The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Enugu

  • Police arrest suspected robber in Enugu

    The police in Enugu have arrested a suspected robber, who specialises in using tricycle (Keke Napep) to rob.

    Spokesman Ebere Amaraizu said in a statement in Enugu yesterday that the suspect was nabbed at artisan market area on April 8.

    He said the arrest was made by operatives of the Anti-Cultism Squad.

    Amaraizu said the suspect, Chika Ezike, was nabbed based on intelligence concerning his alleged nefarious activities and elusiveness.

    “The suspect confessed that he posed as a security operative while driving the tricycle and at a secluded area, he would dispossess his victims of their belongings and money.

    “The suspect is regretting his action. He is blaming Satan for his woes,’’ he said.

    The spokesman said the suspect had been helping the police in their investigation.

    He urged residents to be wary of the antics of criminals.

    “The public should report any suspicious person, object and gathering by calling the command’s four numbers: 08032003702, 08075390883, 08086671202 and 08098880172.

    “They can also use nigeriapoliceenugustatecommand for Facebook; @Police NG_enugu for Twitter and enugustatepolice @gmail. com,enugustate police@ gmail.com for Email,’’ Amaraizu said.

  • We’ll resist attempts to discredit Ekweremadu – Ohaneze

    Ohaneze Ndigbo, the Pan-Igbo socio-cultural group, said it would resist any attempt to discredit Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu.
    President-General of the group, Chief Nnia Nwodo, in a statement on Thursday, in Enugu, said it was preposterous for the Federal Government to be carrying out unwarranted inquisition into Ekweremadu’s life.
    He said that the allegation that Ekweremadu, the highest ranking Igbo politician in the country, embezzled public funds without any prima facie case was inappropriate.
    Nwodo stated that the idea of asking the Senator to defend himself instead of his accusers showing how he fraudulently enriched himself, amounted to turning the law upside down.
    He observed that Ekweremadu was a revered Igbo son and had attracted a lot of development to his area without any previous accusation of embezzlement.
    “Sen. Ekweremadu is a revered Igbo son whose public image is very high and who has attracted a lot of development to his area; he has never occupied any public office where he was accused of embezzlement.”
    The president-general queried the system of investigation where one was tried for simply belonging to a political party “and is exonerated of an offence he committed for belonging to a political party or being in government’’.

    Read Also: Ekweremadu: Reps tackle special presidential panel

    He cited examples of former and serving military officers who had been let off the hook either through plea bargain or for just changing from one political party to another.
    He also said that a former governor of Enugu State whose property was under investigation was now dining with the Head of State after dumping his former party for the ruling party.
    Nwodo warned that the apex Igbo group would no longer fold it arms while Igbo sons were being systematically singled out for persecution in a country they had contributed so much to build.
    He observed that the cautionary statement by Ekweremadu had been and was still being echoed by many prominent Nigerians and wondered why his case would be different.
    He said that it was such selective justice and marginalization of Ndigbo that fuelled agitations by their young ones for self-determination, adding that restructuring was a first step toward assuaging the situation.

    NAN

  • Father allegedly kills son in Enugu

    Enugu State Police Command has launched a manhunt for Onyenwe Offor Ajah, who allegedly killed his son in an Enugu community.

    Spokesman Ebere Amaraizu said in a statement yesterday that the incident occurred on March 28 at Ameke Enu village in Oduma community of Aninri Local Government.

    He said the son, who Ajah allegedly killed after a disagreement, was identified as Kenneth Ajah, 38.

    Amaraizu said the suspect had a misunderstanding over some issues with his son.

    “It was learnt that following the alleged misunderstanding, there was a fight between father and son, resulting in the father hitting the victim on his head with an object.

    “The son became unconscious and was rushed to a nearby hospital. He was later confirmed dead by a doctor on duty,’’ he said.

    The spokesman said the body had been taken to Awgu District General Hospital mortuary, adding that a manhunt is on for the fleeing suspect.

  • Easter: Hair stylists make brisk business in Enugu

    Hair stylists are making brisk in Enugu, two days to the Easter celebration.

    Our reporters spoke to some hair stylists in the city on Friday and observed that customers’ quest to look good on resumption of work on April 3, is also responsible for the high patronage.

    Miss Ogochukwu Chika, a salon owner at Agbani Road, said the high demand was due to her customers’ choices for new looks for the Easter festival.

    Chika, who had been fixing artificial hair for ladies for the festive period, said that the number of customers had kept increasing.

    According to her, fixing a normal hair style like all back, half pate and centre pate go for N1,200 as against N700 before, while other styles are done for between N1,500 and N1, 800.

