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Tag: David Umahi

  • FG warns contractors over delay on Enugu-Onitsha road project

    FG warns contractors over delay on Enugu-Onitsha road project

    The Federal Government has issued a stern warning to contractors handling the dualization of the 107km Enugu-Onitsha road, citing dissatisfaction with the slow pace of work. 

    The Minister of Works, David Umahi said the project must align with the Renewed Hope administration’s policies on infrastructure development, particularly concerning project speed, quality, and the comfort of road users.

    Umahi gave the directive in Abuja on Thursday 8th August 2024 during a meeting with the management of MTN Nigeria, the funder of road construction under the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme, representatives of the Enugu State Government, and the two contractors handling the project, Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) Ltd and Nigercat Ltd.

    The Minister, who maintained that the delays in the project were not due to funding issues but rather a lack of execution on the part of the contractors, expressed disappointment over the current condition of the road and criticized the contractors for their lack of commitment and insensitivity to the plight of road users.

    Read Also: FG warns contractors over delays in Enugu-Onitsha road project

    He said, “The MTN has engaged the subcontractors, two subcontractors, RCC Ltd and Nigercat Ltd. The first time I supervised that project, I discovered that the Nigercat section where we have a binder course had failed. 

    “I directed that the binder course must be scarified and reinstated, and I knew it was inherited. I want to believe that it has been done.

    “Let me express my disappointment over the slow pace of work on that project. It’s one of the worst roads in this country. 

    “Everywhere we have diversion; diverting from the one that RCC and the Nigercat had completed, the contractors are not kind enough to even put stone based on the diversion points. 

    “So, by the reason of the launching of our ‘Operation Free our Roads,’ it is now a violation of the policy on the side of the controllers and directors of the Federal Ministry of Works where we have vehicles falling on any project that is ongoing or where there are potholes on our roads.” 

    Umahi recounted a recent inspection of the road alongside the Governor of Enugu State, where they witnessed firsthand the severe traffic congestion and discomfort faced by road users, particularly at the Abakpa section, where RCC Ltd had blocked off part of the road to lay binder, forcing all traffic onto a poorly maintained single carriageway. 

    “I have continued to say that Nigerians should not be suffering while contractors are building roads for our people. It does not happen in any other country, the way it happens in Nigeria. 

    “The public must know that the President’s intention is not for them to suffer while trying to fix the roads, and it is their right to insist that contractors should fix the roads that they are engaged on. 

    “Most of the time, contractors bring very serious nuisances, hardships, and pains to the public, and they don’t care.”

  • Umahi consoles Ganduje over death of mother-in-law

    Umahi consoles Ganduje over death of mother-in-law

    The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has offered condolences to the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, encouraging him to find solace in the enduring lessons and cherished memories left behind by his late mother-in-law, Hajiya Asiya Muhammad Gauyama, for her family, community, and humanity.

    Umahi, in a condolence message, while commiserating with Ganduje on Tuesday expressed grief over the passing of Hajiya Gauyama which occurred on 24th July 2024, noting that the death of a loved one no doubt creates an irreplaceable vacuum in the hearts of the bereaved.

    Read Also: Umahi preaches sacrifice, unity

    “I urge you, therefore, to take solace in the knowledge that your late mother-in-law left good memories of great moral values of fairness and forgiveness in her interpersonal relations, sportsmanship and gratitude in her endeavours, patience, and understanding in her aspirations, affection for unity and progress of her community as well as compassion for the cause of humanity.

    “I pray God Almighty to give you and the bereaved family, the fortitude to bear the loss and grant her eternal repose,” the Minister said.

  • Fed Govt sets next year to complete Abuja- Kaduna-Katsina-Kano roads

    Fed Govt sets next year to complete Abuja- Kaduna-Katsina-Kano roads

    The Federal Government is determined to complete the ongoing Abuja-Kaduna-Kastina-Kano highway next year, Works Minister David Umahi has said.

