The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Dave Umahi

  • FEC approves over ₦740b for major road projects

    FEC approves over ₦740b for major road projects

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved a number of high-profile road projects, including ₦740 billion for the Berger stretch of the Abuja-Kano route.

    The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, disclosed this to journalists at the State House, Abuja, after the Council meeting, which was presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. 

    He clarified the government’s approach to managing the extensive backlog of infrastructure projects.

    Among the key decisions, the FEC announced that the Shagamu-Benin road is undergoing a critical rehabilitation, while procurement processes are being finalized for its full reconstruction using reinforced concrete pavement. 

    He said the  Abuja-Kano road, previously slated for a tax credit arrangement, will now be procured without such a provision, with the 162-kilometer Berger section already approved for ₦740 billion.

    Umahi highlighted several other projects, including the commencement of construction on the Sokoto-Badagry road, with the Sokoto section to be flagged off imminently. 

    Additionally, he said works on the Oyo-Ogbomosho road, a project stalled for 18 years, will resume, and the Makurdi-Katsina-Ala road will undergo significant repairs.

    According to him, FEC also tackled the inherited debt profile of ₦1.6 trillion tied to 2,604 projects, with a total contract value of ₦13 trillion. 

    To manage the backlog, he said the Ministry of Works has initiated a phased approach to project completion based on available funding. 

    Key examples include the phasing of the Biu-Kangiwa-Kamba-Kaya Niger Republic road in Kebbi State, the Yola-Hong-Mubi road in Adamawa State, and the Kachako-Dambazua road in Kano State.

    The council further approved advanced payment mechanisms to combat inflation and rising costs driven by fluctuating exchange rates and petroleum prices.

    “And finally, we presented a memo to FEC that where there is proof of funds, there is available funds, the Procurement Act allows MDAs to pay a maximum of 30% advance payments. And let me emphasise that this advanced payment. When you read the law, it say may pay. 

    “And so when people are giving contracts and they don’t mobilize, and they said, I’ve not paid mobilization, it is not legally binding, because the word says may pay. And so some people turn it shall pay. So no, it’s may pay. 

    Read Also: Road Projects: Ideato North and South stakeholders commend Uzodinma

    “So where we have funds, and they will have a valuable fund beyond this 30% so what we are, you know, we requested from FEC is approved, that we first pay 30% which is the Procurement Act, and not more, and then when the contractor has started work, and to the satisfaction of the Ministry of works, we should be allowed to pay additional funds. 

    “Yes, the law allows us to pay in terms of you know, materials on site. But we are asking beyond that, what is the essence of this? Is to mitigate a lot of fluctuation and inflation, because we have a lot of you know, indices that affect the ministry of works like the petroleum you know it affects it. 

    “You know the dollar exchange rate also affects so we are doing everything to manage the resources within the available funds so that we mitigate inflation,” he added.

    Also speaking to journalists at the briefing, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, disclosed that President Tinubu spoke about seeing to conversion of most fuel stations across the country to CNG dispensing stations, where you can also get conversion kits. 

    According to him, Nigeria has turned to the use of the alternative fuel, adding that it is cheaper, safer and is aimed at reaching all parts of the country. 

    “Today at the Federal Executive Council, the President has given a charge, through the Minister of Information, on CNG. We are well aware that the President set up a Presidential Committee on the CNG to drive the CNG project, as a minister who has been supervising what has been going on there, and it is left for us to inform the general public that CNG has come to stay, and we have to follow that route because CNG is safe, cheaper, and protect the environment. 

    “So today, the President has talked about ensuring that most of the filling stations across the country are converted into CNG stations, where you have the conversion kits, so that people can convert their vehicle to CNG. 

    “It is important to note that when you are using CNG, you save a lot of money, a liter of fuel that can go for N1000, with CNG, you get it at N200, which saves you N800 and I believe, with the passion of Mr. President, the push that he has given to us we’ll try as much as possible to drive the CNG programme to reach all the nooks and crannies of this country, so that we will take advantage of the natural resources, gas, that God has endowed us”, Ekpo said. 

