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  • Hepatitis test for FRSC officials in Aba

    Hepatitis test for FRSC officials in Aba

    World Health Organisation (WHO) through a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Centre for Disease and Aid Control has held a Hepatitis B test for officers of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Aba Unit Command.

    The point was made that people should look after their health and eat healthy food at work and home. And for those who work for long hours and expose themselves to the harsh conditions, it is always advisable to routine medical checks. This will keep them from sudden breakdown of their immune system.

    Some members of apara-military group and other security agencies, according to reports, have a higher risk of being ill because they either miss their meals regularly or they don’t eat the appropriate food that would replenish lost nutrients, thereby exposing them to the dangers of having their body system being constantly getting weak.

    The Corps Marshal, FRSC, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi recently said that he wanted to work with healthy corps personnel, urging his personnel to always go for medical tests in order to obtain data about their health status.

    That apparently was the reason why staff of the corps in Aba, when the opportunity came calling, turned out en mass during a medical test to participate conducted for its officials by representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to test them for hepatitis.

    Out of the 32 persons that participated in the exercise, the result of the test has it that 31 corps personnel were declared free from the virus while one of them had a trace of it.

    •Dr. Oche Simon making a presentation to Mrs. Okora Awassam, Aba Unit Commander FRSC while D. A Eshalomi of the Operations unit (middle) watches.
    •Dr. Oche Simon making a presentation to Mrs. Okora Awassam, Aba Unit Commander FRSC while D. A Eshalomi of the Operations unit (middle) watches.

    Dr. Simon Oche of Centre for Disease and Aid Control, an NGO with WHO in a chat after the exercise said, “We celebrated World Hepatitis Day last year and after that we  decided to extend our programmes to 15 most affected states which by our statistics Abia State is listed among the 15 states with hepatitis B. We have treated people on this and for those who wish to be tested, we will also give them the opportunity to be screened which is being done free of charge.

    ”That is what we just did here; to educate them on the hepatitis and at the end of the lecture, we tested about 32 of them and after the test, we will be coming back again for immunization. Anyone who is infected, we don’t vaccinate them. It is only those who are negative that can be vaccinated. This vaccine can last in the body for at least for 10years while some people can be protected for up to 15 years. Out of the 32 persons that did the test, we only have one case and it’s just a trace of it; it means that the person treated it (hepatitis B) but the treatment was inconclusive and not threatening at this stage. It is one of the best results that we have in FRSC so far.

    “For now, we are covering Para-militaries (Road Safety, Police, Immigration and among others). We also have some of our colleagues who cover schools, while some others cover other organizations including churches. We started almost a year now and it will end in 2016 for FRSC. The programme is too important because if at the end of this test, if you are negative, you take the immunization and the moment that one is vaccinated, it gives the person the immunity against it in the sense that if the person gets in contact with this hepatitis, the person can’t have it”.

    He named too much alcohol intake, eating and drinking of contaminated foods and water as part of the major causes of hepatitis B and advised people who take alcohol without eating properly to desist from such and even when one should take it, must not drink to get tipsy.

    In her contribution, Okora Awassam, the Aba Unit Commander thanked the medical team for coming and advised her staff to imbibe the culture of regularly checking their health status in order to stay healthy adding that it is only healthy personnel functions optimally.

    “I think it is a good programme because health is wealth. It is better for one to know his or her health status than for one to be taken unawares when it has gotten out of hand and cannot be treated any more.

    “It is always better to get tested for whatever disease that is plaguing the country or the society where one finds him or herself at a particular time so that if anyone in your organization is found to have it, it can quickly be treated before it gets out of hand. So, it’s a beautiful experience.

    It is a venture that is welcomed and I think in appreciate it. It is important that Road Safety Corps personnel should participate in this venture because it is not only the public that should go and check their health. Uniformed men, FRSC men in particular should always know their health status because of the hectic way we work; they are always exposed to the sun and heat all the time while patrolling on the road. So it is better and advisable that they should go for whatever type of medical checks that comes up.  It is also very important because if you are sick and you don’t know and you end up dying, you have not gained anything. I don’t play with the health of my workers because that is the only way they can be effective and efficient in the performance of their duties if they are healthy”, Awassam added.

     

  • ‘Why Aba is not yet a commercial capital’

    Poor electricity supply and infrastructure are some of the factors affecting businesses in Aba, the Abia State commercial capital, the  Group Chairman of J. Udeagbala Holdings Nig. Ltd, Aba, Abia State, Ide John Udeagbala, has said.