    The minister said in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda’s focus on revitalising the country’s economy through robust road infrastructure, President Bola Tinubu had instructed him to develop a programme aimed at completing the project within next year.

    Umahi announced this when Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani visited him at his office on Tuesday in Abuja.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media, Uchenna Orji, the minister said the ongoing project was inherited from the past administration.

    “We are going to have the first section of 38 kilometres by two (which is 76 kilometres) done by Dangote Group of Companies on Tax Credit and it’s going to use concrete to do it.

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    “We will allow the next 82 kilometres for Julius Berger to handle; then, the last 20 kilometres by two (which is 40 kilometres) for BUA to handle and to also use concrete to do that. I can assure you that the job will start in these three sections within this month of May,” he said.

    Umahi also reaffirmed the Federal Government’s dedication to the Sokoto-Badagry highway project, saying President Tinubu had instructed that the design phase be fast-tracked with utmost urgency and expedited action.

    “The design of the highway is being handled with dispatch by the Federal Ministry of Works and the project would cover the old African trade route of Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos states, connecting to Badagry,” he added.  

    According to him, a proposal is being considered to link the Southeast to the North through the Trans-Sahara Highway that would pass through Benue, Kogi, and Nasarawa states and end in Abuja.

    The minister hailed Sani for the peace and development in Kaduna State under his administration, despite inherent challenges.

    He prayed for the governor to record more successes as he piloted the affairs of the state.

    Sani lauded President Tinubu’s visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to transforming Nigeria’s road infrastructure, which he acknowledged as a critical catalyst for the nation’s socio-economic growth and development.

    The governor also hailed Umahi for his dedication and impactful leadership, which has transformed the nation’s road infrastructure landscape, marking a new era of progress and improvement.

    He said: “I have to commend him for his effort. Since his assumption to office, he has made us proud. This is because he has done extremely well and because he has been able to follow the blueprint of our President who has promised everyone when he was elected that he would take development to every part of Nigeria, irrespective of those that elected him or not. Of course, that is the agenda; that is the Renewed Hope.

    “Today, we are proud to say that development is reaching everywhere in Nigeria.”

    Sani also applauded President Tinubu’s visionary initiatives, including the Lagos-Calabar and Sokoto-Badagry road projects.

    The governor noted that the projects would boost the country’s socio-economic prospects upon completion.

  • Before Minister David Umahi causes turmoil in Lagos

    Before Minister David Umahi causes turmoil in Lagos

    “The redesign of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway’s original route, which initially included Water Corporation Road but now incorporates the coastal path affecting establishments like Landmark Beach Resort, is necessary to avoid demolishing the extensive infrastructure developed by original planners” – Minister Dave Umahi, probably, cleverly rationalising for ethnic purposes.

    David Nweze Umahi, Senator of the Federal Republic and former Governor of Ebonyi State, is no placeholder in the Tinubu Federal Executive council. A professional Engineer, and politician, who left an impressive record as governor of Ebonyi state, he is, everything considered, a star performer. What with the incredible road infrastructure he is building across the country?

    The Lagos – Calabar coastal highway, for instance,  ranks as a signature project of the Tinubu administration, one which is hoped would be completed on schedule, unlike the East – West road which, though started as far back  as 2006, is still ongoing with no known  completion date as  some politicians in that part of the country have turned it to a sinkhole for fraudulent personal enrichment.

    With regards to the Lagos – Calabar coastal road, a truly profound civil engineering project, however, I hasten to warn that the minister would have to be extra careful not to allow matters of consanguinity mar his impressive performance to date.

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    To help him rethink and maintain his credibility, I present below the views of a concerned Nigerian who believes that unlike the late Professor Dora Akunyili, of blessed memory, who worked her heart out  battling her own Igbo compatriots who thought nothing of inundating the country with beautifully packaged, but fake drugs from Asia, Engr Umahi already appears to be falling  prey to ethnic chauvinism.

    He seems  determined, it is alleged, to protect his compatriots who habitually  disobey land laws all over the country, especially in Lagos and the Federal capital territory, Abuja.

