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Tag: Enugu

  • Ugwuanyi’s endorsement: Matters arising

    In what could be described as a revalidation of their earlier endorsement of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State for a second term in office, the state’s workers and youths had while felicitating with the governor on Nigeria’s 58th Independence Anniversary, reiterated their firm support for his re-election, declaring that they were solidly behind him.

    The enthusiastic workers and youths, who spoke separately through the state chairmen of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Comrade Igbokwe Chukwuma Igbokwe and Comrade Paschal Ugwu, respectively, said the decision was based on their conviction that the governor has continued to entrench good governance, cater to their welfare and promote peaceful co-existence and national unity among residents of the state and beyond.

    They described Gov. Ugwuanyi as a God-fearing, peace-loving, visionary, hardworking, unassuming, pragmatic and high-performing leader, whose style of governance is uncommon and remarkable in the annals of the state.

    While labour applauded the governor’s giant developmental strides and his prompt payment of salaries on the 23rd of every month, “whether it falls on a Saturday or Sunday”, the youth stated that “our youth-friendly governor has actually delivered on his promises to the youth in particular and the people of the state in general”.

    Reaffirming their valid trust in Gov. Ugwuanyi, the future leaders largely made up of students, reiterated that “with our 60% voting strength of the youth out of the number of eligible voters in Enugu State, we firmly re-assure you that your re-election is 100% guaranteed by God’s grace”.

    They added that “youths in Enugu State are celebrating good governance and the peaceful atmosphere in the state, made possible through His Excellency’s sound vision and humble disposition”.

    On the part of the workers, they maintained that Ugwuanyi “is a governor who has made workers’ welfare his first priority”, disclosing that “he paid June and July salaries even when FAAC did not sit for two months”, which they noted “is not obtainable anywhere”.

    According to them, “we are supporting his second term bid, and every other endeavor beyond his 2nd term, we will always stand by him. We have never had it so good before. For the first time we are having a governor who has a listening ear. He has compassion for workers and carries labour along in taking decisions that affect them.

    ”So, we are delighted to say that in the three and half years of Ugwuanyi’s administration, the labour has fared very, very well in Enugu State. The workers are happy”.

    It is therefore, noteworthy that the reassurance from the workers and youths, which came on the eve of the colourful and hitch-free governorship primary election of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State, was a morale booster to Gov. Ugwuanyi, whose emergence as the party’s flag bearer made history, being the first governor of the state to contest in the gubernatorial primary election of a political party as a sole aspirant.

    The outcome of the primary election was a revalidation of the earlier endorsements by every organ of the party in the state, which consequently culminated in the gale of endorsements from virtually all spheres of the society, including leaders of religious and traditional institutions as well as opposition political parties.

    The overwhelming support accorded the governor by his party men and women during the primaries, was also a confirmation of the confidence they repose in him as a great achiever who has made peace, good governance and participatory democracy the hallmark of his administration.

    One remarkable aspect of the just concluded PDP primaries in Enugu State is that this was the first time the people (party members) were allowed to elect those who will fly the party’s flags in all the elective positions at the general election. Kudos must therefore go to Gov. Ugwuanyi for deepening the tentacles of internal democracy in the party.

    Prior to the said primary election, the ward chairmen of the PDP from Enugu West Senatorial Zone, during their solidarity visit to the governor at the Government House to reaffirm their support for his re-election, applauded him for entrenching participatory democracy in the state. They said that the governor’s leadership style has rejuvenated the party’s organs at the grassroots, according them their rightful place in the scheme of things as “proud ward leaders”.

    They therefore aligned themselves with the eight years rotational agreement among the three senatorial districts of the state for the office of the governor, stressing that all hands must be on deck to ensure that the governor completes the remaining four-year tenure of the Enugu North Senatorial Zone for the position to rotate to the next zone.

    Addressing delegates at the primaries, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, expressed delight that it was the first time in the past 21 years of his active participation in politics, that the PDP would be having a sole aspirant as well as a non-contentious governorship primary election.

    He therefore commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for holding the forte for the party and state, saying: “Today we have not only a governor who has performed very well, he has also entrenched peace in Enugu State”.

    Declaring Gov. Ugwuanyi as the party’s governorship candidate after polling 2,782 valid votes out of total votes cast of 2,859, by the delegates, the Chairman of the 5-man State Electoral Committee that conducted the primaries, Senator Ambuno Zik, commended the peaceful atmosphere in the state, describing the governor as “a humble, indefatigable and amiable” leader, who is so much loved by his people.

