The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ebonyi

  • Jobs tools for freed inmates in Ebonyi

    Jobs tools for freed inmates in Ebonyi

    Abakaliki Prisons was in the news last month for the wrong reasons when some of its inmates reportedly lost their lives in a foiled jailbreak. But the facility seems to have moved on from the ugly incident as five inmates were released following the completion of their two years jail sentence. They were not just released but also trained in some vocations and given tools to enable them launch their new trades.

    The Ebonyi State Command of Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) at a send forth of the five inmates inside the prison premises handed over to them the workings tools with which they can use to start new businesses in their chosen fields and become useful to themselves as they reunite with their families and the larger society.

    Handing over the tools to the freed inmates in the presence of their family members at the prison yard, the State Comptroller, Mrs Emilia Oputa disclosed that the Command trained them on the skills as part of its core mandate.

    Five of them, all married with children, Peter Nwankwo, Sunday Iboko, Sunday Ogodo, Moses Abarike and John Nwenyi were trained in carpentry, welding, electrical maintenance, tailoring and catering.

    The state comptroller explained that they were able to procure the tools through government funding and individual contributions.

    Mrs Emilia who urged them to pay deaf ears to what people might be saying about them when they get home, charged them to live a useful life and shun acts capable of bringing them back to prison.

    She noted that both the Federal and State governments had turned to agriculture to grow the economy and urged them to queue into it to be self-dependent.

    She further explained the Command had trained many of the inmates on different skills/hand works and solicited for the assistance of the public to enable them provide them with necessary tools, noting that government ‘would not do it alone.

    Five of them who are from Otam Nkaleke in Abakaliki local government Areas were jailed for conspiracy and attempted murder and had spent two years each in prison before freedom came their way.

    The freed inmates thanked the NPS and pledged to put the tools to the best use in order to be able to adequately fend for themselves and their families.

    One of their family members, Isaiah Moses, thanked God for keeping them alive all along and also the prisons officials who made their release possible.

  • FETHA partnering Ebonyi to deliver quality healthcare

    FETHA partnering Ebonyi to deliver quality healthcare

    One of the major challenges confronting the Ebonyi State Government and the residents is health services delivery.

    The situation is worsened by the ever increasing population, increased health challenges and insufficiency of manpower and facilities.

    When Ebonyi State Government, led by David Umahi, came on board in 2015, it discovered that the general hospitals and other health facilities in the state were almost grounded and thus he proceeded to declare a state of emergency in the section.

    The state government, therefore, moved to resuscitate the general hospitals by awarding contract to rehabilitate some of them.

    The government also swung into action to fight the dreaded Lassa fever and Cholera which was claiming many lives in the state.

    Realising that the state facilities will not be able to successfully bear the health burdens of the state, the state government went into partnership with the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, to help in combating the dreaded diseases.

    The decision worked like magic as the state was able to bring the menace of the two deadly diseases under control within a little time.

    The Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (FETHA), Ebonyi State, is a tertiary health centre which is meant to serve as the last port of call for sick patients but is daily congested with patients as many patients boycott the health centre and general hospitals and rushed directly to the hospital.  In some cases, patients who were down with malaria could be managed in the general hospitals rush to FETHA.

    Varied reason account for that, one being the lack of confidence on the capacity and capability of the General Hospitals, located in each of the 13 council areas of the state to manage their health conditions. A visit to FETHA would indicate that, if for any reason, its services are cut short, Ebonyi State residents would suffer.

    This informed the decision of the state government to partner with the hospital even though it is federal government owned.

    The state government is also investing in the teaching hospital by constructing a Virology Centre at the FETHA, so as to stop the practice where residents of Ebonyi State and environs who are suspected to have been infected with Lassa fever are sent to IRUA Specialist Hospital in Edo Etate for diagnoses.

    The centre, which cost the state government N350,000 to build and equip, was commissioned recently by the Minister of Health, Prof Issac Adewole.

    The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Daniel Umezurike, said all equipment for the take-off of the centre has been procured by the state government.’