    Please come with me as I present the piece, captioned as in the article’s title above. It reads as follows:

    “The Minister of Works can be forgiven if he does not understand the history of the Yorubas of South West Nigeria. The children of Oduduwa who all migrated from Ile- Ife in addition to spreading into the thick forests, also ventured into the riverine areas spreading from Lagos through the Ogun waterside into Ilaje Ese Odo in Ondo state, just like their cousins- the itshekiri, into Warri.

    These places have for centuries been, and remain, their ancestral homes. This is a known fact  to all those who respect Yoruba history and their norms and culture. 

    In the wake of the announcement of the  Lagos – Calabar coastal road, Nigerians except, of course political opposition,  jumped up for joy at another President Tinubu’s masterpiece which is primed to open up the coastal economy. Afterall, he had himself, over 20years ago, as Lagos state governor, acquired the right of way for the road –  a road which his  government would most probably have  constructed but for  President Obasanjo’s antagonism to anything Tinubu.

    That right of way was dutifully marked and announced via newspaper adverts and handed over to the minister by the authorities in Lagos. However, rather than work with that, the  minister and his ministry birthed the present, absolutely unnecessary confusion.

    For decades, Lagos State did not issue certificate of occupancy and building approval to anyone to build on the right of way. Issues were, instead, simple and straightforward. But now, some chronic abusers of land laws who did not obey the right of way must have cried to the minister who then started shifting, and shifting, to save those who have built on the right of way – a shift that has started to cause massive confusion.

    Suddenly, he announced that there is a January 2024 Supreme Court judgement that granted the Federal Government a 250m right of way as if life and people did not exist on the shorelines before January 2024.  Pronto, he further announced that he has appropriated 200m of the 250m on the shoreline. Indeed, the shoreline of today was about 1km into the sea a couple of years back.

    Pray, the total extent and lay – back of the coastal road he plans to build is only 100m. What  then does he need the additional 100m he wishes to forcefully acquire from the Lukmans, the Ajayi’s and the other indigenous peoples for?

    The indigenous communities are willing, and prepared to hand him the 100m he needs but, no, minister Umahi must take everything.

    If this is not injustice,  what is?

    He said he was realigning the road to the shoreline and that he would take 200m, depriving over 75,000 indigenous Yoruba land and home owners of their ancestral land and homes. If he is interested in protecting the property of those who did not obey existing laws,  should this be at the expense of the ever considerate and accommodating indigenous community who offered him 100m for his road and rail? Must he set sight on the lush coastland on which some money miss road elite would then come round to build marinas? Or is he saying that the indigenous peoples should now relocate right into the Atlantic ocean? Can he ever attempt to do this  in the Niger- Delta area?

    To make matters worse, the minister announced on Friday 19th April, at a Press conference, that he would not pay compensation for 250m of the shoreline, meaning that  the indigenous communities at Alpha Shoreline, Lafiaji( Oceanbay) shoreline, Okun Ajah, Iwereko and others, should go and hang? 

    Is leadership not about compassion and care for the poor?

    A leader must know that it’s not everything that is legal that is moral.

    I call on Minister Umahi to allow the poor of our shorelines to breathe. Their land is not available to be shared by the rich.  He should, therefore, take 100m for the road and rail line  as it is in the alignment and drawings, and not an inch more!

    The poor in those areas are also Nigerians. Indeed to make matters worse,  in  places like Landmark, and other  areas where the rich  live,  the minister is, inexplainably, taking only 50m.

    So why is 100m not enough for him where the poor live, if the objective is not to forcefully, and arrogantly, appropriate the lands and homes of the poor?

    I know that this decision will, and should, not stand

    because the President is a compassionate leader who has demonstrated this again and again. Minister Umahi should build his coastal road but he should not appropriate the land of the poor. We will never stop shouting about this, and soon enough, he may be receiving summons from the courts, if he does not change his mind on the  issue.