    Speaking to The Nation in Lagos, Udeagbala, who is also Vice President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), wondered why the Alaoji and Geometrics Power stations located very close to Aba are not yet operational. He called on  government agencies to find out why the power projects had not been inaugurated.

    He said the city should be taken as a ‘disaster area’ for manufacturers as they spend between 25 and 30 percent of their earnings on providing electricity for their factories.

    According to him, the influx of people to Abuja and Lagos, which put pressure on the infrastructure in these cities, is as a result of the failure of industrial cities like Aba.

    He advised the government to encourage people to set up industries in major cities to ensure even spread of development and discourage massive movement of people form one point to the other because of the absence of infrastructure.

    “The poor infrastructure provision in Aba is as a result of consistent neglect by governments. Aba should be classified as a disaster area because of the lack of key infrastructure such as road, electricity and liveable environment, which is given in other societies. Aba is a place that a lot of things are manufactured and these people would do a lot more if they receive the needed assistance from government,” he said.

    The industrialist said an Aba businessman would excel if the government could provide some basic infrastructure, such as electricity, good roads, and waste disposal.

    On the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) clusters in Aba, he praised the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) for their efforts in managing the industrial clusters for leather and shoe works. He, however, said this had not been harnessed to produce the right results.

    Noting that customers come from as far as Congo and Togo to buy the shoes, bags and other leather works made in Aba, he hinted that it would have been much better not only for the state government but also for the country to harness foreign exchange from the trade.

    Udeagbala further said developing Aba should not be left for the  government alone, asking that the Federal Government should be interested in its activities, considering its commercial status.

    Earlier, Governor Theodore Ahamefula Orji said his planned to stimulate the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Aba. He said experts were brought  in  to,  not only assist the small scale industrialists, but also hone their skills in good and making quality products.

    He said no government could neglect the commercial city knowing the contributions of its informal sector to the economy of the state and well-being of its citizens.

    In his words: “Aba is very important to us because it is only in that town that you cannot find somebody who is unemployed; every person in the city has employment. It is either you are an artisan, trader or you are learning a trade. Even the civil servant finds time to try his hand in one business or the other. Nobody is idle and no responsible government can joke with such people.”

    While promising that the state  would give them the support to excel, he said over 18 major roads had been constructed and that the state would do more to ease the transportation of their goods from the point of production to the market.

    The governor also said the government’s plan was to push the standards of the manufactured products and brand them as ‘made- in-Aba with pride’.

    He said the days of not displaying the origin of goods produced in Aba was gone, adding that they would brand the products to give them  to enable them compete favourably at the international market.

    To underscore the seriousness of his administration, he said the state with its development partners were building more markets to serve as production points in clusters according to the trade of a particular union with the infrastructure.

    He said: “We are getting more markets for them. For instance, a company known as ABIC is building more markets for them just behind Osisioma Motor Park. There is another market springing up in Ukwa West Local Government very close to the city centre for wholesale goods, packaging and exporting. We are also organising them into small cooperatives to enable them access funds to help buy the needed machines and accessories to compete favourably with the ones that come from Germany and Hong Kong.”

    According to the governor, his administration has taken it upon itself to raise the bar and also lead a campaign for Nigerians to patronise made-in-Aba goods for their standard quality.

  • Toll of court workers strike in Aba

    Toll of court workers strike in Aba

    Things are better at the federal level but in some states, the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) strike is exacting an enormous cost on Aba and its residents.

    JUSUN called a strike back in January seeking redress certain issues especially at the workplace and rights of members.

    While JUSUN members at the federal courts have since resumed work, some of their state counterparts were yet to do so. Abia is one of the states which have yet to resolve the issue with the court workers.

    The result is that so many court cases have been left inconclusive, denying people the right to argue their matters or, if they lose, take them to higher courts.

    Civil and criminal cases, land disputes, even human rights matters have been stalled, causing people to resort to alternative ways of resolving their cases.

    Facilities at Aba and Umuahia prisons have continued to be overstretched while the number of inmates, especially those awaiting trial, has also continued to grow astronomically as security agencies almost on a daily basis have continued to dump suspects in prison yards while the courts remain closed.

    While senior lawyers have learnt to adapt to the situation usually associated with JUSUN strike, the young ones who apparently were still learning the rope according to The Nation investigation remained the most frustrated as they now live on stipends from clients seeking for bail from Police custody.