    He said the state government approved and gave mandate to the state’s Ministry of Health to complete and upgrade the renovation and reconstruction of the 13 General Hospitals in the thirteen council areas of the state.

    The Ministry had also been mandated to upgrade 171 Primary Health Centres, starting with 65 at five per local government area and to also ensure the construction of State Drug Distribution Centre. Even so, FETHA remains the major source of health services delivery.

    Dr. Emeka Onwe-Ogah is the current Chief Medical Director of FETHA. On assumption of office, he proceeded to build a theater complex for the institution as the former one was becoming too small for a tertiary institution of such magnitude which witnesses influx of hundreds of patients on a daily basis.

    The theatre was also commissioned same day by the minster. Speaking at the occasion, the CMD solicited the help of the minister and the state government to equip the complex for maximum performance and service to the people of the state.

    The state governor, David Umahi, and the minister both promised to provide the equipments as soon as possible.

    The federal government also launched the State Health Insurance Scheme and inaugurated a-21 member committee on Health to man it.

    The Minster of Health lauded the partnership between FETHA and Ebonyi State Government. Inaugurating the project situated at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (FETHA) premises, Adewole said the federal government would partner with Ebonyi to deliver adequate healthcare to the people.

    “The federal government will inaugurate six virology centres across the country to check the disease, as the 2015 outbreak was the most disastrous in the country’s history.

    “The mortality rate was about 60 percent, which implied that for every 10 cases, six fatalities were recorded due to late diagnosis.

    “This centre will be designated as the South-East Virology Centre to cater for patients battling with the disease in the zone and beyond.

    “The federal government will not grant the state government’s request for refunds on the project but will assist it in ensuring that the centre is viable.”

    The minister further said the government had completed arrangements to implement the Universal Health Coverage Programme for overall healthcare delivery to Nigerians.

    “The state governor should be commended for his commitment in inaugurating the centre; he is a shining example of a provider of adequate healthcare delivery in the country.”

    The minister also inaugurated the Ebonyi Health Insurance Scheme, reiterating the federal government’s resolve to partner with states that had shown commitment to improve healthcare delivery.

    In his remark, Gov. Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State said the government watched helplessly while its people died of Lassa fever disease in 2015 and decided to salvage the situation.

    “The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of this hospital informed me that he had sought the construction of the centre for over 10 years and this motivated us into action.

    “We want refunds for the construction and equipping the centre and if this is not granted, we will charge fees for treatment of patients coming from other parts of the country,” he said.

    On the Health Insurance Scheme, Umahi said the state government had earmarked N1 billion for the smooth commencement of the programme.

    “This programme will involve saving the lives of over three million citizens of the state; the 13 general and six mission hospitals in the state will be strengthened to actualize this goal.

    “We have submitted the State Health Insurance Scheme bill to our State House of Assembly and are expecting its expeditious passage into law,” he said.

    The minister inspected facilities at the centre, which include six ambulances for conveyance of patients and he also inaugurated a 21-man committee for the successful implementation of the State Health Insurance Scheme.

    Dr. Onwe-Ogah, in an interaction with reporters said his predecessor, Dr Paul Ezeonu, really tried his best to make sure the hospital was at the status he met it.

    His words:  “When I took over in April last year, we have achieved improved service delivery. The Deputy C-MAC, who is a plastic surgeon, has been able to do what is called liposuction. He has been able to reduce the excess fat in somebody’s breast. A man like us has a breast that looks like that of a woman.

    “He has been able to address it and the man looks like a man now. It is the first of such successful operation in Nigeria.  We also have so many others like Dr. Okorie has a procedure in doing what is called prostratomy. Sometimes, you see elderly men complaining of inability to urinate”.

    “When they get to the hospital, they will tell them that their prostrate is enlarged and that they have to undergo operation. We have a better way of doing it; such a way that the person will not lose much blood and die.”

  • Ebonyi flags off one man, one hectare agric plan

    Ebonyi flags off one man, one hectare agric plan

    Ebonyi State has launched the one man, one hectare agricultural programme aimed at making the state one of the highest food producers in the country.