    When Ashiwaju Tinubu built the Eko Atlantic, the precursor to the present coastal road, not a single citizen lost a single centimeter of shoreline land. Rather, the Atlantic was tamed, and all that was stolen by the sea for over 100years were recovered.

    One can only hope that this is not a coy attempt to turn  coastal Yorubas against President Tinubu , especially in Lagos state. To deprive ordinary citizens of their ancentral land, in what looks like a twentieth century land grab can,  definitely, not be the President’s intent in conceiving this masterpiece of a road. The Minister, should  kindly release the lands of the people of the Lafiaji( Oceanbay) beach, the Alpha Beech, the Okun Ajah beach,  the Iwerekun coastal areas etc.

    He needs 100m for the road and that he will have!”

    I believe there are enough facts here for the minister to ponder afresh and make necessary adjustments as the Tinubu government is known to have done in instances where Nigerians have voiced objections. It is statesmanship, not weakness.

  • Southeast governors: IPOB unfit to issue travel ban

    EBONYI State Governor and Chairman of the Southeast Governors’ Forum (SGF) Dave Umahi has ruled out the possibility of governors in the region apologizing to the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).

    Umahi’s foreclosure, on Thursday, was the direct response to IPOB’s demand for an open from the governors. He spoke with reporters at the State House in Abuja after meeting with President Muhamadu Buhari.

    He said the out-lawed IPOB lacked the power to issue travel ban to the Southeast governors and other top politicians from the zone.

    Noting that the governors did not proscribe IPOB because it did not have the power to do so, he said that it was the Federal Government that proscribed the group.

    He stressed that the group often made empty threats and that no responsible government would allow a proscribed group to promote lawlessness.

    The governor promised to notify the group any time he plans to travel out of Nigeria.

    According to him, it was too early for him and his colleagues from the Southeast to start talking of whatever ambitions they may have on who succeeds President Buhari in 2023.

    This, he said, would amount to insulting the occupier of the seat, who has spent less than a year in his second term of office.

    On his mission to the Villa, Umahi said he came to see the President to thank him for closing the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, for urgent repairs.

    He, however, demanded that it should be done with emergency funding intervention rather than relying on budgetary provisions.

    Noting that the Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, being the alternative airport, would encounter come security challenges, Umahi said efforts would be made with the Federal Government to secure the adjoining roads to the airport across the region.

    Umahi said that governors had not been sleeping over the region’s security challenges, adding that they have been mature and circumspect in their utterances in other not to exacerbate the situation.

    Read Also: Buhari has nothing to do with IPOB in Japan

    Stressing that not all security issues are made public, he recalled the Southeast governors ban on the movement of cattle on foot across the region by herdsmen.

    The governor said Buhari was happy with the meeting and that he sought for the President’s support for the reactivation and eventual passage of the Southeast Development Commission bill in the National Assembly.

    He also sought presidential audience for another enlarged parley that will have in attendance all Southeast governors, other Igbo leaders and groups across board, including religious and traditional rulers, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and others.

    Umahi said: “The mistake people make is that leaders in this country including governors are not supposed to be talking carelessly, security matters are not discussed on the pages of newspapers.

    “But we have to speak out now just to encourage our people let them know that we are doing everything possible to secure their lives. In our states, we have forest guards, vigilance groups, committees from the village level to the community to local government to the state level that interface with any kind of crisis arising from natives to farmers and herdsmen.

    “We have been doing everything possible and that is why you see a lot of calm in our states. But when these herdsmen that are terrorists and foreigners found their ways to the south-east, we started having the real insecurity problem and that is why we have to ban them from coming to the Southeast.

    “This banning of terrorist herdsmen with AK47 is in agreement with traditional herdsmen, they are also not happy with what is happening – going into kidnapping, raping our women and making the farmlands very much insecure and people are afraid of going to farms now and the resultant effect will be catastrophic because traditionally, we are farmers.

    “It’s not as if we have not been doing things, we’ve been doing things but we can’t begin to shout on the pages of newspapers on what we are doing about security.”