    Also, the FEC has approved the printing of 1 million science textbooks for distribution to secondary schools across the country.

    The approval was granted following a memo presented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, on behalf of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF). 

    He said the programme targets areas where Nigerians have deficiencies, including physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and computer science. 

    This initiative seeks to bridge the gap and enable Nigeria to match up with the rest of the world in technological and engineering development.

    He also said the textbooks will be distributed to 774 local government areas, 104 unity schools, and 122 special schools. 

  • JUST IN: Senate summons Umahi over poor state of old Oyo-Ogbomosho road

    JUST IN: Senate summons Umahi over poor state of old Oyo-Ogbomosho road

    The Senate on Wednesday, October 2, summoned the Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, over the current deplorable condition of the Old Oyo-Ogbomosho road.

    The resolution of the Senate’s consideration of a motion of urgent public importance moved by Senator Buhari Abdulfatai (APC-Oyo-North), who drew his colleagues’ attention to the worsening condition of the road

    Abdulfatai said the road, a major link between the South and the North, had caused untold hardship for travellers, most of whom were frequently stranded due to the poor state of the road.

    Read Also: President Tinubu will reset Nigeria, says Umahi

    For over 10 years after the federal government began major repairs on the road, Senator Buhari said it has remained deplorable, causing regular accidents and daily gridlock by articulated vehicles.

    Umahi is to appear before the Senate Committee on Works  to explain what led to the abandonment of vast portions of the road, many years after the contract was awarded.

    Senators unanimously endorsed the motion.

    Senate President Godswill Akpabio directed the Committee on Works to report back to plenary in three weeks.

  • N870b Abuja-Lokoja- Benin road: Contractors get ultimatum to sign new contract

    N870b Abuja-Lokoja- Benin road: Contractors get ultimatum to sign new contract

    The Federal Government  yesterday gave  the contractors handling the Abuja-Lokoja-Benin highway till today to sign the reviewed N870 billion contract .

    It threatened to stop the contractors  by Monday if they failed to meet the  deadline.

    To show its seriousness, government also directed the audit of the personnel and equipment of the  contractors  handling its projects nationwide  within seven days.

    Works Minister Dave Umahi stated these during a meeting with officials of the Abuja-Lokoja-Benin highway contractors– Mothercat Nigeria Ltd, CCECC, CGC Nigeria Ltd, Reynolds Construction Company (RCC)  and Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Nigeria Ltd–  in Abuja. 

    “The contractors handling the sections of the I-IV of Lokoja-Benin, Obajana-Benin roads in Kogi and Edo states are to immediately sign the new contract as reviewed under the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Tinubu or face the termination of their jobs by the Federal Ministry of Works  in accordance with condition of service, ’’ said Umahi in a statement by his  Media Adviser, Uchenna Orji. 

    Umahi explained  that the contract for the project  which was under the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPCL) Tax Credit Scheme,  expired, thereby necessitating the new contract.

    He listed adherence  to timeline , deployment of  men and equipment on  sections of the road as some conditions that must be met by the contractors before signing  the new agreement.

    The minister said government was  dissatisfied  with the contractors’ repeated delays and non-compliance with the contractual timetable. 

    According to him, most  of contractors who accepted the reviewed  contract and  collected letters of award,  developed cold-feet weeks after.       

    Umahi explained that upon assuming office, he found out that the total contract sum for the highway ,which was N121billion, was reviewed by the last administration to over N870b which he believed was excessive.

    This, according to him,  led to his hesistance  to present the Certificate of No Objections to the Federal Executive Council (FEC).He, however, said that after conducting an inspection   of the road, he found that some sections could not support asphalt overlay.