    Minister of Agriculture Audu Ogbe launched the programme at the Ebonyi Demonstration Farm, Ezillo, by planting palm trees. He blamed past administrations in the country for not diversifying the economy, saying they depended wholly on oil and resorted to massive importation.

    “The country imported virtually every item from toothpicks to palm produce but the country doesn’t have money again to import,” he said.

    The minister noted that the federal government therefore decided to go into massive production with much emphasis on agriculture.

    He said, “The hunger in the land might last for a while but soon, there would be enough food in the country and for  exportation.”

    He advised the politicians to have a ‘second address’ because political offices can end abruptly and they can farm peacefully when politics ends.

    “The government would provide machines to Ebonyi for the harvesting of rice and other farm produce and those to prepare crop nursery before planting,” he said, noting that wrong application of fertilisers can destroy soil nutrients and ultimately cause poor yield of crops.

    “The federal government would inaugurate dams in all states of the country in the next two years, to ensure all year farming activities.

    He urged the youths to go into farming as a means of lifting themselves from poverty

    The state governor David Umahi noted that the state was showing agricultural revolution to make its economy self-sufficient.

    “All political office holders in the executive and legislature have farm lands in this demonstration farm as the programme would be the order of the day in the state.”

    He noted that all citizens of the state would cultivate at least one hectare because the government does not want any land to lie fallow in the state.

    “We want to excel in palm produce  sector as we have done in rice production, as we are going to plant the produce at 10 metres of verges of roads in state and federal roads.

    Launching the one man, one hectare agricultural policy of the state government and commissioning of agricultural mechinaries and equipments at the Abakaliki township Stadium, the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh assured that more federal government programmes and policies in agriculture would be implemented in the state.

    Ogbeh who was impressed with the state government policies in agriculture added that more agricultural seedlings, machineries and cottage industries would be assigned to the state to boost the present administration’s impact in the area of agriculture.

    He charged the people of the state to be part of the agricultural policies of the present administration even as he urged Nigerians not to depend mostly on imported goods but products produced and certified in the country for safety and longevity.

    In his remark, Governor David Umahi who expressed the readiness of the present administration to uplift the living standard of Ebonyi people assured the federal government of its continued partnership necessary for the wellbeing of the state.

    He said the state government will come up with a policy that will allow Civil servants to work half day on Fridays so as to allow them go and attend to their farms.

    “Members of the state Executive council have led by example as they already have started farming. Each member agreed to farm at least 2 hectare,” Umahi added.

    The state government also flagged off the distribution of N250,000 each to 3000 unemployed Ebonyi youths for human capital development in the area of agriculture and Empowerment. ENDS

    Pic-Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbe and Governor David Umahi on one of the tractors procured by the state government for the One man, One hectare programme.

     

  • Water project rehab takes off in Ebonyi

    Water project rehab takes off in Ebonyi

    Ebonyi State will spend N2.1 billion on the rehabilitation of water facilities, said Governor David Umahi in Abakaliki, the state capital.

    He was speaking while flagging off the state’s Sustainable Development Goals water projects in the three senatorial zones of the state.

    The project is dubbed “Operation Water Ebonyi State.”

    Addressing the people during the ceremony, the governor said Ebonyi was among the 10 lucky states which accessed the SDG grant of N600 million each.

    According to the governor, the beneficiary states were expected to match the grant with additional N600m each in order to access the fund. He explained that Ebonyi did not only do so; it injected additional N900m into the pool, thereby having the N2.1bn for the water projects.

    The sum, he added, would be used to fix the Ezillo water plant, the Sacamori water station,  the Juju hill water scheme and the Ohaozara water station.

    He said: “Let me put it properly that Federal Government gave N600m and we were expected to match it with another N600m.

    “We did and we also provided another N900m. So altogether, the three lots of the projects are going to cost us about N2.1bn; so Federal Government N600m; Ebonyi State Government, N1.5bn.