    On the alleged travel ban IPOB placed governors and political leaders in the Southeast, Umahi said: “Well it is the price of leadership and the price we leaders will have to pay to stabilise the nation.

    “Don’t forget that Southeast has over 12 million people living in the North and we do not need to talk to make IPOB happy to suite their demands just because we want to make them happy.

    “We need to do things as leaders of this country that we safeguard our the North, safeguard the North people that are in South East and then do everything as leaders to ensure that there is peace and unity among us.

    “IPOB said their anger was that we proscribed IPOB, we didn’t have the powers to proscribe IPOB but we have the power to Proscribe the activities of IPOB at the time we did to put the country into one to save the lives of the northern people living in the Southeast and to save the lives of South people living in the north.

    “When the lives of our people are safe, we are very happy. So, their threats and condemnation are the price we need to pay as leaders. The important thing is that we are here to represent our people and our conscience bear us witness that we are doing is what will bring peace to our nation and not what will integrate it.

    “Don’t forget that we are governors of Southeast and if we begin to talk like the youths, people will be very happy with us, especially our people, but the issue is will it guarantee peace of the nation, will it guarantee the safety of our people?”

    On the open letter by IPOB to him and other governors in which the group made some demands for truce, he said: “You see, we are servants of the people, we have no apology to tender because we represent them.

    “There is misinformation because they said we should tender apology for proscribing IPOB we did not proscribed IPOB because we did not have the powers. But it was within our powers to say you have to stop the activities because you are trying to endanger the visitors to south east and endanger our people in the north.

    “We had to do that and we don’t have apologies to offer for doing that and we also refuse to discuss the merits and demerits of our actions on the pages of newspapers. As leaders like I said you have to be economical with the way you speak so that you will continue to preserve the unity of this country.”

    On how the President responded, the governor said:  “The President is well disposed to the request we made to him and I am sure he is going to meet our demands. Don’t forget that the last time we came we made a demand for accelerated process of awarding the Second Niger Bridge and that Mr. President granted.

    “I think the second Niger Bridge is the fastest in terms of progress amongst Mr. President’s projects.”

     

     

     

  • Governors plan relief for travellers as Enugu airport is shut

    SOUTHEAST governors have initiated relief measures to soften the pains for travelers as a result of the closure of the Akanu Ibiam Airport in Enugu for runway repairs.

    The governors will meet tomorrow to fine-tune the plans, Enugu and Ebonyi State Governments said yesterday.

    Some of the measures partly unfolded include giving security cover and transportation to people flying into the region through the Oerri airport and the Asaba Airport.

    Enugu State Government, according to a statement by Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Simon Uchenna Ortuanya, said: “Following the closure of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu for repairs, Enugu State Government is deeply concerned about the plight of air travelers from the state, who have to travel through Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, Imo State and Asaba Airport, Delta State to get to their various destinations.

    “The state government is specifically concerned about the challenges of transportation and security the air passengers will face.

    “In the light of the above, the governors will meet on Saturday, August 31, 2019, to among other issues, deliberate on the challenges and come up with a regional plan to be adopted.

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    “After the meeting, Enugu State government will announce its palliative measures and strategies to cushion the effect of the challenges on the air travelers.”

    The Ebonyi State Government said in addition to the security escorts it will provide free transport services and accommodation for its citizens in Owerri, the Imo state capital.

    It, however, called on indigenes of the state to reduce their trips, pending the completion of the renovation of the Enugu Airport.

    A statement issued by the Secretary to the Ebonyi State Government, Kenneth Ugbala, urged indigenes to be security conscious while traveling until all the palliative measures have been put in place within two weeks.

    The government urged its citizens to route their air travels to the alternative airport in Owerri, Imo State pending the completion of the renovation of Enugu Airport.

    The statement said:  “Ebonyi State Government under the leadership of Governor David Nweze Umahi, has expressed great concern over the safety of Ebonyi citizens and visitors to the state following the closure of the Akanu Ibiam International airport, Enugu.

