The Nation Newspaper

Category: Southeast report

  • NBL inaugurates plant in Aba

    NBL inaugurates plant in Aba

    The Nigeria Breweries Plc has launched an N18b plant in Aba, Abia State’s commercial nerve.

    On hand to witness it were Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, who represented President Goodluck Jonathan, and the state governor Theodore Oji, among other dignitaries.

    President Jonathan commended the company on the laudable project, saying its effort could not be taken away from what contributed to its listing as one of the top100 firms in Nigeria in 2014. “The project is also a reflection of our future as a nation,” he added.

    In his remarks, Governor Orji said that the project showed a perfect partnership between the government and private investors owing to the tangible achievement of his administration in fighting insecurity in the state.

    He enjoined the people of the state to continue to support the company as the new plant will enhance direct and indirect employment, increase revenue generation to local, state and federal governments, as well as raise the standard of living of the people.

    The chairman of the company, Chief Kola Jamodu, stated that the expansion project reflected the firm’s confidence, not only in Abia but the entire Southeast as an investment destination.

    He said, “Our company started business in 1946 in Lagos as Nigeria’s first brewing company. In 1949, the first bottle of Star beer was produced. Aba Brewery was commissioned in 1957 and today starts another milestone in our company’s socio-economic developmental journey with Eastern Nigeria.”

    He added that over the years the company has been very active in supporting Nigeria’s national development aspirations as exemplified by its continuous identification and response to major challenges confronting the nation through corporate social investments, especially in the areas of education, environment, water, youth empowerment, talent development and sports, among others.

    The Managing Director, Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde pointed out that as Nigeria’s leading brewing company, the plant’s takeoff demonstrated NBL’s commitment to ‘Winning with Nigeria’ through “our investments, our footprint, our people and our socio-economic impact. This journey which commenced with the registration of our company in 1946 continues today with a footprint of 11 breweries and two malting plants strategically spread out across Nigeria.”

    While thanking Governor Orji for providing the enabling environment for their engineers and workers throughout the building project, the NBL chiefs expressed happiness that there were no accidents or loss of personnel while the work lasted.

    They said the plant would create jobs and increase revenue generation across the tiers of government.

    Vervelde said, “We brewed our first bottle of Star in 1949 in Lagos but it was very quickly clear to the founding fathers of Nigerian Breweries that we needed to expand our operational footprint around the country. It is for this reason that the Aba Brewery holds a very special place in our hearts because it was our very first Brewery built outside Lagos and perhaps it was the success of Aba that sharpened our corporate courage to push further which culminates in today’s enviable spread that enables us to serve diverse consumer needs across the country with our well-loved brands.

    Jamodu said, “Our socio economic impact report shows that in 2013 alone, the value added by Nigerian Breweries to the Nigerian Economy stood at N292 billion value added or 0.4 per cent of GDP. N98billion or 0.1per cent of GDP out of this stood as direct support. Our company supported 279,000 jobs directly and indirectly.

    Aganga who said that the citing of the project in Abia State has made the state fit and open for investment, commended brewing multi-national company for sourcing about 50% of their raw materials locally stated that such action has encouraged Nigerian farmers to grow in their businesses.

     

  • Alleged car snatching robbery: Eight suspected held

    Alleged car snatching robbery: Eight suspected held

    The Abia State police command has paraded two young men suspected to have snatched a Toyota Sequioa SUV car from its owner.

    The command also alleged that the suspects pasted the campaign poster of Hon. Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje, member representing Bende Federal constituency of the state on the stolen vehicle.

    Parading the suspects in Umuahia, the state Commissioner of Police, Adamu Ibrahim concluded that they may have used the poster as a camouflage to escape arrest.

    Ibrahim said that the two men whose names were given as Uchenna Ibero, 24, and Ifeanyi Agbai, 27, were arrested by the police at Amaiyi Obilohia in Isuikwuato council area after snatching a campaign bus from a politician.

    The Abia police chief said that the suspects had earlier snatched a Mitsubushi campaign bus with registration number APP 376 CV, belonging to Chief Karibe Pascal Ojigwe, a former international footballer and candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance for Abia House of Assembly.

    He said that the suspects snatched the bus at gunpoint from Ojigwe, adding,”My men went after them and traced them to Isuikwuato, where Agbai was arrested and during a search in his house we recovered one AK47 rifle with serial number 05934.

