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Tag: Enugu

  • 2015: Chime endorses Jonathan

    2015: Chime endorses Jonathan

    ENUGU State Governor, Sullivan Chime, has endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan for re-election in 2015.

    Chime, who spoke before a large crowd of people at the Okpara Square, yesterday, said the president needs not campaign if he intends to contest in 2015.

    Chime was speaking on behalf of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the 4th inauguration of elected local government council chairmen in the state.

    “He (Jonathan) should go to other states to campaign. Enugu state is intact for him. Any time he declares interest to contest let him rest assured that Enugu is already won by him,” he told the cheering crowd.

    While emphasising that there is no opposition in Enugu, the governor told other political parties to forget about contesting any election in the state because the state is 100 percent PDP.

    Chime pointed at the just- concluded council poll in the state where the PDP won all the chairmanship and councillorship seats.

    Already, posters of the president for 2015 election were adorning the streets of Enugu as at yesterday.

    While congratulating the 17 council chairmen, he enjoined them to learn how to embark on projects while advising them to adopt the bottom to top approach in embarking on projects.

     

    Chime said: “Do not embark on selfish projects. Start meaningful projects which if uncompleted before the end of your tenure, your successors would complete them.”

    Former Senate President, Ken Nnamani as well as members of the National Assembly from the state except Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, attended the event

     

  • Coal city reclaims past glory

    Coal city reclaims past glory

    Did Enugu lose its pride of place as soon as the colonial masters departed? Some think it did.

    Infrastructure began to wear off and die out in some cases. Roads which once offered motorists and commuters the smoothest of rides, began to deteriorate, giving everyone a nightmare. Water, too, which used to run from the taps disappeared.

    But with the completion of the dual-carriage Zik Avenue Bridge and the flowing of water from the taps once again, the coal city is set to take its proper place as the capital of the former Eastern Region. Hitherto, infrastructure in the state capital left behind by the colonial masters and those built by the legendary Dr. M. I. Okpara administration suffered neglect and became dilapidated. With what is on the ground today it appears that Enugu is reclaiming its status. There are good roads all over the state.

    The taps are running and, at least, 70 per cent of the capital city has been covered with tap water.

    ROADS

    Suffice it to say that the continuation of the massive roads rehabilitation and with this year’s rains having substantially subsided, work has resumed in earnest on the many urban and rural road projects being executed by the Enugu State government across the state.

    The intensity and frequency of the rains had slowed down the pace of work on the projects with some people wrongly fearing that the projects had been abandoned. The government in partnership with the contractors, is still determined to ensure that targets are met as the contractors have upped the tempo of work. Today, work has fully resumed on all the  remaining road projects in Enugu metropolis and the 13 major inter-local government roads  being constructed across the  state.

    This is in addition to the construction of new workers’ secretariat and workers’ housing estate at Ogbeke Nike. The urban roads under construction in Enugu include; Mbanugo – Asata Mine, Oraifite Street, Akwata, Abakaliki Road, Old Airport Road, Emene, Abakpa slip Road, Umodioka Street, Agulu Street, Ichida Street, Isieke Street and Holy Trinity Street. Others are Nawfija Street, Owa Street, Ejindu Street, Mount Street, John Igwesi Street, Ozubulu link road, Aro Street, Obe Street, Obioma Street.

    The rest are Nnaji Street, Ogwuago Road, Akabueze Street and Umuaga Street. Construction of roads is also ongoing in the College of Education (Technical) and the Oji River School of Health.On assumption of office, Governor Sullivan Chime was confronted with a plethora of dilapidated and impassable roads even in urban areas, hence, he decided that rather than the usual cutting and patching that had become the longstanding albeit ineffective approach to road rehabilitation, he embarked upon the complete excavation and removal of all existing roads and in their places constructing entirely new and much more durable roads to the admiration of the ever-supportive indigenes and residents.

    These  reconstructed roads include Abakaliki, Presidential, Ogui, Okpara Avenue, Chime Avenue, Bisalla and Okpara Square roads and the scores of others at Independence Layout, GRA, Trans Ekulu, Uwani, Achara Layout, Akwata, Coal Camp, the New Market gateway, Abakpa, Emene and many more in Enugu metropolis -all of them with gutters and most with pedestrian walkways and green verges.

