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Tag: Onitsha

  • When Wigwe celebrated Obi of Onitsha

    When Wigwe celebrated Obi of Onitsha

    One of Nigeria’s big spenders and lover of arts, Herbert Wigwe was all smiles when a 588-page book, ‘A King’s Passion: A 21st Century Patron of African Art,’ was launched at the Access Bank headquarters to honour the Obi of Onitsha, is Majesty, Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe mni, CFR.

    The publication, which was sponsored by Access Bank and the Ford Foundation, is a comprehensive exploration of the exceptional masterpieces of modern and contemporary African art in the collection of the revered monarch.

    Over a period of forty years, passion, intellectual curiosity, and intuition inspired the Obi of Onitsha to collect more than 4000 artworks, of which over 300 are featured in the book.

    His art collection will be housed at the Chimedie Museum in Onitsha, due to be completed in 2025.

    The publication addresses the emerging role of art patron-ship in Africa and how indigenous collectors are expanding narratives on the art of the African continent.

    Read Also: I cried most in 2012 – Ebuka Obi-Uchendu

    Lavishly illustrated in full colour, ‘A King’s Passion,’ was edited by SMO Contemporary Art and features 120 artists and carefully selected modern and contemporary masterpieces, including works by Ben Enwonwu, Uche Okeke, Amon Kotei, El Anatsui, Ablade Glover, Twins Seven Seven, Ndidi Dike, Godfried Donkor, Midy, Mxolisi Dolla Sapeta, Kofi Agorsor, Frew Kebede Gemech, Tizta Berhanu and many more.

    A passionate art lover, Wigwe expressed delight at bankrolling the book saying, “We are delighted to sponsor A King’s Passion: A 21st Century Patron of African Art, which strategically shows how art can contribute to developing our continent and telling a fresh story with ancient roots. The impact of HM Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe’s exquisite art collection and his strategic art patronage for over 40 years nurturing African talent, is a beautiful example of how creativity can create wealth from the grassroots all the way up through society, and create important paradigm shifts about our identity, our culture, and our history.”

    Also at the event were Jess Castelotte, Hannah O’Leary, Kelechi Amadi- Obi, Femi Akinsanya, Tokini Peterside-Schwebig, Sandra Mbanefo Obiago, and Titi Ogufere amongst other dignitaries.

  • Fuel price hike: Commercial drivers lament low patronage in Onitsha

    Fuel price hike: Commercial drivers lament low patronage in Onitsha

    Some commercial bus drivers operating within Onitsha metropolis have lamented low patronage in their daily activities as a result of the current economic hardship in the country, occasioned by the current fuel pump price hike.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday reports that most filing stations visited were dispensing the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popular called petrol, for between N650 and N660.

    NAN also observed that passengers preferred to negotiate for prices they can afford before boarding.

    Speaking to NAN in separate interviews, some drivers lamented that the issues of low patronage is getting worse by the day since the announcement of the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government.

    A mini-bus commercial driver, Mr Michael Ogbonna, said that those in the transportation business are the worst hit with the negative impact of the removal of fuel subsidy.

    According to him, “transporters are really suffering, most of the gains we make end up going into repairs of our vehicles and buying of fuel.

    “We struggle to pay our bills, including all sorts of revenues to government agents, from what we make daily.

    “If the current fuel pump price goes up again, some of us will close our businesses and probably go into some other businesses or consider farming,” he said.

    Read Also: Fuel crisis: ‘Demand by Reps members, CSOs to sack Kyari cheap blackmail

    A bus driver, Emmanuel Ikem, decried that they drive around empty looking for passengers.

    “We understand that times are hard, we are not blaming our passengers trying to renegotiate prices, we’re all affected.”

    Another driver, Ignatius Ikechukwu, attributed the low patronage they record on too many vehicles.

    “Some persons don’t even come out again, they do whatever business they have within their areas, just to save them from paying new transport fares, while some others trek,” he said.