    A source who spoke to The Nation anonymously disclosed that some of the Magistrates close to him had already prepared judgments on some cases before their courts while waiting for JUSUN to call off the industrial action.

    A lawyer who did not want his name in print told our correspondent that the situation has worsened and that many lawyers who depend on legal practice alone resort to borrowing money from their friends and relations to put food on their family’s table, hoping to repay them as soon as the courts begin sitting.

    According to him, “I am not speaking for other lawyers, but I believe that there are people in the same shoe like mine. You will understand what it means to be a bread winner for two families or more and to make the matter worse; the wife who is supposed to be a helper is being owed for about five months salary arrears.  That could be frustrating because as the bread winner for your own and other families, you must try to meet your dependants’ needs.

    “My sister and brother in-law are in school. My mother in-law is in my house. my own brothers and sisters are also in school and I am the one training them. You must also attend to their other needs to ensure that all of them are happy and would not feel cheated. My own children as the Easter holiday has ended will be going back to school and you need to pay their school fees and you must provide for them with beverages and whatever they would need in the dormitory at least to help them settle in  school weeks after resumption of schools. I am not complaining but it is just to paint a picture of what some lawyers like me are passing through and for someone to have stayed idle for like 3 to 4 months without any other means of income, you can understand what life would have been”.

    A member of the JUSUN who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to speak to the press said that they would soon stop collecting their salary until government decides implementing the decisions of the court to grant them autonomy and also the new salary scale which the source claimed had already being approved by the Abia State House of Assembly during the January presentation of the state’s budget.

    In a chat with the Aba branch chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Chidozie Ogunji, he said “I feel the strike embarked upon by JUSUN is an unfortunate situation; unfortunate situation because I don’t think that those who are striking are looking at it from the dangers which the situation portends.

    “Yes, there is an agreement signed which the government has endorsed and the leaders of the Bar have also endorsed. The situation is, why not call off the strike and if there is non-implementation, you can now take it up from there? You cannot talk of implementation when you have not called off. Government has given an undertaking as supervised by the Bar for implementation of the judgment of Court of Federal High Court and compliance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended. So, the situation is a dangerous one.

    “We now have a situation where the courts are not sitting and the people are suffering and by the day now resort to self help which is not good for our democracy, our nation and state.”

    On how the strike has affected their job as lawyers, Ogunji said: “Definitely, everything is at a standstill. It is not even like a small coach, a slow coach is even better now, but the situation we have now is a total lockdown; no work and nothing is moving, the courts are shut, lawyers are in their respective offices doing nothing and as the chairman of the Aba branch, it pains me more because daily, I see my members complaining and groaning in poverty.

    “We will also remember that we have younger practitioners, it is a very untidy situation and we just hope that JUSUN…will call it off, whatever other minor issues that may be discussed can be resolved with [the soon-coming government]. Is it the man that is going away that will enter into agreement with any other person? Once he has agreed to comply with the constitutional provision and agreed to comply with the judgment of the court, to us he has done that as required by law, what other demands we make can be done when the new man comes on board because by May 29, a new man must come and the eight-year tenure of the incumbent administration would have ended and there is nothing anybody can do about it. So we hope that the members of JUSUN would understand this.”

    “Yes, workers should be paid well, but definitely, that is not the reason for the strike. The reason for the strike is the constitutional provision and the Federal High Court judgment. Now having met with that, we can only proceed further by the court being opened and then both the Bar and members of JUSUN joining to agitate for that salary increase that they are asking for.

    “After all, we have relations who are all working in the courts. So, we want them to be paid well but the court cannot be locked and they are now asking for payment. They must open the court and when there is non-compliance, they can now proceed on strike.

    ”So our position is that for now, their demand and using the lockup of court as a measure is not acceptable to the branch (NBA Aba Branch).  Using strike as a means of solving industrial actions is not the best in all situations. There are services that you cannot lockdown, take for example, the hospitals, the police, the judiciary these are sacred institutions, without them, the country will collapse. So, there should be other mechanisms. In worst case scenario, you go to the industrial court. These are not acceptable modes of attracting attention in peculiar situations. I certainly don’t agree to that because that will be creating a danger.

    “My suggestion is that JUSUN should call off the strike immediately and then, upon the inauguration of a new government, we would push for their increment in salary which is what they are asking for”.