    His words: “I have to say from my heart that this great man is humble, this great man is indefatigable, and this great man is amiable. Talking about humility, honestly he is somebody who is humble and if you meet him, you meet humility. He has the fear of God and let him continue in that path.

    “Talking about being indefatigable, this man is an achiever. I never knew he was a silent achiever until I came to Enugu. They say action speaks louder than voice. He is developing every part of the state and that is why I said he is indefatigable.

    “Talking about being amiable, this very man is a magnet when you come near him. He is like a magnet attracting people and you cannot help but like him. That is why I say he is amiable. You have a great governor. From what I saw, I have no doubt in my mind that he is going to achieve more in his next 4 years. His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Gburugburu) your people like you”.

    From the foregoing, it is an indisputable fact that Gov. Ugwuanyi is the most cherished and celebrated governor of Enugu State. He has maintained a close relationship with the people, both the lowly and the highly placed, ensuring that they are constantly rewarded with good governance as the true heroes of democracy.

    This milestone ideology is in keeping with his vision to “deploy government services to create fair and equal opportunity for every willing citizen to make a living and create wealth, educate our children, and enjoy life in a peaceful and secure environment”.

    It is also targeted at alleviating the suffering of the masses, especially in the rural areas, where the majority of the people live, to ensure that long neglected communities are remembered accordingly.

    Consequently, Gov. Ugwuanyi despite the nation’s economic challenges and the state’s lean resources, has left his footprints in the sands of hitherto neglected communities, such as Amurri, Ngenevu, Iva Valley, Ogbaku, Eha Amufu, Abakpa Nike, Emene, Nsukka, and Ngwo (Milliken Hill), among others, to the amazement of the dwellers, through his administration’s time-honoured grassroots development interventions.

    His numerous landmark achievements and sterling performance across the three senatorial districts depict his strength of leadership and rewarding experience towards improving the living standard of the people, in line with his social contract with them.

    On economic indices, the governor has taken innovative and far reaching measures that have strategically engendered sustainable growth in the state’s resources for continuous provision of the development needs of the people, in a prudent and transparent manner.

    As a pacesetter, his administration’s initiation of a monthly, cherished N50,000 empowerment scheme for genuine traders in the state irrespective of state of origin, religion or ethnicity, won through open lottery across the 54 designated markets, has profusely brought great fortunes to their various businesses – a  feat which other governments in the country have continued to  emulate.

    The peoples’ governor also deserves commendations for the ‘one community one project’ programme , which earmarked N10 million each for the 458 autonomous communities in the state to enable them execute priority projects of their choice, among other sundry interventions aimed at empowering the people, especially the women, youths and the underprivileged, to improve their living standard.

    A few days ago, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, while in Enugu for the state’s edition of the National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Clinic, commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for his administration’s unceasing cooperation with the federal government in the advancement of the set objectives of the empowerment programme in the state and beyond.

     Prof Osinbajo, who said he was “extremely delighted” with the “kindness and warm reception” the state government has always accorded him whenever he visited Enugu State, also applauded the governor for “the very great steps” his administration has taken in the growth and development of the MSME programme.

    The Vice President added that Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration “is doing very well for the MSME” and in advancing the interest of small entrepreneurs, stressing that “the governor deserves a warm applause for the great works he has been doing”.

    The above narrative – the tip of the iceberg of Gov. Ugwunayi’s remarkable achievements – gave rise to the wide range of endorsements for the governor’s re-election as well as the peoples’ valid trust in him to continue to lead the state to greatness beyond 2019.

    It is therefore expected of the people of Enugu State to continue to encourage and support the visionary leadership in the state for them to enjoy more democracy dividends in a peaceful and secure atmosphere as “the true heroes of democracy”

    Enugu State is truly in the hands of God!

    Amoke writes from Enugu State

     

     

  • Police arrest six suspects for house-breaking near Enugu

    The police in Enugu State have arrested four suspects for house-breaking in Emene community near Enugu, the state capital.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Ebere Amaraizu, announced this in a statement on Friday, saying that the suspects were arrested between Oct. 10 and Oct.11.

    Amaraizu noted that intelligence information enabled the police of the Emene Division of the Command to apprehend the suspects.

