Executive Assistant to Imo State Governor on Poverty Alleviation Dr. Edwin Uche said the government distributed inputs and paddy rice to 1,000 rice farmers.
Uche, who coordinates the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Owerri the measure was to boost rice production.
He said: “Besides providing farmers with high-yielding rice seedlings, inputs and finance, we engage experts, who will put them through the process.
“There is arrangement for off-takers to buy off what they will produce.
“We believe through this approach and financial checks by officials of Bank of Agriculture, the sky will be the limit of farmers venturing into this agribusiness initiative.’’
The executive assistant said the government planned to join the league of commercial rice producers.
“Imo has the potential to be among the net producer and exporter of rice because of factors counting in its favour,’’ he added.
NAN reports that Okigwe, Ideato North, Oguta and Ihitte Uboma are fertile for rice cultivation.
Uche noted that Nigeria made impact in rice production on the continent and Imo would key into the drive.
“Agriculture is a sector capable of providing employment.
“This is the new drive being pursued by the Federal Government and the Governor Rochas Okorocha administration,’’ he said.
The executive assistant advised the beneficiaries of the programme to utilise the opportunity because it could transform them into rich farmers and employers.
Tag: Imo
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Imo gives 1,000 rice farmers inputs
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‘There’s need for power shift in Imo’
Chineyen Ezumoha is a management expert and founder of the Imo Network Group, (ING), which is agitating for power shift in Imo State. In this interview with reporters in Lagos, he highlights reasons why the state deserves a better leadership in 2019. Excerpts:
What do you think the 2019 elections protend for Nigeria?
It offers them the opportunity to take their destiny into their own hands and effect changes in the leadership at different levels in different parts of the country. It is time for us to show that power belongs to us.
You formed a group last year, the Imo Network Group (ING). What informed this idea?
Imo Network Group (ING) was formed in 2016 because we noticed a huge gap in the governance of our dear state. We noticed that for a long time in the history of Imo State, good governance and the rule of law have taken nocturnal flight. You would concur that no leader can do much for the people where there is no good governance and rule of law. These two major issues are the major planks of democracy. Therefore, ING was born to give teeth and bite to good governance and rule of law. The essence is to ensure that the leaders play by the rules of the game and live up to their responsibilities.
It is unfortunate that many people seem not to understand what the rule of law and good governance is. They think that good governance is all about building roads and offices or moulding sculptures and images. Good governance goes deeper than that. There are three legs to good governance, namely: transparency, accountability and inclusiveness. You could see that good governance goes beyond structures, but provides that the government or leader must be transparent, accountable and inclusive in all it or he does. It further proposes that the leader should not exclude the people from the governance process. The leader should be accountable.
The government should at all times publish the finances of the state, or even publish the budget implementation document? It should let the people know how much the government gets and spends, and on what the monies were expended. Failure to do all these is in breach of the people’s collective will. No one can run a government like that, because we are in a democracy. In a democracy, it is the views of the people that matter. That means that government should involve the people from the time of projects conception, contracts award and implementation.
You recently held a summit in Owerri. What was the aim of the summit and what was its outcome?
Imo Network Group December 2016 Summit was part of the programs lined up to sensitise and educate the people of Imo State. It was hoped that through that we could create the needed awareness and challenge the people to be involved in the political process. The summit dwelt on Good Democratic Governance.
The summit was also aimed at telling Imo people that they now have a platform through which they can mobilize and hold the government accountable at all times. But did we achieve all these? We achieved much more. Take for instance the goodwill we enjoyed. It might interest you to know that the people we invited as speakers were given very short notice. But they made it without asking us to pay. That was because they bought into the ING principles. They came and spoke to us, and the result is that the people now know what they did not know. People can now ask certain questions about the governance of the state. Again, I need to tell you that we were surprised at the number of people that attended the summit. Don’t forget that the summit held during a very busy Christmas period, when people had all sorts of events to attend. But despite their busy schedule, the people came and we had a very encouraging attendance record. Don’t forget that we did not pay anyone to attend the summit. Everyone came on his own. That on itself is an achievement. Also, since that summit, we have had upsurge in our membership. On daily basis we get people asking to join. We are pleased with what the summit achieved.
