The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ebonyi

  • Boy drowns in Ebonyi

    Boy drowns in Ebonyi

    Tragedy struck in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State Wednesday when the body of a fifteen year old school boy simply identified as Tony who drowned at a dam near the International Market Abakaliki where he went to swim with his school mates was recovered.

    His body was recovered by security guards and a diver.

    It took the combined effort of divers and security guards in the market to recover the body of the boy three days after unsuccessful attempts.

    Tony, a JSS 3 student lived with his foster parents at 19 Nwoji Avenue, off Ogbaga road Abakaliki.

    He was said to have left his school in company of other students who were asked to go home for not paying school fees.

    It was on their way home that the students entered the International market to swim in the dam which was constructed by the company handling the market project.

    The disappearance of the boy shortly after jumping into the water led to his mates alerting security guards in the area who contacted the police.

    Narrating the incident, the foster parent, Mrs. Silvia Ede explained that she was informed about the tragedy by one of her relatives.

    She said the victim had no reason to leave school at the time he did as she had provided him with all the necessary requirements.

    Another family member of the victim, Mrs. Josephine Eze said that it was after policemen and Fire fighters drafted to the scene failed to recover the body that they resorted to divers.

    Expressing their feelings over the incident, some residents of the area called on the state government to close the dam or put a fence round it to forestall a recurrence.

    The Diver, Mallam Mohammed Belo however said recovering the body would not have been possible if not for some rituals which he carried out.

    Police spokesman in the state, Mr. George Okafor said the Command was aware of the incident.

    As at the time of filing this report the body of the young boy was still lying near the water side while sympathizers throng the area.

  • Ebonyi distributes 4,000 safe school manuals

    Ebonyi State government of Nigeria flagged off distribution of 4,000 Safe School Manuals and training 600 teachers as Safe School Ambassadors last week at the International Conference Centre, Abakaliki.

    Governor David Umahi, who flagged off the distribution, re-stated his commitment to ensure safety and security of teachers, students and pupils in Ebonyi schools.

    The Governor was represented by Chief Itapa Azobu, His Special Adviser on Primary Education while the Commissioner for Education, Prof John Eke, chaired the ceremony.

    The programme also flagged off a training session for Safe School Ambassadors and First Responders – teachers and administrators with knowledge and skills to conduct risk and threat assessment audits of their schools and can formulate and install safe school best practices policies and protocols.

    They were trained to act as first  responders in emergencies before arrival of security and emergency professionals.

    In his keynote address, Regional Director, UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office, Mr. Benoit Sossau,praised the initiative.

    Sossau, who was represented by Ms Ngozi Amenze, UNESCO National Programme Officer for Education, urged other governors to emulate their Ebonyi State counterpart.

    “We applaud the leadership of HE Governor David Nweze Umahi for being the pacesetter in the South-east and for this proactive step in ensuring safety in schools through the Safe School Empowerment Programme,” he said.

    UNESCO also commended Exam Ethics Marshals International for its doggedness in implementing the Safe School Empowerment Project and confirmed readiness of UNESCO to continue to extend a hand of fellowship to the group.

    The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) also applauded the Governor for the initiative against the background that teachers and pupil bear the brunt of attacks on schools.

    Comrade Joseph Nweke, the Chairman of Ebonyi State Wing of NUT said the Union “stands determined to provide unalloyed support for full implementation of the project in the state in the best interest of every school, teacher and student/pupil in Ebonyi.”

    The distribution of Manuals and training will take place in all senatorial zones of the state.

     

  • 13th month pay for Ebonyi workers

    Ebonyi State government has said it will pay workers 13th month.

    Governor Dave Umahi promised to sustain the gesture, until the economy improves. “This, we will do until the economy improves and we can renegotiate with workers…”

    The governor lamented the fall in federal allocation, saying allocation went down by N550 million in October, with local government allocation cut by N350 million.

    “That is why I am pleading with the commissioners, council chairmen and advisers to improve IGR’’.

  • Ebonyi govt shuts nightclub

    The government of Ebonyi State has shut a nightclub, Brifina Garden on Water Works Road Abakaliki, for alleged pornographic and illegal activities.