    “Government also calls on her citizens to minimize the rate of traveling as much as possible within this period and being security conscious while traveling until all these palliative measures are put in place within two weeks from now”.

    “Following this closure and its attendant challenges on air travelers from Ebonyi State, the state government is making the following palliative measures for her citizens as long as the renovation works last.”

  • PDP chief: Nnamdi Kanu a coward

    A People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain has described threats by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, to attack Southeast governors as cowardly and an act of desperation.

    PDP Chairman in Ebonyi State Onyekachi Nwebonyi, in a statement on Monday, said Kanu was not a freedom fighter but a businessman out to make money from Igbo politicians and businessmen.

    He said real freedom fighters don’t run away but stay and fight to achieve their aim.

    The statement reads: “The threat by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to attack governors of the Southeast, and particularly Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi, whenever they travel abroad is punk and cowardly.

    “It is a threat out of desperation by people who thought they could use the Biafra agenda for self enrichment. Unfortunately, the shenanigan did not pay off on the home front, though the Igbo in the Diaspora fall prey.

    “IPOB is not fighting for the actualisation of Biafra and the name of the organisation suggests no such objective. Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the group, is just out to make money from Igbo politicians and businessmen. He had thought he would get the governors and other politicians in the Southeast to fund his activities but that was not happening. His recent approach of attacking Igbo politicians who travel abroad arose from that unmet expectation.

    “He is not genuine in his agitation. There are valiant men at home who could support him if he is genuine, but he chose to rely on miscreants whom he can easily deceive. If Nnamdi Kanu is a genuine freedom fighter, he should have taken a cue from notable freedom fighters, some of who paid the supreme price for their cause. Kanu should have stayed back to press home his demand for the emancipation of the marginalised people of Biafra. That is why I call him a coward. He should also remember that Igbo are not the only people of Biafra.

    “And again, mentioning the governor of Ebonyi State for attack abroad shows that what the group wants is far from the emancipation of Igbo people. It is laughable that instead of Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB to direct their vengeance of the Operation Python Dance 2 towards President Muhammadu Buhari and the Army, they ungratefully and cowardly chose to attack the very persons who ensured Kanu was released from prison. That is really cowardly and barbaric.

    “Governor Umahi does not junket foreign lands ignoring his people. The transformation he has given Ebonyi State clearly shows that if all the governors of the Southeast had acted in the same way over the years, the region would have been a destination of some sort by now.”

    The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council (ONYC) says IPOB has lost the Igbo consciousness.

    Read Also: Nnamdi Kanu: A continuing tragedy

    It said IPOB’s bid to have a candidate from Northeast win the 2019 presidential election, which was not met, emboldened its anger against Igbo governors.

    A statement yesterday by Ohanaeze’s Deputy President-General Obinna Achionye, reads: “Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide will expose all the commercial activities of IPOB, as it has done more damage to Ndigbo than it appears to salvage the situation the Igbo currently find themselves since 2015.

    “IPOB lost Igbo consciousness before the 2019 elections as it was doing the political bid of politicians outside Igbo land, which they started with a Northeast presidential candidate. IPOB’s popularity before the 2019 elections waned when it destroyed its members’ Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) and plotted the fall of Governors David Umahi, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Okezie Ikpeazu.

    “We urge the Southeast governors to disregard any kangaroo committee set up to interface between them and the IPOB. There is no reason for a backyard settlement until IPOB openly apologises to Ndigbo.

    “When the Southeast governors called its bluff over its antics, IPOB connived with enemies of Igbo to stage a failed revolution protest which was unsuccessful in the region. Now, they have resorted to a violent approach to do the bidding of a presidential hopeful from outside Igboland to bring down all presidential hopefuls in Igboland ahead of 2023.

    “We know how a former minister from Anambra State persuaded a northern presidential candidate to use IPOB’s nuisance to hoodwink Igbo into voting for the politician after visiting Nnamdi Kanu in Israel. Nevertheless, we urge Southeast governors not to negotiate with Nnamdi Kanu. Their blackmail and settlement strategies are dead on arrival.”