    “Let me say that the scope of this job is, part one, rehabilitation of Ezillo water treatment plant, and Sacamori pipeline network facilities. We tend to have storage tanks in Ichichi forest, which will supply the federal university at Ndufu Alike, supply the local government of Ikwo, supply some areas in Izzi, supply our rice mill and that of Engr. Ugwu as we make efforts to get our rice millers to also take over the UNIDO rice mill. The Sacamori pipeline has its network through Ezza North, Ezza South, Ishielu, Izzi,Ohaukwu, and even FUNAI .

    “We want to do proper integration of Ezillo water scheme and that of Oferekpe to ensure that if we have problem with Oferekpe and it is shut down, Ezillo will start supplying. But most importantly is the distribution network in Abakaliki.”

    Umahi also revealed that the third part is to address the water challenges in Ohaozara, stating that already, there is a water treatment plant in the area.

    “The third one is to address the water challenges in Ohaozara. Already, we have water treatment plant there. So what we want to do is to build a storage tank at Agukwu and build another storage tank at Ugwulangwu. So with these two storage tanks, we can network the entire Okposi, Uburu and Ugwulangwu.”

    The governor, who lauded President MuhammadU Buhari and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir Lawal, for including Ebonyi State as a beneficiary of the grant, the aforementioned projects constituted the first major phase of the “Operation Water Ebonyi State.”

    He also disclosed that  the Ishiagu water project had  been  redesigned and re- awarded to a competent contractor at the cost of N1.2 billion, stressing that the arrangement was to integrate all water projects.

    He stated that the  Oferekpe and Ukawu water scheme would be completely ready to provide water.

    Umahi also  emphasised that the distribution process of the pipelines had already  started.

    “We just  started a process to do some distribution network of our pipelines .And I have directed Ministry of Water resources to immediately tell us the balance of the distribution,so that within the next one year,we should beat our chests and say,every body,especially within the capital city is drinking water.”

    The governor assured the remaining local government areas that are not benefiting in the SDG water projects that they would  be considered in other areas such as provision of electricity.

    He frowned at poor quality of some road project being handled by some contractors in  the state and warned that any contractor who was not ready to keep to specification and standard would  be shown the way out .

    Focal Person of SDG in Ebonyi state, Dr Ngozi Obichukwu attributed the realisation of the project to Umahi’s determination develop the state. She urged the people to ensure that the projects are properly maintained and protected.

  • NGO lifts four Ebonyi schools with materials

    To  promote science education, a non-governmental organisation(NGO), Breezbell Management International (BMI), has donated science equipment worth over N16million to four secondary schools in Ebonyi State.

    According to the NGO, the donation was powered by co-venturing partners in the OML 140 projects which include: Star Ultra Deep Petroleum Limited, Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited, Lukoil Oil Company and National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS).

    The four benefiting schools are: Model Girls Secondary Schools Ohaukwu, Enyigba Comprehensive Secondary School Eketube, Community Secondary School Ndiagu and Amana, and Government Technical College, Abakaliki.

    The materials included desktop computers, white boards, books, instructional materials and other teaching aids.

    At the handing over of the equipment, BMI s Director Jane Coker, said the intervention was bornes out of the poor performance of students in the state in this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination(WASS2CE).

    “We carried out a research on education and discovered that Ebonyi State’ results from this year’s WASCCE was too low compared to other states. This is why we picked the state for the first phase of the project,” she said.

    Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited Chairman, Chief Reggie Uduhiri, hoped the intervention would translate to better performance of students from the state in their internal and external examinations, while also equipping them to be innovators and investors in future.

    He explained that the project was a testament to the unflinching resolve by the co-venturing partners to continually initiate projects in education, health care and economic empowerment in order to better the lives of Nigerians.

    Representatives of other firms that partnered in the donation expressed confidence that the provided items would add to the body of knowledge available to the students and adequately equip them to provide innovative solutions to the challenges they would encounter in their academic lives and beyond.

    As partners, they noted that the most important investment is in human development, especially in securing children’s future through sound education.

