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Tag: Cross River

  • Six killed, DPO shot in cult clashes in Cross River

    At least six persons have been feared killed in cult clashes in Boki local government area and Calabar in Cross River State.

    The Boki incident, a gun duel between rival groups, it was gathered occurred at Ogep-Okosom, claiming three lives with a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) sustaining gunshot wounds.

    The Calabar incident, also a gun duel within and around the University of Calabar, claimed three lives, leading to the early closure of the institution last Friday.

    While it could not be immediately ascertained what was responsible for the Calabar incident, it was learnt that of Boki may not be unconnected with quarrels over the ownership of plantations by politicians in the area.

    A source in Boki said: “It was a nightmare for us as we woke up to these cult members shooting themselves and putting everyone else in danger.

    “They even shot the DPO of our area, who I believe went to check the situation but fortunately he did not die. So far not less than three persons have been killed in the cult fight.

    “This was not how things used to be here. I wonder why cultism has now become the order of the day now.”

  • NULGE decries slow action on Autonomy Bill

    …knocks Imo Assembly for voting against Bill

    The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has lampooned House of Assemblies in the Southeast zone over their indifference in handling the Local Government Autonomy Bill.

    He noted that while other states like Kwara, Benue, Niger, Plateau, Bauchi, Cross River, Bayelsa and Ogun states have voted for Local Government autonomy, the states in the Southeast are yet to conduct public hearing.

    The Union also knocked the Imo State Assembly for voting against the Bill, describing the decision by the lawmakers as unfortunate.

    NULGE also lampooned the Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha for not “equally putting his best to ensure the passage of the Bill”.

    Addressing newsmen at the NULGE Secretariat in Owerri, the Imo State capital, the National Auditor of the Union, Comrade Ayuba Shamdung Jepla, said that four states in the Southeast zone were just preparing to conduct public hearing on the bill.

    He accused the lawmakers of being insensitive to the plight of the people at the grassroots, who he said are the direct beneficiaries of the Local Government Autonomous Bill.

    Jepla also dismissed the earlier reason given by the Imo State House of Assembly for none passage of the bill, stating that “the defense was a mockery of the well-intended aim and objectives of the National Assembly with regards to Local Government Autonomous Bill”.

    According to him, “the Union unequivocally condemns the none passage of the Local Government Autonomous Bill by the Imo State House of Assembly as it is not only retrogressive, undemocratic but a calculated plan to enthrone abject poverty and misery in the third tier of government”.

    The Union however appreciated the State House of Assemblies that voted in favour of the bill, describing them as “partners in progress”.

  • Cross River lauds NGO’s effort to reduce maternal mortality

    The Cross River State Government has lauded Hello Mama, United States Agency for Development (USAID) funded mobile health initiative for its efforts in reducing child and maternal mortality in the state.

    The Commissioner for Health, Cross River State, Dr. Inyang Asibong, while receiving the Hello Mama team in Calabar, said that with their support, the state has recorded significant success in saving the lives of mothers and their babies.

    She expressed gratitude to the team for choosing Cross River and assured them of the state commitment to more collaboration.

    The Project Director, Hello Mama, Mr. Emmanuel Atuma said since 2015, a consortium of partners led by Jhpiego, including Pathfinder International and Praekelt Foundation, began designing a health systems strengthening programme to leverage the unique opportunity of using mobile technology to deliver vital health information to pregnant women, new mothers and their families for behaviour change and generating demand for global services.

    He also stated that the primary aim of the program is to handhold pregnant women and new mothers through their pregnancy and child development, to improve material knowledge and adoption of healthy and safe maternal newborn and child health practices amongst women and their families.

    “Hello-Mama currently has over 40,000 women and their gatekeepers registered in the programme across Cross River and Ebonyi States, where the programme has been piloted. The Hello Mama messages focus on essential topics including pregnancy and infant care, safe delivery, nutrition counseling, HIV management, exclusive breastfeeding and antenatal care visits,” he said.

    The Digital Health Adviser, Pathfinder International, Mr. Ayomipo Edinger said their visit to the state was to know and interact with the beneficiaries of the programme on the impacts created by the Hello Mama Initiative, adding that their partnership with the state is very essential.

     

  • Police arrest two suspected rapists, others in C/River

    Police arrest two suspected rapists, others in C/River

    The Police Command in Cross River has arrested one Inyang Akwanyene and Ibah Edet for allegedly raping and video-taping a 23-year-old lady at a guest house in Calabar.