    In his own contribution, C.K Nwankwo, NBA chairman Ukwa Branch in a telephone interview, said, “We have been pleading with them to call off the strike. Government has done all it has to do for them to call off the strike and we have with them and considered all their requests and the major ones, we begged them and we equally told them that all issues that they were asking for cannot be met at a stretch. So, I don’t understand the continued closure of the court has become unreasonable, it is totally uncalled for and that is my position.

    “I have been part of the negotiation and we made it clear to them that it is high time they call of the strike.

    “I may not suggest that we take the laws into our hands, but I think we can still meet them and make them see reasons and further dialogue with them. But I want the thing to come from government now, the Attorney-General and all the stakeholders should now bring them, lets still come back to the roundtable and see what is remaining and then, probably some confidence building on both sides so that we can ensure that these things are all over so that we can go back to work.

    “For the general public who are also affected by the strike action, my feelings are that the general populace is gradually on a very consistent note losing confidence in the judiciary. It is unheard of that in a clime like our own, the judiciary will be on strike going to the fourth month. It means that that importance of the court as the last hope of the common man is gradually being eroded and people are gradually looking for alternative means of settling their disputes. The courts are the constitutional means but if the people device other means of seeking justice and settling their matters that means that we are going back into the Dark Age and it is not good for the legal system at all”.

    Lambert Chibuike Onuoha, JUSUN founding chairman, said, “Before now in August 2010, Abia State government and JUSUBN Exco led by me (Onuoha) entered into agreement with the union to pay Consolidated Judiciary Salary Structure (CONJUSS) which was about over N15, 000:00; that was when Abia State was paying her workers N9, 000:00 minimum wage. But instead of the payment, the Executive of JUSUN and other members were posted out of the judiciary and the thing was not implemented. Then, this judgment of February 13 2014 by the Federal High Court Abuja when I came on board. In fact all the states including the federal court went on strike for the implementation. So the federal judiciary suspended their strike because their own is being implemented (their financial autonomy is being implemented). But some states just like Abia now came up with memorandum of understanding (MOU) and that MOU is talking about salary overhead and the capital project but you cannot say you are practicing judicial financial autonomy without the prescribed emolument because the financial autonomy of the judiciary is standing on three legs; one is overhead, the other one is capital project and personnel cost, that is worker’s salary. So when you decide to pay overhead and the capital project and drop the personnel cost which is the main thing, it is like someone keep nine commandments, leaving one and the one he or she has decided to leave is the one God said, love your neighbour as yourself, what is the greatest. So, it is as good as that you have never kept any commandment and you know that the Abia State governor is a worker friendly Governor.

    “He, (T. A. Orji) is ready to pay because he constituted this committee as far back as 2010 and promised to pay. The only thing is that there are bad advisers. People who are supposed to advise him well, like the Attorney General who may be for one reason or the other doesn’t want to advice him (Governor) well. The governor cannot be everywhere, so even now, if they would advice him well, he will sign it. In 2010 when the then C.J (Chief Justice) of the state as at then, S. N Imo went to the governor to make a case for some allowances to magistrates, he instantly approved it immediately.

    The Governor is a worker friendly Governor, so the people who are supposed to advice him well are not doing that so even in this strike, workers are not happy to be on this strike because it is affecting so many people. The workers know quite well that there is paucity of fund in the state. We are not going to the N44, 000 :00 minimum wage, they said we know that the state government doesn’t have enough fund, okay pay us the amount that our brothers and sister from Imo State are receiving which they have gone and defended during the budget sometime February, but the thing is still lingering. If somebody will advice the governor well, the governor will accept it.

    “Even if he is not going to pay now and said okay that I am going to pay from June or May, workers will quickly go back to work, I don’t think that they have anything so special in this strike. Look at the health workers; they are enjoying their own salary structure. But this one as small as N28,000 which the Imo state have e been paying the judiciary since 2010 why don’t you give it to this people instead of the percentage because if you go by the percentage, it will be at about N44,000 which will be outrageous for the state government for now. But instead of telling the governor the truth, they go blackmailing the workers or whoever they think that is telling them the truth; I think that is what is holding the thing.

     

  • Aba lawyers honour Judge

    Aba lawyers honour Judge

    former Administrative Judge of Aba Judicial Division and two-time acting Chief Judge of Abia State, the late Justice Ijeoma Offonry, has been honoured by members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

    The lawyers, at a cocktail party praised Justice Offonry’s contributions to the law profession and administration of justice.