    He said that the suspects were in the habit of breaking into houses and robbing people of their cell phones, handbags and other household valuables, especially between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

    “The first two arrested suspects, who gave their names as Daniel Igwe alias Akpo and Chinecherem Bartholomew alias Barto, were promptly nabbed after a hot chase on four of them in which two others escaped.

    Read Also: Governor’s former aide escapes ‘death’

    “But the two fleeing gang members were later nabbed and they gave their names as Christopher Ejiofor and Chukwuebuka Chigbogu.

    “They were also identified by their various victims, who are residents of the area, as part of a gang of house burglars disturbing the peace of Emene community,’’ he said.

    Amaraizu said that the operatives recovered an iron rod and other stolen items such as cell phones and numerous household valuables from the suspects.

    The police spokesman said that the suspects had been helping the police in their investigations, adding that they would be arraigned after the conclusion of the investigations.

  • Reps may summon IGP over detained lawmaker

    – threaten Court action

     

    Members of the House of Representatives were livid on Wednesday over the continued detention of a member, Abubakar Abdulahi Lado ( APC) Niger State.

    They urged the Police authorities to release the lawmaker within 12 hours or the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris will have to come to the Green Chamber to explain reasons for the incarceration of the lawmaker.

    Members of the House also agreed that since the collective privilege of the House had been infringed on by denying the Green Chamber of the services on the lawmaker, the House should go to court over the issue.

    The resolution of the House was sequel to a motion of urgent National Importance moved by a member, Toby Okechukwu ( APC Enugu) with the title: “Urgent release of Hon. Abubakar Abdulahi Lado representing Suleja Federal Constituency detained by SARS for the past 3 days.”

    While moving the motion the lawmaker said the House is aware of the detention of Hon. Lado by the Special Anti- Robbery Squad ( SARS).

    “The House is further aware of the continued detention for the past three days which action offends the Nigerian Constitution and amount to inhuman and degrading treatment .

    “The House is embarrassed that the intervention of the House leadership was rebuffed by the Nigerian Police ostensibly because it is only. The Governor of Niger state that can give instruction for his release .”

    He said the House was further briefed that the detention arose out of issues related to the APC Primaries which he (Lado) had ab initio notified the Police authorities of efforts to cause crisis by his opponents.

    “The House Is aware that the invitation of Hon. Lado was not through due process and therefore breaches the Legislative Powers & Privileges Act- which require notifying of presiding officer before the member is invited or arrested” he said.

    Read Also: PDP condemns APC’s virulent attacks on Atiku

    Members who spoke including the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun, Nnena Elendu-Ukejje, Betty Apiafi,Wale Raji, Segun Adekola, Sani Abdul, Albert Adeogun, all agreed that the police had breached the privileges of all, members by the action especially as it was not related to a criminal act.

    They wondered what could be happening to ordinary Nigerians if a lawmaker could be so treated,and concluded that the arrest and detention was meant to keep the lawmaker from participating in the primaries in the state.

    The Majority leader, Femi Gbajabiamila noted that the issue was a fight between supporters of Lado and his opponents and wondered how it became a SARS issue.

    He said he was informed at the SARS office that only the Governor of Niger state can give instructions for the release of the lawmaker.

  • Ekweremadu wins PDP senatorial ticket for Enugu West

    Deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu has picked the PDP Enugu West senatorial ‎ticket for 2019 elections.

    He beat four other contenders with 690 votes. The four others include Uche Onyekwelu, 22 votes; Oscar Egwuonwu, 5 votes, Isaac O. 84 votes and OAU Onyema 61 votes. ‎

    The Deputy Senate President is going for his 5th term.

    Read Also: Ebonyi APC: Aspirant rejects governorship primary result

    Also Senator Chuka Utazi was elected for the Enugu North senatorial zone. He had no challenger.

    The Enugu East senatorial zone primary was inconclusive.

  • Adamawa APC: Delegates protest suspension of governorship primaries

    Many delegates including some members of National and State Houses of Assembly have protested the suspension of Adamawa governorship primaries by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The NWC had in a statement on Monday issued by the Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Yekini Nabena announced the rescheduling of governorship primaries for Adamawa, Enugu and Lagos states.

    Addressing the agitated delegates at Ribadu Square, Gov. Mohammed Bindow urged them to take it easy and accept whatever happened as an act of God.

    “I want to apologise to you over the development and to thank you for your patience and cooperation as we await further directive from the party.

    “I remain loyal to the party and urge every party member in Adamawa to be calm and loyal party member,” Bindow said.

