The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Akwa Ibom State

  • Kidnappers kill naval officer

    Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have killed a Naval Warrant Officer, Felix Akanbi.

    The hoodlums kidnapped seven other passengers travelling from Akwa-Ibom State to Lagos via Edo State on Tuesday.

    A source said the gunmen, armed with AK47 rifles, intercepted the 18-seater bus between Ekiadolor and Ovia River Bridge along the Benin-Lagos Expressway and opened fire on the bus.

    The source said eight of the passengers, including the deceased, were abducted and taken into the bush.

    It was learnt that the late Akanbi could not walk as fast as others and was shot dead.

    Read Also: Police parade 13 suspected kidnappers of Daura district head

    Policemen attached to the Ekiadolor Police Division swung into action and pursued the kidnappers after receiving report of the attack.

    The police rescued the seven victims and recovered the body of Akanbi after two hours search.

    Edo State police spokesman Chidi Nwabuzor said the police were still combing the bush in search of the kidnappers.

    He said the warrant officer was about to be retired before his death.

    Nwabuzor said the police would do everything to arrest the kidnappers.

     

     

  • Hospital equipment found in private home

    THE Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) has recovered multi million naira equipment from a private residence in Akwa Ibom State.

    The equipment, allegedly meant for a cottage hospital in Essien Udim Local Government Area, include one dialysis machine, two 15 KVA generators, an infant incubator and others.

    ICPC Commissioner Shola Shodipo, who led reporters to recover the items, said: “ICPC is interested in constituency projects and has set up tracking groups in 12 states. In the course of our assignment, we discovered that the equipment – three dialysis machines and others – meant for the Ukana Cottage hospital, were not delivered. We found only one in a private place which was not delivered or put in place in the hospital.

    Read Also: Hospital ‘detains’ indigent patients over unpaid bills

    “These machines and other equipment were meant to be delivered since 2018. We have taken the equipment to the appropriate location. The equipment are supposed to help the community in healthcare.

    “We are still investigating. I will not be able to tell for now, but I can tell you that the equipment were meant for the Cottage Hospital and a particular company was awarded the contract.”

    The hospital consultant, Dr. Mary Udoh, who received the equipment, thanked ICPC for ensuring that the equipment were delivered to the hospital. She said the equipment would facilitate healthcare delivery to the communities.

    “On behalf of the hospital management, I want to say we are very happy receiving the equipment today. I thank the ICPC for ensuring that these equipment were delivered to the right place. The equipment will help us in our service delivery to the people,” she added.

  • Udom vs Nsima: Court adjourns cross examination

    The governorship petition tribunal in Akwa Ibom State on Monday adjourned the cross examination of witnesses in a case between Governor Udom Emmanuel and Mr. Nsima Ekere till July 10.

    Chairman of the three-man panel Chief Justice A.M Yusuf said the adjournment was to enable the registry mark the exhibits properly.

    The court said it will begin the examination on July 10 when all the evidence have been duly marked.

    Chier Assam Assam (SAN), lead counsel to Udom, thanked the panel for showing the right attitude towards lawyers, saying it will strengthen the judiciary.

    Ekere of the All Progressives Congress (APC) filed a petition to challenge Governor Udom Emmanuel’s victory in the March 9 election.

  • ‘Why Emmanuel should assent to youth development bill’

    The Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) has appealed to Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel to assent to the Youth Development Fund Bill passed by the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.

    The bill passed into law by the 6th Assembly seeks to provide youths with job opportunities and other windows for empowerment and wealth creation.

    PIND’s Project Leader, Mr. Emeka Ile made the appeal at a one-day dissemination workshop and roundtable on Private Sector Engagement and Partnership in the Niger Delta Youth Employment Pathway Project held at Luton Park Hotel, Uyo.

    Ile assured that the governor’s assent to the bill would address the myriad of challenges which the youth experience, including restiveness and unemployment.

