The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Imo

  • Mysterious fire razes community school in Imo

    The people of Atta community in Njaba Council Area of Imo state are currently counting their losses following a midnight fire that gutted their only secondary school, the Comprehensive Secondary School Atta.

    According to one of the senior teachers in the school, Mrs. Emelda Nwadike, the mysterious fire completely razed the administrative building of the school and destroyed all vital documents that were kept in the principal’s office since the inception of the school, more than 50 years ago.

    Nwadike who spoke amidst tears, lamented that, “we are really helpless. Right now the teachers are stranded with no place to stay while the remaining buildings are so dilapidated that it will be suicidal to ask any student to go there and study”.

    Also destroyed by the inferno were the school laboratory and library with all the books and computers.

    The school apart from being the only school in the community has suffered years of neglect and abandonment before the recent fire outbreak.

    Speaking after a tour of the school that has been reduced to ruins, the traditional ruler of the community, Eze Edwin Azike, described the incident as a painful loss that would send the community backwards if the government did not intervene and rebuild the destroyed buildings and properties before the next resumption date.

    The traditional ruler who condemned the incident in strong terms, appealed to Governor Rochas Okorocha, “to demonstrate to the world that his love for education is not a fluke,” lamenting that the loss was beyond what the community could bear.

    Also speaking, President of the Onward Brothers, Atta a socio-cultural group, Chief Christian Ohaga, noted that, “apart from rebuilding the destroyed buildings, the state government needs to upgrade the school to a tertiary status.”

  • One killed as truck rams into shopping mall in Imo

    It was a horrible sight yesterday in Owerri, the Imo State capital when a heavy-duty truck crushed a middle-aged man to death.

    The unfortunate incident which occurred at the Imo State University junction along the Okigwe road, when the driver of the Mack truck with registration number GDD 751 KA, lost control of the vehicle apparently as a result of brake failure, skidded off the road and rammed into a shopping mall, killing a man simply identified as Ikechukwu.

    According to eyewitnesses, the driver of the truck was coming from the Orji end of the Okigwe road, when his truck lost control and headed towards the crowded shopping mall, where it knocked down an electric pole before hitting the victim who was also trying to run away.

    Miss chidimma, one of the shop attendants, who witnessed the incident, narrated that the victim who supplied poultry products to the shopping mall had already finished for the day and was answering a call on his phone before the truck hit him from behind.

    When our reporter visited the scene of the accident, sympathisers had thronged the scene to catch a glimpse as the lifeless body of the victim who was being dragged out from under the truck by officers of the Civil Defense Corps.

    However, the Imo State Police Public Relations Officer, Joy Elemoko (DSP), who confirmed the incident, said the driver of the truck who escaped unhurt was promptly taken away by the police for further investigations.

  • Imo community gets king, 25 years after

    AFTER 25 years, a new king has been installed in an Imo State community, thanks to the intervention of the state governor, Rochas Okorocha.

    The governor declared Chief Godwin Ehirim Nwebo of Egbelu king of Amaimo Autonomous Community in Ikeduru Local Government Area of the state, ending a bitter tussle between the new monarch and his rival Chief Marcellinus Alaribe of Umueze.

    The governor said traditional rulers have a great role to play in the peace and development of the society.

    Okorocha spoke at the Ahiajoku Convention Centre where the kingship dispute was resolved.

    The governor added that the institution should be manned by those who are versed in knowledge of the cultures and traditions of the people, explaining that it is not meant for people who live outside their communities.

    Okorocha said Chief Alaribe lives in Kuwait and could not rule Amaimo from outside the community. He also noted that Chief Alaribe might not be versed in the culture and tradition of Amaimo.

    While noting that traditional institution in Igbo land is about upholding of the mores of the land, he said that anyone who aspires to the prime position of a king must be someone who is knowledgeable in the traditions of the people.

    He said: “The traditional institution is not for individuals who are bereft of the knowledge of people’s customs and traditions. It is meant for those who reside in the communities and who know the people and can identify with them. It is not meant for those who live in Kuwait, United States of America, Britain and other foreign lands.”

