The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ABA

  • Aba: Police vow to arrest, prosecute street traders

    Aba: Police vow to arrest, prosecute street traders

    The Police in Aba on Saturday warned people trading on the roads, around the Enyimba stadium and adjoining roads, to desist or face the wrath of the law.

    The Area Commander in Aba, ACP Peter Wabara, gave the warning while addressing a crowd of persons comprising of traders and buyers at the area.

    Wabara said that it would be unwise to use force to settle a problem that common sense could easily settle through obedience to the law.

    He said that no government agent had been ordered to collect tolls from the traders, who sell their wares on the roads, adding that traders and buyers should respect the law.

    The police area commander urged them to be law abiding and desist from selling on the roads or be prepared to face the wrath of the law.

    Earlier on Saturday, some roadside traders fought men of the Aba Urban Renewal Task Force and policemen, who came to force them out of the roads.

    Some of the roadside traders, who fought the task force men, claimed that they were “Ngwa communities.”

    They alleged that they came to destroy their wares for no cause, a trader, who witnessed the crisis, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    Another trader, Mr Ifeanyichukwu Alozie told NAN that the traders had last Wednesday fought the men of the task force and burnt their vehicle and a tricycle they hired to work with.

    He alleged that when the task force team came again on Saturday with more personnel and were removing wares and tables on the roads and burning some of them, the traders resisted and fought them again.

    He said that it was at that point that the army and policemen were drafted to the area to help keep the peace and restore order.

    He urged Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu to warn the staff of the Renewal Agency to do their work with human feelings.

    Alozie, however, appealed to the government to build the Morning market close to the area, so that they could have a place to sell their wares.

    When contacted, Abia Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), Udeviotu Onyeke, confirmed that there was a fracas, which involved men of the Aba Urban Renewal Agency and roadside traders in Ahia Ohuru.

    He said that the police had done their job and that peace has been restored to the place.

    He, however, said that nobody died in the crisis contrary to the claim from some quarters that some persons were killed.

  • Aba’s losses amid Biafra agitations

    Aba’s losses amid Biafra agitations

    Residents of Abia State’s commercial capital lost cash, their freedom and convenience as pro-Biafra protesters held up the city for days. SUNNY NWANKWO reports

    One of the protesters warned Aba residents to stock up food because the protest would cripple activities for a week. For three days, members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) very nearly crippled the commercial city. For about eight hours on each day, shops and other business facilities were shut as the protesters took over the streets. From their balconies and windows some residents watched the procession below, of mostly young men with a sprinkling of the elderly and women. They saw the crowd swarming through their streets holding aloft the Biafran flag.

    Commuters had quite an ordeal. The buses and taxis were shut out and people had to trek over long distances. Shop owners, especially those at Ariaria Market, dared not open up for business, fearing they  might be attacked by IPOB members.

    “Most of our customers were stranded,” said a trader who simply wished to be identified as Nnamdi. “Some of them came from Akwa Ibom; Ugep, Ogoja, Oron in Cross River; Port Harcourt, Ogoni, Bayelsa and other parts of the country and the West African region only to meet the market locked. Some of them waited till evening and when it became obvious that the market was not going to open, sadly went back.

    “Some who came from Cameroon, Togo and Ghana including some of our customers from the North decided to sleep over in Aba in hotels or were accommodated by their core customers to observe things for themselves and later bought what they wanted to buy on Tuesday. Even while they were sleeping in some of our houses, we also were praying that thieves won’t come because banks on Monday, we learnt, were forced to close for business, making it difficult for people to go to bank to deposit their money.

    “It was really an experience that we wish not to have again and I am using this opportunity to call on the federal government to see how they will address the situation that brought about the protest.”

    A patent drug marketer in Ariaria, George Obiefule corroborated Nnamdi’s position, stressing that he lost about N1m during the days of the protest.

    Obiefule expressed mixed feelings about the protest. He said though the protest on Monday had a huge impact on their businesses, he hoped it would help to draw the attention of the federal government to the plight of the people of the Southeast and Southsouth.