    One AK47 magazine containing three rounds of live ammunition, a locally made revolver pistol, one APGA T-shirt and one black polo with the inscription, ‘Gallant MOPOL, including the snatched bus.

    A few days later the suspects led the police to De-Jug Hotel located at Nkpa near Uzuakoli in search of the fleeing members of the gang and the hoodlums numbering about five on sighting the police opened fire on them”.

    Ibrahim said that at the end of the gun battle, one suspect identified as Ifeanyi Agwu Sunday of Eluama Alayi was arrested with bullet wounds and the Toyota SUV with registration number SMK 766 DE with a poster on it recovered.

    The Abia police boss said that his men also recovered one Space Wagon with the number NCH 405 AE, one Toyota Picnic SUV with the number KPA 177 LG and a Lexus Jeep with the number PH 30 AM.

    He said that the vehicles were recovered and one Ndubueze Onuegbu was arrested in connection with the three vehicles which were parked in a compound belonging to one Chibueze Onuegbu at Ubani Ibeku in Umuahia North area.

    The police said they also paraded six other suspected armed robbers arrested at different locations in the state, and assured the residents that criminals would be chased out of the state.

    The state Commissioner of Police said that the command has put in place a lot of security measures which led to the arrest of over 200 suspects before, during and after the Christmas period, with many of them being prosecuted.

    Ibrahim said that his men while on patrol along Aba-Owerri Expressway, arrested one Chinaza Ofoegbu from Isuikwuato with a machete at a notorious black spot at Aro-Ngwa near Aba

    The police chief said the suspects was nabbed “while blocking the highway with stones alongside his gang members,” adding that “others fled into the bush, while Chinaza was arrested”.

    He said that another armed robbery suspect a notorious one, who has been on the police watch list for some time with the name Chimere Eze alias ‘Nwa Barrister’ was arrested.

    He added that Nwa Barrister had been involved in many armed robbery cases in the state but that he had been evading police arrest for over three years.

    The suspect was arrested with a locally made pistol which was concealed in a brown bag at Asaga village, Arochukwu where he was engaged in a serious fight with his gang members, it was said.

    Ibrahim said that his men on raid at Asaeme village Uratta, Aba, arrested Onyekachi Uchendu of 11D Faulks road Aba in a criminal hideout with one unregistered Skygo motorcycle suspected to have been stolen, adding that the case is under investigation.

    He said that another armed robbery suspect Uchenna Ibeawuchi of Umulolo Olokoro was also arrested for being in possession of a suspected stolen motorcycle.

    “On interrogation, he confessed to the allegation and disclosed the receivers of the motorcycles, which led to the  recovery of six motorcycles,” Ibrahim said.

    The police CP said that his men arrested Enyinnaya Umegbulam for attacking Chibuike Ojiabo and Azubike Paul both of Ihie Ndume in Umuahia, saying that the suspect inflicted injuries on two of them with stones, sticks, and bottles and robbed them of their phones and cash.

    Ibrahim said that one of the victims, Ojiabo who was seriously injured eventually died in the hospital while the suspect Umegbulam ran away, ”However my men later tracked him after many attempts and he has been arrested”.

    He said that the police at Bende Division received a distress call from a concern citizen from Ozuitem and when they got there with the help of vigilante arrested one Okorie Dick and that a locally made pistol was found on him with an unregistered motorcycle, “While efforts are being made to arrest his gang member, Uwalaka Nwokorie of Ozuitem who is at large”.

    The Abia CP said that the last person to be paraded was one Ezekiel Ogbaa who was arrested while trying to steal an MTN transformer, adding that the suspect conspired with five others now at large, but that his men recovered a Citroen Jumper bus with the number WER 36 EM used by the suspects.

  • Southeast’s oldest hospital retooled

    Southeast’s oldest hospital retooled

    A set of state-of-the-art equipment has been shipped to the oldest medical facility in the Southeast, Iyienu Misson Hospital, established in 1907. It is located in Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State. Since its inauguration, the hospital, founded by the Anglican Church, has been associated with high standards.

    In their time as governors, Dr. Chris Ngige and Mr. Peter Obi supported the facility with cash and equipment.