    These roads are also adorned with streetlights, traffic lights and solar-powered bus standsThe rural roads where works are on -going  include the Ninth-Mile-Olo-Iwollo- Umuluopka road which traverses and links the three local government areas of Udi, Ezeagu and Uzo-Uwani local government areas; the Eke-Ebe, Afa, Akpakume, Nze, Nkporogu, Aku road (linking Udi, Igbo- Etiti and Uzouwani local government areas); Sis Atakwu-Akpasha-Ozalla-Agbogugu-Awgu towards Lokpanta (linking Enugu South, Nkanu West and Awgu local governments).

    Others are Ugwuogo Nike-Ekwegbe-Agu- Opi junction (linking Enugu East, Igbo-Etiti and Nsukka local governments); Ugwuogo Nike-Neke-Ikem road, old Enugu-Onitsha road up to Ugwuoba, Isiogbo Nara road, Umuabi-Agbudi-Ihe road, Amechi-Amodu-Umueze road, Nguru-Edeobala-Eha-Alumona road and Afia Mmanya-Udi road and Nsukka-Ibagwa-Ogrute-Aji-Ette roadThese rural roads are integral to the revolutionary plan of Governor Sullivan Chime to link all local government areas to each other and to the state capital by road, thus easing the transportation difficulties of rural dwellers, opening up the areas to development to stem the rural-urban drift and then facilitating the evacuation of agricultural produce from the rural communities.

    WATER

    Before the advent of the administration of Governor Sullivan Chime, water supply in Enugu State was one of those problems long declared to be intractable by preceding administrations.

    But that era has since become history with the breakthroughs recorded by the Chime administration in the areas of regular water generation and distribution in both the urban and rural areas of the state.

    The most significant and conspicuous of these achievements however, is the government’s successes in the area of urban water supply more especially with the restoration of public taps that were last seen in Enugu more than three decades ago.

    Needless to say that Enugu residents and visitors alike, have welcomed this development with such jubilation and excitement that they have promptly nicknamed the taps ‘Aqua Sullivan’ (Sullivan’s Water).

    The government had started this remarkable process of restoration with the complete removal of old steel and asbestos pipes in the urban areas – some of them which dated as far back as 1929- and replacing them with the safer and more durable PVC pipes. This not only helped to broaden the water supply channels and networks but ensured that it reached all nooks and crannies of the cities.

    Regular supply of potable water has since ceased to be the exclusive perquisite of the rich living in the high brow areas of the coal city. Residents of such less regarded areas of Obiagu, Abakpa, Achara Layout, Idaw River and Emene are now happy and proud beneficiaries of the taps that sit sedately in front of their respective houses.

    Gone are the long treks to water boreholes or wells as well as the queues and the frequent fights that Enugu residents have endured all these years. It is of record that a full of generation of Enugu residents especially those in the low profile habitats never had the opportunity available today to enjoy this all important social service.

    It is not yet uhuru though as the service is yet to get to all the areas but the affected residents are confident that with the enormity and the pace of work still being done by the state Water Corporation on the project, it would be a matter of time before the service reach their quarters.

    Indeed, on inception, the administration had declared a target to boost the state’s water supply capacity from under 20,000 cubic meters to 77,000 cubic metres capacity and that objective has all but been realized.

    Water supply has been attacked with even greater zeal and vigour in the rural areas of the state. The Enugu State Rural Water Supply and sanitation Agency (EN-RUWASSA), is the agency charged with the responsibility of providing safe drinking water to the rural communities.

    Records show that it has so far lived up to its billings under the Chime administration which has the provision of potable water and environmental sanitation as a cardinal component of its widely acclaimed 4-point agenda aimed.

    The administration’s major land marks in the provision of potable water in the rural areas include:

    Construction of 8 motorized boreholes in Nsukka, Igboeze-South, Ezeagu, Oji-River and Uzo-Uwani Local Government Areas, as well as N36 Million for 42 shallow boreholes in Aninri, Agwu, Nkanu East, Nkanu West, Isi-Uzo and Enugu South Local Government Area, Ogui-Agu Eke in Udi, Amankwo-Oghe in Ezeagu and Nimbo in Uzo-Uwani Councils.

    With the support from some Local Government Councils, the Enugu State

    Government also rehabilitated water schemes at Umuaga and Obinagu (Udi), Ede Oballa (Nsukka), Amuri and Ojiagu Agbani (Nkanu West) while Government is doing work on the water schemes of Edem, Obukpa in Nsukka Local Government Area and in Ugbawka, Amechi Idodo and Owo in Nkanu East Local Government Area.