The summit gave us the opportunity to carry out a number of sensitisation projects, selling th vision outside the State. To consolidate on our sensitization project, it became essential to ge to the grassroots to announce the berthing of ING. We succeeded. The Christmas and New year period afforded us the rare opportunity of having both home and diaspora Imolites under the same roof. Again, we needed an ample opportunity to gauge the pulse of the organisation in the state. It was a huge success, creating a mass mobilisation platform that touched the mainstream of Imo people, both home and abroad.
Rochas Okorocha has been governor for nearly six years. how will you rate his government?
The best way to start assessing a leader is when you see his set target, priorities and accomplishments. You would ask yourself what the set targets are in Imo State under Rochas.
But, let us take some issues and developments, for example. Look at the local government system in the state. For six years now there has been no local government election. This means that only one man is managing the funds accruing to the 27 local governments of the state. Now ask yourself how much has accrued to the local governments and how were they spent. Ask yourself what infrastructural developments, especially rural roads infrastructure that have benefitted the people in the Local Councils. Six years of managing Local Government funds, the rural roads are not motorable. The worst nightmare for the rural dwellers is wet seasons, one hardly has accesses to rural communities due to bad roads, erosion and all what not. Dry seasons, especially yuletide periods, you could witness graders destroying further the roads already rendered useless by wet season. Ordinarily, one would have thought that grading the roads would bring succour to the people, but dusty roads take over from the ruins of previous season. It’s a sad narrative of failed infrastructure in a state parading it’s as a custodian of highly educated minds.
Some have alleged that the governor was running a one-man show. How true is this?
That’s an understatement. You could also see that there is no planning in most of the things the government does. Transparency is a luxury. Accountability doesn’t exist. Inclusiveness is bewitched as everything is done in secrecy, and most times you find it difficult to understand what the priorities are for the government.
Look at the issue of pension and pensioners? Has the government treated them well? Look at the state of the civil service in the state. Is it the kind you would be proud of? Look at how the governor went about to demolish people’s houses in the name of urban renewal without paying compensation. It is no longer the news that the state government has been in the battlefield with both the civil servants and the pensioners.
While we may lament about the plight of the civil servants whose salaries have been slashed, we weep for the senior citizens whose pensions have become tales by moonlight. In unprecedented series of events, we have seen the pensioners protesting against the maltreatment they receive from the state government. The latest is that the state government is forcing pensioners to sign a forfeiture document and accept only 40% of the arrears of their pensions. Pensioners who served government in the State are being owed 43 months arrears. The governor in his “magnanimity” decided to consider from only 12 months, throwing to eternity the other 31 months. Now from the 12 months period he unilaterally chose, he is to pay 40%.
What’s the role of House of Assembly in the face of all these?
Sadly, the situation in Imo State is worsened by the fact that there is no functional House of Assembly in the state. Majority of the people we now have as lawmakers in the state House of Assembly are like errand boys and girls to the governor. They have been reduced to mere rubber stamps and now follow the Governor about wherever he goes. Have you ever heard that Imo House of Assembly summoned the governor for questioning in the face of all these administrative gaffes? Do you think they will ever do it when they are busy lobbying for all sorts of favours and appointments? They have always lobbied to be part of governor’s trips. They have succumbed to the governor’s intimidation and subjugation to inferiority complex. If the Assembly was functional as a separate arm of government, it should have summoned the governor for questioning on the plight of the pensioners. -
Imo gives 1,000 rice farmers inputs
Executive Assistant to Imo State Governor on Poverty Alleviation Dr. Edwin Uche said the government distributed inputs and paddy rice to 1,000 rice farmers.
Uche, who coordinates the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Owerri the measure was to boost rice production.
He said: “Besides providing farmers with high-yielding rice seedlings, inputs and finance, we engage experts, who will put them through the process.
“There is arrangement for off-takers to buy off what they will produce.