    They appealed to government to create an enabling environment for business to thrive and also reduce the rate of taxes levied on citizens.

    (NAN)

  • Anti-touting squad apprehends 64 in Onitsha

    Anti-touting squad apprehends 64 in Onitsha

    Sixty-four suspected touts and other criminals have been apprehended around Upper Iweka, Bridge Head and Chisco Motor Park, Onitsha, Anambra State.

    The suspects were arrested by Anambra State Anti-Touting Squad (SASA) less than 24 hours of its inauguration by Governor Chukwuma Soludo. 

    Parading the suspects yesterday, SASA Director of Operations, Solomon Onwuemene, said his men would not rest on their oars until the commercial city and the state at large were rid of criminals.

    He said the suspects would be prosecuted after investigations were concluded, warning those involved in the act to desist forthwith or face the consequences.

    Read Also: Soludo, Ngige, Obi unite at Onitsha Catholic Bishop’s 70th birthday

    “The arrest will continue until Onitsha metropolis is rid of criminals. Those still deriving pleasure in touting must repent and key into the government  initiatives to become productive,” he added.

    Soludo had while inaugurating the squad on Monday, charged them to ensure sanity was restored to the greater Onitsha area consisting of Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Ogbaru, Oyi, Idemili North and South local governments.

    “We are fighting a war to bring back the soul of our society governed by law and order, not a society anyone does what he or she likes arbitrarily without recourse to law and order.

    “Touts disturb customers who come from every nook and cranny of the country. But this journey is to rescue Onitsha as a commercial hub and Anambra State in general,” he stressed.

  • Truck container crushes woman to death in Onitsha

    Truck container crushes woman to death in Onitsha

    A yet-to-be-identified woman has been crushed to death by a 40ft container at Eze-Iweka area near Upper Iweka Bus Stop, Onitsha, Anambra State

    The container was said to have fell from a rolling trailer at the ever-busy Onitsha-Owerri Road.

    According to eyewitnesses, the incident occurred when the truck, parked by the roadside, suddenly rolled off while goods were being offloaded and trapped the victim standing by the road side.

    “While the truck was rolling, the 40ft container it was carrying fell and crushed the woman standing by the roadside, thereby trapping her on the ground.

    “More casualties would have been recorded if not that hawkers who saw the truck rolling quickly fled the scene,” one of the witnesses narrated.

    The Nation gathered that the deceased was still trapped under the container as at time of filing the report while rescue efforts were ongoing.

    Read Also: Tension rises as Onitsha market leader remains in captivity for 11 days

    Confirming the incident, Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Adeoye Irelewuyi blamed the crash on brake failure.

    He sympathized with the deceased family, warning motorist to desist from disobeying traffic rules and regulations.

    He further emphasized regular maintenance of vehicle to minimum safety standard to avert future occurrences.

    He said, “An Unidentified driver of a commercial mark trailer today 19th October, 2023 at about 15:08hrs was involved in a road traffic crash. 

    “One female adult involved was killed (trapped).

    “The FRSC rescue team from RS5.3A1 Upper- Iweka Outpost Anambra State rushed to the accident scene along with the Awada police team making efforts to get crane to lift the 40ft container were the road traffic crash victim was trapped. 

    “Efforts are still in place to get the driver of the truck amidst the Awada police division who are also investigating for necessary actions.”

  • Tension rises as Onitsha market leader remains in captivity for 11 days

    Tension rises as Onitsha market leader remains in captivity for 11 days

    There was uneasy calm in Mgbuka Amazun market, Onitsha, Anambra state following the protracted stay of the abducted chairman of the market, Chief Enibe Francis in captivity.

    The victim was abducted in the early hours of September 25, by unknown assailants and remains in captivity 11 days later.

    The abductors, who arrived at the market in an SUV, brutally assaulted him before taking him to an undisclosed location. So far, they have not made any contact with his family or associates.