    Rehabilitation of University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) water scheme which includes the construction of four new boreholes, new water reservoir and water reticulation on the campus at the cost of N329 million were also completed by the administration Governor Chime

    Construction is in advanced on the over 2.5billion Naira Adada River Dam project in Igbo-Etiti and Uzo-Uwani Local Council of the State to boost water supply in Enugu North Area of the State.

    These giant strides recorded so far in the water sector by Governor Chime’s administration  has expectedly continued to attract  accolade from residents,  health bodies, civil society organisations and international donor agencies especially the World Bank all of whom acknowledge the dedication and clear vision of the Governor towards the actualization of the administration’s objectives in the sector.

  • Enugu takes over coal corporation property

    Enugu State government has taken over the two property of the Nigerian Coal Corporation (NCC). It bought the property from the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) under the Federal Government privatisation of the landed property of the corporation.

    The two property are the headquarters of the corporation on Okpara Avenue and Colliery Hospital, all in Enugu, the state capital.

    The high point of the ceremony, which took place inside the Conference Hall of the Governor’s Office, was the signing of the deed of assignment and certificate of handover by Governor Sullivan Chime and the Director-General of the bureau, Mr. Benjamin Ezra Dikki and the official handover to the governor by the latter.

    Governor Chime described the event as historic, adding that Colliery Hospital, after renovation, would be dedicated to mother and child health care services.

    The governor said the acquisition of the hospital became necessary to reduce the inadequacies of medical facilities and boost what government was doing in the health sector.

    He said it would reduce the pressure on Park Lane Specialist Hospital and other health ins–titutions, which are overstretched with patients.

    Governor Chime said investors were interested in procuring and mining coal for the benefit of the people and the state, especially as government has proposed to generate electricity from coal.

    He hailed the management of the bureau for its good work and assured that government would take care of the property.

    Mr. Dikki lauded the governor for his support and encouragement.

    He said the sale of the property was part of the privatisation of the landed property of the corporation and its coal block.

    Dikki said the privatisation of the corporation, which began in 2007, seeks to hand over the coal blocks to investors, who would invest money and expertise to mine the coal blocks and create jobs to boost the economy.

    He said other commercial buildings of the corporation and briquette plants have been sold and that the sale of its house will begin as soon as they resolve issues with the host community.

    The director- general said the sale of the Oji plantation was suspended because of issues with the host community and urged the governor to ensure the resolve of the issues.

    The governor inaugurated a seven-member committee drawn from the BPE and an official of the government headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Amechi Okolo, to meet the host communities to resolve the issues.

  • The Chimes’ controversy

    Wonders will never cease! Every other day, Nigerians are treated to different dimensions of news emanating from virtually everywhere – in the polity, on the economic sphere, in religious circles, market environment, beer parlours and other innocuous places. The government houses scattered all over the 36 states of the federation, where the almighty governors hold sway, are also not immune to shocking revelations. Usually, the items of news coming from these government houses are stories about extravaganzas, arbitrary use of power and other forms of recklessness.

    Today, there is a novel dimension to the news oozing out from the Government House in Enugu, South-east of Nigeria. Here, the news borders on man’s inhumanity to a woman. And the dramatis personae in this melodrama are no other persons than the Number One citizen of the state, Sullivan Chime, and Clara, his wife of five years. Since the news broke out about a fortnight ago, it has continued to spread like a festering sore.

    The kernel of the story, which is now in public domain, is the call by Chime’s wife to be rescued from detention right inside the Government House, Enugu. The wife had, through a petition to the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, cried out to be saved from her husband. She accused the governor of an abusive relationship that has led to her suffering from depression. The governor, she added, has locked her up in a room and denied her access to her four-year-old son and visitors. In the same vein, Femi Falana, her lawyer, also sent a letter to the Inspector General of Police, demanding the immediate release of Mrs. Chime from unlawful custody.

    According to the petitions, the governor’s wife said though she had been married for five years, “it has been a somewhat tempestuous relationship, which has virtually irretrievably broken down in the past couple of years”. She said, “We do not have a relationship anymore and the situation inevitably led to my nervous breakdown. I have been diagnosed with severe depression and at some point, was quite suicidal. The strategy of my estranged husband is to subject me to the most horrific and intolerable of conditions to cause my demise but my strength and will to live has kept me alive”.