“We believe through this approach and financial checks by officials of Bank of Agriculture, the sky will be the limit of farmers venturing into this agribusiness initiative.’’
The executive assistant said the government planned to join the league of commercial rice producers.
“Imo has the potential to be among the net producer and exporter of rice because of factors counting in its favour,’’ he added.
NAN reports that Okigwe, Ideato North, Oguta and Ihitte Uboma are fertile for rice cultivation.
Uche noted that Nigeria made impact in rice production on the continent and Imo would key into the drive.
“Agriculture is a sector capable of providing employment.
“This is the new drive being pursued by the Federal Government and the Governor Rochas Okorocha administration,’’ he said.
The executive assistant advised the beneficiaries of the programme to utilise the opportunity because it could transform them into rich farmers and employers.
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Youths seek appointment of Imo representative on NDDC board
Imo State youths have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint another state representative into the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board.
They told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Owerri the delay in appointing the representative amounted to injustice.
NAN recalls that President Buhari appointed Senator Osita Izunaso, who is not from an oil-producing area, a board member, but he later resigned.
Mr. Chigozie Ohiri, the president, Niger Delta Youth Movement, Imo State chapter, appealed to the president to appoint an indigene of oil-producing area into the board.
He said the appointment of a representative of Ohaji/Egbema or Oguta Local Government, oil-producing areas, would give the people a sense of belonging.
Ohiri complained that none of the N30 billion contracts the commission awarded was located in the two local governments.
“Our investigation shows none of the 15 road contracts awarded by NDDC at the cost of over N30 billion is located in Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta.
“These are the two oil-bearing councils.
“This is an abuse of NDDC intra-state sharing formula as enshrined in the act establishing the commission,’’ he said.
Mr. Ozor Okorie said it was necessary for the President to appoint a representative from the oil-bearing part of the state into the board.
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Imo 2019 and the Okorocha age rhetoric
Governor Rochas Okorocha has been reported as saying that he will not hand over to anybody above fiftyyears of age. Anothervariant of his theory is that he will retire everybody above that age from active politics in the state by the time he is leaving office.At the recent annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Owerri, he repeated his age limit pronouncements to the total consternation of the learned gentlemen.
An altercation that ensued between the governor and the chair of the NBA led Okorocha to describing the former as “bereft of ideas,” a statement that further infuriated the lawyers who came from all over the country. Initially, many thought thatthe age ceiling talk were restricted to Imo audiences. But extending it for the consumption of outsiders, especially legal practitioners who are conversant with the extant laws of the land, is to carry an obvious joke too far.
Okorocha’s posturing is worrisome not because he possesses the power or capacity to implement his laughable age law but for the mere fact that it makes a mockery of the entire Imo collective. Apart from entailing some contradictions over his own leaks on the potential beneficiaries of a succession plan being put together exclusively by him, the age ceiling talk is at once a deliberate andinadvertent portrayal of the entire people of Imo state as ignorant, timid and a people who have given in to the idiosyncrasies of a fellow who seems to have convinced himself that he will be the sole determinant of who will be the next governor of the state.
Apart from being a sad commentary on a people reputed as one of the most sophisticated in Nigeria, Okorocha’sutterances on the 2019 Imo governorship transition has led to negative prognosis on the shape of things to come. It has made the rest of the country to wonder if Imo is no longer part of Nigeria.
The constitution and the extant electoral laws have clear provisions on age requirement for people vying for elective offices. They stipulate minimum requirements, not maximum. Therefore, Okorocha’s maximum age ceiling would baffle every knowledgeable Nigerian. Has Imo created its own constitution and electoral laws?
Today, there is palpable fear in the state of a major upheaval, a fear predicatedentirely on the perception that Okorocha has narrowed down his choice of a successor to a certain relation of his and will stop at nothing to achieve that goal. Every adult resident of the state would reel out a list of Okorocha’s close allieswho he has “promised” to hand over to. But they will quickly tell you that going by the governor’s own rule on age, over 98 per cent of those to whom he has made such‘promises’ are either already over fifty years of age or will have gone beyond fifty by the time the 2019 general elections are held.
