Category: Southeast report

Ebonyi State Government yesterday said secondary schools were registering pupils for West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSSCE) and Junior Secondary School Examination (JSSCE).

Education Commissioner Mr. Sunday Nwangele made this known at a news briefing in Abakaliki.

He said following timely intervention by the government, the deregistration of 345 secondary schools by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) had been lifted.  

The commissioner, who debunked media reports that schools in Ebonyi were not registering pupils for WAEC exams, noted that the state had a good working relationship with the examination body. 

Mrs. Nonye Soludo, wife of Anambra State Governor Ckukwuma Soludo, has identified failure by most parents to question the ‘sudden’ source of wealth of their children, as one of the problems threatening today’s society.

The governor’s wife, who spoke yesterday in Awka, expressed worry about parents’ abandonment of primary ethos of truth, honesty and principle in child raising, including moral inculcation and valued traditional etiquettes.

“Such costly parental neglect has resulted in negativities bedevilling today’s society, with crimes and misdemeanours slowly becoming institutionalised to the detriment of hard work and genuine means of survival. “Where parents deliberately refuse to question the source of their children’s sudden wealth, especially when it appears questionable, they have indirectly approved mediocrity and fuelled moral depreciation,” she said.

Appealing to parents and guardians to alive to their responsibilities, Mrs. Soludo said the society they desired for the next generation might be a mirage if the current social errors were not corrected. 

She added: “It is time for parents, guardians, social engineers and other stakeholders to come together and reassess their roles in child and societal developments, with a view to tackling immorality.

“The age-long values of hard work must be preached and appreciated among families, while parents and caregivers must appreciate the success pace of their children or wards.”

Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has approved employment of first-class graduates of Edo origin in Nigerian universities into the state’s civil and public service.
The approval was conveyed yesterday by Head of Service Anthony Okungbowa, who hailed Obaseki for the kind gesture, which he described as pace-setting and a worthy move that would equip the civil and public service with the best brains to engender the vision of making Edo the best place to live and work by 2050.
Okungbowa said the gesture was initially extended to the best graduating students of Edo State University, Uzairue during its third convocation, but was later extended to the University of Benin (UNIBEN) and Edo government-owned Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma.
He said the names of 15 first-class graduates and the best graduating students from the universities had been forwarded to the Edo Civil Service Commission for further action.
Okungbowa called on vice chancellors to forward the names and particulars of first-class graduates, who are Edo indigenes, to the state government for the purpose.

Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate in Delta State, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, yesterday filed a 76-page petition at the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Asaba.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the March 18 poll declared Delta Speaker Sheriff Oborevwori winner of the election with 360,234 votes.

The petition lists 13 persons, including Sheriff Oborevwori (PDP) 3rd, Monday Onyeme (PDP) 4th, Ovie Omo-Agege (APC) 6th, Friday Osanebi (APC) 7th, Ken Pela (LP) 9th, Julie Mukoro (LP) 10th, Great Ogboru (APGA) 12th and Chinedu Allanah (APGA)13th as respondents.

Gbagi, a former Minister of Education (state), told reporters in Asaba that his petition was hinged on three grounds.

He said it was firstly challenging the non-qualification of the governorship candidates and their parties.

Gbagi said the poll was not conducted in line with the Electoral Act and other statutory provisions of the law.

He said the election was marred by rigging and other malpractices.

Others who filed petitions include Senator Peter Nwaoboshi (APC), currently in jail. He is challenging the election of Ned Nwoko (PDP), who won Delta North poll.

•Reappoints Ehigiamusor as replacement

Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu has sacked his Chief of Staff, Mr. Inusa Imonofi, and replaced him with the former occupant of the office, Mr. Kingsley Ehigiamusor.

This was made known yesterday by Shaibu’s Chief Press Secretary, Musa Ebhomiana.

Shaibu thanked Imonofi for the services rendered and wished him well in his future endeavours.

No reason was given for the sack, but the deputy governor said he looked forward to working with Imonofi again in future. Ehigiamusor, a public affairs commentator and lawyer from Igueben Local Government, was the Minority Chief Whip from 2007 to 2015, and Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Public Petition and Legal Matter.

The reappointed Chief of Staff was first appointed by Governor Godwin Obaseki on November 16, 2016, shortly after his inauguration.

