The Nation Newspaper

Category: Uncategorized

  • Two kidnapped in Anambra

    Few hours after the Anambra State Government demolished the homes of suspected kidnappers at Uli, two people were yesterday abducted in the state.

    The Vice-President of the Amalgamated Traders Association (AMATA), Chief Gozie Akudolu (aka Iroko), and the Director of Works, Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, Mr Ephraim Enekwenchi, were abducted on Wednesday night.

    Akudolu was reportedly kidnapped from his home in Umuanuka, Otolo Nnewi at 9.30pm.

    A statement by the union’s Publicity Secretary Dede Uzor Uzor urged Police Commissioner Ballah Nasarawa to go after the abductors.

    The statement said three gunmen held Akudolu and drove him away in his Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV).

    Enekwenchi was reportedly kidnapped by unknown gunmen as he was driving to his home.

    It was gathered that the polytechnic director was forced out of his vehicle, dumped in the gunmen’s operational car. They left foran unknown destination.

    Police spokesman Ralphael Uzoigwe, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), confirmed both incidents.

    He said the police would go after the kidnappers and release their victims.

    Uzoigwe said the police had recovered Enekwenchi’s car.

    The police spokesman assured that the suspects would be apprehended.

  • ANPP calls for sober reflection

    The National Chairman of the All Nigeria People Party (ANPP), Ogbonnaya Onu, yesterday urged Muslims to reflect on how the country will remain peaceful and develop.

    As a people, Onu said everyone should resolve to heal wounds that hurt, calm frayed nerves, replace hate with love and above all, learn to: “accommodate views that may differ from ours for the growth of our democracy and the oneness of our people as members of one family.”

    In a statement in Abuja, Onu said: “As our beloved country men and women join the rest of the world to celebrate this year’s Eid-el-Kabir, our great party urges them to reflect on the manifest destiny of our beloved country.

    “The challenges of today demand that we redouble our efforts in the pursuit of those cherished attributes that will enable us restore faith in the unity and progress of our dear country.

    “We urge that in the spirit of Eid-el-Kabir, we renew our faith in the sacredness of our collective happiness, insist on mutual peace and more importantly, embrace forgiveness for one another as the basis for building a strong, united, peaceful and prosperous Nigeria where though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we should continue to stand.”

  • ‘Help the vision-impaired’

    The Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB), Ogun State chapter, has urged the public to be mindful of vision-impaired persons when driving.

    They said they have the right to movement, convenience and safety on roads and walkways like every other person.

    NAB Chairman Mulero Makinde spoke in Abeokuta, the state capital, during this year’s White Cane Day celebration.

    Makinde urged commercial drivers and other road users to always put the physically-challenged into consideration.

    He urged the public to respect the “White Cane” and assist them in crossing roads.

    Makinde said: The White Cane is akin to the conventional traffic light. It serves as eyes and guides the blind. It tells you that they need help to cross or walk safely on roads and walkways.

    “Those bearing White Canes should not be seen as beggars, as many of them are well-educated.”

    He said a bill to protect the blind is being prepared and would be sent to the House of Assembly.

    The state government, through the Commissioner for Women’s Affairs, Mrs. Elizabeth Sonubi, distributed over 20 White Canes to the blind to help them move around easily.

  • Riders beg govt to rescind ban on some roads

    Commercial motorcyclists in Lagos State popularly known has Okada riders have pleaded with the state government to revise the list of restricted roads.

    Some of the operators urged Governor Babatunde Fashola to consider their plights by reducing the number of the routes.

    Mr. Peter Okwoli said the ban on highways is well justified, but not on major streets, which makes their business worth the while.

    “I have being at home for the past five days unable to go out with my okada for fear of been seized by policemen,’’ he said with teary eyes.

    A thrift collector, Mr. Emmanuel Quadry, said most of his customers are motorcyclists and they have been unable to meet up with their contributions. He said accidents can happen anywhere, whether on the highway or on local routes. Quadry suggested training instead of the prohibition plan, which is already taking a toll on thousands of lives.