    Reacting to the incident, the chairman of Sokoto market, Onitsha, Emeka Eze regretted that chairmen of various markets in the city had been gripped by fear since Enibe’s abduction, but added that prayers had been intensified over his immediate release.

    He said: “We are not happy that our brother is being held. We have to embark on serious prayers for his release alive. Nnamdi Kanu should also be released for all these crimes to end.

    “The government should do something because it means we are not safe. The Vigilante group can’t do this thing alone.

    Read Also: Gunmen abduct Onitsha market leader

    “There should be joint security operatives to face these gunmen because they don’t operate with pump action guns but military rifles like Ak47 guns and other sophisticated weapons.”

    Also speaking, the chairman of Haruna market, Chief Emmanuel Idoko described weak security in the market where the incident occurred, calling on the government to beef up security in the market.

    He stated: “For these gunmen to have picked the Mgbuka Amazun market chairman without any resistance from the market vigilante group or any other persons means that the security there is porous and not at alert when the unknown gunmen stormed the market.

    “We have security in my market and I am the Chief Security Officer of ASMATA, we are asking the Governor to beef up security as this is a slight on the traders, it looks unbelievable that the market head was kidnapped.

    “The governor is the one that asked us to do sanitation on Mondays and open our shops. We discussed it with him during our last meeting at Awka and he assured us of the provision of security. Markets are supposed to have a joint task force so that the traders will be determined.

    “We did our Monday prayers and stayed throughout. When we got the call, we decided to rush to Mgbuka Amazu. The incident also put fear on traders as my traders did not turn up after the incident. We’re praying for the release of Nnamdi Kanu every Monday so the crime will end,” he said.

    On his part, the chairman of Grain Seed market, Chief Chijioke Okpala described as cowards market chairmen and others who refused to open their markets for fear of attack based on the Mgbuka Amazu market incident

    “The kidnap of the chairman of that market did not put fear in us, we opened our market last Monday and will continue to open our market. The problem with that market was that the security operatives there were not on alert when the unknown gunmen struck. We are praying for his release alive so that more fear will not grip the traders.”

  • Female cop bags N250,000 reward for rejecting bribe in Onitsha market

    Female cop bags N250,000 reward for rejecting bribe in Onitsha market

    A female police officer has been rewarded by the Anambra state police command for rejecting bribe from a business man transporting goods suspected to have been stolen.

    The officer, Charity Oyor, an inspector, was said to be on duty in Onitsha, the commercial city of the state when the suspect conveying the cables offered her the bribe.

    The Nation gathered that the vehicle was passing through the route Oyor was controlling traffic when she stopped the driver following suspicious of the goods.

    The owner of the goods was said to have offered the officer the bribe which she rejected and quickly invited the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area who on arrival discovered the goods were stolen.

    Confirming the report, the police spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga, said the police woman got N250,000 as reward from the Command for the rare feat.

    He said the commissioner of police, Aderemi Adeoye, has ordered state CID Awka to take over the case for investigation to ascertain the source of the cables.

    He said: “The commissioner of police in Anambra state, CP Aderemi Adeoye has awarded cash sum of N250,000 to a Policewoman serving in Main Market Division, Onitsha.

    Read Also: Onitsha River port receives commercial barges

    “The policewoman, Inspector Charity Oyor who was on traffic duty in the market on Wednesday, 23rd August, 2023, saw a shuttle bus carrying six heavy bundles of stripped armoured cable suspected to have been stolen driving past.

    “She stopped the driver and inquired about the consignment from the purported owner who rather than explain how he came to be in possession of the cable offered her bribe which she rejected.

    “The police Inspector put a call across to her DPO Superintendent Joy Chidinma Ikpeama who led Police Personnel to the scene and arrested the suspect. The cable was impounded and taken to the Station for investigation.

    “At the station the suspect again offered sum of N500,000 to be allowed to go. This was rejected by the officers. The DPO promptly briefed the Commissioner of Police on the arrest and recovery.”