House of Representatives yesterday asked the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to put on hold the release of N15 billion counterpart funding requested by the Federal Government, pending the approval of the commission’s budget by the National Assembly.
Adopting a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Unyime Idem, the House also resolved to mandate its Committee on NDDC to scrutinise such request made by the Federal Government and report back to the House for further legislative action. 
The House expressed concern that the commission had been operating for the past three years without an approved budget, as provided for in the laws of the country.
Leading a debate on the motion, Idem accused the commission of spending public funds since 2021 without budgetary approval by the National Assembly, adding that the 2021, 2022 and 2023 budgets of the commission were yet to be approved by the parliament.
He said there was the need to find out where the commission had been getting money for its operations since 2021, since its budget had not been approved by the National Assembly, saying spending of public funds without approval was an illegality that should not be allowed.
He said the Ministry of Niger Delta was inaugurated by the Presidency to attend to intervention and humanitarian needs of the Niger Delta and promote physical development of the region.
Idem said since its inauguration, the Ministry of Niger Delta had executed fundamental and important humanitarian intervention projects across the region.
He said part of the fund available for use by the commission was money recovered on its behalf by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and given to the commission, to ease the implementation and its financial obligations.
He said the Federal Government sent a special request mandating the Ministry of Niger Delta to jointly finance an intervention and humanitarian programme of sums running into several billions of Naira, using the money recovered by the EFCC without budgetary provision.
Idem said such request for intervention and humanitarian proposals by the Federal Government without requisite financial appropriation and approval by the House was illegal and a breach of the Appropriation Act.
Deputy Minority Leader Toby Okechukwu said although the N15 billion being sought was for flood control, it should be put on hold while the House should investigate where the commission had been getting the money it had been spending, since its budget for three years had not been approved.

•Nnamani, Onyeama, suspended

• ‘You can’t get ministerial position by chasing everyone away’

All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State has announced the expulsion of a former governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime.

Also expelled is the Director General of Voice of Nigeria, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, former Enugu House of Assembly Speaker Eugene Odo, an aide to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Flavour Eze, Mr. Joe Mmamel and Mr. Maduka Arum.

Similarly, the party suspended former Senate President Ken Nnamani and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama.

The disciplinary actions were announced yesterday by the Enugu State Secretary of the party, Mr. Robert Ngwu.

He presented the report of a disciplinary committee.

Ngwu said the report was ratified by an enlarged state Executive Committee meeting.

The expelled and suspended members were accused of anti-party activities.

They were alleged to have supported candidates of other parties during the 2023 general election.

The state Chairman of the party, Chief Ugochukwu Agballah, said the disciplinary action would signal an end to the crisis in the party.

He said: “These men have actually had the history of instigating crisis in the party. Their expulsion and suspension signal the end to crisis in the party.

“The party suffered a rare case of moles, who were here to disable and undermine this party. I can assure you that this decision was unanimous and I’m happy that the party leadership has done the needful.

“We’re going to rebuild this party to make it a credible alternative and platform for change in Enugu State.”

Eze, an aide to Onyeama, described the action as “rantings of a frail and sapped politician of yesteryear.”

Eze, who was the Enugu State Media Director of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Independent Campaign Council (ICC), said the gloating of Agballah had been APC’s albatross in Enugu State, stressing that the foundation members of the party in the state were unfazed by his recent unbridled verbal and media attacks on Onyeama, Nnamani and other founding members of the party.

He slammed Agballah for struggling for the position of a minister in a proposed government he worked against its victory and urged Nigerians to treat him with ignominy.

Eze, an APC leader in Udi Local Government, said it was such a pity that Agballah, who claimed to be chairman of the party, instead of engaging in canvassing votes for the party, chose to engage in imaginary fisticuffs as smokescreen for his incompetence and corrupt management of the party.

Eze added that Agballah in a coup d’etat dispersed meaningful members of the party and arrogated himself in selfish aggrandisement, trumped up acrimony and polarised the party in order for the real leaders of the party to give him way to conduct business with the party.

He alleged that Agballah made good his business and gave opposition parties in the state victory in exchange for the porridge he bargained for and turned around to blame the founding leaders of the party for his incapacity.