  • Xenophobia: Umahi petitions South African High Commissioner over death of kinsman

    Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi has expressed great sadness over the gruesome murder of a Nigerian citizen who also hails from Ebonyi State, Mr. Benjamin Simeon in South Africa.

    Governor Umahi according to a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Emmanuel Uzor also sent a strong worded petition to the South African High Commissioner.

    The Governor is requesting for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the gruesome murder of Benjamin Simeon, a native of Okposi in Ohaozara local government area of Ebonyi State.

    Mr Simeon, according to the statement, was allegedly shot by yet to be identified gunmen on the 3rd of August, 2019 at Verona Street in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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    The deceased, Mr. Benjamin Simeon was until his death a law abiding Nigerian citizen resident in South Africa where he was going about his normal business as a taxi driver.

    According to the state government, he had dropped his passengers shortly before he was shot dead by his assailants.

    Governor Umahi was quoted to have called the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha requesting him to intervene in the matter to ensure that the South African envoy acts on the petition and the urgent need to investigate and bring the perpetrators to book.

    Umahi said the murder of the 43-year-old indigene of Ebonyi State had thrown the state into mourning, while pleading that he must not die in vain.

    Part of the statement released by Uzor read  “unraveling the circumstances surrounding this heinous murder of Simeon presents to the fore, the need for the South African government to undertake requisite thoroughness and transparency to ensure that justice is served to the Nigerian government, Ebonyi State and the family of the deceased”

    He further said “the loss of a highly talented and law abiding citizen of Nigeria who was going about his legitimate business in South Africa aptly challenges us all to call on the reserves of our cherished African brotherhood.

    “In the face of the foregoing, the least that can be done for him and his family now is to prove that he did not die in vain by vigorously probing his murder and ensuring that the killers face justice”

     

     

  • Umahi suspends teachers’ postings in Ebonyi

    Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State  on Wednesday suspended teachers’ postings in the state especially at the Local Government level.

    Umahi made the disclosure on Wednesday in Abakaliki while swearing-in the newly constituted board of the state Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB).

    The governor said that the move was inevitable as councils in the state were presently autonomous which made the government to devise ways of handling the present situation.

    “Posting of teachers from one local government to another will mean additional funding by such council,” he said.

    He also announced that a comprehensive re-auditing of all workers in the state would be effected before Aug. 6.

    “This exercise will be carried out in one day as the state Head of Service and relevant permanent secretaries will distribute forms to be filled by the various office heads.

    Read Also: Breaking: Umahi swears in new Acting Chief Judge

    “These heads will attest that should any information they provide be wrong, they will be sacked without benefits.

    “I don’t know why since 2015, salaries and pensions are increasing while more teachers cannot be employed.

    “We will after the exercise, allow each LGA to employ teachers based on the allocation given to them as I don’t know why salaries and pensions should increase at the same time,” he said.

    Umahi charged the new board to improve on the repositioned basic education in the state as he was not satisfied with the performance of the previous board.

    “It seemed the members did not understand their job schedule and if I see children loitering or teachers absent from schools, the UBEB member from the affected area will be sacked,” he said.

    Mr Cletus Ofoke, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state said that the board members were seasoned educationists and administrators who could be trusted to reposition basic education in the state.

    “The members’ appointment is in pursuant to section 4 sub section 1 of the UBEB law 2019 and they have been dully screened and cleared by the Ebonyi House of Assembly.

    Chief Hyacinth Ikpor, re-appointed Chairman of the Board thanked the governor for appointing them into the board and pledged to justify the confidence reposed in them.

    NAN

  • Governors row over Ruga

    Controversy continued to rage on Sunday on the suspended Cattle Settlemen (Ruga) policy.

    The position of two governors in the North – Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara)  – contradicted that of their colleagues in the Southeast.