    The Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO), in partnership with Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC), also provided over N300m to fund projects and procure modern equipment for the hospital.

    The result: multi-dimensional kidney analysis and breast screening centres at the hospital, among other facilities.

    The Anglican Bishop on the Niger, Rt. Rev Dr. Owen Nwokolo, stressed the imperatives of helping the hospital grow, saying it will reduce capital flight in medical tourism abroad, which was reportedly sucking out as much as N250m from the nation every year.

    The vision of the founding fathers of the hospital was summed up in their motto, “to preach and to heal”

    At the commissioning of the centres, the Managing Director of Shell, Dr. Chike Onyejekwe, said the choice of Iyienu Mission Hospital was based on its record as one of the oldest in the south East.

    Cancer and kidney patients have been visiting the hospital for screening.

    When Emeka Anyaoku Diagnostic and Dialysis Centre was commissioned by the Obi administration in 2014, it helped to bring down the volume of Southeast people going overseas for medical tourism.

    The centre was the pet project of the former Commonwealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, with over 100 million naira raised for it in his birthplace.

    At its commissioning, Obi announced over N500m to revitalise the hospital. The state government further announced an additional donation of N100m to further equip It, while two buses were equally given for its high-flying school of nursing.  which had become the best in the state.

    Today, the hospital is setting a place in medi-care with five functioning advanced dialysis machines with efficient renal care at low cost with good working clinic and their consulting nephrologists.

    Rev. Ikechukwu Okwuosa is the hospital administrator, who told The Nation that the scanners in use at the hospital are digitalised, that they detect anomalies form three different areas in the body.

    The centre takes care of disease of the lung, abdomen and kidney, while the machines take care for studying the diseases of the bone, so says, Dr. Eric Umeh, the consultant Radiologist.

    When The Nation visited the place, some of the machines sighted were X-ray clips, CT SCAN, CT Imagery and Mammography, described by experts as the best of their kind in the world.

    Also available at the centre were Sound Cardiographs, Digitizer and Echo-cardiographs (ECG) among others. Dr. Umeokafor Chijioke, of the Radiology Department, said the Dialysis Centre was affordable.

     

  • ‘Obiano has started well’

    ‘Obiano has started well’

    From assessment of the states to ravages of Boko Haram to the government Ebonyi State deserves and the forthcoming elections, the Bishop of Afikpo Diocese, Anglican Communion, the Right Rev. Paul Udeogu, holds nothing back in this interview with OGOCHUKWU ANIOKE. Excerpts:

    We sincerely congratulate our beloved brother, Chief Willie Obiano and his Deputy Dr. Nkem Okeke on their election. This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our sight. We are happy that he has started very well. His first100 days in office were remarkable. He was able to do what “Napoleon could not do’. His resilience in the war against crime and insecurity, doggedness to see Anambra State join the league of oil producing states by the ongoing construction of roads from Aguleri to Orient petroleum drilling site Aguleri Otu, the new face he is giving Awka, the State capital, his bumper investment in agriculture, his selfless and determined infrastructural development of the state have within his few months in office won the confidence and admiration of Ndi Anambra. The peaceful and crime free atmosphere he created has attracted over $800m investment to the state. We pray Almighty God to give him the grace, wisdom, courage and strength to take Anambra State to the next level.

     

    On the Centenary

     

    We praise and glorify the Almighty God who has sustained our nation for the past 100 years. The journey of Nigeria has been a challenging one as we have experienced civil war, political, economic and religious crises. However, we can say, like the Biblical preacher, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

     

    On the National

    Conference

     

    The National Conference over, what is crucial now is the implementation of the recommendations made. Having followed the pre-conference discussions from different parts of our country, the discussion proper at the national conference and the recommendations of the conference, we can say without mincing words that if at least 50% of the recommendations of the conference is implemented, Nigeria would be a better country. We are aware that the majority of the recommendations of the previous National Conferences were swept under the carpet. We hope that such should not be the same with the 2014 National Conference. We call upon the President, the National Assembly, and the Council of State to ensure that the recommendations of the Conference are passed into law.