    The protesters have been growing in strength, staging their procession through Onitsha, Anambra State; Asaba, Delta State; Enugu, Rivers, Bayelsa and now Abia. They said they want their leader Nnamdi Kanu, Director of Radio Biafra released unconditionally from detention. Mr. Kanu is held by federal government security agents.

    The protest, though peaceful saw the protesters move round the length and breadth of commercial city forcing business owners to close for business as the IPOB members had warned.

    There was traffic gridlock and in some places and commuters had to wait long for a ride, or trek to their destinations.

    The situation was so overwhelming that even the presence of security agencies could not stop the protest even after the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase had warned the group against the protest.

    Some of the traders who spoke to our reporter on Monday expressed mixed feelings on the protest.

    While many of the traders were in support of the protest, others lamented its negative economic effect.

    Mrs. Janet Ibe, a vegetable trader told our correspondent that she lost over N10,000 to the Saturday and Sunday protests. She said she could not sell the veggies and all went bad.

    Another trader at New Market who gave her name as Mrs. Ginikanwa lamented that the crowd pushed down her wares during the protest.

    Major markets in the city including Ariaria, New Market, Shopping Centre, Bakassi Shoe Plaza, Ohabiam Motor Spare Parts including shops on major streets and financial institutions closed for business until the end of the protest. Traders who came from other parts of the country and the neighbouring ECOWAS region were stranded.

    Throughout the protest, vehicular movement on major roads  including Azikiwe, Aba-Owerri Road, Okigwe Road, Faulks, Umule, Port Harcourt Road, and Osisioma Junction was almost at snail speed which caused commuters to either wait endlessly before boarding commercial buses or trek to their destinations within the time the protest lasted.

    Some of the group members who spoke to our reporter on the ground of the protest vowed that they would continue with the protest at the end of this week if the federal government failed to release their leader who is currently in detention.

    They said the one-million-man-march was peaceful and successful, adding that it was an attempt by the group to draw the attention of the global community to what they described as inhumane and injustice the Federal Government of Nigeria was meting out on their leader who has been in detention for over two weeks.

    They said that unlike other Biafra agitators, they chose not to be violent because the “price has already been paid by our forefathers and the price we are going to pay for the sake of Biafra in this our time is exactly what our director (Kanu) is paying for at the moment”.

    “Remember the role the Aba Women Riot of 1929 played when they were asked to pay taxes by the Europeans? We decided to join in the call for the release of our leader and director because he has stayed in detention more than required. Onitsha, Asaba, Bayelsa, Anambra, Awka, Imo parts of Southeast and Southsouth states are equally protesting. The case of Aba will not be different and what do we have in our shops that will be more important than joining our brothers to call for the release of our detained leader? It is a struggle that we will not relent in pursuing even when our harmless members that I regard as martyrs of this cause were shot by the police and its agents without any good reason for their actions”, a protester that gave his name as Chukwudi said.

    According to them, Aba residents should buy foodstuff and store in their homes because there was going to be a massive protest for one week or more even as they stressed that they would ensure that markets in Aba and its environs would be shut down as long as the protest lasted.

    The residents of Aba however appealed to the federal government to see ways to listen to the yearnings of the group even as they expressed fears that the situation could degenerate into chaos if the protest was allowed to continue without being stopped by the government.

    Until the time of this report, it was not clear if there were members of the group that were arrested by the police or other security agencies in Aba and the state.

    But The Nation gathered that the three day protest gave the police and other sister agencies headache as they worked tirelessly and more troops from various parts of the  state deployed to Aba to ensure that hoodlums do not capitalise on the protest to unleash mayhem on innocent citizens.

     

  • Pro-Biafra protest halts business in Aba

    Pro-Biafra protest halts business in Aba

    •Governors, Ohanaeze to meet •‘No more Biafra’

    Economic activities were halted yesterday when the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) held a one-million man march to protest the continued detention of its leader and Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.

    The protest, which started last Saturday, witnessed a large turnout of IPOB members, about 100,000, who were joined by other residents.