It is hard to tell how the promise list originated but the names are on the lip of every knowledgeable adult Imo citizen, especially those residence in the state; and this notwithstanding the fact that the governor has oftendenied that he has anointed anybody. Apart from the fact that, as an indigene of the state, I share in the shame associated with such a retrogressive development,I have a particular interest in the age ban matter.
Among one of the most celebrated promises to a would-be successor is the one made to my kinsman, Mr. George Eche, the current Secretary to the State Government.Okorocha had sometime last year at a gathering populated mostly by people from my local government area, Ngor Okpala, where Eche hails from, expressed sentiments over the perceived marginalization of my area in the scheme of things. He went ahead to state that he would like to pick a successor from there. Besides that Eche, then newly appointed, was present, reports had it that the way the governor spoke left no one in doubt that he was telling our people that Eche is a son in whom he was well pleased and a likely successor.
Ever since, speculations over Eche’s prospects as the next governor of Imo state have been quite high, of course. Agreed, there are a few other persons from my LGA who have governorship ambition and who, one-on-one, would scale higher than Eche, but nothing can diminish the excitement of a people in learning that one of their own has the chance of being anointed by the very powerful governoras his successor.
To be sure, not everybody in Ngor Okpala would be enamored but I can beat my chest to state that most of the skeptics are merely watching and will key in at the appropriate time.Now, Eche, from very authentic records, is already over 50 years of age. So, where lies Okorocha’s “promise” and the hope of my people? Is it going to be a dashed expectation for an innocent people who, unlike many others in the state, did not lobby the governor to express such sentiments and even raised their expectation in the direction he did? Needless to say, my people are watching.
It is also not likely that the good people of Mbaitoli Local Government Area are finding the age ban funny.Except for a handful of individuals in the area, the people have had their eyes fixed on the governorship in 2019 through their son, Prince Eze Madumere, Okorocha’s deputy. Like Eche, Madumere is also above 50years of age. We can go and on but by the time we go down the list, the only two fellows that will be remaining on Okorocha’s fabled succession plan are Hon. Chike Okafor and Mr Uche Nwosu, the governor’s Chief of Staff.
Even so, I understand that Okafor will be over 50 by the time of the 2019 general elections;which leaves only Nwosu, a son-in-law of the governor, on the list.It is said that he will be less than 50years old by May 29, 2019. The governor may recruit more people into the list but for now, a simple rule of the thumb analysis, which leaves Nwosu as the only man standing, has left tongues wagging.
A majority of Imo citizens are left with no other conclusionthan that the age ban is tailored to suit the objective of installing Nwosu as the next governor. While the general discomfiture caused by that is understandable, let me hasten to state that I do not necessarily share in the thinking that Nwosu stands disqualified to be governor in 2019 simply because he is Okorocha’s son-in-law.As an individual,he is a bone fide citizen of the state and has the right to aspire to any office whether or not his father-in-law is the governor. God forbid, what if his wife, Okorocha’s daughter, divorces him tomorrow?I can see somebody spring up from his on her seat to say “tell them” but there is a caveat.
For, if I go by my own theory that Nwosu,ordinarily, has the right to vie for any office, then Okorocha’s age ban falls flat on its belly because it means that Nwosu can vie on his own merit without his father-in-law resorting to the age ceiling trick. It is a cheap antic which, as I have noted earlier, ridicules the entire people of the state. It is also a hollow idea that merely creates animosity within the APC, especially among those in the governor’s list of the would-be successors; and heightenstension in the entire Imo polity.
But since, as we have seen, the governor has no powers to implement the age ban, why should the peace-loving people of Imo be made to go through unnecessary anxiety arising from such shenanigans and a banal idea?
As far as I am concerned, Okorocha lost every sympathy or understanding from the people over his right to make inputs on who succeeds him the moment he came up with the idea of the age ban because they see it as an affront on their collective intelligence. By that simple suggestion, he portrays the people of the state as uninformed and cowardly. As a matter of fact, it is not uncommon to hear some people argue that the governor believes that he has conquered the entire state.