    Read Also: FG to Abuja-Lokoja-Benin road contractors: Sign contract in two days or forfeit job

    Umahi added that after several months of meetings with the contractors  it was decided that concrete overlay would be used on the new lanes  while asphalt would be used on the other sections.

    This, he explained,  led to the retention of the old cost of over N870b.

    He added: “The arrogance of contractors in the country is annoying, a country where contractors are dictating what happens is insulting.

    “In the Ministry of Works, we have contractors with 17 contracts who have no personnel or equipment to do the job, they are just playing politics and staying on a job for 17 years. That   is what is playing out.

  • Coastal highway: Fed Govt can’t be intimidated, says Umahi

    Coastal highway: Fed Govt can’t be intimidated, says Umahi

    Works Minister Dave Umahi has said nobody can intimidate the Federal Government over the right of way of the Lagos-Calabar highway project.

    Umahi, who spoke on a national television last night, stressed that the Federal Government owns the right of way of the nation’s coastal roads.

    Last month, the minister announced the progress of work on the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project.

    According to him, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the project and it will be completed in sections.

    Umahi said Section One of the Phase One would be from Ahmadu Bello Way on Victoria Island to Lekki Phase 1, being undertaken by Hitech Construction Company.

    The 700-kilometre project will lead to several demolitions along the coastline.

    Read Also; Lagos to London: Foreign airlines slash prices to compete with Air Peace

    One of those to be affected by the demolition is a tourism company, Landmark Group.

    The Lagos State government recently issued a seven-day evacuation and demolition notice of the section of the Beach Resort to make way for the coastal highway was issued to the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Paul Onwuanibe,.

    Parts of the property, including the Beach Resort, Lagos Beach Club, Members Area, Kids and Bay Arena, would be demolished to make room for the road, according to the state government.

    Onwuanibe has threatened to prevent the government from demolishing the affected property.

    But Umahi, who queried the right of occupancy the firm has to the site, said: “Neither the owner nor the firm was even given the right of way. They just took advantage of the available spaces and annexed them to themselves.

    “It must be understood that the coastal corridor, by reason of the Federal Government Act and the recent Supreme Court judgment, belongs to the Federal Government.

    “As it is, the design does not affect the main structure of Landmark Group.

    “I have been told by my Controller (of Works) in Lagos that he (Onwuanibe) was not even given the right, but he just took advantage of the spaces available and he annexed the shoreline.

    “The Federal Government owns the shoreline up to 250 metres of the ocean. So, I wouldn’t know how he got to the place.”

    On why the government did not see the need to stop Landmark earlier, Umahi said: “It is common that people take laws into their hands and take over landed property not belonging to them.

    “The point is: how did he go there? Who gave him the right of way? Instead of him going to the press, the first thing he should have done is to approach the Ministry of Works.

    “I can tell you that I won’t be intimidated,” he said.

    Also, Onwuanibe, who spoke on Arise TV, urged the Federal Government to revert the coastline road’s development to its original alignment before rerouting it to the Landmark beachside path.

    He said: “The original alignment of the coastal road was Water Corporation Road. I mean, you had the picture on your screen, and it actually showed quite clearly the Water Corporation Road, the two feed-in lanes, and then the medium that was meant to house it.

    “Then there’s Landmark, the beach, and the sea. The alignment was changed from Water Corporation Road to run; so instead, if it runs on the land side of Landmark, it’s going to run on the beach side of Landmark.

    “That’s where this issue came up. It’s that the alignment was changed. Our request is simply to go back to the original alignment. There’s nothing wrong with it.

    “What’s going to happen is that it goes back to the Water Corporation and then it’s a win-win for everyone. They’re seeking to put it on the beachfront. Just immediately after Landmark, it turns back and goes back to the original alignment.”

  • FG bans use of laterite in road construction, frowns at contract variation

    FG bans use of laterite in road construction, frowns at contract variation

    The federal government has issued a directive to road construction contractors, instructing them to discontinue the use of laterite as a base in road construction.