    He said: “That is why we want this bill to be assented to without delay. We call on Governor Emmanuel to expedite action and ensure that the bill already passed by the House of Assembly is assented to without delay.

    “I am sure that if the bill is assented to, it will go a long way in addressing youth unemployment and restiveness.”

    He said PIND is exploring four key areas of economic development such as peace-building, capacity building and analysis and advocacy to tackle youth unemployment in the Niger Delta.

    The project leader said PIND’s experience has shown that connecting job seekers and market actors  can result in more productive ventures.

    The target group, he said, are the unemployed youths of the three pilot states with a primary focus on young male and female school leavers between the ages of 16 and 26, including the young people living in rural areas and women and people living with disabilities.

    He revealed that out of 1,600 youths who registered with the foundation, 1,468 of them drawn from the pilot states have completed their registration process and are undergoing training in various areas, including aquaculture.

    Mr. Ile said out of a total of 400 youths drawn from Akwa Ibom State, 197 are in aquaculture, 150 in ICT and 97 in different construction skills.

    In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Culture, Mr. Effiong Edet said the objectives of the foundation were in line with government’s policies and programmes for youth development.

    He said Governor Emmanuel has invested heavily on youth development projects, adding that the state government would partner with the foundation to create better opportunities for the youth in order to address youth restiveness and unemployment.

    He said: “Governor Emmanuel is passionate about youth development and has spent a lot of resources in youth development projects. Youths are important to the success of any government. That is why this government has trained over 500 youths in agriculture and ICT, in an attempt to ensure that Akwa Ibom youths are taken off the streets.”

  • Promoting reading, spelling culture among pupils

    Grassien Education and Entrepreneurship Foundation (GEEF), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has organised a reading and spelling competition for primary school pupils at Lutheran School, Ikot Oduot in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State to commemorate this year’s World Book Day.

    At the event, 20 chairs and benches along with text books, notebooks and other writing materials were donated by Grassien Foundation to Lutheran School, Ikot Oduot.

    A Director at Grassien, Mrs. Nsidibe Aideyan gave an on-the-spot recognition to a pupil of the school, Master Jeremiah Job Bassey for punctuality and good behavior, even as she urged other pupils to emulate him.

    Mrs. Aideyan, who spoke on the theme of the event “Share a Story” emphasised that the essence of the event was to share stories that will instill moral values and excellence in pupils while promoting good reading and spelling culture. Pupils, who emerged first, second and third at the end of the reading competition were presented with gifts and prizes.

    “We believe that reading is the core aspect of education. If you cannot read, it is unlikely that you can obtain education. At the foundation level, what you can give to a child is the ability to read and encourage that child to continue on that path. This is the reason Grassien is laying strong emphasis on inculcating reading culture from the cradle” she said.

    She further added that Grassien could have called the best pupils in the school to read to demonstrate reading and project them at the event but, “we rather picked pupils randomly to read in order to ascertain their competence and identify their challenges.”

    “We want to assess them to identify their place of need in order to put up an intervention strategy because Grassien is about solving problems. Those who read well would be encouraged, while pupils who did not read well would be further interrogated to know whether it is a case of stage fright or a lack of capacity.

    “We would expose those having fright problem to coaching in public speaking and engage volunteers to read with those who lack capacity. We would consider setting up a library where volunteers would visit at regular intervals to read with them at a relaxed and impactful environment.”

    She further said that part of the visions of Grassien is to provide infrastructure to support educational  and entrepreneurship together with relevant stakeholders.

    On his part, the Company Secretary of Ibom Power Company Limited, who is also a former pupil of Lutheran School, Ikot Oduot Barrister Ime Asibong said Grassien has taken note of the infrastructural lapses within the school and has plans to partner with the school in the area of infrastructure development.

    He said: “We are just getting to know that there are counterparts funding for projects whereby the government and non-governmental organisations can partner with relevant schools to implement by contributing 10 per ent of the total project cost.