    In the circumstances, Governor Okorocha disqualified Chief Alaribe, the son of the first traditional ruler of Amaimo Ancient Kingdom, the late Eze Jude Alaribe; the Duru Imo 1 of Amaimo who was from Umueze Town.

    Prior to his disgraceful disqualification, Chief Alaribe had grandly walked down to the podium where the governor and other members of the panel were and asked that “Amaimo case should be called up because I came back from Kuwait,” adding that “there is flight problem to Kuwait.”

    Making his way back to his seat, Governor Okorocha called him back and asked: “You said you came back from Kuwait because of the Amaimo kingship tussle? Are you dragging the stool with anybody?”

    Chief Alaribe answered in the affirmative.

    It was then that the governor invited Chief Nwebo to the podium.

    The crowd expected the governor to examine the case by calling on each claimant to the throne to present documents that would validate their claims. There was no such demand, neither were there questions nor cross-examinations. Rather, the governor gave a less-than-three-minutes verdict that surprised everyone.

    Addressing Chief Alaribe, Okorocha said: “You said you came back from Kuwait because of this case? You can go back to Kuwait. This is your king (pointing to the Eze-elect Nwebo). Congratulations, sir.”

    People from Egbelu, Amachara, Amuzu and Umueze towns who were in support of the kingship of Chief Nwebo literally rose in thunderous shouts of joy and went home in jubilation.

    In a chat with Newsextra, the chairman of Amaimo Ezeship Committee, said that “the towns that make up Amaimo autonomous community came in their large numbers to allow the governor to determine the authentic candidate as king of Amaimo Ancient Kingdom.”

    Chief Duru, a one-time secretary-general of Amaimo Improvement Union, disclosed that the tussle for the kingship of Amaimo has been on for 25 years.

    He said: “The case has been on since 1988. It has gone to the law court and the same man won twice. It has passed through several panels, the same Godwin Ehirim Nwebo won. He was the person who was properly identified, selected and presented by various investigating panels. This other person who had been wrongly laying claim to the throne has never gone through any of these processes of selection. He merely used the occasion of the memorial ceremony of his father to be crowned by a foreigner; one late Eze Onuegwunwoko from Ihitte-Oratta who had no stake in Amaimo kingship tussle.

    “Amaimo people regarded that as an aberration and insult on our culture and tradition. They prevented that from happening, and it never happened.”

    Commenting on the governor’s verdict, Chief Duru stated that “the governor saved the gentleman some problems. The ‘impostor’ was also saved from huge embarrassment. It was instructive that he was the one who told the governor that he lives in Kuwait, and the governor wanted to know the business the young man has with kingship matter in Imo State since he lives far away from the people and their traditions. Then he said: ‘You can go back to Kuwait. See your king, respect him.”

  • Imo traditional chair: Senator praises court on verdict

    Imo traditional chair: Senator praises court on verdict

    Senator Hope Uzodimma representing Imo West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, yesterday described the reinstatement of Eze Cletus Ilomuanya by an Appeal Court in Owerri, Imo State as the Chairman, Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers as a proof that the reign of terror in the state is temporary.

    While congratulating the royal father, Uzodimma who is the Senate Committee Chairman on Aviation in a statement in Abuja at the weekend, said the court verdict was victory for justice.

    He applauded the Appeal Court justices for their forthrightness in ensuring that justice prevailed at last.

    Uzodimma said that as the senator representing the monarch, he was particularly elated that the injustice meted out to him had been overturned by the court.

    He cautioned politicians in the positions of authority against playing God in their decisions and thinking that the lives of others were in their hands, as the positions they hold are in trust.

    According to him, “Ilomuanya’s victory is for the oppressed Imo people and I call on all Imolites to wake up and fight against injustice and anything evil”.

    It would be recalled that this would be the second time the Appeal Court would overturn the ruling of the Imo State Chief Judge. The first was in the case of the sack of elected local government councils in Imo State by the state governor, Rochas Okorocha, which compelled the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) to take the state government to court.