    Instead, the base will now consist of lumps, sharp sand, and stone before laying concrete or asphalt pavement on Federal roads.

    The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi gave the order at the inauguration of the committee for the supervision of the reconstruction of Benin-Warri dual carriageway and the dualization of East–West Road, Port Harcourt – Onne Port junction road in River State.

    The Minister also warned that contract variation would no longer be taken with levity at the Ministry.

    In a statement on Friday, October 6, 2023, by Blessing Lere-Adams Director (Information) Press & Public Relations Unit, Federal Ministry of Works (FMW), Umahi noted that laterite has a limited load-bearing capacity, susceptible to erosion and weathering, especially in areas with heavy rainfall and this can lead to degradation of the road surface over time, maintenance challenge and does not last long.

    The statement reads in part: “We are giving very serious attention to the roads between Benin and Warri. The road between Eleme and Onne Port, we are mindful of the site conditions of these roads, the water conditions, and the boreholes instead of potholes on these roads.  No more laterite, contractors are now to use lumps, sharp sand, and stone base in place of laterite”

    Read Also: FG to reconstruct collapsed Enugu bridge – Umahi

    “The Minister directed the newly inaugurated Road Taskforce Team that there must be a continuous maintenance of all the roads under construction until the end of the project and should make sure that the contractors are duly informed of the development, and that they should remember that the ministry is under the matching order given by Mr. President to fix Nigerian roads for the citizens to have ease of movement from one location to the other.

    “The committee must implement the contract agreement with maintenance culture as key. Committee members are to monitor the contractors closely to make sure things are done right.  

    “Our contractors can now understand that we are not insisting that things have to change without a reason, but that the society is demanding the sustainability and integrity of the work they are doing”.

    “Umahi disclosed that road infrastructure is one of the key factors for the revolution of our commerce, education, security and power in this country and that Mr. President is committed to our road infrastructure improvement and thus the Ministry is on a mission to uphold the renewed hope agenda of this administration on road infrastructure provision.

    “I want to say that road infrastructure is one of the key factors for the revolution of our commerce, education, security and power in this country and Mr. President is committed to our road infrastructure, so we are on a mission and we must take back our country.

    “The Minister mandated the committee on daily proper supervision and documentation of what the contractors are doing and that they must ensure the new methods of construction are followed including maintenance because it is part of the elements of the project and anything contrary to that attracts punishment.

    “We are not at war with the contractor but contractors should not put the public to suffering. Proper daily supervision and documentation of what the contractor is doing is compulsory. 

    “They must ensure the new method of construction is followed and maintenance follows too because it is part of the elements of the contract and any offence is punishable”

    “Umahi ordered that contracts must be stable; no variation (VOP) on the contract will be accepted. 

    “He charged the contractors using asphalt pavement to ensure that their contracts are stable, sustainable and can stand the test of time and warned that the ministry will not go to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to ask for increment because of the fluctuating price of bitumen, insisting that the ministry will not go beyond the N6 trillion set aside for the completion of the ongoing projects.”

  • Fed Govt needs N217b to complete 269 roads

    Fed Govt needs N217b to complete 269 roads

    The Federal Government needs  N217 billion to complete 269 roads across the country, Works Minister Dave Umahi said yesterday.

    Some of the roads are ongoing, majority of them are stalled for lack of funds to pay contractors to complete them, the minister said.

    He urged the government to raise the ministry’s budgetary allocation, particularly through the intervention and budgetary allocations by the National Assembly.

    The minister spokes of plans to engage the National Assembly to return the over N530 billion meant for roads, which the government used as palliatives to vulnerable Nigerians to cushion the effects petrol subsidy removal and other harsh economic conditions.

    Umahi spoke during a briefing on his vision for the Ministry of Works after an inspection tour of the Southwest, Southeast, Southsouth, parts of the Northcentral the Northwest zones.

    He cautioned contractors on the delivery of substandard roads.