To play the Devil’s Advocate, however,the age ban weakens the chances of his son-in-law whom many say is a “nice guy.” If I were Nwosu, I would ask my father-in-law to withdraw the age ban tactics. Not even his fellow youths are enamoredof it because it lacks sophistication.
Needless to say, they can hardly be impressed with the claim that the age ban is to empower them. Of course, the more politically conscious among themhave already bought into the idea that the age ban is meant to achieve a pre-determined objective.
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Ndoma-Egba vows to change public perception of NDDC
The Chairman of the Governing Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba says steps are being taken to change the negative perception of the commission by the public.
Ndoma-Egbe said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
He regretted that the public image of the commission was not encouraging, adding that It would no longer be business as usual.
According to him, members of the commission are being accused of collecting kick backs from contractors of the commission before paying them for contracts executed.
“The story in the public is that the commission collects 10 to 15 per cent from contractors to get their payments for jobs executed.
“This is absolutely wrong, if it is true, getting such payments from contractors would have become an industry by itself.
“There is no reason why contractors who have met conditions for payment should not be paid without any gratification.
“We are coming on board at a very challenging time.’’
According to him, we must rebrand the commission and change the public perception of it as a slush fund, and this we must do through our honest work and single minded focus and discipline.Ndoma-Egba also pledged to reposition the board to enable it play its role effectively in the administration of the commission.
He explained that the NDDC under his leadership would no longer serve as a place where things would be done without adhering strictly to set rules and order.
“The bane of the commission seems to stem from the mentality of the leadership that once they are appointed, it is their turn to rip off the agency.
“But the new Board and Management of the commission have understood where we are coming from and what the people expect from us and we have decided to depart from the ugly route of the past,’’ he said
To this end, Ndoma-Egba said that on assumption of office, the management immediately swung into action by taking measures to put their house in order and change the way things were being done in the commission.
He said this was done to show their seriousness and desire to stick to accountability and to ensure the much needed development.
The chairman said the management assembled key members of staff and development partners for a retreat in February.
This, he noted was part of efforts by the commission to reposition it for effective service delivery.
“The three-day retreat, with the theme; “Collaboration for Sustainable Development”, held in Onne, Rivers State, and was attended by members of the Governing Board, directors, and strategic stakeholders from within and outside the region.
“The retreat made it clear that the new Board and Management are solely dedicated to integrity, efficiency, transparency and accountability,” he stated.
Speaking on abandoned projects in the region, Ndoma-Egba blamed the budget process for being “largely responsible for the spate of abandoned projects in the region.’’
“The approach to projects has been ad hoc, arbitrary and self-serving, with very little end-user content. Many projects appear strange to beneficiary communities.
“The projects are imposed on them and it creates crisis of ownership.
“It will be apt to expect that with the combination of the chairman and the managing director in the saddle, a new era of rapid physical development driven by accountability will for once dominate the affairs of the commission.
“Indeed, those who have taken time to look into the books of the commission are quick to point out that the amount of money received by the intervention agency since its establishment in 2000.“It is not commensurate with the quantity and quality of projects in the nine oil producing states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Imo, Delta, Edo, Ondo and Rivers.
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New worship centre for Imo police
It has been inaugurated and blessed by no less a personality than His Grace, Most Rev. Anthony J. V. Obinna, Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Archdiocese. But the new St Michael the Archangel Catholic Police Chaplaincy, Shell Camp Police Barracks, Owerri Imo State has not always been this graceful. It was once a little better than a makeshift structure sitting on a temporary site. The state Commissioner of Police Taiwo Lakanu has changed all that.
Lakanu, the 31st Commissioner of Police of the state, who is a devout Catholic, ensured the chaplaincy was completed and at its permanent site.
He rallied his friends who pooled resources together. In eight months of vigorous efforts, the CP and his friends completed the about 1000-capacity edifice which was inaugurated on February 25.