    Speaking after the seal-off, Senior Special Adviser (security) to Governor Dave Umahi, Chief Ali Odefa said when he got information on the club’s illicit activities, he invited the manager and the managers of other clubs to register government’s displeasure.

    He said two of the managers heeded the instruction while the Brifina manager did not.

    She was reported to have sent her girls to perform the pornographic act which made government wield the big stick.

    “Brifina Gardens is notorious as a criminal hideout. Severally, security agencies have arrested criminals there. It’s a festering nest for criminals and we don’t want that. That is why we are sealing off the place,” Odefa said.

    Club Manager Chineye Okorie said the pornography was to entertain people and every performer gets N10,000 each on Wednesdays and N15,000 on Fridays.

    Her words: “I was invited by the SSA on security who told me stop pornography at the club but I told him to write to the company.

    “This is someone’s business. Someone is feeding from this and the right thing should be done. I’m not challenging the state government,” she said.

    One of the girls, who gave her name as Chidinma said she was the coordinator of the strippers and she arranges boys from Lagos each week to dance naked with the girls.

    She corroborated the claim by the club manager that each stripper gets N10,000 on Wednesdays and N15,000 on Fridays, making a total of N25,000 weekly.

  • Tribunal upholds two Ebonyi Reps members

    Tribunal upholds two Ebonyi Reps members

    The National and State Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Abakaliki has upheld the election of two Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) House of Representatives members from Ebonyi state.

    The Tribunal headed by Justice John Agya, upheld the elections of Chief Lazarus Ogbee, representing Ikwo/ Ezza South Federal Constituency and Chief Sylvester Ogbaga, representing Abakaliki/ Izzi Federal Constituency.

    The election of both PDP federal lawmakers was challenged by the Labour Party candidates of Chief Tobias Okwuru and Mrs Helen Nwaobashi respectively.

    The tribunal chairman Agya dismissed Okwuru’s petition for lack of merit, ruling that the evidence he provided before the tribunal was not enough to prove his claims of irregularities during the election.

    “His claim of electoral violence, trump-printing ballot-box snatching among others during the elections could not be proved with the evidence submitted.”

    He also noted that the petitioner failed to submit the forensic materials to prove his claims on or before the 21 days period stipulated by law.

    “The tribunal would therefore not grant the petitioner’s prayer for the cancellation of the election and hereby dismiss the petition for lack of merit.

    “The National and State Assembly Petition Tribunal also dismissed Nwaobashi’s petition against Ogbaga, also ruling that it lacked merit.

    “The petitioner could not prove that there were irregularities in the two councils which make up the federal constituency, beyond reasonable doubt.”

    He noted that the petitioner could not prove that there were electoral violence during the elections as the tribunal therefore could not grant her prayers that the elections be cancelled.

  • Tribunal upholds Ogba’s election

    The National and State Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, on Tuesday upheld the election of Sen Obinna Ogba as Senator representing Ebonyi Central Senatorial District in the upper legislative house.

    Details later…

  • Ebonyi boondoggle

    You would wonder, dear reader that Hardball seems to be picking on  governors lately. Well, perhaps intervening is the right word; because of the critical state of the economy, there is a need for sustained interrogation of happenings across our much abused hinterlands. For instance, how could anyone pretend to be running a state where innocent pupils sit on bare floor to study in 2015! Hardball recommends that all governors should go on a one-week working tour of all the primary schools in South Africa. That would be an eye-opener indeed.

    Today, Hardball’s train stops in Ebonyi State where the government has declared a seven-day mourning for the deceased mother of the governor, Deaconess Margret Umahi. The Deputy Governor, Mr. Kelechi Igwe, made this declaration. By way of elaboration, the seven-day mourning would entail two daily praise and worship sessions by the Executive Council members, chairmen and members of the boards and parastatals in the morning and evening for seven days.

    Mr.Deputy Governor also enjoined the 13 caretaker committee chairmen, 64 development centre coordinators and all permanent secretaries in all ministries to replicate the seven-day mourning programmes in their localities. He did not forget to sing the praises of the late ‘First mother’, noting that the state did not only lose a virtuous woman, but also a mother to all.

