The lawmaker representing Ikpoba-Okha/Egor in the House of Representatives, Ehiozuwa Agbonnayima, has denied the rumour that he planned to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Agbonnayima said he would rather focus on bringing development to his constituents.
The lawmaker said the PDP had not done anything that could make him think of dumping the party.
Agbonnayima, who addressed reporters at the weekend in Benin, the Edo State capital, said his rumoured defection was meant to smear his name.
He said: “The problem of this country is not political parties; it is leadership problem. Anyone saying I want to defect to the APC is a joker. They want to smear my name. I am a member of the PDP and I remain a PDP member.
“My victory is on the platform of the PDP and the party has not done anything to make me think of defecting. People might be thinking about that because of my closeness to Mr. Speaker. People have been calling me that I wanted to defect. They should rather talk about bringing dividends of democracy. This is nothing but a distraction.”
A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Zakari Angulu Dobi has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint an indigenous Abuja person as minister.
Hon. Dobi’s appeal was contained in a letter, part of which read, “Mr. President…for the purpose of all-inclusiveness in your administration, followership, equity, fairness and justice of the indigenous people of the FCT, Abuja who have a firm root in history, culture and tradition, I humbly hope and pray that you will…appoint an indigene of FCT, Abuja as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in your proposed cabinet.”
In the letter made available to The Nation, Dobi said the issue of having a minister who hailed from Abuja has been raging for a long time.
The letter read further: “Mr. President the mantra of our revered political party All Progressives Congress (APC) through which…you gained widespread and national acceptance is change. It is in this view that I am writing this piece with all passion to appeal to your humble self to consider appointing an indigene of the Federal capital territory, Abuja as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in your proposed cabinet.
In fulfilment of his promises during the electioneering campaigns to enhance the living standard of members of his constituency, the member representing Akure North/South Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon. Afe Olowookere has embarked on several projects that will alleviate the suffering of the people.
One of the projects is the construction of one- kilometer concrete drainage and erosion control along Faparusi Layout, off Ijoka Road, Akure the Ondo State capital.
Solely sponsored by Olowookere, the project would cost between N3.5 million and N5 million.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker said it was part of his Akure North/South Community ýDevelopment Project (ACDP), promising to execute more projects in order to reduce the suffering of the people in his constituency.
Expressing sadness over the deplorable state of roads in Akure, Olowookere said: “I’ve gone round the state capital and discovered that the roads within my constituency are in deplorable condition. I am not happy with the state of these roads. I have identified some roads that should have been fixed by the government which have been neglected. I have made up my mind to reconstruct some of these roads.”
The chairman of the Landlords’ Association of Faparusi community, Tolani Ologun, commended Olowookere’s gesture.
He said the construction of the drainage system would help to reduce the plight of the residents.
He said: “We can hardly bring our cars into the community. Even okada riders no longer ply our area because of the state of the road, especially during rainy season. Erosion has sacked some people from their homes. This has been our nasty experience. This project is one of the best gifts any community can get from its representative.
“The road has been abandoned for years. The erosion that has seriously affected the community is caused by the flow of current from Abusoro area of the town. It has rendered so many residents homeless.
All efforts made in the past to address the problem did not yield any fruit.”
Ologun said representatives of the community have visited the chairman of Akure South Local Government Area several times to officially register their plight without any tangible result.
Hon. Olowookere has also commenced the construction of town hall for Emiloro community near Oda in Akure South Local Government Area.
The laying of the foundation of the modern town hall was performed by the lawmaker amid jubilation.
The town hall project estimated by the site engineer, Dele Bello to cost N10 million would boast modern facilities for the convenience of members of the community.
According to the chairman of Emiloro Community Development Forum (ECDF) Dare Olowookere, the sons and daughters of the community must emulate the lawmaker, saying he had not forgotten his roots.
He urged the people to embrace peace and unity, noting that without unity, there would be no development.
The Olu of Emiloro, Chief Tayo Alake, commended Hon. Olowookere for the gesture, saying the lawmaker was a patriotic son who had the interest of the community at heart.
Chief Alake also called on the people of Emiloro to emulate the lawmaker’s example in order to help in the development of the community.