    The governor’s wife went on to enumerate the major issues as follows: “Not had sexual relationship with my husband for four years; deprived of all my responsibilities as a wife; prevented from bonding with my four-year-old son; barred me from receiving visitors, whether family or friends; in the last three weeks, a lady friend who visited me was stopped from seeing me and the result is now complete incarceration from the outside world; in effect, I am locked up in my bedroom, without access to anybody; I am only allowed food but no access to fresh air; I have been locked up because I demanded to leave, even without my son; Governor Chime recently revoked my land allocation; the governor is doing everything possible to break my will”.

    Furthermore, the estranged woman said: “All I want and demand is to be allowed to leave; if I have committed any crime, I request that due process should be followed; I am falsely being imprisoned; all my rights are being violated; I have tried to leave and was pushed back by the security agents; and it is clear I am unable to do so except through other intermediaries; my passionate plea is to be allowed to leave peacefully as I no more wish to exist under this prevailing state. In the event that I die, please note that this must have been brought about by my husband. I wish to make it categorically clear that I have no intention of taking my own life. I have completely lost trust in my estranged husband; the possibility of the doctor injecting me with a lethal substance must never be underestimated; I am begging you to help facilitate my release and bring my suffering and ordeal to an end.”

    She claimed that even President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience, have intervened in the matter without convincing her husband to make life easier for her. She continued: “My father is late, my mom and few of my siblings are confused and have done all kinds of prayers they know of; three of my siblings prefer me dead than to see me leave the Government House.  He treats my mom and my siblings bad.”

    In his own reaction, an unperturbed Chime has vowed to continue to protect the integrity of his wife. According to him, “well, my wife has some medical challenges and it would be very unkind for me to talk about her condition on the pages of newspapers. I have done everything to protect her integrity and I am not now going to expose her to ridicule because some people want to exploit her situation to drag me into a needless war of words”.

    The controversy between Chime and his wife seems to have become an open-ended war between the couple on the one hand, Chime and Falana on the other hand, as well as, Chime’s wife and the NHRC. While Chime, who is also a lawyer, is contesting that his wife never contacted Falana for help, Falana has maintained that he has the woman’s brief to act on her behalf. Also, Chime’s wife has kicked against a recent report which was attributed to the NHRC to the effect that she was indeed suffering from “depression and hallucination”. This has prompted the human rights body to dissociate itself from the report at the last minute although the body did not refute the story when it first broke out.

    All indications point to the fact that there is more to this story than meets the eye. It is clear that Chime’s wife has been passing through unpleasant moments in her chequered relationship with her governor-husband. She has bared it all. What I think the husband has been trying to do is to embark on frenetic damage control to save his battered public image. For one, assuming the wife is actually depressed or having some psychological nightmares, the best place to treat a patient, whether of malaria or any other illness, is the hospital purposely built for such, and not the Government House. And the fact that some doctors allegedly connived with the governor to put the woman in ‘detention’ in the Government House smacks of suspicion and other ulterior motives.

    From the little information I was able to piece together from Enugu, the governor may have been economical with the truth. His lifestyle, which is said to be less than honourable and perhaps, unbecoming of a person occupying such a sensitive position, may have, in one way or another, contributed to his wife’s state of the mind. The governor is rumoured to have an insatiable appetite for frolicking with women and drinking in hotels in the coal city. He is said to be gifted with excellent dancing steps so much that, on a good day, he provides enough fun whenever he takes to the floor doing yahooze, azonto or skelewu dancing steps. This, they say, he relishes doing sometimes with six, eight or more girls in tow.

    If this is true, what follows each session of wining, erotic dance steps with women and all that, is a matter of conjecture. And the wife could easily be turned into a punching bag thereafter.  Here lies the crux of the matter. Therefore, there is the urgent need to get to the root of this problem. The talk about divorcing the woman, which is now uppermost in the mind of Chime and his collaborators, cannot provide a safety valve to wriggle out of this embarrassment. At any rate, Chime should not only toe the path of honour by taking his wife to any good hospital for adequate treatment, he should also do a comprehensive self-appraisal to see if there are some of his actions that may have caused the woman severe depression. This remains a shameful and condemnable act!