    The implication of this, dear reader is that the state would be in partial shutdown for the next seven days. If you have ever been to Ebonyi, it is a small town with state government as its main source of sustenance. If government is closed for a week, that would mean one week of economy lost in the life of a state.

    What manner of leaders would close a state on account of the death of a governor’s mother? How does the life or death of one woman equate that of an entire state? Is there no elder in the entire land to advise that they mourn with common sense and dignity? Is this any way to run a state; on the whims of one or two people? We are talking about the life and livelihood of millions of people here that is being toyed with.

    Again, it seems state governments and governors still do not appreciate the enormity of the economic crisis the country is embroiled in. Most governors have rushed to the banks to heft huge loans apart from the billions of the so-called bailout funds from the Federal Government; so there is always cheap funds at their disposal to throw around.

    Most states have never had to earn money for their keep, so most of them are lacking in business temperament and economic wisdom. For most of them, governance is a jamboree; a chain of inane activities that seldom yield tangible results. Boondoggle, that is what we have in most places as governance.

    While we commiserate with Governor Dave Umahi on the loss of his mother, if this very act of shutting down government for seven days is a marker of the quality of governance he is offering his people, it is a pity indeed.

  • Man to wed late ‘wife’ in Ebonyi

    The family of a deceased woman has suspended her burial rites until her ‘husband’ who she was cohabiting with performs her wedding rites.

    The woman Chinyere Mbam was  been bitten to death by a snake while returning from the wake-keep of her friend, Oge Ogashi who passed on.

    She was taken to a traditional healing home in the area for treatment and thereafter back to the husband’s home where she gave up the ghost when she could not respond to the treatment.

    Her uncle, Ishiali Ikwe  confirmed her death.

    But the deceased’s family have mandated his ‘husband’ Stephen Mbam of  Enyi Igwe village Ezzainyimagu community in Izzi local government area of Ebonyi State, to carry out her traditional marriage rites before she is buried.

    It was gathered that the woman had been co-habiting with Stephen for three years and their relationship produced a child even though he did not fulfill her marriage rites.

    According to the Uncle, the family has put the burial on hold until Mbam performs traditional marriage on the deceased.

    He further said that Mbam’s family, in line with the tradition of the land, have scheduled a date for payment of the bride price to be preceded by the wedding

  • Ebonyi APC hails Onu’s nomination

    The Ebonyi chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has expressed appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari for nominating  Dr. Ogbonnia Onu as a minister and pledged support to his administration.

    The party stated this in a statement released in Abakaliki, signed by over 80 stakeholders which include: Mr Eze Nwachukwu—State Chairman, Chief Austin Edeze—APC Board of Trustees Member and Mr Jonah Mkpuruka, party’s Zonal Secretary for South East zone.

    Others who signed the statement include: Mr Ngaji Nwodo—State Publicity Secretary, Mr Okechukwu Agwu—Acting State Deputy Chairman, Mrs Cordelia Ugboaja—Zonal Woman Leader, among others.

    The party said it would remain grateful for the nomination and described Onu as a model of modern day politics in the country.

    “We and Ebonyi citizens hold the strong view that  the nomination was most thoughtful of the president and necessary to move the country forward.

    The statement said that the party was proud to associate with Onu and assured that he would contribute to justify the confidence reposed in him by the president.

    “Onu has been a trusted loyalist of the party and the Buhari administration and would be trusted to play his part in  the administration’s change mantra. 

    The statement appealed to Ebonyi citizens and Nigerians to continue supporting the present administration, as it was determined give the country a new lease of life in all spheres.

  • Ebonyi governor loses mother

    Ebonyi governor loses mother

    These are not the best of times for Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi. Death struck on Tuesday, taking away Umahi’s mother, Deaconess Margaret Umahi, at an Enugu-based hospital after a brief illness, leaving the governor in deep mourning.

    Her remains have been deposited at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki. She is survived by many children and grand children. Her family is said to have already set the machinery in motion for a befitting burial.