The chairman of the APC in Akure South, Elder Ayo Alogba, ascribed the intervention of Olowookere in Emiloro to the love he has for his people.
Alogba lamented that some people who represented the constituency in the past had nothing to show for their representation.
He commended Olowookere for the giant strides which he said are lasting legacy he will bequeath the community.
The lawmaker said he decided to construct the town hall because the old one where the community holds important events had collapsed.
Olowookere said he made the project a priority because it was in fulfilment of his promise to the people of the community during his electioneering campaigns.
The Ondo state Elections Petition Tribunal Friday upheld the re-election of a member of the House of Representatives representing Ondo East/West federal constituency of the state, Mr Joseph Akinlaja of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The three-man tribunal in its verdict dismissed the petition filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 28, 2015 House of Representatives election, Mr Olabamidele Olanubi for lacking merit.
The APC candidate had in his petition prayed the tribunal to nullify the election of Akinlaja on the grounds that the election was characterized with irregularities and non-compliance to the electoral Act.
In the judgment delivered by Justice A.B. Akogun, the tribunal ruled that the petitioner failed to tender credible evidence, or call credible witnesses to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt that the election that produced Akinlaja was characterized with irregularities.
The tribunal also held that the PDP candidate scored the highest lawful votes cast in the poll contrary to claim by the APC candidate.
In their reactions, the APC candidate and his lead counsel Dr Tunji Abayomi expressed dissatisfaction with the judgment, insisting that the verdict would be challenged at the Court of Appeal.
However, Akinlaja said the judgment had justified that he was duly re-elected by the people of Ondo East/West Federal Constituency to represent them at the National Assembly which is currently doing.
In a related development, the judgment on the petition seeking the nullification of the election that produced another PDP member representing Ilaje/Ese Odo Federal Constituency at the Federal House of Representatives, Hon Kolade Akinjo will be delivered on October 6, 2015 as the tribunal has reserved its ruling till then.
The Tribunal Chairman, Justice Ojobor Ogar, fixed the date for the final judgment after the submissions of both parties during the sitting of the court.
The petitioner, Mr Orimisan Ayedatiwa of the APC asked the court to declare him as duly elected lawmaker, noting that Akinjo of the PDP was not qualified to contest the election under of the platform of PDP because he was still a member of the Labour Party as at when the poll was conducted on March 28, 2015.
The petitioner, Mr Orimisan Ayedatiwa of the APC asked the court to declare him as the duly elected lawmaker, noting that Akinjo of the PDP was not qualified to contest the election on the platform of the PDP because he was still a member of the Labour Party (LP) as at the time the poll was conducted on March 28, 2015.
In his submission, Counsel to the APC, Mr Yinka Orokoto said he had submitted enough evidence to show that the PDP lawmaker was not duly registered as the PDP member when he got the party’s ticket on the 6th of November, last year.
However, Akinjo’s counsel, Mr Olabanji Ayenakin insisted that his client properly left the LP and he was registered by the PDP before he was given the ticket to contest.
A member of the House of Representatives Hon Uko Nkole (Arochukwu/Ohafia constituency) has called for a comprehensive probe of all contracts awarded for the Arochukwu/Ohafia Road.
•Hon Uko
Nkole proposed that the probe should stretch as far back as the era of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF).
He described the road as a disaster and death trap requiring immediate intervention in order to stop the daily accidents which occur on it.
Gully erosion has further damaged the road, several parts of which have failed, making travel a herculean and hazardous exercise.
Speaking with reporters in Arochukwu, Nkole said that there is need for the federal government to extend the corruption fight to the contracts awarded for the construction of Arochukwu/Ohafia federal road.
Nkole said that the contract for the construction of the road has been awarded several times by successive governments with no visible result.
He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to order for probe on all the contracts awarded for the construction of the road from the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) till date and that any of the contractors found culpable should be made to refund the money and also face the law to serve as a deterrent to others who may want to go their way.
The federal lawmaker said that the road has suffered neglect since the end of the civil war 41 years ago and is getting worse day by day while causing untold hardship to commuters and the people of Ohafia and Arochukwu and other adjoining communities.
He explained that the people from the area are mainly agrarian people and traders but have no good roads to transport their goods to and from the area thereby affecting the socio-economic development and denying them the necessary infrastructure that could have come their way.