    Ikenga further disclosed that the CP, while presenting the cash award in his office, commended the DPO for providing good leadership and Inspector Charity Oyor for her uprightness.

    “The CP urged all Personnel in the Command to always uphold ethics of the profession by refusing to be compromised in the discharge of their duties.

    “The DPO thanked the CP for leading by personal example and said her personnel were inspired by his leadership.”

  • Flood destroys N50m drugs in Onitsha market

    Drugs worth over N50milion have been destroyed by flood water at the Drug Market, Bridge Head, Onitsha, commercial city of Anambra State.

    This is even as a 45-year old trader, Nnaemeka Okoli, reportedly got drawned in Umuchu community in Aguata Local Government Area of the state.

    The two-day down pour which lasted for several hours on the first day, spread to almost half of the market, destroying drugs in over 130 shops.

    Some of the victims who made efforts to evacuate cartons of drugs already damaged by the flood, described the disaster as alarming.

    Speaking with the Nation, the traders attributed the cause of the disaster to the blockage of drainages in the area with refuses.

    They narrated how the previous rain compelled them to carry out emergency sanitation exercise which took them over three hours.

    One of the victims, Arthur Ndimele said the flood that ravaged the market so much that it was difficult to identify the drainages from the roads within the market.

    He said, “The early morning down pour started by 5.30am and by 7am our shops had already been flooded.

    “It was not up to twenty minutes we finished evacuating the flood that another heavy dòwn commenced.

    “The entire market got so flooded that we could not identify the drainages from the roads within the market.

    The Executive Secretary, Anambra State Special Taskforce on fake drugs adulterated and substandard products, Chibuzor Nwokeji said his team would embark on routine check soon after the flood recedes.

    He said, “The traders embarked on sanitation but the second rainfall has destroyed a lot of  drugs.

    “The drainage system linking the flood water to the River Niger have been blocked, making it difficult for easy passage of flood.

    “The taskforce will embark on routine check. If the drugs were totally damaged we will confiscate them to avoid selling them to the consumers which have now become poisonous to the body.”

    He appealed to the state government to come to their aid in view of the huge loss they experienced.

    The body of late Okoli, a trader at Nkwo market Umuchu, was said to have been dumped at the boundary between Osete and Ugwuakwu villages, both in Umuchu community.

    According to an eyewitness, the deceased had shut his shop around 7pm and was home bound when the incident occurred.

    He said, “It was raining heavily and night was fast approaching as at the time he closed. But on his way home, he fell into a deep drainage system that was filed to capacity with fast moving, devastating flood.

    “His where-about was not known and as his family went to sleep and handed over the entire thing to God after waiting tirelessly for his arrival.

    “The next morning, a search party was set up which later discovered the dead body at a lonely boundary spot after an intense search.

    Reacting, state Chairman, Civil liberties Organization, Comrade Vincent Ezekwueme attributed the death to the ongoing rehabilitation of the Umuchu road by the state government.

    He added that the flood was not properly channeled by the construction firm.

    He said, “There should be proper channeling of the flood. This man had closed his shop and left because it was raining heavily and night was fast approaching.

    “Little did he know that it was death that was knocking on the door until he was washed away by the devastating flood.

    “The corpse has since been deposited at a morgue in Umuchu.”

  • ‘We’re committed to empowering children for leadership’

    The ARM Pension Managers has restated its commitment to the empowerment of children through education to prepare them for future leadership.

    The Regional Manager, South East and South South, Valentine Dim stated this in Onitsha, Anambra state during the presentation of over 2,500 exercise books to schools under the Anglican Diocese on the Niger.

    He said the organisation had always been interested in investing in the future of the children to ensure a more stable and prosperous society.

    He said, “We’re here to give back to the society as a responsible corporate body. We seize every opportunity we have to gladly give back to the society we’re taking from.

    “Diocese on the Niger has lots of schools, both primary and secondary through which they empower next generations.