     

  • Fed Govt trains 9,500 youths in Ebonyi

    Fed Govt trains 9,500 youths in Ebonyi

    The Federal Government has started training no fewer than 9,500 unemployed youths in Ebonyi State in a bid to shore up jobs in the state. The trainees are being coached in various skills.

    The programme is part of the fifth phase of the government’s youth empowerment scheme across the country under the Industrial Training Fund (ITF).

    Acting Director General of ITF, Mr. Dickson Onuoha disclosed this in Abakaliki during flag-off of the programme.

    “The fifth phase of the programme will cover 18 states including the FCT with 500 youths expected to be trained in each state,” she said.

    She said the areas where the state beneficiaries will be trained include tailoring and weaving, welding and fabrication, carpentry and joinery, shoe and bag-making, masonry and bricklaying.

    She said, “These trade areas were carefully selected based on their anticipated value addition to the citizens of the state and the potentials to provide sustainable means of livelihood”.

    The state governor David Umahi said  his administration  was poised to develop the capacity of the youths to become self-reliant.

    He called on the youths of Ebonyi who are jobless in other parts of the country to return home and find something meaningful to do under his government’s youth-oriented programmes.

    He said: “Every Ebonyi youth in other parts of the country especially Lagos should please come back home; we are ready to create jobs for them.

    “A day is coming when nobody will be willing to seek political office because of the current reality.  One day, there will be no kobo from the Federation Account so it high time we started thinking outside the box.”

    The governor said his administration would create over 100,000 jobs for the youth and women especially in the agriculture sector. He said the state now focused mainly on mechanised system of farming as according to him “agriculture without technology is death.”

    Governor Umahi promised to provide the trainees with financial assistance to enable them set up their businesses after acquiring necessary skills from the programme.

    The ITF Area Manager in charge of Enugu and Ebonyi states Mrs. Linda Egbonu said the programme was organised to develop the mindset of the youths in the areas of entrepreneurship and skill acquisition.

  • Group questions stoppage of Ebonyi study abroad scheme

    The Ebonyi Transparency and Accountability Network (ETAN), a Non Government Organisation, says it will challenge the abandonment of the state’s students studying abroad, in a non- confrontational manner.

    The Davis Umahi-led government said it had no funds to continue sponsoring students on a programme initiated by its predecessor.

    Mr Eze Igwe, Protem President of the organisation, who spoke in Abakaliki, noted that it was collaborating with the Ebonyi Union in the United Kingdom to resolve the issue.

    “We are faulting the state government in its contention that it has no funds to continue the sponsorship, and we feel that this would amount to wastage of resources.

    “The sponsorship by the preceding administration amounts to massive investment in human development, so, abandoning it would amount to serious waste.

    “The present government should at least, conclude the sponsorship of the students already studying abroad and can then foreclose subsequent sponsorships,” he said.

    According to him, the situation is embarrassing to the state and the country as stakeholders have been airing the same views in the media and other sources.

    “We believe in constructively seeking solutions to problems; we have met the governor on the issue and he gave us positive response,” he said.

    He noted that the organization was formed in January to find solutions to the numerous challenges facing the state since its 20 years of creation.

    “We have more than 120 members from the 13 Local Government Areas of the state and membership, which is free, cuts across all sectors of national life, including the government and the private sector,” he said.

    Mr Hans Offia, an ETAN official and a Commissioner at the State Independent Electoral Commission, allayed the fear of compromise on issues concerning the government.

    “We would confront every issue through constructive engagement and without bias, as we would never be seen as ‘pro or anti’ government,” he said.

  • 6000 apply for Ebonyi job creation scheme

    In a bid to reduce rising  unemployment rate in the state and curb youth restiveness, Ebonyi state government says it has earmarked N600m to be given to 2400 youths in the state to start new businesses.

    Already over 6000 persons have collected the forms for the scheme.

    The programme is in line with the campaign promises of the state governor David Umahi.

    Commissioner for Economic Empowerment and job creation, Sabinus Nwankwegu stated this in Abakaliki, the state capital.