     

    On Boko Haram

     

    Our newspapers are dominated by the moral evil, inhumanity and wickedness and terror perpetrated by the Islamist terrorist group known as Boko Haram. The abduction of Chibok girls, the massacre of innocent people in Kano, Maiduguri, Damaturu, Taraba and Adamawa, the declaration of caliphates at Gwoza and Mubi area, the Islamisation and killing of Christians in the North by the Boko Haram are all devilish acts which we condemn completely.

    Thousands of people have been displaced from their homes and they now live in refugee camps. This alone has its own social implication as children who are supposed to be in school are out of school. The capture and renaming of Gwoza in Borno State and Mubi in Adamawa State, particularly the capture of the hometown of the Chief of Defense staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh is a bad omen for our country.

    A critical assessment of the security challenges in our country reveals that Boko haram still holds sway due to infiltration of our security operations by the sect, sabotage, religious and Northern bias, political bias and lack of willpower on the side of the government to deal decisively with these terrorists.

    Moreover, defenders of Boko Haram before now told the world that the insurgency was fuelled by poverty and bad governance and not Islamic extremism, but events have proved them to be liars. What has poverty to do with the killing of innocent school children? It cannot explain the abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage of some 200 girls in Chibok, the declaration of caliphate at Mubi and Gwoza. It is high time that the international community saw Boko Haram as examples of Islamic extremism.

    We believe that trouncing Boko Haram can’t be achieved overnight. It calls for patience, prayers and cooperation of every Nigerian. Boko Haram is a criminal enterprise which must be ruthlessly crushed at the earliest opportunity.

    We appeal to Nigerians of goodwill and conscience irrespective of their tribe and religious affiliation to rise to these challenges and cooperate with the government to win the battle against terrorism. We call upon our President Jonathan Goodluck to invoke his powers as the President of this country on this matter. The activities of Boko haram are now a very big embarrassment to our county. The integrity of Nigeria is at stake. The sovereignty of Nigeria is being challenged by the declaration of a caliphate at Mubi. Boko Hararn must be stopped now.

     

    On the elections

     

    It is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our love for our country by electing credible leaders for the country. As things unfold daily, one is worried because the country is being heated up. The political rascality with impunity, political maneuvering, selfishness, greed and wickedness being exhibited by our politicians are issues of great concern. Politicians should be reminded again that power belongs to God. It is the right of the electorate to elect their leaders. We advise our politicians to be humble, sincere and play the game according to the rule. Let things be done decently and in order.

    We encourage our people to vote for credible and trusted candidates and not voting necessarily on party basis. We must remember these scriptures “righteousness exalt a nation but sin is a reproach” (Prov. 14:34). “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice but when the wicked man rules, the people groan” (Prov. 29:2)

    We call upon the Church of God in Nigeria to pray God to give us leaders after His heart. However, the role of the church should not be limited to prayers; Christians should also be involved in the process. The church should engage in enlightenment campaigns, providing information through the mass media, social media to educate our people, on why we must vote, the kinds of people to be voted and how to defend our votes.

    We call on INEC to be firm and sincere in their conduct and judgment and appeal to the police and other security agencies to double their efforts to see that the nation does not witness any violence before, during and after the election.

     

    On Ebonyi

     

    We commend Ebonyi State Governor Chief Martin Elechi, his wife, Mrs Josephine Elechi for their efforts on the ongoing Ochudo City, Oferekpe Water Project, the international market and the unity bridges across the state but we are yet to see the Ebonyi State of our founding fathers’ dream. Poverty is on the increase, majority of our roads are bad.

     

    On the governor

    the state needs

     

    We must state categorically that the governor we need must be a God-fearing man, a dynamic and visionary man with great foresight of what is needed to be done, man with a burden and great concern on the state of affairs in the state, a well-informed and experienced man who has excelled with good testimonies in his career or civil service, a servant-leader, a man with onus to provoke the economic viability of the state, through profitable investment, youth empowerment and creation of enabling environment for business, a prudent manager, a listening governor, an unprejudiced leader that will involve all the interest groups and sections in the state, a focused man, a man with a well articulated, road map to the greatness of Ebonyi State, a man with a stable family record, a selfless and contented person, a man of his word and not a stooge.

  • NGO pays exam fees for 224 candidates

    NGO pays exam fees for 224 candidates

    A non-governmental organisation, Chinedu Ogah Foundation has taken the pressure off 184 secondary school pupils in Item Amagu in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

    The organisation offset their West African Senior School Certificate Exam fees totaling N2m.

