represented the Aba North and Aba South Federal Constituency was a two-time member of the Abia State House of Assembly, former Deputy Speaker of the House and serving member of the House of Representatives was defeated.

    The people of Aba needed change and the change has come. Invariably, in my own case, I think it will not be different because the people are now more conscious than before and, the APC being the ruling party, more people are joining us. So, I am confident that I will defeat the incumbent legislator.

    Do you think that the electoral success of the President-elect would translate to the APC success in the April 11 polls in the state?

    General Muhammadu Buhari’s victory at the presidential and National Assembly polls is a victory for Nigeria and not for APC alone. Having said that, I want to believe that his victory will help our party grow stronger because, as I said earlier, people from other parties are defecting to the APC because they have seen that our party is not only a party with a federal spread, but also one with truly democratic principles and ideology.

    Now, people have believed that change has come and it will translate to my victory tomorrow. People of Aba truly need positive change and that is what I promise to offer them.

    There were issues raised against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the last election. What corrections would you want INEC to make?

    The issue of some malfunctioning card readers was the major concern that was noticed in some parts of the country. So, INEC should advise and educate operators of the machine appropriately to avoid a repeat of what was experienced on March 28.

    We should also look at the deployment of police. They should be told on what to do and not to cause havoc and intimidate the voters at the centres.

    What are your pieces of advice to your supporters and Abians?

    My advice to them is that they should come out en masse on Saturday and cast their votes for the APC candidates tomorrow in a peaceful manner. They should be law-abiding; they shouldn’t cause trouble and should also ensure that their votes counted. They should also wait after voting to get their results because the electoral act stipulates that.

     

     

  • Joy in Enyimba City

    The joy of victory was not confined to the North or West; it coursed through the length and breadth of the country including Aba, the commercial hub of the Southeast.

    Enyimba City, especially the camp of the All Progressives Congress (APC) went wild with joy as the party’s presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was declared winner of the election.  Chants of Sai Buhari and APC erupted. Hands went up in the air.  It was the best piece of news they had heard since the run-up to the polls.

    They had been waiting for news, and finally, it came, with relief.

    The chairman of the party in Abia State, Mr. Donatus Nwankpa described Gen. Buhari’s victory as a new dawn in the country.

    “It is a time of rebuilding the 16 years ruin of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a time that all hands must be on deck to give the country its deserved right of place among the comity of nations,” Dr. Nwankpa told our reporter.

    Continuing, he said, “The task ahead of Buhari’s administration is enormous. The economy of this country is in comatose. This is the time to change the situation that the PDP-led administration has plunged the county into. The first thing that we expect from him is to give this country a sense of direction. He should avoid wastages because one of the problems of this country is wastage arising from corruption, embezzlement, fraud and mismanagement.

    “It is not a time for tea-party. They have a lot of jobs to do because this country, as far we know right now, is losing in infrastructure among others. It is a time to sit up and give Nigerians the real dividends of democracy because there are a lot of expectations on him. To defeat a sitting president among the black African countries and third world countries is a difficult thing. So, for anybody history has beckoned on with such a huge responsibility will know that he has enormous responsibility and the major thing that we Nigerians owe him is our prayers.”

    He further expressed his hope that the emergence of Buhari would end insurgency and curb to the minimum, the impact of militant and militia groups that have been unleashing mayhem on innocent Nigerians which the PDP administration failed to tackle in the past four years.

    Also speaking, Prince Chigbundu Igwe, Abia State APC House of Assembly candidate for Aba South State Constituency said Buhari’s victory would help the party in boosting its support base in the state. He expressed optimism that the APC was going to come out strong in the April 11 polls.

    Explaining why he is vying for the position, he said Aba South State Constituency has been so unlucky, especially in the last eight years to have people who only think of how to enrich themselves instead of working for the interest of the people that elected them into the office, a situation he said he was going to correct.

    Prince Igwe, who lamented absence of tangible infrastructure in one of the densely populated local government areas, said he was going to use his influence to attract government presence to the area, promising to give the people quality representation.

    He urged the electorate to use their PVCs wisely by ensuring that they voted massively for him and other members of the party during the April 11 polls to enthrone good and quality leadership.

  • Nnamani’s supporters protest again

    Supports of former governor of Enugu State, Chimaroke Nnamani for the second protested the declaration of Gil Nnaji as the winner of the Enugu East senatorial zone.

    Economic activities were paralysed for several hours in various parts of Enugu state yesterday as thousands of supporters of his Peoples Democratic Congress (PDC) took to the streets.

    Nnamani vowed to sustain the protest until his “stolen mandate is restored in the state”.

    In the protest tagged, “Occupy Enugu”, in which placards of various inscriptions were displayed, the rampaging party supporters accused INEC of working with the PDP’s Nnaji to thwart the will of the people in the election.

    They stated that the PDC’s candidate and former Governor of the state,

    Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani and not Nnaji won the election, stressing that INEC results obtained from the polling units lent credence to the claim.

    He accused Nnaji of conniving with security officials in the state to rig election at the zone in his favour, stressing that anything other than “restoration of my mandate will be acceptable to the people”.

    From Agbani road, the protesters who chanted solidarity songs in support of Nnamani moved coal camp, Enugu North Local Government headquarters and Ogbete main market where traders were forced to close shops and joined in the demonstration.

    But effort to get into Obiagu, on the new layout part of the state was resisted by troops drawn from the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu and Mobile Policemen who fired several gunshots and teargas to disperse the crowd.

    In a melee that ensured, several persons sustained injuries, even as the protesters vowed to continue to demonstration until the results were annulled.