    The judge, who served 17 years as a jurist, has since been buried in Umuodo community in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State.

    The cocktail and posthumous award, which took place on the premises of Terminus Hotels, was attended by many dignitaries.

    Emotional speeches were made at the event which also featured refreshments and the handing over of the award plaque to the late judge’s representative.

    Speakers recalled Offonry’s firmness, sound sense of judgment, humility, understanding and other virtues for which she was noted and admired by her contemporaries and other lawyers.

    From the foremost Attorney-General of Abia State, Theo Nkire to the incumbent chairman of the NBA, Aba, Chidozie Ogunji, there was no amount of encomium that would be enough to describe the personality of the erudite jurist and a woman of her class.

    Nkire said: “Usually, I find it very difficult to speak about Hon. Justice Ijeoma Offonry because I knew her long before she became a judge, maybe long before she went to study law. Many people know her as my sister. You never can tell what life can bring as you grow up. But one thing is certain, that there will always be a day for judgment not as we give here on earth, but as the Lord gives.  I am sure she is gone to rest. There is no doubt that a lot of the sleepless nights that she spent here may have paid off as she is now at rest.

    “I would pray that she may continue to enjoy her rest but the lesson for us who live; those of us who are alive as lawyers and judges, the lesson we should learn is that we must endeavour to live the kind of life that she lived. Let each one of us strive to work hard at whatever we lay our hands on, whether as judges, as lawyers or labourers in other fields.

    “I thank the Aba Bar for remembering my sister, Ijeoma. We will always love her like the Bar says. I believe that even at our 70th anniversary, Aba will remember Ijeoma. I pray that the good Lord will grant her eternal rest.”

    Ichie Goddy Akunani, former chairman of Aba Bar Association said: “I said the other day that most of the branches of the Bar in this country that are generating publicity are not as old as Aba. They have not done the things that we have done here. Today, we are honouring our own that has gone to the great beyond. Hon. Justice Ijeoma Offonry, by every standard, was an upright judge. I have seen judges since 1985. We have been in practice, we haven’t gone anywhere outside practicing law and knowing the politics within the Bar, and we have seen them all.

    I practised before Hon. Offonry until she departed this sinful world. She was an upright judge and there is no encomium the Bar can pay this lady that will be enough, not just because she was upright, she was dutiful.

    “I have persistently heard about her biological look… I don’t think that we will talk about it all today. It never stopped her in doing her duties. She will come, do her duties even at a point when others were not exhibiting sufficient courage in terms of experte orders, particularly on issues of fundamental human rights. We remember her today for her sense of justice and fearlessness and her taking the things that she sees in this world with equanimity despite all the politics whirling around. Hon. Justice Ijeoma Offonry never allowed those things to deter her. The Bar remembers her today; we have remembered her before and will always continue to remember her. That is the least we owe her memory”.

    Justice C.C. Adiele described her as a dutiful and performing Judge.

    “She was exemplary in conduct and discharge of her duties. We were looking forward to a day she was to be confirmed the Chief Judge of the state which the injustice in the system denied her.” He blamed the Abia State House of Assembly as was constituted then for such an injustice meted out on Offonry.

    “For the first time, I have never seen a recommendation from the National Judicial Commission (NJC) being turned down. She was performing and discharging her duties very well and when it came to appointment confirmation as the Chief Judge of the state, it was denied. I am happy that she has gone on appeal; she has gone above all of us. She will be there when all of us will be judged because we are still at a pedestrian level. One day, every person will answer questions on the roles he or she played while on earth. I am not in a position to pass the judgment, but I know that whatever you sow, you will reap.

    “I know and can vouch that she was a quintessential lady of a Judge and as a gentleman in a skirt, did her work very well. May her gentle soul rest in peace.”

    An Aba-based lawyer who has been practising since 1981 in Aba Judicial Division, Chibuike Nwokeukwu said: “What the executive of the Bar has planned for this lady (Offonry) today is commendable. Offonry was part of us. She was just a judge and later became the Administrative Audge of Aba Judicial Division. While she was alive, Aba Bar was behind her aspiration to become the Chief Judge of Abia State, but unfortunately that couldn’t happen until she died.