    He also promised to pay the fees of 97 Primary Six pupils of Community Primary School in the community who will sit the 2015 Common Entrance exam.

    The chairman and chief executive of the foundation, Comrade Chinedu Ogah disbursed the funds to the benefiting students when he visited the school.

    Addressing the benefiting students, staff and principal of the school, Ogah said the resolve to settle the fees of the students was borne out of the determination and commitment to develop the youths who are the future of tomorrow and deserves empowerment.

    Ogah said, “The youths are the future leaders of tomorrow; that is why the NGO embarked on the payment of WASC fees to the students, and to assist in the academic pursuits of students in his community by improving the standard of education in the area,” he reiterated.

    He stated that the foundation has granted scholarship to undergraduates studying various courses in Nigerian universities across the country, in addition to construction of health centers and provision of electricity and roads to the community.

    “We also attracted the construction of the classroom block in the school, so that the students can study in a conducive atmosphere. The foundation regularly procures school uniforms for all the students in the school every year as well as text books”

    He called on the students to take their studies as they have no excuse anymore to fail even as he promised to give university scholarship to students who pass the exams.

    Comrade Ogah announced that arrangements have been concluded to construct staff quarters for staff of unity secondary schools.

    Reacting to the development, the principal of the school, Mrs  Mary Nweke commended the foundation for her philanthropic gesture to the school, assuring that the school will live up to expectation by bequeathing academic excellence to the students.

    It would be recalled that the foundation had over the years secured employment to over 315 graduates from the community in federal parastatals, courtesy of the Chinedu Ogah Foundation in addition to scholarships to hundreds of students across the state.

     

  • Ndigbo rally at Ojukwu memorial

    Ndigbo rally at Ojukwu memorial

    It was just as well that on the day an elaborate memorial event was organised in Anambra State in the memory of  the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, speeches of Igbo unity echoed.

    Some of the best regarded masquerades thrilled the crowd, as did various cultural dancers who displayed dazzling foot work at the Dr. Alex Ewueme Square, Awka, where all the 21 local councils of the state were represented.

    Dignitaries from the region were there including those who served in the military alongside the late leader.

    Ojukwu led Biafra during the Civil War and after his long exile, returned to lead Ndigbo once again. Until his death, he was still a force to reckon with, many coming to seek his advice on political issues.

    Yet, as the event wore on, dignitaries seized the opportunity to rally the entire Igbo people to unite and forge ahead.

    The event was organised by the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano.

    Former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme and his wife Beatrice; Col. Ben Gbulie, the man dubbed Air Raid because of his exploits during the Civil War and Chief Joe Achuzia, former Secretary General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, among others, were all present.

    There were some aspects which tended to portray the event as one to appease the spirits of some fallen Igbo leaders. The Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev. Paulinus Ezeokafor, however, distanced himself from that perspective.

    The Bishop said, “I heard that our celebration today is understood by some people as a way of placating the spirits of departed and forgotten Igbo sons and daughters who are now blocking the progress of the Igbo nation, [and that] to open up the path of Ndigbo to peace and prosperity, these aggrieved spirits need to be celebrated.

    “This interpretation is indeed very far from our Christian belief about death and life after death. It also violates the challenge from the Book of Job to continue to trust God and know that in the mystery of God’s love and justice, virtuous and upright people could suffer.”

    Ezeokafor did not end his homily without imploring the people of the state and indeed Nigerians to exercise their civic responsibility of voting for candidates that they were convinced in conscience that would work for the betterment of the people in 2015.

    But he warned politicians and the society to desist from any act that would truncate the process. He also prayed for God’s intervention during the general elections.

    Governor Obiano described the remembrance of the Biafran fallen heroes as a unifying factor for Ndigbo

    “We must come together to re-unite the people of the Southeast,” he said, adding that, “the future of Ndigbo is guaranteed in one indivisible Nigeria.”

    Again, he said the event was equally about planting a tree of forgiveness in the minds of both the dead and living heroes of the war.

    Obiano said, “We are a people of faith; those people died courageously and that is why we are offering them this final burial. Ndigbo have become the most successful set of people in the entire black race.”