    “Grassien will partner with the school to identify the areas of need, access these counterpart funds and ensure that infrastructural development projects are attracted to Lutheran School, Ikot Oduot.”

    The community, stakeholders and Head Teacher of Lutheran School Ikot Oduot, Mr. Dennis Okon praised Grassien Foundation for taking the school into consideration in its strategic plans. He said the donation of 20 chairs and benches by the foundation will go a long way to ease the learning process of the school.

    Mr. Okon pleaded with Grassien Foundation to fast-track its interventionist efforts in respect of the counterpart funding to beef up the infrastructural lapses in the school.

  • ‘Those fighting Akpabio will fail’

    Associates of former Akwa Ibom State Governor Senator Godswill Akpabio have warned his opponents against making unfounded and unguided statements against the former Senate Minority Leader.

    The associates, who fingered members of the Ibom Integrity and Servant Leadership Culture Group Initiative for alleged plots to stop Akpabio’s ministerial appointment, warned that all evil plots against him would fail.

    They urged the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to deal with those engaging in activities inimical to the growth of the party in Akwa Ibom.

    A statement by Cyril Gabriel Essien and Comrade Emmanuel Amama accused the group of “hatred for the APC and acting a script to see it fail”.

    Read Also: Witnesses: INEC cancelled Akpabio’s results

    The statement reads: “One can only see that the members of this self-acclaimed integrity group hate the party to its marrow. To a discerning mind, they and their cohorts have grumbled for a long time, and have now exposed themselves as those who worked against the interest of the APC in Akwa Ibom State.

    “We pray they come out in the open wherever they are hiding; let them expose themselves as the Akwa Ibom chapter of the group has done.

    “They are opposition members in APC garments. If the opposition had won the presidential election, one would not be surprised to see them being offered a ministerial slot.

    “We know that the party will follow the recent Zamfara example for those discovered to be agents of antiparty activities. They should be brought to book.”

  • Witnesses: INEC cancelled Akpabio’s results

    Witnesses have told the election petition tribunal in Akwa Ibom State that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) cancelled collated results compiled from their units and wards.

    They also alleged that INEC produced voters’ register which were not used on election day.

    Seven witnesses who testified on Senator Godswill Akpabio’s petition, told the three-man panel, that they were amazed to hear that collated results obtained from their units and wards were cancelled after they were announced at the polling units and wards.

    They added that the petitioner, Akpabio, won convincingly in all the units and wards that results were collated and announced.

    The Ward Agent in Okon Ward 8, Essien Udim council, said he was shocked to hear that the results which he signed at the collation centre were cancelled by INEC in Uyo. He insisted he only heard about the cancellation in the court.

    Lead counsel to the third respondent (INEC)   Ifeoluwa Otediran said INEC cancelled the results in 17 of the 20 pulling units in Okon Ward 8 because the voters’ resister used for accreditation were not ticked, and INEC believed that there was no accreditation of voters.

    But the witness said: “My Lord, it is not true. There was accreditation and our names were ticked in my Ward before we were allowed to vote, and the same thing was done in other polling units which our party agents told me about. There was no cancellation in my presence. I was a ward collation officer for my party.

    Read Also: Akpabio: God will expose Igini’s sins

    Testifying on INEC form EC8B1 for code 06 (Odoro Ikot Ward 6) of 05 registration area, a  witness said he was surprised to hear, for the first time inside the tribunal, that results in the 10 polling units in his ward were cancelled. According to him, voters’ register presented to him in the tribunal was different from the one used during the election.

    “My Lord, these documents tendered here are different from the one INEC brought to the polling units in Ward 8, Odoro Ikot, Essien Udim council on election day. It is a surprise that INEC gave us photocopied documents. I am surprised that there were original documents. “Our names were ticked on the voters’ register they gave to us, but it is shocking that our names are not ticked in this one here at the tribunal,” the witness said.