    Read Also: Why president Buhari loves Dave Umahi, by Femi Adesina

    Rating the road projects in the Southwest above average,  Umahi berated the projects implemented in the Northcentral and warned the regional directors, who supervised them.

    According to him, anyone working against the delivery of quality roads and the overall efforts of the government to deliver the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be kicked out of service.

    He said: “The government will not approve any new road project that is not concrete. Unless Mr. President directs, I will not sign any new project without the design being concrete.

    “I was in Benin, Benin to Warri, it was war. They no longer call it pot holes but boreholes. You see where trailers are packed five km on the roads, you see trailers falling, you see people being kidnapped. This is a time for our hopes to be renewed. This is a time to adopt professionalism in our jobs. The construction methods in Nigeria are zero.

    “I am on a mission sent by Asiwaju and God Almighty, and nobody can stop it. Any contractor that defiles this new policy, we will stop the work.

    “Most of the projects must be redesigned on concrete. If you think you are going to use price to frighten me, I have done calculations about the cost of the work,”

    On the average life span of roads in the country, Umahi said: “I travelled to the Southwest, and I am totally unhappy with the ongoing projects there and the supervision. I gave them an 80 per cent pass mark, but not without my reservation about how these projects will last.

    “I have been to parts of the Northcentral, and I am very dissatisfied with the quality of work and supervision offered by the Ministry of Works. I went to Kaduna, and I disagreed with the design of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road; it is an overkill. I want to do from kilometer 0 to 38 with concrete because it is on water level base; if the contractor encourages me, it will happen.

    “There is no project being constructed right now in Nigeria that is going to last for seven years – there is none. The question is…are we just going to be maintaining all and reconstructing our roads after every ten years?

    “That is actually what we have been doing. Between Abuja to Benin, through Lokoja, all the stretches of the roads are on contract and ongoing – a beautiful policy of the last administration. But how much of the routes are motorable?

    “I traveled through that by myself, and I shed tears for the kind of pain our people are passing through; I stayed there for 14 hours.

    “I started by 10 am, and got to Benin at 2pm the next day. I was very happy I experienced the pain. President Tinubu said I must travel through all the projects so that when I brief him, I will tell him the truth. He has seen some of the failed projects, and he is feeling so sad. President Tinubu is a divine President and God is on his side. Those who think they are distracting him are wasting their time.

    “The President gives out a contract and pays and asks the Ministry to supervise, and they fail to do that. If the projects are jacked up beyond the funding capacity of the Federal Government, who are we going to blame?

    “I am not happy with the supervision of our works by the Ministry of Works staff. If a civil servant is in the way of the progress of the government, they should be shown the way out. It is my policy.

    “I have directed that if you are a project manager in any of our contracts, whether you are an expatriate or a Nigerian, you must be registered with COREN, and not less than 15 years of experience in road construction. I am warning the Regional Directors not to fail to carry out this instruction.

    “Why will civil servants, the leaders of the Ministry of Works not compel contractors to maintain the roads?

    “To the foreign contractors, this cannot happen in any of your countries. We are being taken for granted. You believe you are doing us a favour, but you are not doing us a favour. This attitude must stop. We must be respected.

    “One contractor has 27 projects. How will he do it and do it well? I will not cheat the contractors, but contractors will no longer cheat us.”

    On funding and his planned engagement with the National Assembly, Umahi said: “The reason why projects are not completed is because you start a project of N30 billion and you jack it up to N120 billion. It means you are just sharing the profits with the owners.

    “I will engage with the National Assembly. If they want us to continue with the projects, we will continue. But if they are going to bring new projects, then we have to sit down and agree. It means we have to stop the ongoing projects and we face the new ones. I have looked at the 2023 appropriation for the Ministry of Works, and I shedded tears. There’s nothing we can do with it.

    “I know they must do something for their constituencies, but we can put these things in FERMA and then allow real projects in the Ministry of Works to go on. They must also give us emergency money.

