The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Governor Uduaghan

  • EFCC quizzes ex-governor over cash traced to judge’s account

    EFCC quizzes ex-governor over cash traced to judge’s account

    •I didn’t give out bribe funds, ex-governor tells detectives

    A Former Governor has denied the remittance of N15 million to a judge’s bank account.
    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) believes that the cash was paid to the Federal High Court’s Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia as “medical assistance”.
    All judges, who hail from South South State, were said to have benefited from the “medical assistance account”.
    A source in the anti-graft commission said: “Following the discovery of suspicious remittances of N15 million in three installments into the account of Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia, our detectives invited the ex-Governor for interrogation.
    “During the interaction, he admitted offering of medical assistance to judges from state, including Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia, as part of the policy of his administration.
    “We are still investigating the curious medical assistance payment because the National Judicial Council (NJC) takes care of medical bills of all serving and retired judges.
    “We will look at records and verify the list of such beneficiary judges nationwide. We may re-invite the ex-governor, if necessary.”
    The former governor was said to have told EFCC detectives that the “medical assistance” was neither slush nor bribe funds.
    Besides, said a source, he stresses that the state government had no case before all beneficiaries to have warranted any hidden motive behind the gesture.
    He denied a likely perversion of the course of justice.
    The United States (U.S.)-based medical student daughter of the embattled judge is stranded in the country because of the seizure of her passport by the EFCC.
    It was not immediately clear if any slush money had been traced to the girl’s account.
    Another source said: “This student is doing her clinicals in the U.S. But she is stranded because of her mother’s travails. The judge has been appealing to the EFCC to save her daughter’s career by releasing the seized passport.
    “The family is just appealing to the EFCC to release the girl’s passport for her not to lose this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
    But an EFCC official insisted yesterday that “it is not a case of arbitrary seizure of the girl’s passport; we are investigating alleged links between the mother and the daughter on some suspected cases of money laundering”.
    EFCC operatives on December 8, last year visited Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia’s Park View Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos home.
    “The operation was meant to interview her daughter and son, who allegedly did not honour previous invitation from the EFCC,” the source said.
    The EFCC, on November 28, last year, arraigned Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Godwin Obla, before Justice O.H Oshodi of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on a 30-count charge of offering gratification to a public servant, unlawful enrichment, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and giving false information to an officer of the commission.

  • GOVERNOR UDUAGHAN Complete this library

    I AM not a happy man. And the source of my sorrow is the uncompleted library in my town.

    This library has been in this condition for the past 16 years. It is overgrown with weeds.

    As I am going about in grief, others in my town, Ogwashi-Ukwu, in the Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State are equally sad. They see good libraries in other towns and feel bad.

    This is why I am appealing to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan to help us complete the library before he leaves office in May.

    We need a good library, and it is my hope that my good governor will give us one.

    Feyi Akeeb Kareem,

    Ogwashi-Ukwu,

    Delta State

  • Jonathan hails Uduaghan’s ‘exemplary dedication to service’ at 60

    Jonathan hails Uduaghan’s ‘exemplary dedication to service’ at 60

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday applauded Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s exemplary dedication to the service of Delta State and Nigeria.

    In a congratulatory letter to Uduaghan, who turns 60 Wednesday, the President commended his commitment to the ideals of diligence, humility and perseverance.

    He wrote: “On behalf of my family, the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I write to express warm felicitations to you on the glorious occasion of your 60th birthday anniversary.

    “I join your family, friends, well-wishers and the entire people of Delta State in celebrating a life that vividly epitomizes triumph against all odds emanating from the circumstance of birth, while also symbolizing the assured reward for single-minded commitment to the ideals of diligence, humility, perseverance, focus and dedicated service.

    “As you deservedly mark this landmark anniversary, it is my prayer that Almighty God will continue to grant you good health, even as He guides, guards and prospers you in the many more years of fulfilling service ahead of you.”

    The President, according to a statement issued by his media aide, Dr. Reuben Abati, also wished Governor Uduaghan a very happy birthday.

     

  • Jonathan moves to avert NMA strike

    Jonathan moves to avert NMA strike

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday summoned a stakeholders’ meeting to avert the proposed strike by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

    The Association is threatening to embark on full scale strike action from Monday after its earlier warning strike.

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of Jonathan’s meeting with stakeholders in the health sector, the Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan said that some members present at the meeting have been directed to hold another meeting with NMA on Thursday evening.

    He said: “There are issues that have been raised by the Nigerian Medical Association for which they have threatened to go on strike. They had a warning strike for about five days, so the President called a stakeholders’ meeting to look at the issues.

    “We are going for a meeting now at 5pm with the NMA, at least, there are some things the President has consented to and I believe by the time we finish the meeting this evening, there will be some resolutions.

    “Our determination is to ensure that that strike of January 6 is averted. Of course we cannot afford another strike in the medical sector. One minute of strike in the health sector by whatever body can be very disastrous.”

     

     

  • War again?

    War again?

    Governor Uduaghan and others’ approach to the attack on Itsekiris calmed the creeks

    Recently, tension crackled in the creeks of Delta State, and reignited the old feud between the Itsekiris and the Ijaws of the region. The trouble first blared when a group of hoodlums identified as Ijaw youths stormed some Itsekiri villages and opened fire on vulnerable residents. They killed whole families as well as children and women.

    The reports had it that so furious were some of the families that a reprisal attack from the Itsekiris loomed. With the intervention of the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and other stakeholders, the attack never materialised, and the state escaped the bloodletting and other tragedies that could have resulted from an open sesame of mutual hate.

    But the matter was more complicated that it has been defined. Some media houses have painted it in purely ethnic terms, but it was a camouflage. Subsequent investigations revealed that attack was unleashed by a group of brigands who were eyeing plum rewards of oil bunkering. They did not get their wish. So they decided to use the familiar blackmail ploy of the age and region: violence.

    They decided to ethnicise the conflict so as to detract for the narrative of their greed. By that, it would appear they wanted to defend their ethnic groups. Another group, the Egbema Radical Group (ERG), had also carried out a campaign, calling for representation of Warri North Local Government. Their demand was political. But the ERG and the violent youths fed off each other and turned the tragedy of the Itsekiris into a platform for blackmail.

    Governor Uduaghan has openly expressed disdain for any such blackmail and warned that he would not negotiate with anyone under duress. He said becoming the chairman of a local government is not the responsibility of the governor. It is an elective position and only elections are vehicle to place anyone on that chair.

    The reluctance of the ERG to condemn and dissociate itself from the perpetrators of the killings in strong terms portrays them as opportunistic and cynical.

    We all know the conflagration of the same ethnic rage less than a decade ago. It was a daily show of macabre violence. Many families lost loved ones. Villages became prostrate and businesses paralysed. The atmosphere of cordiality and mutual respect that informed the relations between the ethnic groups for over a century turned into ashes.

    Up till today, the societies are still trying to come to terms with deep scars, both physical and psychic, of the killings, maiming, arson, vandalism that crippled governance. We also recall that the violence resulted from disputes over local government issues.

    We therefore commend the Itsekiri leaders who urged restraint as well as the governor. They must be aware of the pangs from the previous conflicts and the challenges of recovery.

    The fundamental issue in the Niger Delta remains underdevelopment and it will continue to fuel restless and idle young men into the laziness that believes that violence and brigandage can bring prosperity rather than the higher virtues of hard work, integrity and honour.

    In spite of the amnesty programme apparently designed to stave off such incidents as the killing of Itsekiris, we are not safe. This demonstrates that the Federal Government has only scratched the surface, and the challenge of angry young men who want change for themselves and not all shall continue to haunt us.