    The same scenario played out in Ukana West Ward 10 and Ukana East Ward 9; both agents discovered at the tribunal that all collated results in 7 and 10 polling units in the two wards were cancelled by INEC without their knowledge.

    The testimonies, according to legal analysts, revealed how some INEC officials conspired to cancel the results of Senator Akpabio to reduce his votes and declare his opponent winner of the election.

    Lead counsel to the petitioner S.I. Ameh was granted June 19 and 20 to present all his witnesses to continue their testimonies.

  • Ibom Air begins operations today

    The Akwa Ibom state government said its airline, Ibom Air, will commence full-fledged commercial flight operations today.

    A statement from the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Udom Emmanuel, Mr. Ekerete Udoh said the airline is first commercial airline ever to be owned and operated by a state government anywhere in the country and indeed Africa.

    According to him, the airline is starting commercial operations having fulfilled all regulatory conditions and requirements by the regulatory authorities in the nation’s aviation sector.

    He said the airline is one of the signature projects of the Emmanuel administration aimed at changing the economic fortunes of the state and providing employment for the unemployed indigenes of the state.

    ”The airline which represents one of the signature projects of Governor Udom Emmanuel’s first term was launched  on February 20th this year with three aircraft by the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki,” he said.

    ”Having fulfilled all the regulatory conditions and requirements, the airline was certified fit to commence commercial operations, leading to the maiden flight billed for tomorrow, June 7th, 2019.

    ”It will maintain regular daily flights to both Lagos (MMA2) and Abuja respectively. The aircrafts in its fleet (Bombardier CRJ 900) have the distinction of being relatively new, all three, under 10 years old.

    Read Also: Ibom airport to commence int’l flight June 2016

    ”The commencement of the commercial operations by Ibom Air has been celebrated by Akwaibomites and other Nigerians as a testament to the visionary leadership of Governor Udom Emmanuel, who seems determined to break conventional wisdom concerning things long thought to be impossible to achieve.

    ”With this development, Governor Emmanuel’s avowed determination to open the three gateways to industrialization-land, sea and air appears to be on course”, he said.

     

  • ‘Lawmakers made my job easy’

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has attributed his achievements during his first tenure to the cooperation of the House of Assembly.

    Emmanuel, who praised the Assembly for working hard to restore peace in the state, said the legislature has been a dependable partner in development.

    The governor was addressing a Valedictory Thanksgiving Service of the sixth Assembly at the Assembly Chapel in Uyo yesterday. He said the support and inputs he enjoyed from the legislature made his job easier and development faster.

    Represented by the Deputy Governor, Mr. Moses Ekpo, the governor urged the incoming lawmakers to follow the footsteps of the sixth assembly and partner the government to continue to move the state to greater heights.

    He said: “The achievements we recorded as a government would not have been possible if we did not have a legislature that stood by us to make our job much easier. I also urge the incoming members to follow the footsteps of the sixth assembly and collaborate with government so that Akwa Ibom State can continue to be taken to higher heights”.

    Read Also: Court upholds sack of five APC lawmakers

    The Speaker, Onofiok Luke, listed finishing his tenure as a Christian; his marriage intact and not losing any member to death as his major reasons for approaching God with thanksgiving.

    Luke, who outlined some of the adversaries which worked against his becoming Speaker and success in office, thanked God that those severe cases of tribulation did not push him to seek other gods.

    He described his colleagues as vessels of honour and thanked God for using “such brave men and women” to achieve his dreams for the state as Speaker.

    “I thank God because I finished as a Christian, because trials and tribulations of the world did not push me to seek other gods. I thank God because I finished this office with my marriage intact, that the challenges of public office did not tear us apart…”

    It’s not easy to give yourself out to serve a people.

    “I thank God that we finished with all 26 members alive, I thank Akwa Ibom people for the confidence reposed in us, and the body of Christ for their prayers,” he added.

     

  • LG Funds: NFIU guidelines take off today as Akwa Ibom fails to secure court order

    Following the failure of Akwa Ibom State Government to secure a court order, the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) on Friday said it will go ahead with the implementation of the guidelines on local government funds.