A community leader, Mazi Jideofor Kanu who spoke on behalf of Akanu/Ania village said the that transportation of farm produce in commercial quantity from Ohafia, Arochukwu, Ihechiowa, Ututu to other neighboring communities in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states is truncated and wondered when the traumatic experiences encountered on the road would end.
The President General Nzuko Arochukwu, Mazi Nnamdi Udoh said there is no time left to be apportioning blame on what has delayed the rehabilitation of the Arochukwu/Ohafia Roads because it will not help the local people.
Udoh said that the local people are the ones who bear the brunt daily and called on the Federal Government as a matter of urgency to deploy a competent construction firm to take over the project and complete it in record time in order to redeem the people of the area from the
unfortunate bondage.
One of the motorists Kanu Monday said that the road needs a Save our Soul [SOS] intervention and appealed to the federal government to come to their aid because they are being cut off from other communities and wonder if they are part of this country called Nigeria.
Kanu said that it is shame that 41 years after the end of the civil with the saying no victor no vanquished, “We are still being treated as the vanquished people of the war, we need to be told our proper place in this country, except we are no longer from this country”.
Another motorist Okezie Ibom said that there is need for the federal government to come to the aid of the people from that part of the country, stressing that many people have lost their lives on the road because of the dilapidated nature of the road.
Ibom said that the situation of the road has gone a long way to prove the saying by Igbo people that there is no easy road to get to Arochukwu and wondered when the saying will be proved wrong by subsequent administrations.
The burden of grief and despair may have lifted for Chidiebere Okafor, an auto-mechanic apprentice at Aba, Abia State.
He feared the worst last December when a suspended equipment he was working on detached and fell on his legs, chopping them off.
Okafor has since been amputated, his family paying N200,000 out of his N350,000 medical bill, leaving a balance of N150,000.
Thankfully, a lawmaker representing Aba North and South Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, Hon. Ossy Prestige has said he would pay off what is left of Okafor’s bill.
Hon. Prestige made the commitment when he visited the hospital, where he also wrote off the bill of another elderly patient.
However, Okafor’s dream of owning a mechanic workshop and fending for his parents and other members of his family looks fuzzy at the moment as he has been confined to the wheelchair.
When The Nation met him at Horstman orthopedic hospital where has been on admission since December, the doctor of the hospital told a chilling story of how the incident happened.
“He is an indigene of Abagana in Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State and works with Bonimas. The incident happened on December 13 2014. He was at the mechanic garage (Bonimas) working on a damaged truck when the bucket of truck pulled off. The bucket was said to be dangling and before I could know what was happening, he was thrown out from the bucket and then landed on him to severe the two legs which were underneath.
“It was at night when I was about going home that they brought him here (hospital) around 9pm after attending to another case that night.
“He was almost gone because he was bleeding profusely, so we had to compress it that same night. We transfused him and since then have done series of plastic surgeries. He is just recuperating. He has been here since the last 6months. It is prosthesis and he has a wheelchair”, the doctor narrated.
Chidiebere corroborated the medical doctor’s account of the incident and added that the company where he was working (Bonimas) which was taking care of his medical bills has abandoned him.
The accident victim whose medical bill was put at about N350, 000 has a balance of over N150, 000 to offset.
Both patients expressed their happiness and thanked the lawmaker who was the first major donor of Rotary Club of Nigeria, Eziukwu District and immediate past Chairman Association of Licensed Customs Agents, Area III Onne Port for his kind gesture.
A LAWMAKER in the House of Representatives Hon. Ossy Prestige has urged colleagues to take action on the deplorable federal roads in Aba, the state’s commercial capital.
•Port Harcourt Road, Aba
Aba roads are woeful; hazardous to commuters, agonising to shopkeepers, business people and residents alike.
When it rains, the city is half-submerged, many areas flooded and practically impassable.
Business has suffered, while criminals have thrived.
How?
It is said that kidnappers exploit the poor roads to swoop on victims and make away with them without much challenge, if any.
The lawmaker may be on the verge of making history because if he succeeds to galvanise enough response from his colleagues to repair the roads, he would have made a difference where governments failed repeatedly.