    Mr. Adewale, a retired civil servant said he earns a living by leasing out motorcycles to able-bodied men, and now that motorcycles have been prohibited from flying some routes, he has nothing to feed himself and his family with.

    “There will be no cause for alarm if the government creates other means of employment for them,” he said.

  • Anambra to sustain women empowerment

    Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has said his administration will sustain the tempo of women empowerment.

    The governor spoke at the Government House in Awka when he received a delegation of the National Centre for Women Development.

    He noted that the empowerment and motivation of women would have a multiplier effect on poverty reduction and promotion of quality life in families.

    Obi said massive infrastructural development in rural communities has enabled women to have access to cities and boosted the rural economy.

    The governor said the collaboration with donor agencies and development partners has helped the state to fill budgetary gaps and accelerated the drive for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

    The Commissioner for Women’s Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Henrietta Agbata, said the delegation was in the state to tour its skill acquisition projects in Idemili North, Ogbaru and Orumba South Local Government Areas.

    The commissioner said the delegation was satisfied with the quality of work at the centres.

    She said the Obi administration has given women stronger voice.

    The director-general of the centre, Mrs. Fatima Hassan Bertora, hailed the governor for his prompt response to the recent floods and providing succour for the victims.

    She said the projects were the centre’s contributions to the women empowerment programmes of the government to alleviate poverty.

  • Oyo council gets ACN caretaker committee

    A seven-man Caretaker Committee has been inaugurated to manage the affairs of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Egbeda Local Government Area of Oyo State.

    The Committee’s Chairman is Deacon Segun Oyediran and Alhaji Dauda Bashiru is the Secretary.

    Members of the committee include Maj. Opawale (rtd.), Alhaja Zainab Juwon, Mr. K. Obisesan, Mr. Mufutau Oyewo, Mr. Mathew Akinwalere, Mr. Nafiu Kamilu and Mr. Fatai Akinsanmi.

    The former executives were suspended by the ACN State Executives to allow for equal representation and better organisation of the party in the council.

    The inauguration was attended by the party’s leaders in the council, including Prince Fatunbi, Apostle Falade, Ahaji Babatunde Ismaila, Alhaji Ganiyu Alade, Mrs. Dele Akinwale and Mrs. Tijani Comfort.

    At the ceremony, the ACN State Chairman, Chief Akin Oke, hailed members for handling the incident that led to the suspension of the former party executive with maturity.

    He said: “Our great party is very unique when it comes to party formation, organisation and administration. The party undertook a series of reforms to give members at the grassroots more roles in the selection of candidates and leadership to create a sense of belonging.”

    Oyediran urged members to support his committee and pledged to effectively implement the party’s programmes and policies.

  • Flood victims appeal to Uduaghan

    Our homes are no more; our farmlands and cash crops have been washed away by the flood. We have nothing left, but we believe our governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, can make a difference. We need help.

    That was the position of residents of Obecha-Utchi, Ndokwa-East Local Government Area of Delta State, after flood submerged their houses and wasted their farms and cash crops.

    The community is situated by the bank of the River Niger.

    Leaders of the community, under the aegis of Obecha Development Union (ODU), articulated the residents’ plight in a letter sent to the state governor, copies of which were also delivered to Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta North Senatorial District); Hon. Ossai Ossai (member of the House of Representatives, representing Ndokwa/Ukwuani Federal Constituency), and the Presidential Committee on Flood Disaster, Abuja.

    In the letter, the ODU leadership, including the oldest man in the community, Chief Obi Chiejina, its president Elder Paul Nwose, and six others informed Governor Uduaghan and others of “the destruction of properties in Obecha-Utchi community by the flood in September and October 2012.”

    The community leaders said their settlement is “ravaged by massive coastal erosion and flood” every year because of its location, but emphasised that the residents have never experienced such destruction as they did this year.