    From the list compiled by the state government, Anambra lost over 5,600 people during the war, while the Anglican Bishop of Awka, Most Rev. Alex Ibezim put the number of Ndigbo at 3m who  lost their lives during the war.

  • Police tackle housing deficits in Aba

    Police tackle housing deficits in Aba

    The Aba Area Commander of the Abia State police command, Assistant Commissioner of Police Peter Wagbara has started addressing the accommodation challenges in his jurisdiction. Dilapidated structures are being rehabilitated. The commander’s quarters are also being rebuilt and expanded to accommodate more people.

    The woeful housing profile of the police is well documented. Their barracks built decades ago can only house a limited number of personnel. Even those inadequate facilities are filthy in most cases, with all kinds of negative behaviour associated with them. As a result, a good number of police personnel live outside the barracks, exposing themselves to undue danger and indignities, such as rent issues.

    A police source recalled how a friend and course mate from Police College Enugu was gruesomely murdered by men of the underworld immediately after their posting. The source said his friend would not have been killed in the manner he was if he were appropriately housed in the barracks.

    The source also said he too has been living outside the barracks for over 20 years.

    “My friend and course mate after we passed out from the police college in Enugu was posted to one of the communities in one of the southeastern states. When he got there, he told me that there were no quarters for them and so he had to go and rent an apartment outside the station.

    “One day when he was sleeping, some armed men attacked his area and when they got to his house and upon discovering that he was a police officer, they inflicted bodily injuries on him before riddling his body with bullets.

    “They didn’t get any arms because we book and sign out our guns from the armoury as soon as we are through with the day’s duty. You know that police or security agents are usually seen by the bad boys as their rivals. That was how I lost my bosom course mate.

    “If he was living in a police barracks such things would not have happened even though I have lived outside the barracks after my training till date. It has not been easy living in the midst of civilians. Are you talking about the continued harassment of the landlord, co-tenants or the community that one lives? It is not easy but there is nothing one can do owing to the nature and health condition of most of the police quarters.

    “Sometimes, the sewage is full and nobody cares to evacuate it, making some people to even defecate in nearby bushes. I even find it difficult as I am talking to you to visit some of my friends who stay in the quarters,” the source said.

    To address the issue of accommodation in his command, the Aba Area Commander, ACP Peter Wagbara on resumption of office started with the reconstruction and expansion of office of the Area Commander and the rehabilitation of Area Commander’s quarters in Aba which was abandoned for more than 10 years after it was burnt.

    The Nation gathered that while several attempts by Wagbara’s predecessors to renovate the house failed because of “paucity of fund”, they resorted to paying heavy hotel bills throughout their stay which Wagabra was not comfortable with, hence the renovation of the ACP’s quarters, renovation of offices and one of the residential quarters for officers and men under his command through the assistance of public spirited individuals.

    It was gathered that the renovation work on the residential quarters at its completion would provide accommodation for over 100 policemen.

    One other key area that received a facelift is the communication or control room of the Area Command which has been equipped with modern communication gadgets which has made communication with patrol teams more effective and that according to sources at the Aba Area Command helped in checking crime in commercial city especially, during the Christmas festivity where no crime was recorded in any part of the command during the period.

    Some of the police officers who spoke to our correspondent thanked Peter Wagbara for seeing the need to rehabilitate their dilapidated quarters which would go a long way to solve their accommodation problems when completed as they equally called on the police authority to build more quarters for them in order to save them from being exposed to preventable dangers.

    A police officer living outside the barracks who would not want his name in print told our correspondent that the dangers of living outside the barracks contribute to the level of their performance and productivity.

    According to him, most policemen resident outside the barracks don’t perform optimally because of the dangers of being attacked by their host community, armed robbers and hoodlums who would trace them to their homes to unleash terror on them.

  • Candidates to debate again in Abia

    Candidates to debate again in Abia

    After the success of the maiden edition, candidates vying for office in Abia State will take on one another and seek to convince the electorate to vote for them.

    The event, according to its organisers, Modern Communication Limited (MCL), is billed to hold in Umuahia, the capital, and Aba, the commercial nerve, in February.

    It will feature candidates of various parties contesting for various elective positions in the state.

    The General Manager (MCL), Mr. Ogwo Agu at a press briefing, disclosed that the essence of the media chat which would be transmitted live on their terrestrial network stations in Umuahia and Aba.

