The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nnia Nwodo

  • Ohanaeze applauds FG on agric initiatives

    The President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, has applauded the agricultural initiatives of the Federal Government saying they are yielding positive results in Igbo speaking states.

    Ohanaeze Ndigbo is the apex socio-cultural organisation of Igbo speaking states in Nigeria.

    Addressing newsmen in Enugu on Wednesday, Nwodo contended that with the implementation of the initiatives, the federal government had taken the best move to take the people out of recession.

    He said that the various agricultural schemes embarked by the government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were a huge success.

    The Ohanaeze chieftain said that the CBN governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, should be commended for the intervention of the apex bank in various empowerment programmes aimed at stimulating the economy.

    Nwodo said: “we want to use this opportunity to salute the governor of the Central Bank.

    “This gentleman has had one of the most difficult challenges that have faced any governor of the CBN.

    “What he has done lately in terms of fighting the value of the naira is most commendable.

    “His programmes at assisting agriculture have impacted positively on the sector.

    “It is working in Imo, Ebonyi, Abia, Anambra and it is beginning to work in Enugu state and we are immensely grateful to him.

    “We encourage him to continue to work in this way to ensure that the ordinary people in Nigeria can bounce back as this recession continues to recede in its calamitously effect on our standard of living.”

    Nwodo said that the achievements of the government in the petroleum sector should not be overlooked as the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had been reinvigorated.

    He said that the achievements recorded in the NNPC during the tenure of Dr Ibe Kachikwu as Minister of State for Petroleum and Managing Director were outstanding.

    “Since the NNPC was incorporated, no minister or managing director has ever put the corporation on public portal.

    “But by the click of the mouse, when our son was there, you could tell how much came into NNPC every day and how much was spent.

    “For the first time, petroleum subsidy was removed without the economy collapsing,” he said.

    The Ohaneze president appealed to the Federal Government to intervene and rehabilitate the Enugu/Port Harcourt expressway which he described as “death trap.’’

    “While we commend the minister of Power, Works and Housing for the work that has started on the Enugu/Onitsha road, we want to draw his attention to the road between Enugu and Port Harcourt.

    “The road is a death trap. It is tortuous and God knows how long it will take to rehabilitate the road especially with all the stops by security men,” he said.

    Nwodo expressed concern that the entire South-East seemed to be under security siege by officers of the armed forces, who he alleged, extort money openly from innocent citizens and road users.

    He said that complaints by the organisation against the brazen impunity of the security agencies on the roads across the zone had remained unattended to.

  • Ebonyi holds valedictory session for late Sen. Offia Nwali

    Ebonyi Government on Wednesday held a valedictory session for one of the founding fathers of the state, the late Sen. Offia Nwali.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nwali died on May 24, 2016, at the aged of 74 years.

    His corpse was found in a pond at the back of his building in his country home, Ameka, Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi.

    Nwali was the first black man to obtain a Doctorate Degree (PhD) in Computer and Analytical Studies, from Harvard University, United States of America.

    He returned to Nigeria in 1972 and was appointed the Chairman, East Central State School Board.

    Nwali represented Abakaliki Senatorial District in the old Anambra at the National Assembly, between 1979—1983, and was the first individual to submit a written request for the creation of Ebonyi on Oct. 10, 1979.

    He also tested life’s major vicissitude when he lost his entire family in a Fokker 28-plane crash at the Enugu Airport in 1983.

    Gov. David Umahi, who presided over the session held inside the Government House Executive Chambers, described Nwali’s death as a ”monumental loss.”

    “His tragic death is a monumental loss to the state, Igbo race and Nigeria as his life was full of mysteries, embodied truth and commitment to the state’s cause.

    “The government would do all it can to keep his memory alive as all government officials must attend his wake-keep on Thursday and burial on Friday,” he said.

    Dr Kelechi Igwe, the state’s deputy governor, said that the present generation of politicians learnt a lot from Nwali.

    The Chief Judge of Ebonyi, Justice Alloy Nwankwo, described Nwali as the father of the state, who offered massive employment to citizens during his tenure as Chairman of the defunct East Central State School Board.

    “He was an embodiment of calmness, courage, among other virtues; he was the political pathfinder of the state and quintessential educationist,” he said.

    Sen. Obinna Ogba (PDP—Ebonyi Central), said that Nwali was an “epitome of truth, justice and fairness and his memory would linger forever in the minds of Ebonyi people.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Ebonyi House of Assembly had earlier held a valedictory sitting in honour of Nwali.

    A public lecture was also organised in his honour on Tuesday, where President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo delivered a keynote speech.

  • ‘She was a gem’

    ‘She was a gem’

    Many who knew her describe her in superlative terms. The late Justice Regina Nwodo, wife of former Information Minister Nnia Nwodo packed with beauty and brain. Rivers State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General Worgu Boms pays tribute to her

    dieu beautiful, brilliant, Justice Regina Nwodo! With deep grief, I received the news of the passing of the Hon. Justice Regina Obiageli Nwodo who, until her transition, was a Justice of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division. Justice Nwodo was, before her appointment as a Justice of the Court of Appeal (JCA), a Judge of the Federal High Court and infact, presided over its Port Harcourt Division. It was while here in the Port Harcourt Division of that Court that I had the privilege of appearing before her. Calm, humble (but obviously, easily irritated by any slothful, slovenly and ill-prepared counsel who appeared before her), Justice Nwodo brought dignity and respect to her court and her judicial duties as a Judge of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt as we did not hear, even for once, of any corruption or corrupt practices associated with her. She was conscientious and assiduous in her judicial duties.

    As the news of her passing filtered into Port Harcourt Bar, all who knew her, especially members of the Bar who heard the news, were stunned and momentarily speechless. Many did not know that she had been ill, which lack of knowledge heightened the shock and disbelief associated with the sad news.

    Educated in the universities of Middlesex (LLB 1982) and London School of Economics (LLM 1990), this beautiful and brilliant lawyer started her judicial career in 1985 as a Magistrate in Enugu and made it to the Country’s Court of Appeal before she was prematurely plucked by Death, the Bad Reaper described by the hristian Scriptures as Mankind’s ‘The Last Enemy’.

    We at the Port Harcourt Bar and indeed, the organised Bar in Rivers State, mourn Justice Nwodo and will forever remember and cherish her imperishable judicial contributions to our corpus juris through her judicial activities whilst she served here at the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High Court. Our hearts and prayers are with her families and those she left behind. May they be consoled by the realisation that Regina was respected and admired by all as a virtuous and incorruptible and knowledgeable personality. There is another reason they

    should especially be consoled: the fact that the pain of the loss is shared by many.

    May the Almighty God, the God of all comforts, heal all that are broken-hearted, teach us that are still alive how to number our days so that we can bring in a heart of wisdom into how we live the remainder of our lives, forgive the departed her sins and admit her to His Glory, Amen!