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Tag: Ambrose Alli

  • I didn’t become Governor to make money, says Obaseki

    Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that he did not contest election to make money but to work for the people.

    Governor Obaseki said the APC-led government purpose is to serve the people and not to loot money.

    Obaseki spoke when he led the APC campaign rally to Ekpoma Esan West Local Government Area where he paid tributes to Late Prof. Ambrose Alli, a former Governor of the defunct Bendel State.

    He said the legacy of governance of late Prof. Alli was his driving force.

    Governor Obaseki said Esan West is bouncing back to its past glory as it were during the era of Alli as he has initiated people-oriented government.

    Obaseki told the APC supporters that his leadership style borrows from the governance model of Alli, who he noted prioritised development of the people.

    He said the late Alli was one of the best governors the state has ever had and he was determined to surpass Alli’s achievements.

    He urged Esan people to align with the ruling APC so they could continue to enjoy the dividends of democracy.

    The governor assured that support for President Muhammadu Buhari and all APC candidates in the forthcoming general elections is the right decision to make.

    Read Also: Obaseki hails legacy of Ambrose Alli

    “Alli did only one tenure and you can see the development in Esan West. I am assuring you that the APC-led government has one purpose which is to serve the people. I am not a governor that is out to make money but to work for my people.”

    Chairman of APC in the council, Mr Onabwekhlen Ehikioya, commended Governor Obaseki for bringing development to the council.

    “We are seeing the ongoing road construction work in the council, Esan West has been turned into a construction site and we promise to deliver the needed votes for APC to win the forthcoming elections.”

  • ‘Onnoghen is battering himself’

    A Benin based lawyer, Barr. Eddy Osifo, has said that embattled Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, would return to the Code of Conduct Tribunal for trial no matter the number of appeals filed at various courts.

    Barr. Osifo, who served as Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources under late Professor Ambrose Alli, said Onnoghen is battering himself more by resisting attempts to investigate, arraign or punish him.

    Osifo who spoke in a chat with our reporter said Onnoghen should have apologized and requested for retirement since he admitted to the offence of non-assets declaration.

    He noted that it was wrong for some lawyers to say the matter should have been referred to the National Judicial Council when such body cannot try judges that commit traffic offences.

    According to him, “Onnoghen would have known that he is running the matter in a manner it will batter himself more by resisting this attempt to investigate and arraign or punish him.

    Read Also: Onnoghen: Falana accuses NBA of double standard

    “If I were him, I would have apologized and asked for retirement. He has admitted that he forgot to declare his assets and that is an offence. I don’t see how any court will say it is not an offence.

    “You cannot ask NJC to try a Judge who commits tragic offence. Onnoghen will dance up and down and still return to the CCT. Let him appeal to anywhere, he will still go back to the CCT.”

    “I do not think is proper for the NBA to call for boycott of court. They are adding salt to injuries. A lot of litigants or accused people will suffer from the boycott of courts. They are inviting chaos and chaos will not save Nigeria. It is enough for them to take a stand. I am questioning the boycott of courts. It is wrong for them to boycott of courts. “

  • The house Ambrose Alli built

    An Igbo proverb posits that from the house of an illustrious man would always emerge all sorts – good and bad. And the seeming recurrent truism of this saying has almost presented it as divine injunction. Of course, an illustrious man is taken to mean a man of means and sprawling estate. It also suggests that a large family would always suffer the presence of a black sheep.

    That, in a nutshell, is the rationale behind the wise words. In other words, an illustrious man in all his greatness, is tainted by one accident of genetics? That is the proposition.

    And late Professor Ambrose Alli was a great man by any measure. He was Professor of Morbid Anatomy and head, Department of Pathology, University of Benin about 40 years ago.

    It was from this exalted office that the Ekpoma, Edo State indigene won election as the first civilian governor of Bendel State (now Edo and Delta States) in 1979.

    Like his contemporaries of that innocent age, he ran a larger state with vision, vigour and verve. In just four years, he was reported to have left a legacy probably not matched till today: about 600 new secondary schools, four colleges of education (Ekiadolor, Agbor, Warri and Ozoro), three polytechnics, four teachers’ training colleges and the Bendel State University, the foundation of which he laid in 1981.

    It is this university which was re-named Ambrose Alli University (AAU) Ekpoma upon his demise that has roused Hardball’s interest today.

    Recently, this institution built by this illustrious man who is remembered for wearing sandals, simple khaki trousers and top has been in the news for unsavoury reasons.

    Late September, five young people were gunned down in cult-like killings and this incident has continued to taint the university Alli built.

    Among the dead were two current students (including a final year medical student) and three former students. They were reportedly making merry in a bar a little removed from the school when a brawl ensued and a man was said to have left the scene only to return shortly with an armed group that opened fire on the merry-makers, killing five.

    But here is the story: the Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Johnson Kokumo, said it was a clash between rival cult groups and four suspects were already arrested. But AAU management thinks otherwise: “…the university is safe and totally devoid of cultism or any social vice,” says its spokesman, Edward Aihevba.