    Sule and Matawalle said there was no going back on the implementation of the controversial policy in their states. Their Southeast counterparts foreclosed the implementation of cattle settlements in their states.  They spoke through the Chairman of the Southeast Governors’ Forum (SGF), David Umahi, who doubles as Ebonyi State governor.

    The Southeast governors reiterated their stand not to yield any land in their states for the Ruga programme.

    According to them, in response to the emerging security challenges, they have decided to set up both a committee and a centre for Southeast Integrated Monitoring/Intelligence Gathering to be centrally located in Enugu.

    The governors, whose decisions were articulated in a communiqué read by Umahi,  said they would establish forest guards in each state of the zone and roads cleared up to 50 metres into the bush to have a clear view of roads ahead.

    According to them, the security committee will also address the safety of fuel pipeline route to Enugu depot to ensure that pumping of petroleum products in Enugu depot resumes in the shortest possible time.

    The governors discussed the comparative advantages of agriculture and its attendant benefits to the region.

    They said: “The forum therefore resolved to pool funds together to fund our people who are interested in rice, cassava, cow rearing, piggery, goat rearing, poultry, fishery and some other cash crops permitted by our soil.”

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    On the status of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu, the governors commended their Enugu State counterpart, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, for his numerous interventions in addressing concerns raised by FAAN and in ensuring that the airport is functional.

    They, however, decried the deplorable state of the airport’s runway and pleaded with the Federal Government to consider their request for the reconstruction of the runway.

    “While calling on the Federal Government to take more meaningful action on Enugu-Onitsha Road, Enugu-Port Harcourt Road, Owerri-Onitsha Road, Okigwe-Owerri Road and Owerri-Umuahia Road, at the same time, we commend the Federal Government for the steady progress on the second Niger Bridge project”, the governors said.

    In Nasarawa, the governor insisted that the state government will continue with the implementation of the project.

    He spoke on Sunday while hosting the leadership of Fulani residents in the state to appreciate the governor’s efforts to sustain the peaceful atmosphere being experienced in the state between herders and farmers.

    Sule said: “The Ruga Settlement Project was not brought to the state by anybody. But in my quest at searching for means that could bring a lasting peace in the state, I personally went to the federal Ministry of Agriculture and understudy the pros and cons of the project where I discovered some substantial benefits derivable from it when I subsequently demanded that it should be established in Nasarawa State.

    “It was after understanding the benefits that Ruga settlement would bring to the state that I summoned traditional rulers of the state to discuss the issue which the traditional rulers in their unanimous decision assented to the programme. We in Nasarawa State are going ahead with the Ruga project as an experiment for other states of the federation to emulate.”

    Speaking, the Sarkin Fulani of Nasarawa State, Senator Walid Jibrin, said that the Fulani were in full support of Ruga Settlement Project which is; embraced by the government of Nasarawa State in order to mitigate the persistent conflicts between herdsmen and farmers.

    Jibrin, who doubles as Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), however, begged other ethnic groups, especially Igbo and Yoruba, to give the Ruga Settlement Project a chance.

    Matawalle insisted on going ahead with the project in Zamfara.

    He told State House reporters after the Presidential Policy Retreat at the Presidential Villa, Abuja: “In Zamfara, we will adopt Ruga in our strategy to address the herders/farmers crisis; it is a developmental project on ranch and we are ready for it.”

    His Plateau counterpart, Simon Lalong, identified tackling insecurity as the most important thing he took away from the retreat.

    Lalong said: “I had mentioned here that when I was elected as the chairman of Northern Governors’ Forum, I said my priority is security. So, part of what we discussed at the retreat is how to tackle insecurity as presented by the Inspector-General (IG), Mohammed Adamu.

    “The second aspect is education. We mentioned to the President the Almajiri system. So, these were the things that all of us have taken in and, very soon, I will convene the northern summit for us to collectively discuss because at the Northern Governors Forum I have already set up a committee chaired by the governor of Katsina to look at generally insecurity in the North.”