    “So, what we are doing for her tonight is in recognition of her services to Nigeria, Abia State and Aba Judicial Division in particular. We celebrated her in her lifetime and we also celebrated her in death. When she was alive and a judge in Aba, a number of occasions in our dinners, she was honoured for a good job as a judge. Now that she is no more, we still remember her and we still celebrate her with a posthumous award.

    “Offonry was a very honest judge. She was never corrupt; everybody would testify to that. She was equally a very hardworking person.”

    The lessons I learnt from her life are that it pays to be honest. It pays to work hard. Offonry’s case made me believe that no matter how hard you work, whatever God says would be would be. I do not think that God destined Offonry to be a Chief Judge, otherwise she merited it, but the powers that be didn’t want her to be and she never was.”

    Chairman of NBA Aba branch, Chidozie Ogunji said: “We decided to honour her even as she is late is because she was too good to Aba NBA. Not only that she was good, she was also an upright judge, incorruptible, so humane that she would always teach the younger lawyers and would never allow the elderly ones to bully them and she has a listening ear; when you come with an application before her court, she will look at it on the merit, she was just a good and ideal judge. So, we are holding this in her honour. We had some good judges, but she was an exceptional and rare one.

    You could recall that after appointing her the chief judge, the (Abia State) House of Assembly refused to confirm her appointment which brought us at loggerhead with the state government and before the process of her swearing-in could be completed, unfortunately she died. For us, she is dear to our heart”.

    According to Ogunji, “We are going to have a lecture this year in her honour. We are also going to give her a posthumous award this evening. They are part of the things that we have laid out to honour her contribution to the growth of the Bar”.

    On her relationship with the Bar, he said, she was good. “I learnt humility and understanding. She was quite humble. She was very tolerant. I urge the judges to be more tolerant, more humane, understanding and to really understand that they are judges.”

    Speaking after receiving the posthumous award on behalf of the Offonry‘s family, Ogechi Ogbonna, cousin to the late Offonry and an Abuja-based lawyer, thanked the Bar for remembering his aunt.

    Ogbonna described the award as recognition of hard work, a challenge to rededicate themselves to the things that are good and promote excellence, adding that the late Justice loved God and human beings, was a strict but firm person that exercises discretion in the things she believed in and never looked back while doing such.

    He said it was a challenge for lawyers and judges to dedicate themselves to hard work in pursuit of excellence, stating that hard work will always pay.

    “The cloud may appear to have been overshadowed, but behind the frowning providence, there is light. On behalf of the Offonry and Enyeazu’s family, we are indeed most grateful and as we stay here, we are wishing everyone fulfilment in all they do. We are most grateful.

    Highlight of the event was the presentation and handing over of the posthumous award to Mr. Ogbonna which was performed by Hon. Justice Onyeabor on behalf of the Aba branch of the NBA.

  • Refuse takes over in Aba

    Refuse takes over in Aba

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

    Why?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

  • I want to revive Aba

    I want to revive Aba

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

     

  • Dashed hopes in Aba

    Dashed hopes in Aba

    Hon. Uzo Azubuike of the Peoples Democratic Party went into the National Assembly polls with high hopes to be reelected to represent the people of Aba North and South Federal Constituency. He failed because the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Mr. Ossy Prestige was elected instead.

    Mr. Prestige received 47, 763 votes to beat his opponent who received 19, 063 out of the 75, 536 total votes cast in the two local government areas that make up the constituency.

    In a chat with reporters after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Returning Officer (RO), Prof. Celestine Udo Udoma Udo had issued him with a certified copy of the result sheet, he attributed his victory to the tenacity, commitment and courageousness of Aba electorate who want to effect change in their constituency.

    He said: “You are aware that before the election, we embarked on door-to-door campaign sensitising the people on the need to come out and vote for APGA. It was the message of change that we have been preaching that brought people out of their homes to vote for me and also ensured that their votes counted.

    “I am humbled to have won the polls despite the incumbency factor. It indicates that people are no longer voting for the party, but for the individual, having evaluated the antecedents of such person, which will compel the public officer to be accountable to the people. I promise the people that I am going to provide those amenities they lack in the past 16 years.”

    Mr. Prestige, who is noted among the constituents for his philanthropy and care for the oppressed, promised to improve their social well-being and to attract democratic dividends, saying his constituents should stone him if he fails to perform as their representative.

    Assessing the use of permanent voter’s card (PVC) for elections, he said even though there were cases of malfunction card readers, “it is an improvement in the electoral process,” even as he called on INEC to address logistical issues, among others, in order to ensure that materials arrived various polling units early in the governorship and house of assembly polls.