    “ARM being a forward-looking organisation is also interested in investing in that future of the children so we can have more stable and prosperous society.

    “We’re also giving back to their parents whose pensions we manage and whose assets we generate income from which we use in investing in what we’re doing today.”

    According to Dim, the gesture was targeted at cementing and appreciating the relationship between the two bodies which was established something ago.

    Read also: ARM premium hits 31 %

    He further said the organisation has earlier developed a learning application deployed for university students which contain all the information they need.

    “This church is not the first place we’ve made donations. As a body, we’ve always been giving, including tertiary institutions and other groups,” he added.

    He further disclosed that the gesture was the first batch, assuring that more books would be donated to the students in no distant time.

    Responding, the Education Secretary of the diocese, Ven. Rufus Ezenwaka expressed appreciation to the organization, promising judicious use of the books.

    “We’re glad that the relationship between two of us is being sustained. We assure you that the books would go a long way to assisting the students in their academic pursuits,” he said.

    Photo: The Regional Manager, Valentine Dim (4th right) pose with the Education secretary, Ven. Rufus Ezenwaka and members of his team during the books presentation.

  • 75 fake revenue agents nabbed in Onitsha

    No fewer than 75 persons have been arrested over alleged fake revenue collection and other various criminal offenses in Onitsha, Anambra state.

    The suspects were nabbed at different locations by the state task force on collection of illegal tolls, stealing and extortion.

    Parading the suspects before the traders, the Commissioner for Commerce, Markets and Wealth Creation, Christian Madubuko, regretted the huge millions of naira the government had lost to the criminals.

    He insisted that government had placed ban on the collection of revenue in the state.

    He said, “These criminals have defrauded Anambra state government of millions of naira. They brandish various fake authority payers purported to be issued by the state government.

    “I want to state clear that Anambra state government has not authorized anybody to collect revenue on her behalf.

    “They have their pay masters and we are picking them one after the other. These criminals have made Anambra state unsafe, chased out our customers and investors.

    “How can you come to the market, buy goods, put it in a vehicle and these hoodlums would be tasking the trader at every point and collecting various sums of money to the unsuspecting trader thereby giving the state government bad image?”

    The commissioner reiterated government readiness to sanitise the state and to ensure tax payers’ money and other revenues accruing to the state were used for the development of the state.

    “We have a purposeful government whose policy trust is to build an enviable state that would be the first choice of investor destination in line with the mission and vision of the state government under Chief Willie Obiano,” he stressed.

    He charged traders and the public to arrest anybody suspected to be acting as agent of government in revenue collection.

  • Onitsha monarch decries poor reading culture

    Traditional ruler of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe, has lamented the poor reading culture prevalent among students in the country.

    He blamed it on addiction to the internet instead of the library.

    The monarch spoke when the Director, Anambra State Library Board,  Ms Nkechi Udeze visited traditional rulers at the Government House, Awka.

    He called on parents, teachers and caregivers to assist in reviving reading culture among students.

    “It is regrettable that students often make use of internet to Google information, thereby abandoning the use of libraries.

    “Making good use of libraries would go a long way in encouraging the revival of reading culture among students,” he said.

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    Achebe, who doubles as Chairman, Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council, urged the students to retrace their steps and shun use of internet for pornography and other social vices.

    While appealing to government to re-equip libraries with books and to make it accessible for studies, the monarch said such step would further assist in redressing issues of poor reading culture and non use of libraries.

    On his part, traditional ruler of Enugwu Ukwu, Igwe Ralph Ekpe, underscored the need for students to improve their reading habits through reading local novels at least three in a year.

    He expressed dismay over parents and guardians who bully their children for speaking their local dialects.

    Earlier, the Director of Library Services, Ms Nkechi Udeze, praised efforts of the royal fathers for championing the promotion of reading culture as well as revival of Igbo language and culture in the state.

    She appealed to them to help to document their culture and way of life of their various communities in the state library and make it accessible to students.