The Aba-Ikot Ekpene, Ovom-Opobo-Azumini, Ohabiam-Port Harcourt, among other roads, have remained impassable in the past three years or more and if nothing is urgently done, the Osisioma-Aba-Owerri Road which now serves as the only major route in and out of the city may soon collapse due to the volume of commercial buses and articulated trucks that ply it on a daily basis.
A visit to Aba especially during the rainy season shows that successive administrations in the state and at the federal level have failed to address the situation.
The deplorable roads in Aba are not only taking a toll on business and economic activities; virtually all the sectors in the state are affected as hoodlums such as kidnappers and armed robbers take advantage of the situation to unleash mayhem on the innocent citizens.
There are accidents and deaths too.
A driver, who plies the Aba-Ikot Ekpene route, lamented that they are steadily losing passengers due to the woeful road.
Prestige, an All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) lawmaker representing Aba North and South Federal Constituency, drew the attention of the members of the Green Chamber to the plight of the people of his constituency.
His motion was titled “The Deplorable State of Federal Roads and the Insecurity in Aba, Abia State and the Need to Rehabilitate them in Order to Preserve Lives and Properties of Indigenes and Sustain the Status of the City as the Commercial Hub of Southeast and Nigeria”.
He said the roads are so bad that some travellers to Aba for business or other reasons have shelved the idea.
•Onicha Ngwa-Umuokpor Road
The federal lawmaker lamented that the growing rate at which innocent Nigerian citizens and residents of the commercial city were being kidnapped and taken into hiding by hoodlums who uses the abandoned roads as safe havens for keeping their captives feared that if no urgent steps were taken to address the situation, the city may witness a mass exodus of its inhabitants as was witnessed in 2011 when most corporate and financial agencies shutdown operations and over 200, 000 people left the city in droves.
He said that the rehabilitation of federal roads in Aba would boost economic activities, reduce accidents, ensure improved security and similarly attract local and foreign investors who were going to come to the city and the state in general and invest their resources and in the process create job for the teeming unemployed/jobless youths that would be meaningful to the state and their respective families.
The lawmaker urged the Federal Ministry of Works to as a matter of urgency include in 2016 budget, Appropriations that will aim at the reconstruction and total rehabilitation of the entry roads in Aba, called on the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to in the interim; urgently take palliative measures towards the rehabilitation of the roads so as to alleviate agony of the people, mandated the committees on works and road maintenance agency (when constituted) to liaise with the relevant authorities with a vow to ensure compliance and report back to the House fortnightly.
They also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to restore full military patrol and full presence in Aba just like it was done in 2011 to check the menace of notorious kidnappers in Aba.
The House resolution which was made available to The Nation also urged the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase to deploy an anti-terrorist squad to police every part of the city and its environs.
They also urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to declare Ndiegoro, Obohia, Ohanku, Ngwa road and Port Harcourt road areas as a disaster area and take urgent steps to compensate those whose house/homes were devastated by flood.
Youths in Afikpo Northeast of Ebonyi State now know what their representative at the state House of Assembly, Mrs Maria Udeh Nwachi has in store for them.
Hon Udeh said she intends to provide jobs in tourism as well as sports. She said this at a thank-you rally following her victory in the April 11 election.
The lawmaker who is the Minority Leader of the State House of Assembly made a history when she swept the polls against all odds, beating both the ruling party and Labour Party candidates to become the first female lawmaker to represent the constituency.
She seized the opportunity to visit the Ulo-uni traditional elders council not only to appreciate their support but also unveil her plan for her constituents.
Hon Nwachi also ceased the opportunity to tell the people that it will never be business as usual at the council headquarters of Afikpo North as she solicited the support of the people to enthrone a leader with A kind heart and passion for selfless service.
Spokesperson of the Eto, Essa and Onikara age grades, in their separate responses, took turns to eulogise the lawmaker and enjoined her to continue to work in unity with her team and promised her full cooperation.
At the Amuro/Mgbom primary school field, Mrs Nwachi was received by a mammoth crowd who trooped out to to re wive her.
In her address she revealed that work has already started on the road rehabilitation projects and the toilet facility she is personally carrying out for the people restating that the burden of her constituents remains her burden.