    He said the effort was part of the company’s social responsibility in providing a platform for the candidates seeking various elective positions in the state to present publicly their programmes.

    He said the programme would also provide the opportunity for the electorate to ask the candidates  questions.

    He also said a team of seasoned media professionals, captains of industry, civil rights activists would be on hand to seek answers from those who lead the state.

    Questions, it was said, will be asked in virtually every sector of the economy.

    Agu added that invitations had been sent to the expected candidates.

    Agu disclosed that the media chat featuring candidates for National Assembly positions from the Umuahia zone would hold on February 6 while that of the Aba zone would hold on February 7.

    He said that the debate sessions for governorship candidates would hold on February 20 and 21 in Umuahia and Aba, expressing the hope that the event would not only serve as any eye opener for the electorate in choosing whom to cast their votes for, but also add value to the building of a healthy democratic process in the state.

    The MCL General Manager who described the maiden edition of the programme as a successful one stated that participation in the exercise which they hope to sustain was free for all the candidates and added that they were acting according to NBC (Nigeria Broadcasting Commission) and INEC election guidelines.

    “Abians want the best in 2015 and we will never look back in giving them the best; that is why we are soliciting the assistance of you journalists, our colleagues from other media to help us make this year’s event worthwhile,” he said.

     

  • How broken bridge wrecked Imo communities

    How broken bridge wrecked Imo communities

    Looking at the collapsed bridge, it is difficult to imagine that it was once a major reason two communities in Imo State   thrived.

    Umualum and Umuoma towns in Nekede, Owerri West Local Government Area of the state, with a population of over 100,000, once kept the state in good supply of food.

    Few people cultivated yam and cassava better than they did, and they also had a good measure of fish to throw in. They packed their produce and catch, went over the bridge and, in about ten minutes, were in the capital Owerri to sell. Even when the farmers chose not to move their harvests out, their clients crossed the bridge and came to Umualum and Umuoma to buy. The two communities prospered and residents were happy.

    That was 20 years ago. Since then, the Otamiri Bridge has broken and the economy of the communities has also collapsed.

    Now, the bridge, brownish with dust, has almost fallen into the Otamiri River. At great risk to themselves, some residents place planks on a side of the structure and try to cross to the other side of the river, wisely avoiding the parts that have no supporting steel of any kind or are completely overgrown with weed. Even then, accidents do happen.

    The bridge now provides little boys something to play with. They strip off their clothes, climb to the top of the railing and plunge into the Otamiri River. They splash around for a while and go home.

    The economy of Umualum and Umunoma communities has nosedived. The traders have all vanished and the communities are disconnected and abandoned, thanks to the erosion that washed away the Otamiri Bridge, the only link to the riverside communities.

    Bemoaning the development, the traditional ruler of Umuoma, Eze Morrison Eke, said his community has been cut off from other ones, especially the state capital which was formerly a journey of less than 10 minutes.

    He stated that since the collapse of the bridge, about 20 years ago, the villagers have suffered untold hardship and accidents trying to cross the precarious bridge.

    “There is no other link road to the communities aside from the Otamiri Bridge and since it collapsed we have lost the once buoyant economy and now we are barely surviving because we have no other place to go”.

    The troubled monarch, appealed to the State and Federal Governments to come to their aid and rehabilitate the dilapidated bridge, which he said a lot of economic and geographical hardship on the people.

    According to some of the villagers, who spoke with The Nation by the bank of the Otamiri River, “it used to be a beehive of activities in this area when the bridge was functional many years ago because transportation on car, buses, tricycle and motor cycles were all easy. Fishermen sold their fish along the bridge and people come from far and near to patronise them and also to buy farm produce”.

    They lamented further that, “we were formerly the highest producers of yam and cassava but since there is no longer means to transport the produce to the markets, the farmers have been discouraged. We are appealing to the Federal Government to come to our aid because we have no other place to go because this is our ancestral home”.

    Apart from the farmers and traders, students also share in the plight. The Federal Polytechnic Nekede is situated in the area and the fact that cheap and affordable houses abound in Umuoma and Umualum communities, the population of students is high in the area.

    Chijioke Obinna,  a student of the Polytechnic who lives in one of the communities, lamented that, “since the wood and steel used in building the bridge are now weak and dilapidated, it takes courage and caution for one to trek across the bridge without falling  into the river”.