    “As we talk now, nine (9) locations in East West road are being threatened. Three bridges, though the road to His, have collapsed. Yesterday two bridges in Enugu collapsed. If you go to Enugu now, the whole town is locked up. If you go to Onitsha, we inspected one when we were there, but today, two have collapsed. It is happening all over. In Lokoja, it is the same thing. That is where Southsouth and South East people, including Dangote Cement pass to Abuja. We are helpless.

    “We have problems with the third mainland bridge in terms of resurfacing the top and remedial works underwater, and there is no money to do it.

    “All the motions for the National Assembly for interventions are there, but there is no money to do it. We have 269 projects costing N217 billion that need immediate attention through the state, but there is no money.

    “We will also be begging the National Assembly to return N530 billion, which the appropriation of 2022 on the ongoing projects, and of course, they had to give it to Mr. President for palliatives, which is very important and very ingenious of Mr. President. But after they have eat, they (the people) have to move.”

  • Umahi endorses Ebonyi Assembly Speaker as successor

    Governor David Umahi has endorsed the Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Francis Nwifuru to succeed him in 2023. Governor Umahi stated this during the internment of the father of the Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Barrister Chioma Nweze, in Okposi on Saturday. He expressed hope that the Speaker would consolidate on the ‘Divine Mandate’ leadership in the State.

    Governor Umahi appealed to the people of Ebonyi South and all Ebonyians to support the candidature of the Speaker for the sake of equity, justice, and fairness. “To Okposi people and people of Ebonyi State, I present to you the choice of the people in the person of the Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonnaya Nwifuru, and I want Ebonyi South people to know that when it was the turn of Ebonyi South, an Abakaliki man was contesting and the Abakaliki people said no, so it is the time to pay them back.

    “I want to assure you that this ‘Divine Mandate’ we came with would continue and when this man comes on board, we would not turn left and right from Divine Mandate, so fear not, there is nobody that is thrown up by God that the people would not criticize. If people do not accept the sacrifices you are making, God will not disregard it. 2023 has to be ticking of the box, it will not be about promises, if you say you will do B, we have to ask you to prove how you will do A. In all honesty, it is my performance and that of others that APC will use to do their campaign.

  • 2019: Coalition backs Odoh, ex-Ebonyi SSG for Governor Election

    A coalition of 10 registered political parties in Ebonyi has endorsed Prof. Bernard Odoh, former Secretary to State Government (SSG) to contest for 2019 governorship election in the state.

    The coalition disclosed this in a 10-point communique read by its state Coordinator, Mr Cletus Ukpabi in Abakaliki on Monday.

    Odoh is among the major contenders for the gubernatorial ticket of the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) for the 2019 governorship election in the state.

    The News men recall that the former SSG, who was appointed by Gov. Dave Umahi on May 29, 2015, resigned his appointment on April 2.

    The group said that its support for Odoh’s emergence as the flag bearer of the APC in the Ebonyi governorship election was predicated on its conviction that he was most qualified among the other aspirants.

    The group said that Odoh‘s political support base spread across a broad spectrum of the electorate, including the academia , youths, artisans, civil servants, pensioners and market women.

    The coalition urged APC to consider the former Nnamdi Azikiwe University lecturer, whom it said possessed the needed intellectual, political and adminon the APC governorship ticket.

    The group said that the political parties in the coalition were aligning with APC to produce the next governor of the state stressing that it had endorsed Odoh as its sole candidate in the election.

    It said the decision to endorse Odoh was reached after the executives and members of the political parties in the alliance voted unanimously to back him for the governorship race as their preferred candidate.

    Read Also: Ebonyi SSG, Prof Odoh resigns

    The group said: “That party executives and members of the coalition, after an exhaustive meeting, resolved to endorse Odoh as our sole candidate and recommend him for APC to consider as its gubernatorial candidate.

    “That a discreet opinion poll conducted on all other aspirants from the various political parties revealed that Odoh has more support base and general acceptability.