    Mrs Tochi Emesiofor, a hair braider at Uwani, said that she had been braiding her customers’ hair up to 11 p.m., everyday just to enable them to look beautiful on Easter day.

    Emesiofor said she had so far made reasonable profit, adding that she would not have problem settling her children’s third term school fees.

    She said she was charging N2, 000 to braid Bob Marley style, without combining colours of artificial hair, while she charged between N3,000 and N4,000 for the combined style.

    Another stylist at Achara Layout, Mr Elochukwu Ugwu, expressed delight at the high patronage, and prayed God for the trend to continue.

    “I pray that God continues to bless me with the kind of business I am getting since we entered the Holy Week.

    “At least, I have got enough money to settle all my bills, and I hope it will continue,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • Enugu gets three High Court Judges

    Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has sworn in Justices Linda Chiama Okibe, Veronica Chinyere Ajogwu and Esther Nnena Alukwu as Judges of the State High Court.

    Justice Okibe was the Chief Registrar of the High Court while Justices Ajogwu and Alukwu were Chief Magistrates (Grade 1).

    Ugwuanyi said the action followed the decision of the National Judicial Council (NJC), which recommended three of the eight candidates shortlisted by the Enugu State Judicial Service Commission to be appointed as High Court Judges.

    He said their appointment was a “welcome relief to the Enugu State Judiciary, especially in the face of the current dearth of Judges”.

    The governor, however, pleaded with the NJC to consider the recommendation for more appointments to “enable us fill the many vacancies that exist in the judiciary”.

    Ugwuanyi was confident the judges will approach their new responsibilities with due dignity, integrity and commitment.

     

  • NAFDAC registers 54 products in first South-East zonal registration

    The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control ( NAFDAC ) said it registered 54 products within one month in its first zonal registration conducted within the South-East.
    NAFDAC’s South-East Co-ordinator, Mr Fori Tatama, made the disclosure on Tuesday in Enugu in an interview with the News men
    to reports that before now, residents of the zone had to travel to Lagos or Abuja to do the registration of their products.
    “Fifty four products met NAFDAC regulatory requirements and they were duly certified by the agency fit for human consumption and sales.
    “The remaining nine out of the 63 products; their owners were advised to go back and perfect some regulatory requirements and procedures, before they re-apply for registration.
    “The NAFDAC’s decentralization of products’ registration has helped to reduce cost and shorten the time by which products get registered,’’ Tatama said.
    The zonal coordinator told the News men that following the decentralization directive, a total of 63 products were considered for testing, analysis and other regulatory verifications by the agency within a month.
    He said they had fixed every first Wednesday of the month for their monthly zonal registration approval meeting.

    Read Also: NAFDAC arrests man with 16 cartons of fake food seasoning product

    “Today, NAFDAC has truly decentralized its registration to the zonal level for products of Small and Medium Enterprises ( SMEs ).
    “Our people who are into cottage and home-grown businesses can get their products registered in NAFDAC zonal office.
    “The agency has also slashed the cost of registration by 50 per cent; from N31,000 to N15,500 now.
    “We have also streamlined the process and procedure of registration to be less cumbersome and less time consuming,’’ he said.
    The zonal coordinator urged the people to desist from using and bringing consultant for product registration and other affairs with the agency.
    “Our members of staff are here to answer all questions and give you regulatory advice and help on what you want to do.
    “So, NAFDAC discourages use or involvement of consultant in any form,’’ he said.
    The News men  recalls that the recent decentralization policy by the agency was part of the Federal Government’s Executive Order on Ease of Doing Business ( EODB ) in the country.
    The policy was taken to invigorate SMEs described as the engine of every country’s industrial growth and to create jobs, wealth and check rural-to-urban migration

    NAN

  • Enugu safe for investment, says Rev. Fr. Mbaka

    THE Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria (AMEN) and Chairman of Aqua Rapha investment Nigeria Limited, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka has described Enugu State as peaceful and safe for investment with an outstanding feature as “the most hospitable state in the country.” Mbaka made the assertion when the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Nigeria, Inger Ultvedt, paid a visit to the Government House, Enugu, to explore business opportunities in the state.

    The cleric noted that Enugu is peaceful, secure and conducive for investment because of the leadership qualities of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who he described as “an innovative, kind-hearted and God-fearing governor”. He added that Governor Ugwuanyi is reliable and committed to rapid development of the state, stressing that he has “zero tolerance for corruption.” Mbaka encouraged the Swedish ambassador and her team to invest in Enugu State, especially in the area of renewable energy, to guarantee steady power supply for ease of doing business in the state. The cleric disclosed that his company is already partnering with a Swedish company on business service delivery.