    In the instance case, the Court of Appeal had ruled that Ilomuanya remains in office as the Chairman, Imo State Council of Traditional rulers until the expiration of his tenure in 2015.

    The Court also restrained the Imo State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, his Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice as well as “their servants, agents or howsoever from truncating or interfering with the activities of the Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers under Eze Ilomuanya until the expiration of his tenure in 2015”.

     

  • Forget Imo governorship race, ex-woman leader advises PDP

    The plan by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to reclaim the governorship seat in Imo State was yesterday punctured by the former Woman Leader of the party, Nnanna Okoro, who described it as a wild goose chase.

    She flayed the party’s ambition to return to power, stating that the state is currently undergoing healing from the ills perpetrated by the past PDP-led administration.

    Mrs. Okoro, a legal practitioner and Commissioner for Community Government Council (CGC), urged the PDP leadership in the state to embrace and support the state government in developing the state which had suffered greatly under the PDP.

    Recounting her ordeal as the PDP woman leader, Okoro said that the party does not have a second chance in the state, “I had the worst experience in the PDP and my years as the woman leader exposed me to the manner of politics that obtain in the PDP”.

    According to her, “Governor Rochas Okorocha has done so well in Imo State that the PDP does not stand a chance. Recent activities have shown that the PDP cannot change and no sane person can remain in that party.”

  • Imo ANPP Chairman resigns

    Imo ANPP Chairman resigns

    •Accuses leadership of bias

    The Imo State Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Dr. Vitalis Ajumbe, has resigned.

    He accused the national leadership of the party of bias and insensitivity to the plight of the state chapters.

    Ajumbe, who claimed to have single handedly funded the party since 2004 when he was elected chairman, noted that efforts to bring the national leadership to assist the Imo State chapter to clear its mounting debts were rebuffed.

    Announcing his formal resignation at the party secretariat in Owerri, the Imo State capital, the former ANPP chieftain said: “I love ANPP and when I joined it, I promised not to leave it for another political party because we enjoyed freedom of speech and internal democracy.

    “But the problem is the unpatriotic act of those who benefited from the party but refused to fund it.”

    He disclosed that as the chairman of the party, he personally bankrolled all the expenses of the nine cases of the party in court, which adversely affected his private businesses.

    Ajumbe, who kept silent on his next party affiliation, hinted that whatever party he joins would be one that will afford members at all level equal opportunity and privileges.

     

  • Imo Assembly election: Lagos ACN foresees danger

    The Lagos State Chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday expressed concern over the inability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to successfully conduct election in Oguta State Constituency, Imo State.

    The party wondered how the electoral umpire “can cope with a national election if it could not conclude a by election for a House of Assembly seat in a day.”

    “The present concocted stalemate over the outcome of the by election in Oguta State Constituency in Imo State demonstrates the dangers Nigeria faces in 2015 if the collated results of just a single state assembly election is subjected to such drama as we are witnessing at present,” ACN spokesman Joe Igbokwe said in a statement.

    The party warned INEC would be accused of allowing itself to be dragged into a selfish political profiteering business of one party at the expense of a free and fair process by holding on to the collated results under the guise of inconclusive process.

    Noting that INEC has said the election was inconclusive, the ACN publicity secretary failed to advance more reasons for not declaring an election in 201 out of 209 polling units were duly signed and vetted results have been obtained.

    Igbokwe said: “INEC is still allowing itself to be tied to the vested interests of certain individuals in the ruling PDP at the expense of its own credibility, as the unnecessary stalemate over the Oguta State Assembly election is showing.”

     

  • Abia, Imo trade words over closed loading bay

    Abia and Imo states have drawn the battle lines over the closure of Abia Line Network Company’s loading bay located at 5, Whetheral Road by Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, since May.

    The Imo State Government has maintained the closure was to preserve the aesthetic beauty of the capital city.

    Abia, on its part, has issued an ultimatum to Imo to reopen the bay next Tuesday or face similar actions.