    Major markets in Aba, such as Ariaria, Ahia Ohuru (New Market), Shopping Centre, Bakassi shoe Plaza, Ohabiam Motor Spare Parts markets, including shops and financial institutions in Aba closed for business until the protest ended.

    There was a gridlock on major roads and commuters trekked lonng distances.

    The protesters said the one million man march was peaceful and successful, adding that it was to draw global attention to what they described as the Federal Government’s injustice to its leader.

    A protester, Chukwudi, said: “We decided to join in the call for the release of our leader because he has stayed in detention more than required. Our sister-states in the Southsouth are also protesting and Aba will not be different; what do we have in our shops that will be more important than joining our brothers to call for the release of our detained leader? It is a struggle that we will not relent in pursuing, even when our harmless members were shot by the police and their agents without reason.”

    As at press time, some shops were reopening for business and traffic had eased, while residents discussed the protest.

    The residents appealed to the Federal Government to listen to the group, fearing that the situation could degenerate into chaos.

    Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, Southeast governors and the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo will meet in Owerri, the Imo State capital, to find a solution to the rising protest by the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and IIPOB.

    The governor, who, on behalf of the leaders, denounced activities of the groups, said they could no longer watch the situation degenerate, adding that the Igbo could not afford to have their Boko Haram.

    A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, noted that the protests were embarrassing, disturbing and counter-productive.

    The statement reads: “The pro-Biafra protests could not be in the interest of the Southeast because they are only sending wrong signals to Nigerians. And it has become increasingly necessary for the governors, Ohanaeze leaders and other stakeholders to find a lasting solution.

    “It is also expected that at the end of the Owerri meeting, the leaders will take a position and invite leaders of the pro-Biafra groups to a meeting to educate them on the socioeconomic and political implications of their activities, including their demand for sovereignty in a united Nigeria.

    Okorocha also met with security chiefs on how to prevent the pro-Biafra protests from holding in Imo State.

    Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, representing Abia North, has said only Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu’s Biafra was authentic, as there was no need for another Biafra agitation. He insisted that there was no need for the agitation as the late Ojukwu was the only authentic leader of Biafra.

    Ohuabunwa said the Southeast needed jobs to curb the rising unemployment, and urged youths to learn skills that would benefit them.

    Senator Ohuabunwa noted that the agitation for Biafra should be the agitation for skill acquisition for youths of the zone.

    His words: “There can’t be two nations in a nation. Therefore, efforts should be aimed at better areas to take advantage of than clamouring for the creation of another nation in a nation. We, at the Senate, have been pushing for youth employment and of N5,000 monthly stipend to the indigent and we have asked the Federal Government to commence the process of paying the stipend.’’

     

  • Commuters groan amid fuel scarcity in Aba

    Commuters groan amid fuel scarcity in Aba

    Fuel scarcity is taking its toll on commuters in Aba, the commercial hub of Aia State and the Southeast.

    Capitalising on the difficulties of finding the golden liquid, transporters have jerked up fares to the discomfort of their passengers.

    One of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s depots at Osisioma on the outskirts of the business city is yet to receive product, causing majority of the filling stations in the city to be closed. A few where the products are available sell at exorbitant prices.

    The Nation investigation reveals that most of the filling stations dispensed petrol at a pump price of between N110 and N120 while in the black market it sold for between N120 and N150, a situation that has affected cost of transportation in  most parts of Enyimba City.

    From Park to Osisioma which usually cost N70 now costs between N100 and N150. Park to No 1 Port Harcourt road rose from N30 to N50. Park to Ariaria initially was N50, but can take up to N150 or less; depending on the flow of traffic on the busy Faulks Road etc even as a trip from Aba to Umuahia the state capital also witnessed a sharp increase as transporters attribute the increase to high cost diesel and PMS.

    Some of the petroleum marketers who spoke anonymously debunked the insinuations that they were hoarding petroleum products, adding that they were selling the products above the official pump price to cover their expenses as they went out of their ways to source the products outside the southeast which they equally got higher than the usual official price.