    Presenting the suspects alongside 45 other suspects to newsmen on Friday in Calabar, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Hafiz Inuwa, said that the suspects committed the crime on Feb. 23 in Calabar.

    According to Inuwa, the victim claimed that she was offered a bottle of drink suspected to have been drugged which she took and became unconscious

    “On Feb. 23, a young lady reported to the police that she was invited by one Inyang Akwanyene to a guest house at Atimbo road in Calabar.

    “On arrival at the guest house, she met Akwanyene and his friend, Ibah Edet.

    “Thereafter, the duo forcefully had unlawful carnal knowledge of her and video-taped all that transpired which they later used in intimidating and demanding ransom from the victim.

    “They threatened to make it viral to the public if she failed to comply with their demands,’’ he said.

    The Commissioner explained that during interrogation, the suspects confessed to the crime, adding that the phone used for the recording was recovered from them and would be tendered as exhibit in court.

    Read Also: Police investigate alleged murder of betting shop owner

    He added that medical examination had been carried out by a qualified medical practitioner to know her health status.

    But Akwanyene told our reporters in an interview that he did not drug the victim.

    “I invited the lady to the guest house but I did not drug her. I was only framed up by her brother that I drugged her.

    “I and my friend had sex with her but we did not rape her because she agreed to make love to both of us. The only mistake we did was to record all that transpired,’’ he confessed.

    The commissioner also paraded 45 other suspects for various heinous crimes ranging from armed robbery, murder, stealing, cultism, unlawful possession of fire arms, defilement and internet fraud.

    “On the March 5, we arrested one Friday Odok and Humphrey Nku for allegedly stabbing one Muji Peter to death in Boki Local Government Area after a scuffle ensued over their affairs with women.

    “Also, on March 8, we got a tip-off that some five young men suspected to be yahoo boys were sighted at Itu Street with the intent to commit crime. Our SARS operatives swung into action and the boys were arrested.

    “Between February and now, we have arrested 47 suspects for various heinous crimes in the state. We recovered 18 firearms from them,’’ he said.

    He called on members of the public to always avail the command with useful information that would lead to the arrest of suspected criminals in their respective areas,’’ he said.

     

  • Cross River donates to Cameroonian refugees

    Cross River donates to Cameroonian refugees

     

    The Cross River government has provided food and non-food materials to over 3,500 Southern Cameroonian refugees camping in Boki local government area of the state.

    Items include, rice, plantain, beans, yam, garri, palm oil, cartons of noodles, toiletries, cooking utensils among others.

    Presenting the items on Saturday to the refugees, Managing Director, Cross River Food Bank Commission, Dr Mercy Akpama, said that the gesture was part of the activities to celebrate the 50th birthday of Governor Ben Ayade.

    Akpama said that Gov. Ayade’s administration takes the welfare of residents in the state and those in distress serious.

    She explained that the donation was meant to ameliorate the plight of the refugees.

    “The governor has sent us here to come and donate this food and non-food materials to you. In his vision, he has decided that we come here today and give you this food so that you can also join him in celebrating his birthday.

    “There is no greater pain like depriving a people of their ancestral homes and reducing them to wants in body and soul’’, she said.

    Member representing Boki I state Constituency in the state House of Assembly, Dr Itam Abang, urged the refugees to be law abiding.

    Abang assured them that the state governor was working with the Federal Government and the international community with a view to find a solution to the crisis.

    Director General of Cross River State Emergency Management Agency, Mr John Inaku, told the refugees that the state governor was passionate about their plight.

    “We have your brothers and sisters in other locations as well. These items are for those of you in Boki and I can assure you that the governor will also reach others soon,” he said.

    Mr James Ogar, who spoke on behalf of the refugees, lauded the government and people of the state for their concern.

    He said the gesture was a sign of true love to those in need.

  • Patronize more indigenous companies, NSE urges FG

    Patronize more indigenous companies, NSE urges FG

    The Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, has urged the Federal Government to engage more indigenous companies to execute its projects across the country

    Chairman of the Calabar Branch of the Society, Engr (Dr) Nsed Akonjom, who made the call when a technical team of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing visited Cross River State to inspect interventions on Federal roads in the state, said Nigerian engineers are of the best standard and if the government continued to patronize them, they would keep improving.