    Part of the letter read: “The havoc occasioned by the September and October flood from River Niger is catastrophic and unprecedented in the annals of history. The destruction affected houses, ancient landmarks, economic trees, farmlands, plantain plantations, cassava farms, livestock, fishponds, and other infrastructure.

    “Due to the flood, our people whose main occupation is farming and fishing are prone to diseases. Hunger and starvation are a clear challenge; we are in dire need of relief materials.”

    No fewer than 136 residents of the community were said to be directly affected by the flood, some losing their houses or farms and cash crops. The community leaders estimated the losses at N146 million.

  • Man arrested for ‘poisoning’ 50 rams in Ibadan

    A forty-year-old man has been arrested in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, for allegedly poisoning 50 rams due to the refusal of the seller to bribe him.

    The suspect was arrested, following a report by the ram seller, Mohammed Gobo of Gonori village, Gujuba Local Government, Yobe State.

    It was gathered that Gobo reported at Eleyele Police Station that the suspect demanded a bribe from him to allow him offload his rams beside his shop at Aleshiloye market.

    Gobo pleaded with him to allow him sell some rams before giving him the requested sum.

    He added that the suspect threatened to poison his rams, if he refused to offer the bribe.

    A source said: “At about 1am the next day, he went to the place where he kept his rams, and was stunned to see 50 dead.

    The suspect has since been arrested while a veterinary doctor has been contacted for analysis.”

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ayodele Lanade, said Gobo and his friends refused to allow the police to conduct autopsy on the dead animals.

    Major markets and supermarkets in the city were crowded yesterday with shoppers for the Sallah festival. This caused traffic snarls across the city.

  • Six dead, 15 injured in Ibadan-Oyo road crash

    Six persons were yesterday killed in an accident on the Ibadan/Oyo Expressway’

    Fifteen people were injured.

    The accident occurred in Fiditi.

    It was gathered that the tyres of a Sokoto–bound bus burst and it somersaulted.

    Sources said the victims were carried off the road by policemen and men of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).

    The injured were taken to the State Hospital, Oyo, and the bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the hospital’s mortuary.

    The Acting Medical Officer of the hospital, Dr. Alayo Ayo, said: “Six persons have been confirmed dead. We are treating 15 persons with crush injuries, ragged laceration and flush avulsion, even though we are yet to see their relations. We are trying to contact them through the victims’ mobile phones and we are optimistic that they will respond. Saving their lives is the most important thing.”

  • Ondo poll was an ‘organised charade’, says PDP

    The Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described last Saturday’s governorship election in the state as “a mere organised charade”.

    In a statement by Dr. Dare Bada, the Director-General of the Olusola Oke Campaign Organisation, the party said: “The election was not only marred by irregularities and corruption, it has failed to reflect the true desires of the people of Ondo State who were looking forward to October 20 with high hope of bringing an end to deceit, waste, corruption and rudderless leadership.”

    It said it was disappointed by “the top-level strategic manipulation that swung the poll in favour of the Labour Party’s (LP’s) candidate, Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

    PDP said: “We are convinced and we say this to the whole world that the factors leading to this tragic experience were well known to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security forces, LP and the Ondo State government beforehand.

    “In our humble view and from evidence at our disposal, the election was a mere organised charade, as its outcome, as announced by INEC, was absolutely predetermined and predesigned.”

    The party decried the flurry of congratulatory messages that greeted the declaration of Mimiko as the winner of the election.

    It said: “It is embarrassing and regrettable that organised institutions and key personalities, who were not only absent during the election but who were also oblivious of the facts of the exercise, rushed to the media to congratulate the purported winner and attempted to give him and the flawed electoral process undue credibility.

    “The curious way and the manner of the emergency congratulatory messages, particularly by those who should know better, indicate their predetermined notion of where victory should go.”

    PDP said it is analysing and collating reports of “massive irregularities and pervading non-compliance that characterised the entire process” and will soon shock those celebrating “this heavily flawed election.”