    He also used the opportunity to assure the people of Abia, especially those of Aba residents of his party’s commitment to transform the infrastructure and economy of the state. He called on registered voters to come out en masse during the April 11 polls to vote massively for the party’s governorship candidate.

  • Between Orji and Aba crowd

    Aba, the famed Enyimba City, is not only the commercial nerve centre of Abia State. It has, also, in a way, become the barometer with which acceptance or rejection of anybody or anything is measured in Igbo land.

    Side by side the entrepreneurial activism with which the city is known, there is also the kindred spirit that moderates people’s action in Aba. It is this kindred spirit that unites the residents, who may not have been related in any way, to rise up against crime and criminals when it matters most.

    This is the spirit that at the point of need erupts and propels the people to fight against injustice. It is in this instance, that Aba, according to many, is seen as the conscience of the Igbo nation – a trend that predates the current dispensation.

    Back in 1929 for instance, when the British colonial authorities came up with an unjust taxation regime in Igbo land, it took the women folks in Enyimba City to rise up against the imposition in the famous Aba Women Revolt.

    Though the uprising took toll on the rampaging women, it nonetheless sent strong warning to the imperialists that there was a level beyond which a people would not tolerate an unjust system. The same kindred spirit resurrected in the second republic, when the people rose against the late Yoruba leader and presidential candidate of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Chief Obafemi Awolowo who came on campaign to the city. The residents revolted against Awolowo for allegely authoring and championing the economic blockade against Biafra during the 1967 – 1970 Civil War.

    On account of the obnoxious policy, many children from the East purportedly suffered malnutrition – some, in fact, falling to the dreaded Kwashiokor. When therefore, Awolowo came to Aba to campaign, and even remarked that he was going to ban importation of second hand cloths (Okirika) and Stock fish (Okporoko) – the two viable economic engagements of the residents, it was seen as rubbing salt into injury. And Aba residents gave it to him.

    It is on this backdrop that what befell Abia State governor, Chief Theodore Ahamefule (T.A) Orji, in the city recently, would be appreciated. The governor, who had attended the burial service of late Catholic Bishop of Aba Diocese, Most Reverend Vincent Valentine Ezeonyia, was reportedly booed and pelted with sachet water. The ugly incident was the sixth time the governor was visited with such harsh treatment in the city. Aba, considering its status, is supposed to be the second most important city in Abia, next to Umuahia, the capital. On account of its commercial orientation, it has representation from virtually every family in Igbo land residing in it. It had in the past, played the role of the economic hub of the then Eastern Region. Due to the streams of industries and commercial activities taking place in the city, it had served as major revenue centre for the state.

    But the city has sadly experienced unprecedented neglect in the hands of successive administrations in Abia. Analysts, in fact, remark that Aba received the last major facelift during the administration of the late Dr. Sam Mbakwe, governor of old Imo State. Ever since, the city has suffered from one degree of neglect to another. But never had the situation been as bad as it had been in the last 16 years. Governor Orji, incidentally, is a product of that system that is seen as holding down the city. The government’s manipulations that resulted to emergence of Dt. Victor Okezie Ikpeazu as the governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is thus, considered a further slap on the people.

    Aba residents, not given to sitting on the face, have not been taking the issue lightly. What particularly irks the people is that an unlikely victory for Ikpeazu, would mean extension of the old order that has only brought misery to the state.

    The PDP candidate has curiously not been helping matters. For a state that was originally conceived to be a pacesetter among its peers but was derailed by a succession of bad leadership, many had expected Ikpeazu to exhibit evidence of being prepared for the job. But on occasions that he had made guided appearance before the people, he had manifested copious emptiness.

    He has for instance, failed woefully to present the people with any coherent economic agenda that will lift the state from its present economic doldrums, apart from lazy dependence on the paltry monthly allocation from Abuja.

    Seen from this insightful background, Orji’s Aba humiliation becomes quite instructive. The action is also a signal to the departing governor that the people would not take lightly at any attempt at manipulating the April 11 governorship election in the state. This veiled warning, is particularly remarkable, given the increasing level of excitement that has been generated by the candidacy of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) flag bearer, Dr. Alex Otti.