    Speaking on the intervention work on the Ikot Okpora/Nyamoyong axis of the Calabar-Ikom Federal Highway, carried out by an indigenous company, Sermatech Nigeria Limited, Akonjom, described the work done as world class.

    He said, “It gives me so much pride that it is being handled by our members and the company, an indigenous one, itself handling the job is doing a good job. It shows that is the way to go. If our government continues to patronize Nigerian engineers, we would do better. This is a learning curve for everybody. Nigerian engineers are up there and I am very proud.

    “Everything here is 100 per cent Nigerian and I am very proud of it and I am happy that the government of President Buhari is looking seriously to make us proud as Nigerian engineers. Even materials are sourced locally. We can see the good quality of job by Sermatech has been excellent.

    “For people who are afraid of Nigerian companies, I would say it is just ignorance Nigerian engineers are well trained and have standards that we adhere to.

    “Nigerian engineers can do the best if we are given the opportunity. We need to be given the opportunity. It is compulsory that any nation that wants to grow must allow their engineers handle their infrastructure.

    “I thank President Buhari for taking the bold step on local content. Except you don’t have such knowledge within the country that you bring from outside, but I can bet you that there is no knowledge in engineering that is not here. We are still producing good engineers in this country. This road by Sermatech is evidence that we are doing well.”

    Engr Desmond Ewa who spoke for Sermatech, said they had competent hands and that all their workers and materials are sourced locally

    He said they mobilized to site even though they had not been paid yet because they were partners with the Federal Government.

     

     

  • ‘Cross River APC congress a sham’

    ‘Cross River APC congress a sham’

    The special congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River State has continued to generate ripples.

    One of the candidates, Dr Matthew Achigbe, has described the exercise as a sham.

    Achigbe, who addressed reporters in Calabar yesterday, rejected the outcome of the congress, with Mr Godwin Etim John, winning with 56 votes.

    He said that suspended members of the party voted in the election in defiance of the party’s constitution.

    ”The notice of the congress was short of the prescription of Section 85 (1) of the electoral act (2010 as amended) which stipulates that at least 21 days be given to INEC of the party’s intention to hold its congress, but which in this case no notice was given at all, and for the Cross River State APC less than three days notice thus leading to the harried selling, completion and submission of forms up to and until the commencement of the congress.

    ”The Ccongress defied Article 25(iv) of the APC Constitution which states that at least 14 days notice be given to each level of the party of its intention to hold congress but for which no notice was given in the instant case.

    ”That over 980 delegates (five from each ward) of the 196 council wards were disenfranchised from participating in the election of the state party which not only denied them their right to vote but their civic responsibility resulting in the congress being short of the stipulated minimum of a third of the appropriate quorum and very unfair deal to the hundreds of thousands of anxious party members to vote for a credible person in a critical congress.”

    Also, a chieftain of the APC in the state, Mr Ernets Irek, who also described the congress as an illegality, said they had lost confidence in the national chairman of the party, John Oyegun.

    ”We don’t have any confidence in the national chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun. We have lost confidence in him because he has refused to do the right thing. With 24 states in our kitty, if we are not careful, we may not even have 10 states in the next election. The kind of impunity going on is unheard of. It has become so compromised,” Irek said.

    The Chairman of Coalition of APC Support Groups in the state, Comrade Iso Bassey Edim, accused some top officials of the party in the state of working with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government to destroy APC ahead of 2019.

    ”We’re not happy with what happened on Saturday because we can’t support the legalisation of illegality. The constitution is clear on how to conduct party Congress. There was no INEC representation whatsoever. We are made to understand that there’s a sinister plan for those who think they can mortgage APC in the state.

    ”Why did they rush into organising a fire brigade Congress when there’s Congress coming up next month? We’re calling on the National Leader, Bola Tinubu, to come to our rescue because vultures are out to destroy APC. While we want to takeover the state from PDP some people are working to destroying the party,” he said.

  • Cross River APC crisis deepens

    Cross River APC crisis deepens

    The crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River State seems to be deepening.

    National Vice Chairman, Southsouth, Ntufam Hilliard Eta, has described the special congress to elect a substantive state chairman as null and void.

    At a special congress conducted by the Mohammed Indembawa-led five-man election committee last Saturday in Calabar, Mr Etim John beat Dr Matthew Achigbe, to become chairman.