    The NFIU on May 6 issued the ‘Guidelines to Reduce Vulnerabilities Created by Cash Withdrawals from Local Government Funds throughout Nigeria.’

    The guidelines restored the full mandate of the operations of State/Local Government Joint Accounts to be used solely for the distribution of funds directly to the accounts of the local governments.

    Banks were requested to ensure the full implementation of the guidelines with effect from June 1, 2019.

    However, all the local government areas in Akwa Ibom State, alongside the state government through the Attorney-General of the state approached the Uyo division of the Federal High Court (FHC), seeking to nullify the guidelines issued by NFIU in a suit filed with suit number FHC/UY/CS/88/2019.

    The court on Saturday declined the request after listening to counsels from the state government and the NFIU.

    The plaintiffs, who were represented by the State Attorney-General, Uwem Nwoko (SAN) also urged the court to grant a restraining order against the NFIU, stopping the commencement of the guidelines on the 1st of June, 2019.

    But a Learned Silk, Arthur Obi-Okafor (SAN), who represented NFIU, challenged the locus standi of the plaintiffs and urged the court not to grant any order “in favour of persons who are nothing but busybodies.”

    He informed the court that the matter is of grave national security concern and that the urgency raised by the plaintiffs was self-induced since the guidelines were released on the 1st of May, 2019.

    The judge, Justice A. A. Okeke, adjourned the matter to June 21, 2019 to hear all pending applications while declining to issue any restraining order.

    A top source in NFIU said: “This agency is going ahead with the implementation of the new guidelines. All banks chief executive officers and compliance officers have been given the guidelines.

    “We are placing all State Joint Local Government Accounts and all local government accounts under strict monitoring.

    “We will not succumb to pressure under any guise. We are determined to save the third tier of government from collapse.”

    Read Also: NFIU CEO praises FIRS tax reforms

    Earlier, in a statement, NFIU explained the rationale behind the guidelines.

    It said: “The NFIU requests all financial institutions, other relevant stakeholders, public servants and the entire citizenry to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the guidelines already submitted to financial institutions and relevant enforcement agencies, including full enforcement of corresponding sanctions against violations from 1st June, 2019.

    “Having realised through analysis that cash withdrawal and transactions from the State Joint Local Government Accounts (SJLGA) poses biggest corruption, money laundering and security threats at the grassroots levels and to the entire financial system and the country as a whole, decided to uphold the full provisions of section 162 (6) (8)of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended which designated ” State Joint Local Government Account into which shall be paid allocations to the local government councils of the state from the federation account and from the government of the state.

    “The amount standing to the credit of local government councils of a state shall be distributed among the local government councils of that state and not for other purposes. As far as the NFIU is concerned, the responsibility of the account as a collection account is fully reinstated.

    “In addition, taking such measures was necessitated by prompting reasons on the NFIU to respond to threats of isolating the entire Nigerian financial system by other international financial systems due to deficiencies in our anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing implementation and measures.

    “Therefore, it is no longer possible to allow the entire system to suffer the deliberate and expensive infractions or violations by public officials and/or private business interests.”

    “In addition, a provision is also made to the effect that there shall be no cash withdrawal from any local government account for a cumulative amount exceeding N500,000.00 per day. Any other transaction must be done through valid cheques or electronic funds transfer.”

    The nation’s 36 governors have protested to President Muhammadu Buhari against going ahead with the implementation of new guidelines put in place by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

    They advised the President to call NFIU to order because the guidelines are in violation of the 1999 Constitution.

    They accused NFIU of stoking mischief and also deliberately seeking to cause disaffection, chaos and overheat the polity.”

    A former Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Mallam Abdulaziz Yari made the governors’ position known in a May 15, 2019 letter to the President.

    The new NGF chairman, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, was said to be exploring dialogue with the presidency on the row as at press time.