    A cross section of respondents who spoke to our reporter over the issue in Aba said that the situation was becoming excruciating on them that the federal government needs to do all it can to address the situation and to also get the country’s refineries working to upmost capacity.

    They also expressed the fears that if nothing was done to ameliorate the situation, the prices of petroleum products could further rise beyond the current price which further ruin the mood of the festive period and also affect the price of commodities in the market beyond the affordability of the common man.

    The residents further called for the prompt supply of petroleum products to the Osisioma Depot as soon as possible in order to salvage the situation and feared that if the situation continues, it could further lead to having adverse effect on business and economic activities in the city and therefore plead federal government and the responsible bodies to put heads together and see how the situation can be nip in the bud and save the people from further agony.

     

  • ‘Aba ready for ember-months’

    ‘Aba ready for ember-months’

    Security agencies and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) have said they will ensure that Aba, Abia State’s commercial hub, is safe in the busy end-of-year months. SUNNY NWANKWO reports

    Aba, the business headquarters of the Southeast hums with activities every day. In the run-up to Christmas, the tempo increases, throwing up challenges, among which are traffic gridlock and crime. Should residents and visitors brace up for another heart-thumping season?

    No, said the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), police and even the army.

    The Aba Unit Command of the Federal Safety Corps (FRSC) said its personnel will be posted to strategic places to make them visible and deter motorists who would otherwise flout traffic rules.

    The unit commander Assistant Corps Commander, Okora Awassam told The Nation on the telephone that the agency had started intensive sensitisation at various motor parks including other programmes that they (FRSC) have lined up to ensure that motorists especially, commercial drivers adhered strictly to road standards and rules guiding driving on the highways in Nigeria.

    Awassam assured Aba residents and other visitors of the city a gridlock hitch-free period, noting that visibility of FRSC personnel operation on Aba roads would help to curtail the excesses of drivers while driving on the roads.

    Apart from gridlock that rocks the Enyimba city during the ember months, December in particular, it is usually expected that crime and other criminal activities are also usually on the high side. But information gathered from security agencies show that they are not ignorant of the fact that crimes and criminal activities are high during the festive season.

    The Abia State Police Public Relations Officer, PPO DSP Ezekiel Onyeke Udeviotu speaking on what the Police in Abia was doing ahead of the celebration said “Ember months as usual do witness increase in economic and criminal activities because of the influx of persons and goods from all parts of the country and the world to sell or buy from various markets in the town (Aba). And so, many people who feel that they can use the opportunity to meet their own target through illegal and unlawful means will be at it this time (ember months). And police are not ignorant of this fact; we are on top of the situation”.

    Continuing, Udeviotu added “The CP and management committee of the force in Abia State have met severally to strategise on how to curb the excesses of this criminals in  Abia, particularly Umuahia and Aba which are among the major cities in Abia. We are not going to disclose to members of the public the strategy that we are going to employ because information given to the press is meant for public consumption and by the time it gets to public consumption, it means that we are selling our strength to our opponent which we will make them move ahead of you.

    “The police are strategising and aiming to be ahead of the criminal this period and we are saying to every Nigerian and every Abia resident to go about their lawful business without fear of molestation and when they notice anything that is contrary to their expectation, they should promptly report to the police and other security agencies that they can easily reach because a stitch in time saves nine. The medium of communication between the security agencies is faster than the one between the civilian and the security agencies. We have been sharing information and intelligence in order to ensure that there is peace and a crime free environment in the state. Anyone with useful information that will make the state crime free within this period should feel free and to disclose such to the police without fear of his identity being disclosed or molestation. But we are out on the street where our men in mufti are also monitoring those of them on the street for operation to make sure that they didn’t go against the law or doing things that will drag the image of the police in the mud. They are meant to give Abians quality service from the police”, adding that the police have all it takes to combat crime even as he pleaded for the cooperation of the general public in assisting the police with relevant information that will help to expose the activities of hoodlums in their areas and the state in general.