  • Man presents 8.5 km road as birthday gift to Enugu community

    Man presents 8.5 km road as birthday gift to Enugu community

    It was an event full of pomp and ceremony as 52-year-old Chris Baywood Ibe performed the contract award ceremony and flagging off of the construction /asphalting of 8.5km Agbogugu Isuawaa-Ihe /Agbudu Road In Agwu LGA of Enugu State. He is singlehandedly building the neglected road for his community.

    During the event which took place at his home town, Isu-Awaa, Ibe, an Europe-trained quantity surveyor, told the numerous guests that it was an honour and privilege for him to construct the road. He noted that the road, when completed, would be of immense benefit to the people.

    His words: “My family and I have for some time now taken over the maintenance of this road, which we believe is important in turning Isu-Awaa Kingdom into a tourist destination, which would have positive impact on our local economy and on the standard of living of our people. It will no doubt act as an infrastructural catalyst to improve the quality of life of our people and neigbours”.

    Ibe further stated that entreaties made to the government for the construction of the road had repeatedly failed, which was why he decided to take up the challenge, even though he considered the project a partnership deal with the Enugu State government. He further assured that the said road would be completed in 120 days, urging the community members to join in the overall supervision and see the road as a gift from him on his birthday.

    On his part the President of Isu-Awaa Town Union, Mr. Godwin Ude, decried lack of government’s presence on the roads in the past, even as he openly appreciated the gesture of the celebrant on behalf of the town union.

    Ude said the celebrant and his family members had not only impacted positively on the lives of the people, he also made a remarkable example of what a true son of the soil should be. He advised parents to inculcate in their children the spirit of selfless.

    The traditional ruler of Isu-Awaa, HRH Igwe Udemgaba Maduka, eulogised the celebrant, calling him a large man with a large heart. He noted that Baywood’s efforts would complement the developmental efforts of the government for his people.

    The Anglican Bishop of Agwu /Aninri, Rt. Rev. Dr. Ugwu, who was present at the occasion, described the celebrant as magnanimous, kind-hearted and illustrious. He urged other capable people to emulate him.

    Ibe , the proprietor of Baywood Oil and Gas Skill Service, who many invitees regard as a good manager of men and resources, afterwards signed the contracts and flagged off the road construction amidst fanfare.

    The event recorded the presence of many dignitaries, among whom were Senator Ike Ekweremmadu, represented by his special adviser on project, Engr. Bethel Onyenyiri, and many other influential personalities.

  • Enugu records low turn-out, late arrival of materials at council poll

    Enugu records low turn-out, late arrival of materials at council poll

    Late arrival of materials and apathy in most places were major features of yesterday’s local government elections in Enugu State.

    With candidates of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) unchallenged in most of the wards and councils, the exercise was a mere rubber stamp.

    Reports from some areas indicated, however, that the elections took off smoothly and witnessed large turnout, especially in the constituencies of chairmanship candidates.

    Voter apathy was visible in most of the polling stations in Achara Layout, Enugu South Local Government Area.

    Voters were yet to arrive for accreditation at the Igbariam Primary School polling station and others as at 10 a.m.

    One of the presiding officers, Mr. Chibueze Chukwu, told NAN that the election materials had not been supplied just as the voters were yet to show up.

    “We are still waiting for the supervisor to come with the materials. Whenever they come, we will start accreditation after which the voting will start,” he said.

    In Udenu Local Government, Area the outgoing chairman, Dr Godwin Abonyi, said that the turnout was impressive, adding that the election was going on smoothly as at mid-day.

    Skirmishes between supporters of the APGA candidate and their PDP counterparts were reported in the area, although voting later commenced.

    Governor Sullivan Chime and Chairman of PDP in the state, Chief Vita Abba, expressed satisfaction with the peaceful conduct of the election.

    The governor said the exercise marked yet another milestone in the quest by the state to entrench democracy and good governance at the grassroots.

    Chime, who spoke shortly after casting his vote at Premier School, Udi, said the conduct of the election, which is the fourth since the inception of his administration in 2007 was worthy of emulation.

    He attributed the comparatively low turn-out of voters for the election to the fact that all the chairmanship candidates and most of the councillorship candidates were running unopposed.

    Speaking after voting at Community Primary School Ede-oballa, Nsukka Local Government Area of the state, Abba said that there was a tremendous improvement in the turnout and organisation of the poll.