    Read Also: Masari, Lado clinches APC, PDP tickets in Katsina

    Also speaking, Rep. Abdulrazak Namdaz, urged the people to remain calm, adding that whatever the situation, be it direct or indirect primaries it’s the people of Adamawa that will vote for the candidates of their choice.

    “We are not afraid of facing direct or indirect primaries,” Namdaz said.

    NAN reports that the APC primaries initially scheduled for Sunday ran into a hitch when two of the three aspirants,Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and Dr Mahmood Halilu contesting with Gov. Bindow announced their withdrawal over method of primaries and choice of venue.

  • Partial compliance in Sokoto, Kebbi, Enugu, Katsina, Anambra

    The nationwide strike recorded partial compliance in Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Enugu and Anambra states, according to reports.

     

    Sokoto

     

    In Sokoto, workers were on their duty post at federal and state government owned hospitals, as well as higher institutions.

    Although courts visited were not sitting, primary and secondary schools were operating while some offices remained opened at the federal secretariat.

    Commercial banks opened for business in spite of attempt by labour leaders to make them stop operations.

    However, Aminu Umar, State Chairman of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), said the trike had recorded substantial compliance and would be total in next coming days.

     

    Kebbi

     

    In Kebbi public schools have been shut in compliance with the strike order.

    A teacher in one of the public schools in Birnin Kebbi, Mrs. Richeal Ngozi, told NAN that they had to send back pupils after the state branch of Nigeria Union of Teachers ordered teachers to remain at home.

    When NAN visited a branch of Keystone Bank, normal operations were going on.

    However, a worker of the bank, who sought anonymity, said: “We are just waiting for an email message from the bank head office in Lagos,  by 12 noon, we will close and join the strike.”

    Also, activities at the Federal Medical Centre, Birnin Kebbi, have been paralysed as staff joined the strike.

    At the state secretariat, normal official work was going on as at the time of this report.

     

    Enugu

     

    It was observed that banks, other corporate bodies and most schools failed to carry out the directive of organised labour to embark on strike.

    Except for few institutions like the Federal  Government College located at Independence Layout, others public schools were open.

    Some of the teachers of the schools that failed to embark on the strike, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they did not receive any directive to go on strike.

    But the Chairman of Enugu State Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Igbokwe Chukwuma Igbokwe, said the compliance level was 60 per cent.

    He attributed their inability to actualise 100 per cent compliance to the gap in communication, adding that the deadlocked meeting they had with government ended very late and hence their inability to get across to all the workers.

     

    Katsina

     

    Workers in Katsina State, including those from the civil service and commercial banks yesterday, partially complied with the directive of the national leadership of the organised labour.

    Investigation by The Nation showed that the workers shunned their various duty posts even as the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Tanimu Lawal Saulawa, held another round of meeting with about 30 leaders of affiliated unions in the state to ensure full compliance with the directive on the strike.

    The meeting, which took place at the NLC state Secretariat located at Sabo Layi area in Katsina, according to one of the leaders, was to strategise on the enforcement of the warning strike and ensuring compliance

    Saulawa told reporters that the strike was nationwide and that he and the leadership of organised labour have the responsibility to ensure its success.

     

    Anambra

     

    The warning strike was partial complied with in Anambra State.

    When The Nation monitored the situation yesterday in the state, banks and hospitals and schools were opened.

    But at the state secretariat in Awka, there were movements of some workers, while the offices were locked.

    However, the state Chairman of NLC, Jerry Nnubia, said he was satisfied with the level of compliance.

  • Appeal Court upholds Senator Victor Umeh’s election

    The Court of Appeal, Enugu has upheld the election of Victor Umeh of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as Senator representing Anambra Central senatorial district in the National Assembly.

    In a unanimous judgment delivered Wednesday, the appellate court dismissed the appeal by Mr. Nkem Ekweozor, challenging the judgment of the Anambra Central Senatorial Election Petition Tribunal which upheld the victory of Umeh in the January 13, 2018 senatorial rerun in the district.

    Read Also:Appeal Court halts execution of arrest order on INEC Chair

    Ekweozor who was the candidate of the Mega Peoples Progressives Party (MPPP) in the senatorial rerun, had claimed that Umeh was not validly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election and that the election was marred by corrupt practices.

    Ekweozor alleged that Umeh was not qualified to contest for the election, as he got his nomination while still holding the position of National Chairman of APGA.