    In her remark, the Swedish ambassador expressed delight at the hospitality accorded her delegation in Enugu, disclosing that the Government of Sweden has a promising market with a lot of investors willing to do business in the state in particular and Nigeria in general. She cited diversification of the economy as key to national growth, stressing that: “Today we have diversified. Our university is focusing a lot on innovation and entrepreneurship. We have a very good co-operation with the University of Nigeria Nsukka”.

  • IMT, Enugu to begin award of degree in 2019 academic year

    The Institute of Management and Technology ( IMT ), Enugu says it will begin award of degrees in affiliation with the University of Nigeria, Nsukka ( UNN ) from 2018/2019 academic session.

    The Rector of IMT, Prof. Augustine Nweze made the disclosure in Enugu on Friday at the 36th Matriculation of the institution.

    Nweze said that the award of degrees in some disciplines was sequel to an agreement with the UNN.

    He explained that the senate and council of UNN had given approval for the affiliation, while the institution awaited final visitation of the National Universities Commission ( NUC ) in July, for final approval.

    “It is the desire of our Visitor and Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to give IMT a University status in the shortest possible time.

    “To give life to that dream, we have, on our own, gone into affiliation with one of Nigeria’s foremost universities, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka to award degrees in many disciplines.

    “I sincerely hope that the new students will be some of the earliest beneficiaries of this partnership when it fully materializes by the beginning of next academic year,” he added.

    The Rector said that IMT established in 1973 and modeled after the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston Massachusetts, USA, had nine academic schools and 40 academic departments presently.

    He said that the matriculation marks the end of secondary school education of the new students and beginning of their tertiary education, a major watershed in their development as young adults.

    “This predisposes you to academic and moral training as well as skill acquisition that will eventually make you worthy in character and learning,” he said.

    He advised the fresh students to shun cultism, examination malpractices and other vices adding that the institute was deeply committed to scholarship.

    “Management is working assiduously to improve lecture halls, laboratories and studios to make them fit for learning.

    “We are immensely thankful to the Governor of State, Chief Ugwuanyi for giving us the opportunity to serve our people in our different capacities in IMT” he said.

    In a message to the event, the governor pledged to do everything possible to ensure upgrade of IMT to a degree awarding institution.

    Ugwuanyi said that the plan had been long overdue as the school had churned out professionals and prominent citizens in the country.

    He commended the management, staff and students for their efforts in taking the school to greater height.

    3103 National and Higher National Diploma students took part in the matriculation.

    NAN

  • ‘UTME hitch-free in Enugu’

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Enugu State has said the just-concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) was hitch-free in the 21 centres across the state.

    The Computer Base Test (CBT) examination ended on Tuesday.

    State Commandant Steve Amoga, who addressed reporters on the conduct of the exam, said the 21 centres were manned by armed officials to ward off external bodies and hoodlums.

    He said: “While the examination lasted, we provided tight security at the centres and worked with JAMB officials. I personally monitored the exercise up till yesterday, when it ended, and there was no serious security breach.”

    Amoga, however, noted that absenteeism and late coming was higher than previous years.

    “At times, you find out the centre is half full, and some of the candidates arrive very late,” he added.

  • Enugu to immunise 500,000 kids against measles

    The  Enugu State government yesterday inaugurated a 13-day measles immunisation campaign, targeting 500,034 children between nine months and five years.

    Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who was represented by his deputy, Mrs Cecelia Ezeilo,  said the campaign was part of the government’s commitment to prevent children from complications associated with measles and other infectious diseases.

    The governor said that the state was working with stakeholders to eradicate the disease on caregivers and parents to help their children by bringing them out for the immunisation.

    He urged health care givers to ensure that every child meant of the exercise is immunised.

    Commissioner for Health Dr Fintan Ekochin said the immunisation was for children within the age bracket, irrespective of their immunisation status.

    The commissioner said the government would achieve 97 per cent coverage during the exercise.

    Ekochin urged the media to give the campaign massive publicity to ensure that parents present their children for immunisation.

    Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Onyiye Emefele, said that the measles vaccination prevented about 2,000 deaths among children of nine months to five years from 2000 to 2015.

    Emefele called on parents and caregivers to ensure that their children were immunised to eradicate measles in the state.

    Dangana Saidu, representing the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, pledged continued support of the agency for the state government, in terms of vaccination and other materials, to ensure success of the exercise.