    In a contribution, a source at the 144 Battalion Asa Ukwa West Local Government Area who recalled to the reporter several successes the battalion has made in recent times said that they were working in collaboration with other sister agencies in the state and Aba in particular.

    According to the source, the army in Aba were planning to meet with traditional rulers of various communities under the supervision of the battalion to see possible ways they (traditional rulers) could partner with security agencies in the state to ensure that people including members of the community who would be coming back home for the festive period will have a peaceful celebration and feel free throughout their stay in their communities.

    He warned those planning to carry out their unscrupulous acts to have a rethink or better relocate from the state adding that they was going to deal with such person or group and would be made to face the full weight of the law as consequences to their act.

    However, many residents of Aba have pleaded with the President Buhari and Governor Okezie  Ikpeazu led administration to help in equipping the police and other sister security agencies in the state with the necessary crime fighting and effective communication gadgets for better and efficient performance in the line of their duties as they expressed hope that security agencies could perform better when equipped with the necessary materials to work with.

     

  • Abia 419 gang arrested

    Abia 419 gang arrested

    Members of a three-man gang in Aba, Abia State have been arrested by the Ngwa High School Forward Operation Base (FOB) under144 Battalion, Asa.

    The suspects, who are specialized in swindling innocent visitors and residents of Aba, operated between Osisioma to Ariaria junction as sources disclosed that their targets were traders and individuals going to Ariaria International market Aba to shop, visitors who prefer boarding cab along the Aba – Port Harcourt Express than using the park.

    It was also learnt that many traders who are always in a hurry to be in Ariaria have fallen victim and left heartbroken after they must have been swindled by this gang.

    The gang members identified Udo Mba (aka Chief Udo Mba of Amavo-Ukwu), an indigene and traditional title holder in Amavo-Ukwu, Osisioma Local Government Area, Ifeanyi Enwereji of Obuda, Aba South Local Government and Philip Nwulu of Rivers State were allegedly apprehended when one of the female victims they swindled last month identified them and raised the alarm that alerted the people nearby who swiftly went after them.

    The Nation learnt that the gang who were already waiting for their would be prey on sighting the girl drove off, but luck was said to have been against them when their Blue Coloured 504 Peugeot car with registration number Oyo State AA 851 EGB entered into a ditch on the expressway.

    Sources said that by the time they could open their car to run away, the surging crowd caught up with them and were about lynching them when some soldiers came and prevailed on them.

    They (gang members) were said to have been taken to the Ngwa High School FOB by the soldiers where they were being kept, though a source at the army base said that they would be handing them over to the police for further investigation.

    The victim who simply gave her name as Miss Chidinma, a cosmetic dealer at the Umuahia main market narrating her ordeal to reporters said “It was about last month when I came to Aba to buy what I will sell in my shop from Ariaria International market. When our bus stopped at Osisioma junction, I entered their car because I was in a hurry and wanted to do my shopping fast so that I can go back to Umuahia early enough.

    “I was inside the car when the driver drove off with a male passenger and later picked another woman on the road. I didn’t suspect anything. We got to a point where the woman brought out dollars.

    “At a point I didn’t know what I was doing but I remembered that they said that I should give them money to buy chemical which they will use to produce more money. I declined but later told them that I have N15, 000 with me… After signing what an agreement that they will pay me back the money, the two male members left and the woman later left leaving me alone in a particular place that I can’t remember.

    “I left without buying what I came to buy. And today when I came down from the bus that brought me to Aba at Osisioma junction, I saw them (gang) at the same place where I entered their car on that fateful day and immediately they saw me, they drove off but I started shouting and people who were around there went after them”.

    A source at the area who commended the quick response of the Ngwa High School FOB however disclosed that the gang was already beaten to pulp by the angry mob who had gathered materials to execute jungle justice (setting them ablaze).

    The suspects confessed to the alleged crime and promised to turn a new leaf if they were granted pardon.

  • N150m property gone in Aba fire

    Property worth millions of naira was lost in a fire that razed a building on Plot 212, Clifford Road, Aba in Abia State.