    The appellant who joined Umeh, APGA and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents respectively, prayed the court to order INEC to conduct a fresh election and that Umeh should be disqualified from the fresh election.

    Delivering judgment, the three-man Appeal Panel headed by Justice Uwani Musa Abba Aji noted that the appellant has made no reference to any particular primary election conducted by the 2nd respondent (APGA), from which Umeh emerged as the candidate.

    The judge held that the appellant’s complaints on the issue of nomination of the 1st respondent, Umeh, “are at large and ex facie.”

    According to him, there was no dispute on the primary election of the 2nd respondent, APGA, which produced Umeh as its candidate.

    Citing relevant authorities, the judge stated that the appellant’s averments in his petition bother on matters of mere conjecture and speculation, which the court or tribunal does not have jurisdiction to act on.

    Justice Abba Aji further warned that a court should refrain from indulging in speculation, as it is not part of judicial exercise but a mere guess work.

    He stated the law as settled by decisions of the Supreme Court is that the issues of primary election, nomination and sponsorship of a person as the candidate of a political party “are definitely pre-election matters.”

    He said the tribunal was right when it held that it was not clothed with the jurisdiction to look into the complaints raised by the petitioner, which relate to the nomination, sponsorship and candidature of the 1st respondent.

    “The decision to inquire into the conduct of primary election by political parties resides in the Federal High Court, the High Court of a state or the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory as donated by section 87 (9) of Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended),”the judge said.

    On the striking out of some paragraphs of the election petition by the trial tribunal, Abba Aji said he carefully perused the averments as contained in the stated paragraphs and completely agreed with the findings of the tribunal that the said paragraphs clearly and absolutely fell short of the requirements of the provisions of paragraph 4 (1)(d) of the Electoral Act and therefore resolved the issue in favour of the respondents and against the appellant.

    On whether the tribunal rightly evaluated the documentary evidence presented before it, vis-à-vis the oral testimonies of the petitioner/appellant and his witnesses in the proof of the petition, the judge said “mere making of an allegation does not shift the burden of proof to the other party.”

    “It is incumbent on the party making an allegation to adduce credible evidence in support thereof before the onus of disproving such allegation could shift to the other party. Whereas in the present case, allegations made were unsupported with any scintilla of credible evidence, the allegations by themselves fall flat and remain dead,” he said.

    “The remaining issue is: Whether the tribunal was right when it ascribed probative value to the documents tendered and admitted where the 3rd respondent failed to call oral evidence in respect of such document. The 3rd respondent did not call any witnesses at the trial but rather tendered a set of documents from the bar with the consent of the other parties.

    “The said documents were result sheets forms EC8C (1) and EC8B (1) for the respective local governments and were admitted as exhibits R12 TO R24 respectively.

    “Before us while arguing the appeal, the Appellant asked this court to hold that the first Respondent was ineligible to have contested the said senatorial elections and consequently order that the candidate with the second highest votes in that election be returned elected.

    “The implication of this volte face includes the fact that the appellant was no longer contesting the results as declared by the 3rd respondent.

    “The further implication of this later posture of the appellant is that the arguments canvassed in respect of this issue are rendered academic. Courts exist to resolve live disputes between parties and would demur from delving into academic issues,” Justice Abba Aji said.

    He added that in totality, the appeal is devoid of any form of merit and accordingly dismissed.

    The other two justices, Moore Aseimo Adumein and Joseph Olubunmi Oyewole, concurred with the lead judgment.

    The court however asked all the parties in the matter to bear their respective costs.

     

  • Nollywood actor Jim Iyke to launch ‘Mr Taxi’

    Ace Nollywood actor Jim Iyke is set to launch a taxi service that will begin operations in the South-Eastern states of Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Abia, and Ebonyi respectively.

    Iyke , turned 42 on Tuesday, disclosed this on his Instagram Page, indicating that the taxi platform will be formally launch on October 5.

    The Nollywood star who is the Chief Executive Officer of the company named MR.TAXI, is also planning expansion to the south south region.

    He wrote:”On 5th October, we’re proud to launch a platform that provides chauffeur services for the people of South East, Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi states.

    “This is just the beginning. Our goal is to expand the scope of operation to the south South in a matter of a few months after takeoff.”

    Read Also: Uber, Taxify: Jostle for drivers intensifies

    He added that an official launch would take place in Awka, Anambra State, with guest artists including Basketmouth and singer Timaya, among others in attendance.