    But Eta, an indigene of the state, told The Nation that the Acting Chairman, Sir John Ochala, was still in charge.

    Eta said an injunction, which was served on the party, discontinued the exercise.

    He said: “Since a court order has been served, the parties must resort to status quo until the exhaustion of the litigation process regarding the issue in contention. I had instructed the committee based on the court processes served us in Abuja and Calabar, to stop the exercise.

    “As national vice chairman, it is my duty to see to the operations of the party in my zone. On the basis that we are law abiding and cannot go against the law, I hereby nullify the congress.

    “The issue of filling the position of state chairman of the party had been in contention, thus attracting the litigation. Those celebrating such a nullity as a victory have further exhibited their folly of the law and displayed flagrant disregard for court orders.

    ‘’There have again exposed their folly of the law and of due process. It is a caricature of sort that these folks still live with the mentality of their former political platforms.  The national echelon of the party will not condescend to such illegality and constitutional breach of defying a court order.”

  • Cross River partners poultry firm on school feeding programme

    Cross River partners poultry firm on school feeding programme

    Cross River Government says it is partnering Akwa Prime Hatchery and Poultry Ltd. to establish farms in five locations for the National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme ( HGSFP ).

    Mr Gabriel Okulaja, the Special Adviser to the Governor on HGSFP and State Desk Officer, disclosed this in Calabar on Monday, while giving an update on the implementation of the programme in the state.

    Okulaja said this was in line with the local content policy of the programme, stressing that most eggs and chicken currently used by vendors, were brought from outside the state.

    ‘‘In order to meet the local content policy of the programme, we have commenced partnership with Akwa Prime to set up farms in five locations in the three senatorial districts of the state.

    ‘‘Our target is to raise 100,000 broilers between now and July from these locations, so that we can produce eggs and birds for the programme.

    ‘‘Already, the one in Calabar is set to begin production with 30, 000 birds with Akwa prime having cleared the location. Other locations include Akpabuyo, Ikom, Ogoja and Obudu.”

    The special adviser added that the programme had begun to achieve results, especially in the area of increased school pupils’ enrolment.

    ‘‘We have made some progress since the inception of the programme in the state in October 2017.

    ‘‘At the beginning of 2017, the state engaged 1,358 vendors and had 117,750 school pupils.

    ‘‘But presently, as we commenced the second term, the enrolment has increased to 168,069 while 1,963 vendors have been engaged,” he said.

    NAN

  • Cross River State House of Assembly passes N1.3trn budget

    Cross River State House of Assembly passes N1.3trn budget

    The Cross River House of Assembly yesterday passed the 2018 Appropriation Bill of N1.3 trillion presented to it by Governor Ben Ayade.

    The budget, tagged: “Budget of Kinetic Crystallisation”, was presented to the House of Assembly by the governor on November 30, 2017.

    Presenting the report of the budget before the House, Jonas Eteng-Williams, Chairman of Finance and Appropriation Committee, said that the House interfaced with various Ministries, Departments and Agencies before considering the passage of the budget.

    Eteng, said that the MDA’s in the state appeared before the relevant House committees to defend their budget, adding the House was thorough during the budget defence.

    According to Eteng-Williams, the budget was designed by the state governor to promote infrastructural and economic development in the state.

    He said N4.4 billion was budgeted for Carnival Commission for the organisation a successful carnival this year.

    He further said that the sum of N108.5 billion has been estimated for recurrent revenue, and recurrent expenditure (N136.6billion) and personnel cost pegged at N34billion respectively.

    “For rural roads, we have budgeted the sum of N6.7billion to accelerate rural development through provision of basic infrastructure such as roads, portable water, health and others in rural communities.

    “For agriculture, the sum of N10.9billion has also been budgeted for the sector’’, he said.

    Speaking, Mr John Gaul-Lebo, Speaker of the Assembly, thanked members of the committee for a thorough job.

    Gaul-Lebo added that the budget when fully implemented, will accelerate speedy urban and rural development in the state.

    He lauded Ayade for the prompt payment of workers’ salaries and for the numerous political appointments given to the youths in the state.

    “The governor has transformed Cross River from a civil service state to an economic hub. We must all join our hands and give him the necessary support to do more’’, he said.

    The Speaker directed the Clerk of the House, Mr Bassey Ekpenyong, to prepare a clean copy of the budget and send to the governor for his assent