Mrs Maria Ude Nwachi says plans are in motion to float a football team for Afikpo Town in Ebonyi State.
The ancient city, best known for being the home town of former Premier of old Eastern Nigeria, Ezeogo Akanu Ibiam, is the State’s second commercial city after Abakaliki, the state capital.
Mrs Nwachi stated this at the opening match of the Maria Unity Cup which she is sponsoring.
While revealing that 24 teams will be taking part in the tournament, Mrs Nwachi expressed hope that the tournament will help to discover talents who could go on to represent the country in the near future internationally.
She said, “The best players picked from the 24 participating teams will form Maria Football Club. My goal is to revive sports in Afikpo and beyond. I will leave no stone unturned to make sure it is achieved.
“The ‘’Maria Unity Cup” is a sports concept primarily for talent hunt. That means players with the requisite wizardry can go professional from this fiesta”, she added.
Nwachi who represents Afikpo North East State Constituency said more packages are on the way to ensure that the youths have a sense of belonging.
The government Secondary School, Afikpo, football field was filled to capacity as people of the town thronged the venue to witness the opening match of the tournament.
The match was between Unwana FC and NYSC FC and after 90 minutes of soccer artistry ended in a 1-1 draw.
The lawmaker also revealed plans to stage the Miss Afikpo Beauty Pageant-2015 at the Maria Island Resort.
According to her the winner of the pageant will go home with a Honda Accord car amongst other packages. The event comes up on August 29.
Mrs Nwachi said more packages are in stock for the youths and will be unveiled as time goes on.
She said,” I am not in government to make money but to give my constituents a sense of belonging. All I need is their support”.
The member representing Ogoja Constituency in the Cross River State House of Assembly, Hon. Peter Odey, has urged students in his constituency to shun cultism and other vices. He stressed that such vices could ruin their future.
He bemoaned increasing involvement of students in crimes, urging attitudinal change among the youth.
Odey, who spoke during a visit by members of Ogoja Students’ Union to his office in Calabar, maintained that it was high time the youth made a re-think and engage in activities that would impact on the society positively.
He advised the students to take their academic pursuits seriously, insisting that they must read and strive to be better citizens. This, he said, will enable them contribute their quota to the development of Ogoja community.
The lawmaker promised to do his best to reduce the challenges facing the union, promising to donate buses to ease the students’ movement to and from school.
Earlier, leader of the delegation, Justin Elefa, said students would adhere to the advice by the lawmaker, urging the lawmaker to partner with students on the constituency programmes.
A member representing Ibadan North Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon. Abiodun Dada-Awoleye has congratulated the newly-elected President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Alhaji Waheed Odusile.
He also sought the support of the media to ensure the actualisation of his recent sponsored bill at the National Assembly for the establishment of National Assembly broadcast projects.
The lawmaker urged the new NUJ President to uphold the ethics of journalism profession by ensuring fair play in the discharge of his duties.
He spoke with journalists in Ibadan on the importance of the National Assembly broadcast project. He said such project will enhance journalism and create job opportunities for professionals in the sector.
According to him, the motion entitled “Need to Expedite Action on the Establishment of the National Assembly Broadcast Project” was also planned to improve accessibility to lawmakers in their respective constituents through the broadcast media.
He further explained that the National Assembly Radio and Television project would allow the citizens to be better informed about parliamentary lawmaking processes and also allow them to be familiarised with crucial decisions that directly affect their lives and the society at large.
“Let me start by congratulating the newly-elected President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Alhaji Waheed Odusile on his recent victory at the polls. May God help him in discharging his duties. Upholding the ethics of journalism profession will help him to take the noble profession of journalists to the next level.
“On the establishment of the National Assembly Radio and Television stations, it would help in broadcasting all sittings of the plenary, committee meetings, special committees sittings and other over-sight functions of the legislature. This will therefore enhance citizens’ participation in lawmaking processes and governance in the country,” he said.
He further said the parliamentary broadcast project will not only enlightened the citizenry but also allow Nigerians in the Diaspora and the international community to participate and collaborate in the workings and activities of the National Assembly.
“The stations will also broadcast programmes in the Nigerian major languages and have live sign language interpretation for the hearing-impared to also have access to the television.