    Otti, who rode into the race on the wings of fascinating reputation that he earned from his successful management of Diamond Bank – a feat that earned him term renewal as Managing Director – has laid out a template for reinventing the God’s Own State. With an elaborate programme that touches various facets of the people’s life including infrastructure renewal, and resuscitation of the near comatose health, education, tourism, sports and civil service sectors, among others, Otti has understandably been the toast of the Abia electorate.

    Where, perhaps, the APGA candidate stole the show from his PDP candidate, is his vision of creating the Ministry of Aba Affairs, if elected. Given his pedigree in keeping to pledges and agreements, residents of Aba, who hardly forget favours, have been rooting for him.  It is also argued that with the Aba episode, the governor has lost the grip on the people. Of course, his crony, Okezie Ikpeazu, is ordinarily, out of reckoning, having failed to deliver in his last assignment with Abia environment protection agency.

    What the situation on ground also means is that with the rejection of the governor, it is only Otti that can guarantee electoral victory and development for the state and the entire Igbo race.

    • Ezeocha writes from Aba, Abia State

  • Businessman kidnapped in Aba, as pregnant woman die mysteriously

    A businessman identified as Josiah Alaobi has been reportedly kidnapped in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State by unknown gunmen.

    Alaobi, a building material dealer in Ariaria International market was said to have been kidnapped at 147 Chinyere Avenue, off Faulks road Aba by yet to be identified gunmen who were trailing him.

    An unconfirmed report has it that the abductors were demanding undisclosed amount of cash which it was not clear whether they have paid as at the time of this report.

    It was learnt that the matter has been reported to the Ariaria Police Division.

    In another development, the mystery surrounding the sudden death of a pregnant 20-year-old lady identified as Akudo Michael from Umuocham village, Abia State is yet to be unraveled by the police in Isiala Ngwa police division.

    Unconfirmed report has it that the deceased had been away from the village for a while and have allegedly been living with a man, whose identity was yet unknown.

    It was gathered that on that fateful day, the villagers met her lifeless body dumped in a particular part of the community by unknown person.

    Members of the family were yet to be contacted for comments, but a source in the area said that the matter has been reported at the Isiala Ngwa Police Division.

    No official comments from the police as at the time of this report.

  • A peace pact in Aba

    A peace pact in Aba

    Candidates for legislative seats from Abia South Senatorial District of Abia State have pledged to ensure peace during the election, reports SUNNY NWANKWO

    By 11am, the Aba Town Hall auditorium was already filled up by candidates contesting for various political offices in the zone. Among the candidates were Ossy Prestige, Kate Maduako, Blessing Nwagba, Thomas Nkoro, and other candidates.

    The peace accord went on smoothly, but some of the participants described the exercise as a mere formality, fearing that the pact may not be respected, especially by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Prestige, of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), said the pact would only work if all the parties sincerely implement it.

    He urged the police in the state to uphold the law without fear or favour, be neutral and not hesitate to prosecute anyone who breaches the pact.

    Speaking at the event, the state police boss, Habila Joshak hammered on the need for all political parties to adhere strictly to the accord. He warned that police in the state would not take it lightly with any politician who would breach of peace.

    “We are signing this accord to ensure that you play the game according to the rule. We want to ensure that your supporters out there understand your body language.

    “They may not know what you feel about campaigning for this position. Some of them have taken it to a greater height. Some of them have made it a fight. Some of them are exhibiting a do-or-die attitude when some of you do not wish it so.

    “There is an unlimited opportunity for you to meet your supporters, you have the opportunity to bring them together and tell them that this is not a war but a game”, he said.

    The Abia CP said politicians must learn to play politics with the spirit of sportsmanship, stressing that they must learn how to be good winners and good losers.

    While urging Abia politicians to foster cordial relationships among themselves asked them to spread the message of non-violence to their supporters, adding that doing so would make the polity peaceful and violence-free.

    The Aba Area Commander Peter Wagbara promised that the command would ensure peaceful elections under his command.

    Wagbara warned that they were not going to take it lightly with anyone that would want to foment trouble or cause breach of peace in the commercial city and its environs.

    “On our part as police officers we are going to be sure that we would be fair and firm and anybody who tries fomenting any trouble, we will allow the law to take its cause,” he said.

    Hon. Blessing Nwagba representing Aba North State Constituency in Abia State House of Assembly said the pact was important for the growth of democracy and assured that she and other PDP candidates as law abiding people would ensure that they pass the message to their supporters and commended the police for such a courageous step geared at ensuring a free, credible and transparent electioneering process in the state and the country at large.