    “The process is very transparent and there is a lot of improvement than what it used to be. We pray and continue to work for further improvement in elections in Enugu state,” he said.

    On the complaints by the opposition parties that they were excluded from the exercise, the Enugu PDP helmsman said the complaint by one individual does not matter but the process.

     

  • Enugu police arrest two lovers for kidnapping priest

    Two lovers, an unemployed industrial chemistry graduate and a divorcee saleswoman have been arrested by the police in Enugu for kidnapping a priest. The duo, Chibuzor Egu and Loveth Okenwa were said to have lured the priest to their house at Umuchu Street, Idaw River area of Enugu and stripped him naked. They took nude photographs of the priest and thereafter demanded a ransom of N1m from him or have the pictures published in newspapers. The priest, identified as Kingsley Amakor from Ugbene in Abakpa Enugu is said to be a relation of Loveth. According Enugu Police spokesman, Ebere Amaraizu, the priest had, on the invitation, gone to visit Loveth at her shop situated at no 32/34 Oliver Agbo Street, off Meniru Awkunanaw, Enugu. On getting to the said shop, he was taken to the house where Loveth was living with Chibuzor with a view to acquainting him with her place of abode. But unknown to the priest, “ Chibuzor had arranged with Loveth, believed to be his girlfriend to lure the priest to their room in order that he could be stripped and picture of his nakedness taken.” Following blackmail and intimidation for the priest to pay the ransom or risk his photograph being published in the papers, the case was reported to the Anti-kidnapping unit of the command. The suspects were rounded up and arrested. Recovered from the suspects were copies of the nude photographs. The police said full scale investigations into matter would be launched.

  • PHOTO: Peaceful protest in Enugu over ASUU strike

    PHOTO: Peaceful protest in Enugu over ASUU strike

  • Enugu to spend N4.5b on roads

    Enugu State government has approved the award of contracts worth over N.5 billion for the building, rehabilitation, designing and marking of some urban and rural roads.

    The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chuks Ugwoke, who spoke with reporters on the outcome of a meeting of the State Executive Council, said of the amount, N2.475 billion would be spent on the dilapidated New Market-Hill-Ngwo-9th Mile Corner Road.

    The contract, he said, was awarded to C.G.C. Nigeria Ltd.

    The commissioner said N1.379 billion was approved for the 19.5 km Ikenga Affa-Amofia-Agu-Oghu Road, adding that the contract was awarded to Grey Line International Ltd.

    He said the affected communities, particularly Oghu, had been without access road for years.

    Mr. Ugwoke said N315.5 million was budgeted for the designing and marking of 32 roads in the Enugu metropolis in a contract awarded to Messrs Ron Chess Global Resources Ltd.

    The affected roads are Agbani Road, Edozie and Kenyan streets, Savage Crescent, Nnamdi Azikiwe Avenue, Jim Nwobodo Avenue, ESBS junction to Maryland, Amaechi Road and Agaric Bank-Ozubulu-Port Harcourt Expressway.

     

     

     

     

  • Pupils protest high fees in Enugu

    Senior secondary school pupils of government-owned Metropolitan Girls’ Secondary School, Enugu yesterday marched on the Government House, Enugu to protest what they called “illegal and high fees” imposed on them.

    The fees, which were said to have been announced by the school bursar, jolted the pupils, who had hitherto paid N1,000 per term.

    On resumption from the long vacation, the school authorities reportedly asked them to pay N13,500.

    On enquiry, the pupils were told that the amount was for the session and it included development fee (N1,500), lesson fee (N1,500) and tuition fee (N9,000).

    The insistence of the school authority to send the pupils home for failure to pay the new school fees resulted in the protest.

    They alleged that they were chased out of school.

    “We organised ourselves and marched on the Government House to make our grievances known,” said the pupils, whose ages range from 13 to 16.

    The head teacher, Mrs. Vero Ude, also came to the Government House ostensibly to stop the protest. She refused to speak to reporters.

    The pupils carried placards, which read: “School fees abuse”, “Poor people must survive” and “N13,500, we no go gree”.

    Security personnel urged them to go back to their classes as the governor was not in office.

    The pupils were not convinced until a top official in the Government House addressed them.

    They were escorted to their school by the security personnel, who ensured that they were not prevented from entering the school premises.