    The fire, which started when most residents had gone to the office, burnt the four-bedroom apartment. But for the prompt response of the Abia State Fire Service, other buildings would have been razed.

    Two of the four victims, Mrs. Victor Aneke and Mr. Onyike Okpan, said no life was lost but they could not save their property.

    Mr. Okpan, a cobbler and father of three, lamented that all he laboured for was gone.

    “I was in my shop in Ariaria when my son, who was in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, called one of my neighbours in the market to inform me of the incident and by the time I got there, everything in the house had been burnt.

    ‘’The only thing I got is this cloth that I wore to my workshop yesterday (Wednesday) and there is nothing else.

    “My wife’s clothes, children’s wear, including other household property, were razed in the fire.”

    Mrs. Aneke said she went for a funeral in Anambra State when she heard of the fire. She thanked God that her children were not back from school when it happened.

    “Nothing was saved. From what I heard, it was someone who was at the backyard that saw smoke coming from the roof and alerted others, but before help could come, everywhere was up in flames.

    “My children could not go to school today because their school materials were burnt, including other property,” she said.

    The victims called on the government and individuals to come to their aid as they had become homeless.

    It was learnt that hoodlums, pretending to be sympathisers, took advantage of the situation to loot an apartment and made away with cash worth N150,000, laptops, phones and household equipment.

    Fire Service Chief Mr. Victor Gbaruko estimated the loss to be about N200 million and property saved to the tune of N500 million.

    Gbaruko attributed the fire to a likely power surge, advising that people should disconnect electrical appliances from the power source before leaving their homes or in the alternative, instal circuit breakers to forestall a possible fire outbreak.

  • Graduate commits suicide in Aba

    A man, said to be in his late twenties and a graduate of the Abia State Polytechnic, has allegedly committed suicide at Umuobe.

    Reports said the unidentified man, who hung himself at home after Sunday service, would have been shortlisted for the next set of the National Youth Service Scheme (NYSC).

    Though his relatives were yet to be reached, a source said: “He returned from church on Sunday and nobody suspected what would happen later. It was around 5pm that the news broke.

    “We learnt his parents are dead and I think he is the family’s breadwinner. It is very unfortunate. We learnt that he will be among the people that will be going for NYSC soon, having finished from ABia Polytechnic.

    “We are yet to understand why he committed the act. He has a handwork which was fetching him money, so I don’t think it was hunger or frustration that prompted him.

    “According to residents, the incident is a sacrilege and there are rituals to be performed before his body can be buried. The villagers, after performing the rituals on Monday, brought out the corpse.”

    Police Commissioner Joshiak Habila, who confirmed the incident, said it was yet to be officially reported.

     

     

  • Aba: Fire destroys goods worth millions of naira

    Aba: Fire destroys goods worth millions of naira

    Properties estimated to worth over N5 million were on Friday morning engulfed in an inferno that occurred along the busy Aba-Owerri road in the commercial city of Abia State.

    This is coming barely 3days after four persons were reportedly killed by an articulated truck driver who rammed into three commercial tricycles and a Toyota Sienna SUV and allegedly discharging its content on the victims in a nearby ditch.

    While no life was lost in the fire incident, The Nation gathered burnt about seven vehicles, three commercial tricycles and destroyed commercial and residential buildings within the area the incident occurred.

    According to an eyewitness account, Augustine Anosike said that the truck loaded with Diesel was entering a filling station along the Aba-Owerri road to discharge its content when the body of the vehicle bearing the petroleum product pulled off and landed on the road’s median and overturned its content on the road.

    Another eyewitness, Ifeanyi Okoro, who corroborated the former, said “the tanker was going into the opposite filling Station but we didn’t know that it was carrying something inside it. Normally, because it is a long truck, other vehicles coming from Osisioma into Aba will hold on for it to find turn and pack very well.

    “So, while the driver was trying to reverse in order to pack well, the body of the truck pulled out from the head unknown to the driver, discharging its content on the road. And because we know the dangers it portends, we rushed to the other side of the main road to stop vehicles and avert the impending dangers. But a stubborn commercial driver who could not wait bypassed some of us and drove on the diesel.