    He said the on going exercise to select those to be empowered is cost free for applicants and would be done with high level of transparency.

    He debunked rumours making the round that the names of people to be empowered had already been compiled despite asking the general public to apply.

    Nwankwegu urged the public to disregard the rumor as it was baseless and untrue stating that the state governor,David Umahi had strictly ordered him to give all applicants equal playing field.

    The commissioner who said over six thousand  persons had applied within the first six days the exercise started,noted that the ministry decided to group the exercise into zones to avoid stampede.

    He said six persons would be selected from each ward with respect to gender equality and applicants would be screened and those qualified selected without favoritism.

  • NSCDC arrests three for pipeline vandalism in Ebonyi

    NSCDC arrests three for pipeline vandalism in Ebonyi

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Ebonyi on Thursday announced the arrest of a 20-year-old woman and two men for vandalising oil pipelines.

    Briefing newsmen in Abakaliki, the Commandant, Mrs Chinwe Kannu, said that the suspects were arrested on Tuesday at Ivo Local Government Area in a border community between Ebonyi and Abia.

    Kannu said that the suspects were arrested by 5 p.m. by officers of the command on patrol as they scooped diesel from a punctured pipeline.

    “They will be prosecuted as we are legally mandated by law to do.

    “Items recovered from them include one 50-litre container of diesel, four 25-litre containers of diesel, buckets, funnels and sieving instruments used to scoop petroleum products,” she said.

    The commandant also said that the command contained the spillage of diesel from a tanker which was involved in an accident at Abaomege area of Ebonyi.

    “My officers rushed to the scene on receiving a distress call on Tuesday and cordoned off the place to ensure the safety of travelers and inhabitants of the area.

    “The inhabitants rushed out to scoop the spilled diesel but it, however, did not pose threat to life and no injury was recorded,” she said.

    The commandant said that officers of the command also discovered a ‘cart’ laden with four 50- litre containers of diesel which was abandoned inside a bush at Ishiagu in Ivo.

     

  • Boundary commission to end Ebonyi, Benue disputes

    Incessant and sometimes fatal boundary clashes between Ebonyi and Benue states may soon come to an end as the National Boundary Commission (NBC) has waded in.

    The commission said it would soon delineate the boundaries of both states in such a way as to prevent any more disputes.

    It also expressed concerns over the wanton destruction of life and property in communities along the disputed border.

    The Director-General of the Commission, Dr. Mohammed Ahmed stated this during a joint enlightenment campaign of communities along the Benue/Ebonyi interstate boundary in Ohaukwu and Ebonyi Local Government Areas of the state.

    The DG who thanked representatives of both Ebonyi/Benue state governments for accepting to follow the path of peace towards the resolution of the boundary disputes existing between them, observed that the lingering disputes were consequent upon the inordinate ambition of some members of the affected communities to amass lands without recourse to instituted laws and authorities.

    According to him, after the necessary stages of the joint enlightenment campaigns by the affected states and setting up of Peace Committees by the local government areas, the affected lands would be demarcated by the Commission for a permanent resolution of crisis in the areas.

    He further appealed to politicians, government appointees, clerics, traditional rulers, youths and indigenes of both states to preach and live in peace even as he emphasised the sacredness of the human life.

    In their separate remarks, the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Dr. Eric Igwe represented by the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Rt. Hon. Augustine Nwankwegu and his counterpart from Benue state, Engr. Benson Abounu represented by the Special Adviser, SA on Lands, Prof Jonathan Uever expressed optimism in the peace process led by the NBC and urged the affected communities to maintain peace and order for the interest of all and sundry.

    They expressed hope that the demarcation of the affected boundary line would foster and restore bilateral relations, trade and marriages and goodwill that had once existed between both states.

    All those who spoke during the exercise including traditional rulers, LG chairmen, youth leaders of both sides among others sued for peace and peaceful resolution of the intricacies involved in the disputed lands.

    The affected local councils in Ebonyi State are Ebonyi and Ohaukwu while that of Benue State are Ado and Oju local government areas.