The CP who believes in the efficacy of prayers, said he did not only come to Imo State to salvage the security situation but also for the spiritual revival of the personnel of the command.
The wife of the state governor, Mrs Nneoma Okorocha attended the inauguration. Chairman, Imo State Council of traditional rulers, HRH Eze Sam A. Ohiri, the Chief of Staff, Imo Government House, Hon. Chief Ugwumba Uche Nwosu, heads of security agencies in the state and a host of other distinguished personalities also graced the occasion.
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Imo oil communities: Exploited, abandoned
The agony of oil-bearing communities in Imo State is double-fold. Their natural resources are wasted, while Federal Government projects are abandoned. OKODILI NDIDI reports
ould they have been better off if the crude oil in their area lay still and untouched where nature kept it? Some residents of Ohaji-Egbema and Oguta council areas in Imo State have been forced to ask that question since the exploration of petroleum in their communities has left them in agony. For decades, they endured the ravaging of their land by oil explorers. Their farmlands have been eroded and their rivers poisoned by oil spillage. From Ejemekwuru to Izombe, Umuofor, Obidiagwa, Oguta and Awara, among others in both councils, the story is the same.
The indigenous people of these riverside, oil-rich communities are among the most socially and economically deprived in the state. Several of their children and loved ones have met with tragic death in the frequent incidents of pipeline explosions and other health hazards that attend oil exploration. Their youths are jobless, the aged racked by poverty and sickness.
The little efforts made by the Federal Government to alleviate their sufferings were sabotaged, most painfully, by their own. The politicians, who ought to have argued their case before the appropriate authorities, took advantage of their plight to line their pockets.
That is not all. Today several Federal Government projects awarded to impact the lives of the people have been abandoned by the contractors after collecting huge sums of money. Most painfully are the Egbema Gas Plant and the Skill Acquisition Centre in Ohaji-Egbema, which have been abandoned and overgrown with weeds.
The depth of the marginalisation of these oil-producing communities was recently captured by the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo during his tour of the Niger Delta.
Prof Osinbajo confirmed that the oil-producing communities in the state have been treated unfairly by the Federal Government, compared to other oil-producing communities in the region. He was particularly touched by the dearth of infrastructure and number of abandoned Federal Government projects in the two oil-bearing council areas of the state.
Osinbajo regretted that the oil producing communities in Imo State have largely been neglected by the Federal Government, noting that the time has come for the affected communities to receive adequate attention like their counterparts in other States.
The Acting President after assessing the abandoned facilities assured that the facilities will be completed and put to use to serve the purpose for which it was installed, stressing that Power is key to the development of the area.
He said, “The oil-producing communities in Imo have a lot of vibrant young men and women who must be carried along in the scheme of things. My interaction today with those concerned has given the government the opportunity to discuss with the people directly involved with a view of making sure that there is justice and even development across the Niger Delta Communities.
“We are going to ask the contractors to return to site, while we probe all the abandoned contracts and all erring contractors will be brought to book. A situation where contracts are abandoned after they were awarded is not acceptable to this government”.
He assured that Imo State would get its fair share of federal projects.
Similarly, the state governor, Rochas Okorocha bemoaned the fate of the communities.
He said, “The theory and songs of marginalisation cannot be sung better by any other ethnic group than the Igbo in this present dispensation. We have nothing absolutely to show, neither do we have any serious sense of belonging in the present government at the National level”.
Continuing, the governor said, “I know you are the Acting President and has the ears of the President. Sometimes we Christians don’t go to God directly, we go through His son Jesus Christ. So there is no better person to tell our painful story than you. You need to take a second look at what is happening in the Southeast. No serious political appointments, no visible federal infrastructure so far, to show the presence of Federal Government in Imo State and Southeast in general. I beg that as the government gives subsequent appointments, let the qualified sons and daughters of the state be considered. Those in business should be considered for federal patronage.
“Imo State played a major role in bringing APC to power because if what had taken place in other states was allowed to happen in Imo State and other states in the Southeast, probably we wouldn’t have had the APC government today”.