    “We suspected that the heat from the bus exhaust pipe was what ignited the fire and before you know what is happening, everywhere was in flame. The rage of the fire was so fierce that some of us had to run for safety until the Abia State Fire servicemen arrived the scene.

    “They (Fire Servicemen) were actually prompt and it was as a result of their promptness that some property that worth over billions of naira was saved. We thank God that no life was lost, but the damage was too terrible. The whereabouts of the driver and the truck is still not known because he sped off immediately the fire started burning. If you go into the nearby compound, you will see a truck 911 that ran into there for safety, but was unfortunately burnt in the process. Another man just stopped by the road side for the vulcanizer to either pump or change his car tyre but because of the rate the fire was spreading, the car  got burnt in the process.”, Ifeanyi narrated.

    Nnamdi Ukata, whose vehicle was affected in a nearby compound, said “I am a driver and I come to Aba from Umuahia on daily basis, but after working I will pack my vehicle in this compound to go back and return the next day. While I was coming into Aba this morning, I saw a thick black cloud in the sky and I never knew that the fire incident was happening where I packed my car. But when I came around, I saw my car burnt to ashes. I don’t know what to do. Am just confused”, he said.

    Another man that lost his car in the inferno, Rev. Alfred Okeke told reporters that he parked his car by the roadside to buy feed for his livestock before the incident and lamented that his car was equally engulfed in the inferno.

    A resident of one of the affected buildings, Mr. Emmanuel Kingsley while thanking God for sparing the lives of his brothers and other members of his family, described the incident as one of the horrific experiences he has had in recent times.

    Our correspondent, reports that while men of the Abia State Fire Service were battling to quench the fire, personnel of the Aba Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) were also on ground to ensure that there was free flow of traffic in the area.

    An official of the Fire Service who spoke to our correspondent on anonymity said the situation would have been worse than the damage if the content was Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS).

    FRSC Aba Commander, Okora Awassam who lamented the attitude of truck drivers on the road said that there were a lot of enlightenment programmes that the agency had initiated to educate the drivers on the need to be safety conscious at all times.

    Awassam urged truck owners and drivers to also make sure that their vehicle were in good shape before driving on the road.

  • 500 sit for scholarship exam in Aba

    500 sit for scholarship exam in Aba

    Over 500 graduates of tertiary institutions in the country have sat for an exam that will qualify them for a free overseas training programme.

    The exam took place at Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, Abia State.

    The programme is sponsored by Hon. Ossy Prestige who represents Aba North and South Constituency at the House of Representatives.

    Speaking at the venue of the exam, the lawmaker said the exam was in fulfilment of his political campaign promises.

    He said, “You know that when I was doing my campaign, I promised the people of my constituency many things that I will do for them and this project is one of them.

    “They do not need to pay any kobo. Their school fees, accommodation and feeding will be taken care of. It is free because it is a complete package. The only thing that they need to do for those of them that will be successful at the end of the exam is to pack the clothes that they are going to be wearing inside their bags.

    “It is any school of their choice in Europe with a few in the United States of America. It is a year programme or at least, a year and six months. I am confident that their families and the state will enjoy the multiplier effect because they are going there to be equipped academically, exposed to different ways of doing things, improve on their social life and at the same time returning to the country fully equipped and informed having at the back of their minds that they are going to transfer the knowledge that they have acquired to those around them. It is going to be in batches. This is the first batch and the second batch will soon take their exams.

    “The only criterion to qualify for the scholarship is that the prospective candidate must be a graduate and has completed their mandatory one year national Youth Service programme…The  exam is for all the graduates living in Aba North and South Federal Constituency no matter their state of originand regardless of their party affiliations”, the Abia Lawmaker stated.

    Most of the students could not hide their happiness for the lawmaker’s gesture. They also hope that the organisers would be fair enough in their grading and assessments even as they called on other elected office holders in the state to emulate the footsteps of Prestige which they said would not only make Abians and its residents have the sense of belonging, but would encourage hard work among students.