    But Hardball recalls that early last year, a different Edo State Commissioner of Police Mr. Haliru Gwandu had said AAU was a citadel of cultism. But the school’s authority also denied it vehemently.

    Meanwhile, the house built by Prof Alli, an illustrious man, continues to suffer bloodshed.

     

  • Obaseki leads global icons to Ekpoma for Ambrose Alli’s memorial

    The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, will lead a train of global icons, including business and political leaders, activists, academics, and civil society groups, to Ekpoma, in Edo Central Senatorial district, for the 29th Memorial Day Celebration of former governor of old Bendel State (now Edo and Delta states), Prof. Ambrose Alli.

    In a statement, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said that the governor would be hosting a large entourage that will be in Emuado in Ekpoma for the celebration.

    He said, “We are very excited to be celebrating late Prof. Ambrose Alli. It is, for many of us in Edo, something remarkable because a lot of the young, upwardly mobile people and businessmen in the state benefited from the impactful policies initiated by Prof. Ambrose Alli when he was the governor.

    “A good number of these people attended either one of the over 600 secondary schools or the Bendel State University, which is now Ambrose Alli University, today. So, for them, it is an opportunity to once again pay homage to a good, enviable son of the state.”

    Read Also: FG hails Obaseki’s basic education reform

    He described the former governor of old Bendel as a hero of good governance and accountability, noting, “We fondly remember the legacies of former governor of the old Bendel state and it is only right to celebrate him. The governor will be leading a delegation to Emuado, for the memorial mass service, which will host a lot of the people from within the state and the Diaspora.”

    One of the events to mark the event is a Memorial Mass at the St. Ambrose Catholic Church, Emaudo, Ekpoma.

    Late Prof. Alli, a professor of Morbid Anatomy, was governor of old Bendel State from 1979 to 1983. He founded the Bendel State University with campuses in Ekpoma, Abraka and Asaba and over 600 secondary schools. He also initiated landmark infrastructural and housing projects within Edo and Delta states.

  • Edo maps out strategies to combat malnutrition

    Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo on Wednesday inaugurated the state’s Food and Nutrition Committee to ensure a sustainable road map towards identifying and encouraging the consumption of healthy food in the state.

    Speaking before inauguration at Government House in Benin, the governor said: “we are concerned about the health status and nutrition of our people, particularly the very young ones and the old people’’.

    “Eating nutritious food goes a long way in maintaining a healthy lifestyle that is why this committee is important.

    “We are aware that there is a connection between nutrition, preventive medicine, girl-child education, women empowerment and childhood development,’’ Obaseki said.

    He directed the committee to identify the problems of nutrition in the state, coordinate efforts in improving nutrition and to ensure adequate resource allocation to address malnutrition issues.

    “The committee has the mandate to identify efforts already put in place by various institutions to tackle malnutrition in the state and to review the strategies to tackle it and their impact on the society.’’

    The governor called for working synergy among the various stakeholders in the food and nutrition sector to avoid duplication of programmes and allow for optimal use of resources.

    Read Also: Edo begins upgrade of Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium

    In her remarks, the Chairman of the committee, Mrs Vera Obadan, the Permanent Secretary, state Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, commended the governor for setting up the committee.

    Obadan, who was represented by the Vice-Chairman of the committee, Prof Ignatius Onimawo, the Vice-Chancellor of Ambrose Alli University, said good nutrition is key to human development.

    She said that the bedrock of nutrition is breastfeeding, regretting that the breast feeding rate in the country was low.

    The chairman assured that the committee would do a lot of information dissemination to educate mothers on the importance of breast feeding in ensuring early childhood development.

    Obadan requested that the governor’s wife, Mrs Betsy Obaseki, be made one of the champions of good nutrition in the state.

    The News men reports that the members of the committee are drawn from relevant stakeholders in the private and public institutions in the food and nutrition sector.

    NAN

  • AAU records 100% NUC accreditation

     

    Authorities of the Edo State owned university, the Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, said it recorded 100 per cent accreditation of its courses in the latest accreditation exercise carried out by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

    It said out of the 20 programmes assessed by the NUC accreditation team, 18 were accorded full accreditation while two got interim accreditation.

    Spokesman for the university, Mr. Edward Aihevba, in a press statement said listed the programmes with full accreditation to include English, French, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Industrial and Production Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Educational Management.

    Others are Guidance and Counselling, Education Economics, Physical Education, Technical Education, Chemistry, Computer Science, Industrial Chemistry, Industrial Mathematics and Mathematics.

    Aihevba said Agricultural Education and Statistics were programmes accorded  interim accreditation.

    He said the NUC accreditation team visited the university between November and December last year to assess its programmes.

    Aihevba noted that the feat was an indication that the university had attained the highest academic standard prescribed by the NUC in the programmmes visited.

    “By this 100 per cent performance, Ambrose Alli University has attained the highest academic standard prescribed by the NUC in the programmes visited.

    “Full accreditation denotes that the university is qualified to run the programmes for the next five years, while interim accreditation means the programme can be run for the next two years before another visit will be due.”