He pleaded that “the dilapidated skill acquisition Centre be changed to University of Niger Delta to help bring about lasting peace in the area, while the gas plant at Egbema should be made to work to help in industrialising the area”.
“Given the role that I played as a sacrificial lamb in the Southeast during the elections, my state deserves more. There is no Federal Government presence in the oil producing area and none benefitted from the Federal Government Amnesty Programme. I also ask for the quick refund of the money spent by the state on Imo International Cargo Airport and federal roads in the state”.
Also angered by the neglect of the communities, the Minister of Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, frowned at the deliberate sabotage of Federal Government’s efforts by fraudulent contractors.
He asserted that with the quantity of mineral deposit in the state, it should be accorded required attention, while promising to assist the state recover their lost oil wells.
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NDDC redeploys 11 directors in major shake-up
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has redeployed 11 directors to different offices and directorates to boost its performance in the development of the Niger Delta.
The Managing Director of NDDC, Mr Nsima Ekere, said on Thursday in Port Harcourt that the decision to shake-up the NDDC was taken after the commission’s retreat in Port Harcourt.
He said the affected directors were drawn from the commission’s offices in Abuja, Bayelsa, Imo, Ondo, Delta and Rivers states.
The NDDC chief gave the names of the affected officers redeployed as: Dr Princewill Ekanim, who was redeployed to the office of the Managing Director as Director of Special Duties.
Mr Effiong Ephraim moves from Special Duties to head Abuja Liaison office, while Mrs Rachael Odiri, formerly Head of Bayelsa State office now heads Abuja office.
Also, Mr Wanoro Weli, a former Director in charge of Utility Infrastructure Development and Waterways would head Ondo State office, replacing Mr Emma Audu who becomes Director of Project Monitoring and Supervision.
In similar vein, Mr Nosa Agbongiasede takes charge of Imo State office, while Godwin Jaja, formerly Director of Imo office would take charge of Human Resources Directorate.
Mr Etim Eyoette was elevated to the position of Acting Director, Utility Infrastructure Development and Waterways (UIDW), while Mr Ndubuisi Ahiakwo was moved from UIDW in Delta to Project Monitoring and Supervision (Western Zone).
Mr Uno Uno now heads Project Monitoring and Supervision (Eastern Zone) while Mr Felix Aomreore becomes Head, Project Monitoring and Supervision (Central Zone).
Ekere said the redeployment would enable the commission to actualise reforms designed to restore the commission’s core mandate and improve the living conditions of residents in the Niger Delta.
`We are taking actions to reform our operations for optimum performance; and part of the first step was to deploy officers to where they would offer better service.
“It is important to offer the region and our people better service; improve the quality of our projects; and ensure that we pay for projects and programmes that we implement,” he said. (NAN)
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Imo tops JAMB applications, records 103,122 in 2016
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Imo topped the number of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) applications with 103,122 in 2016.
Thie figure is reflected in an NBS report on “ JAMB Admitted Candidates by State and Gender within Faculty’’ released on Monday in Abuja.
According to the report, three states – Imo, Osun, Oyo – top the list of those with the highest number of JAMB applications in 2016, following the applications of statistics by state of origin.
The report stated that Osun recorded the second highest applications with 83,569 applications, while Oyo recorded 81,630 applications.
Meanwhile, the report stated that Yobe, Zamfara and FCT recorded lowest applications with 12,268; 7,303 and 5,089 respectively.
In 2015, the report listed Imo, Delta and Oyo as the top three states with highest applications.
“JAMB received 111,066 applications form, out of which 28,883 were admitted for admission, representing 26 per cent of the students admitted in the year.
“JAMB received 101, 213 applications from Delta, out of which 26,462 were admitted, representing 28 per cent of students in the year under review.
“Also, JAMB received 87,180 applications from Oyo state in which 24,652 were admitted in the year.’’
The report, however, stated that top three states with lowest applications were Sokoto (12,877), Zamfara (6,304) and FCT with 1,725 applications.
It stated that JAMB received a total 11. 7 million applications in 6 years from 2010 to 2016. (NAN)