    “That based on the general acceptability of Odoh’s candidature by a broad spectrum of the electorate, we have resolved to endorse him as our choice candidate and urge his party to equally endorse him as a preferred choice

    “That coalition of political parties in Ebonyi will have political miscarriage if APC denies Odoh the governorship ticket as their sole candidate for 2019 election.

    “That it is crystal clear from our observation that Odoh remains the most generally acceptable, credible, result-oriented and most qualified aspirant.

    “That we have accessed him as the only credible aspirant in APC that has the capacity to defeat the incumbent Gov. Umahi, in a free and fair election.”

    The group urged eligible voters who were yet to collect their voter cards to go and get them to qualify to vote in the 2019 general elections.

    The News men report that Odoh is from Ebonyi Central Senatorial District where the immediate past Gov. Martin Elechi hails from.

    Odoh will battle Dr Paul Okorie, a two-time commissioner in the state, Sen. Soni Ogbuoji, Dr Edward Nkwegu, and Austine Edeeze among others for the APC governorship ticket for the 2019 election.

    Political parties in the coalition are: African People’s Alliance (APA), Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), National Conscience Party (NCP), Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), and Fresh Democratic Party (FDP).

    Other is; Democratic People’s Party (DPP), New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and the United Democratic Party (UPP).

  • Umahi signs VAPP into law

    Ebonyi State now has the Violence Against Persons Prohibition ( VAPP ) law. Governor Dave Umahi gave his assent on Monday, at a ceremony at the Executive Council chambers in Abakaliki. The ceremony was attended by his wife, Rachael and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly.

    The Speaker, Mr Francis Nwifuru said the law forbids violence against persons, prohibits Female Genital Mutilation ( FGM ) and  protects women against  all manners of violence, including wife battering.

    “The implementation of this law will enable the protection of women and give confidence to women.

    Governor Umahi ordered that copies of the law be distributed to presidents of town unions, local government chairmen and  councillors to help in propagating it in their areas.

    Umahi commended the Speaker and the legislators for making the law. He also commended his wife, Rachael and her team for fighting for the cause of women in the state.

    “Some states have passed VAPP into law to protect rights of Women. Women should know that they are striving to be accorded respect and must shoulder responsibility,” he said.

    Read Also: Umahi orders arrest of policeman over killing of Okada rider

    Mrs Umahi said her pet project; Family Succour and Upliftment Foundation would be launched, along with foreign partners, to enhance development of women.

    “VAPP law will prohibit FGM, rape, abandonment of dependants, child labour, stalking, spouses battering and others.

    “It will be a privilege for women to know who they are with the law backing them,” she said.

    The Chairman, International Federation of Women Lawyers ( FIDA ) Ebonyi chapter and Deputy Head of Chambers, Ms Olivia Okpaleke noted that the law covers all manner of violence against women in the state.

    Okpaleke explained that it was a crime not to report rape cases, adding that anyone found in the act would be prosecuted.

    “This will go long way in addressing all forms of violence against women  in the state, ” Okpaleke said.

    NAN

  • Ebonyi APC reports Umahi to FG

    The Ebonyi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday took the case of the state governor, Dave Umahi, to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, in Abuja.

    They urged the Federal Government to call Umahi to order.

    The Chairman of the state chapter of APC, Rev. Eze Nwachukwu, blamed the security challenges in the state to the governor.

    According to him, the governor has penchant for crushing members of the opposition.

    Umahi, he said, engages in wanton destruction of properties belonging to APC members and also brutalise them.

    He said: “The former Secretary to the State Government who resigned recently confirmed in his resignation letter that the governor has a record of moving against those he is not on the same page with when he said he knew the governor will go after him, his family and friends.”

    He also accused the governor of allegedly hijacking the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programmes in the state.

    He said contrary to Umahi’s public support for President Muhammadu Buhari, the governor is against the President, describing him as a “cancer that must be avoided.”