    The Chief Press Secretary to Abia Governor, Ugochukwu Emezue, said the state is disturbed the loading bay could be closed for no reason for such a long period.

    He dismissed the explanation that the action was to maintain the master plan of Owerri, pointing out that other transport companies in the small building were not affected by the exercise.

    He wondered why “Peace Mass Transit which shares the same building with our transport company is still operating from the same building”.”

    Emezue explained that Abia Line had made several attempts to find another place to operate from since its loading bay was close but has been blocked by Imo State.

    This, he said, “shows that something is wrong somewhere”.

    He argued that Abia has been cooperating very well with other neighbouring States, wondering why the Imo government should treat the affairs of the state with such ignominy.

    Imo Commissioner for Information, Chinedu Offor, said the closure of the bay was part of Okorocha’s efforts to recover the master plan of Owerri, which he said has been defaced over time.

    He stressed that if the trend is allowed to continue, the master plan of the city will never be recovered.

     

  • Ezeship tussles and Imo communities

    SIR: Imo state Governor, Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha has once again proven to be a practical and result-oriented leader by his thoughtful decision to wield into the long standing ezeship tussles in the various autonomous communities in Imo State. It is a common knowledge that before this time, autonomous communities were reduced to battle grounds by powerful individuals who desired the ezeship stools by fair or foul means. As a result of the unhealthy situation, the peace, unity and development of the affected autonomous communities were swept off by cross-litigations, factionalisations, division of the town unions and mud-slinging by the parties to the disputes.

    The unsavory state of affairs has dealt a heavy blow on the self-help development spirit of our people by wasting their resources which would have been vital for development on the tussles. The implication of this sorry situation is that village heads, king makers and other traditional have either lost a sense of direction or compromised themselves for pecuniary gains. This feeling is based on the fact that the process of selecting an Eze is duly provided in the constitution of every community, hence, the issue of who should slightly be a traditional ruler need not to be a problem if the village heads and kingmakers defend and insist on the truth.

     It is against the fore-going that the on-going intervention of Governor Okorocha is eliciting public acclamation. This public ovation is hinged on the fact that the state cannot be considered peaceful and stable when many of her autonomous communities are engulfed in varying degrees of ezeship disputes.

    The action of the governor has proven that he knows where the shoe is pinching the people. That he decided to handle it himself conveys in an unmistakable terms, the importance he attaches to the exercise.

    It is an obvious fact that most of the tussles are by-products of flagrant abuses, violations or neglect of the tradition and constitution of the communities. One of the reasons which probably made past state administrations reluctant to get directly involved was the fear of being misunderstood. For Governor Okorocha, it does not matter, what matters is the end result. He therefore deserves our kudos for his courageous decision to tackle the problem headlong irrespective of the insinuation the action will generate. This mind set tallies with the views of a British Political scientist, Harold Stephenson that, “Great are the leaders who are undeterred by the distractions and encumbrances on their way because they are strongly convinced that accomplishing their mission will give humanity a leap forward”.

     Governor Okorocha has given broad indication of how far he can go to make Imo State better; so far he has given many reasons in practical terms why we should see him as a governor on whom we are well pleased.

    • Jude Okeke

    Owerri

  • Imo to recover unpaid taxes

    Imo State government has threatened to take all necessary steps to recover unpaid taxes by corporate institutions in the state.

    The Accountant-General of the state, Mr George Eche, said this in an interview with journalists in Owerri.

    According to him, the state government has directed the state Board of Internal Revenue to take necessary steps to recover unpaid taxes by corporate bodies.

    He described non-remittance of taxes to government treasury by some organisations as sabotage to the economy.

    He said Imo internally-generate revenue (IGR) was on the low side, adding that no state could survive in such condition.

    Eche said government had numerous projects ongoing but wondered how government could execute such projects without adequate IGR.

    “Everybody wants government to perform, but nobody wants to observe his fundamental obligations.

    “We will make sure that we take all necessary steps in tackling the matter,” he said.

    The Accountant-General said that government was prepared to use force on the defaulters.