    The PDP candidate, Nnaji, however, denied involvement in rigging as being alleged to return to power in the senatorial zone.

    He stated that he defeated Nnamani and two other candidates in the

    Enugu east senatorial contest last Saturday, explaining that there was no way the former governor could have won the election because while Nnamani concentrated on radio jingles, he, Nnaji was doing open and underground campaign.

    “If Nnamani is claiming that he won the election, let him come and prove how he did it. You people can check the ballot boxes and see if there is any evidence of falsification. All he is doing is to try and misinform the public.

    “If the election was actually rigged by me, I would have given him a wider margin. From the figures released by the INEC, you can see it was a keenly contested election”, he said.

    According to the Senator, who has secured his second tenure, it was his opponent who is the actual rigger “and having worked under him in the past, I know his tactics and I went and blocked all his jokers before he could do ‘his magic’.”

    Nnaji said he was not bothered by such sponsored protests, which, he said, was a clear signal that he was not ready to accept defeat.

    “He should not forget he contested against a candidate who knows him very well. The way I blocked him in 2011 is also the way I blocked him in 2015. There is no way Nnamani can beat me in any election because I know his tactics,” Nnaji said.

    He thanked the people of Enugu East for giving him their support assuring that he would continue to offer quality representation that would enhance the welfare of his constituents.

  • A day for mothers

    A day for mothers

    It is a day of the best of clothes and precious gifts for the star attraction: women. OKODILI NDIDI writes on the Mothering Sunday when women are showered with presents in appreciation of their role in the home and society  

    It is easy to tell a Mothering Sunday from any other regular service day. The women turn up in church in their best attires and are conscious of the fact that it is their day. All eyes are on them. And when the time to present gifts comes, it is their hands that are stretched out to receive from their husbands, children and just about anyone else. It is the day for mothers. And it is just as well, for their contribution in the home and society is well-known through the ages.

    ‘Uka Nne’, as it is called in Igbo land, is a day set aside to celebrate the unique virtues of motherhood.

    It is also a day women are reminded of their vintage roles in building the family and the society.

    In Igbo land, mothers look further to the Mothering Sunday with great expectations. The fortunate ones with wealthy children are showered with expensive gifts; even those who are not so fortunate are equally appreciated. It is a time to share love and rekindle the bond between mothers and their children.

    It is also a time the men show their gratitude to their wives for being reliable co-workers during the years. They equally make special preparations to add colour to the celebrations.

    And in the manner of some, annual ritual presents the opportunity to show off a bit. This is evident in the way they dress and host guests.

    But more importantly it gives the entire family the opportunity to say thank you to the woman who, as it were, bends over backwards to keep, nurture and grow the family.

    Often celebrated in churches, where special prayers are said for the mothers and the entire families, the mothering Sunday also highlights the importance of mothers in nation building.

    This year’s edition of the mothering Sunday as marked by the Anglican Communion was no less intriguing. Mothers in their colourful attires danced gracefully to melodious gospel tunes with their loved ones sharing the moment.

    At different Anglican Churches across Imo State, it was one huge ball of dancing and merry making. The clergymen in their characteristic manner gave insightful and thought provoking sermons to underscore the need to set a day aside for the celebration of mothers.

    At the Victory Chapel, Government House Owerri, Pastor Bunmi Babs urged women to apply wisdom, prayer and faith in the management of their families in order to attract God’s blessing to their homes.

    Pastor Babs admonished fathers as leaders of their families, to imbibe the spirit of love and care for their families, adding that for leaders to be celebrated, they must live a life of selflessness and sacrifice.

    He prayed God to bless the mothers as they celebrate their day.

    Governor Okorocha, during  a special Church service to mark this year’s mothering Sunday, called for increased appreciation for the role of women in the development of the country.

    He advocated that mothers should be given due respect, love and recognition in their families and society in general.

    The Imo Governor, charged husbands to treat their wives with passion and eschew the use of abusive words in all interaction with them, adding that “when wives are eulogized and appreciated, they contribute immensely to the effective management, peace and progress in their families”.

    He argued further that “when a husband respects, encourages and appreciates his wife, God blesses the family and enables it make outstanding achievements”.

    On the role of women in the family, the Governor, charged mothers to avoid nagging, suspicion and untidiness, pointing out that such lapses contribute to disharmony in the family.

    He reminded the women of the adage that “the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”, while enjoining them to be respectful to their husbands and ensure that their children are brought up in the fear of God to enable them become good citizens.

    Also at the St. Luke’s Anglican Church, Achi-Mbieri in Mbaitoli Council Area of the State, where the Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere, joined  his mother, Queen Malinda Madumere to celebrate the day, old and young mothers had a swell time reminiscing on the beauty and challenges of motherhood.

    Wife of the Priest, Mrs. Chinwe Oke, while delivering her sermon on the mothering Sunday with the theme; Faith, Obedience and Service, urged the women to remain submissive as instructed in by God.

    She advised the women never to be found wanting in their responsibilities of bringing up responsible children for a better society.

    Highlight of the event was the presentation of a special rendition by the mothers and the cutting of the mothering Sunday cake.

    The deputy Governor, in his special massage, hailed the mothers for their strategic role in Nation building, describing them as

    the manifestation of God’s love for the people.

    He advised mothers to be mindful of their roles as home builders, adding that “a wise woman builds her house, while a foolish woman tears hers down with her own hands”.

    He therefore called on women to appreciate the responsibility, which God has bestowed on them and never to toil with its import.

    Madumere admonished the mothers to remain submissive to their husbands, while calling the men to love their wives and show them care at all times.