    NAN reports that Iyke, popularly known as ‘Nollywood Bad Boy” by fans and industry watchers because of his acclaimed aggressive and controversial roles, came to limelight in 2001 and is reputed to have feature in over 150 films.

    He is a three-time winner of the Teenage Choice Awards, among other honours.

    In 2008, he won the Best African Actor at the NET Awards, and the Best Actor of the Year in 2010.

    Having conquered the motion picture world, the Enugu-born thespian seems to now want to make a name as an entrepreneur.

    Earlier in the year, he launched an app he dubbed ‘Oga Work’, a platform to source artisans in Nigeria.

    According to him, the app is especially designed for artisans who have a passion for their crafts but do not have a space or a store but crave for their services to be offered to end users.

    The feisty actor Nollywood actor had also launched his brand of bottled water ‘Burgeon Water’.

  • Prices of garri crash in Enugu markets

    Prices of garri, a stable food on Nigerians table, continued to crash in some Enugu markets.

    A market survey in some major markets in Enugu metropolis on Saturday revealed that the prices of the white and red garri nosedived by about 36 per cent.

    Some sellers said that the fall in price was due to massive production of cassava by farmers in the state.

    Miss Eby Ofor, a garri seller at Akwata market, said that the price of a 4.5 litres bucket of white garri which was sold at N450 now sells at N280.

    Offor added that the red garri is now sold at the cost of N350 as against the old price of N550.

    “For almost four months, I have been selling a measure of white garri and red garri for N450 and N550 respectively, but now as I am talking the price has further gone down. As at around May, it used to cost between N1,200 and N1,100,” she said.

    Mr Jude Ugwueze, another garri dealer at Garki market, said that a bag of garri is now sold at N5, 000 as against the previous price of N8,000.

    Read Also: IPOB: Sit-at-home fails in Enugu

    A buyer at Ogbete Main Market, Mrs Joy Solomon expressed joy that the prices of garri has continued to fall as there was not much money in circulation.

    “At least with the fall in prices of foodstuff like gari and with the little amount someone has, one can manage to feed his or her family,” she said.

    Mr Romanus Eze, the Chairman of the Cassava Farmers Association, Enugu Branch said that mass production of cassava has contributed to the reduction in the price of garri.

    Eze said that cassava farming activities increased tremendously in all part of the South-East States in 2017 leading to fall in the prices of garri in various markets in 2018.

    NAN

  • NYSC explores new strategies for credible mobilisation process

    The Director General of the National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC ), Brig.-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure said efforts were on towards evolving strategies to ensure credibility of mobilisation process.

    Kazaure dropped the hint on Thursday in Enugu during the 2018 Batch ‘C’ Pre-mobilisation Workshop.

    The director general was represented by the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Mrs Victoria Okakwu.

    He said that the scheme was constantly faced with new challenges due to the changing times and the management saddled with the responsibility of improving performances.

    He said that such challenges had made it imperative for stakeholders to regularly meet to exchange ideas for the improvement of their respective roles.

    Kazaure said that the workshop would also dwell on issues aimed at correcting observed lapses as well as chart a new way forward for the scheme.

    “The pre-mobilisation workshop has remained a vital platform for stakeholders in the scheme to interact and come up with strategies for credible mobilisation through appraisal of our performances in previous exercises.

    “It is my firm belief that this workshop will proffer sustainable solutions to these challenges,” Kazaure said.

    Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State said that the current situation in the country had made it imperative to expand the frontiers of the scheme.

    Ugwuanyi, who was represented by the Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Chief Josef Udedi, said that the state government would continue to support the ideals of the NYSC.

    “There is no doubt that the scheme has come a long way in the 45 years of its existence. It gladdens my heart to note that the NYSC has lived up to the expectations of its founding fathers,” Ugwuanyi said.

    The Director, Corps Mobilisation, Mrs Nnnenna Ukonu, said that the workshop was basically aimed at reviewing the performances of previous mobilisation exercises.

    Ukonu said that such review was done through cross-fertilisation of ideas with stakeholders, identifying challenges and proffering solutions to them.

    She said that the management of the scheme was determined to at all times ensure a seamless, hitch-free and a mobilisation process devoid of irregularities.

    The theme of the workshop was “Evolving Strategies to Overcome New Challenges in the NYSC Mobilisation Process.

    The workshop was attended by representatives of corps producing institutions, the National Universities Commission, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and others.