    He added further that, “we are more than 60 students that live in the two communities and we have to cross the bridge everyday to go to school. We are also joining the indigenes to appeal to the authorities to fix the bridge and reconnect the communities with the other parts of the state.

    They shouldn’t wait until major disaster happens”.

    An indigene, Mr. Stephen Njoku, noted that indigenes of the affected communities who live outside no longer visit home due to the collapsed bridge, adding that “even though there is perceived Federal Government’s presence around the bridge, little has been done to help the plight of the people”.

    The lawmaker representing Owerri West in the state House of Assembly, Hon Innocent Eke, who enumerated efforts made by the State Assembly to alleviate the plight of the people, stated that, “since it is an ecological fund project that requires counterpart funding, the state government has paid its counterpart fund and in no time the Federal Government will commence work on the ‘Otamiri’ bridge”.

    He appealed to the people to be patient with the Government, adding that palliative measures will continue until the collapsed bridge is fixed.

    As the waiting game continues, the residents of the two communities will continue to live under the fear of lurking disaster, which may happen at any time, going by the deteriorating shape of the bridge which is begging for urgent attention.

     

  • Obiano urged to fix road

    Obiano urged to fix road

    RESIDENTS of Uzoakwa, a community in  Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, want Governor Willie Obiano to rehabilitate one road that has giving them a headache. It is the Ezego-Ose-Akwa Road built by the late Chief Victor Nnamdi Okafor, popularly called Ezego.

    The philanthropist died 17 years ago, leaving his kinsmen heartbroken. But there is another worry: the road he built has collapsed in different parts and no government has looked in the direction of the community with a view to fixing it.

    The community has been crying for help. None has come.

    The community alleged that since the demise of their son, who was known for his philanthropy, some of his gestures, among which were the construction of inter-connecting roads in the communities, among others, successive administrations have continued to neglect them.

    They said the Uzoakwa Road is their only link to the busy Onitsha-Owerri Expressway.

    According to them, the rehabilitation of the road started in 2013, in the twilight of the administration of the state’s immediate past governor, Peter Obi before it was abandoned half-way.

    They now want Governor Obiano to urgently come to their rescue by completing the project before the next rainy season.

    The community alleged that the contractor handling the project had rehabilitated the Ezego Junction part of the road, but stopped work near the community’s popular Uzo-Igwe market.

    The flowers and street lights which the late Ezego provided when the road was first constructed had been vandalised, as the dark nature of the road especially at night sends shivers down the spines of first-time visitors to the community.

    This is even as that the Project Description Boards, PDBs,earlier mounted at strategic sections of the road, had been uprooted.

    Residents who spoke said that the abandonment of the road had aggravated the erosion and flood menace on the Ose-Akwa section of the road.

    Even the popular entrance to the once beautiful Ezego Crescent has lost its glory, as the heavenly trees and flowers that used to welcome visitors are now withered.

    Apart from this, Ezego’s magnificent country home, is decrepit just as some parts of the glass house have started falling off.

    The uncompleted duplexes inside the compound are still at the same level he left them.

    Also Speaking,a resident Sebastian Chime, said the abandonment of the road showed the level of marginalisation the community had been subjected to by several administrations of the state since the demise of their son.

    Chime said: “The rehabilitation of this road to me was politically motivated. It was during the end of Governor Peter Obi’s administration that he promised to fix this road for us, prompting us to vote for his anointed candidate, Obiano.

    “Given what our people had suffered owing to erosion menace, our community leaders assured him (Obi) of our support, so that was how the rehabilitation of the road started. But shockingly, the job was abandoned half-way in January 2014, and since then, we have not seen them on site.

    “This situation gives us much worry, because Peter Obi who gave the contract has left the reins of power, so it behoves on the incumbent Governor Obiano to come to our rescue by completing the project.”

    Similarly, Chief Hyacinth Nzomiwu, who also, lamented the situation said: “It will be a betrayal on our people, if Obiano continues to abandon the road this year. We assured his predecessor, Peter Obi of  our full support for him (Obiano), which we fulfilled at the election that brought him in. So, we expect him to do for us, what he is currently doing for his Aguleri people and other nearby communities in his ancestral home.”