The Nation Newspaper

Tag: South East

  • Inadequate supply, cause of fuel scarcity in S/East – DPR

    Inadequate supply, cause of fuel scarcity in S/East – DPR

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    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Enugu State has attributed the current scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the South East Zone to inadequate supply of the product.

    The Corporate Manager of the department, Mr. Peter Ijeh, made the disclosure in Enugu on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    Ijeh said that the scarcity had led to non-compliance of some major and independent marketers to the new government pump price of the product.

    He said that supply in the five states of the Southeast of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo had dropped drastically against what used to be previously.

    “Ebonyi State used to have supply of 25 trucks of petrol a day but that has reduced to four trucks, while Enugu which used to have the supply of 80 trucks reduced to 40 as well as three other states of the zone,’’ he said.

    Ijeh said that the department was collaborating with the police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to ensure that petrol dealers complied with the government directive on new pump price.

    He said that the department had started to sanction stations that hoarded the product and sold above N86.

    A NAN correspondent who monitored the level of compliance to the new pump price reports that many filling stations have yet to adjust their pump price to the new rate.

    Some of the filling stations visited sold the product at between N 130 and N150 per litre.

    A station attendant at Chris Tee Oils, Mr Ekene Okpara, told NAN that the station bought fuel from the major marketers at a high price and sold at N130 in order to break even.

    Okpara alleged that some mega stations in the state also hoarded fuel, while those that sold at the new pump price closed in not less than two hours.

    The station manager at Oando Filling station at Uwani, Mrs. Ebere Ogazie, described the new pump price as a `welcome development’ but complained about the non-availability of the product.

    Ogazie said the station would comply with the new price when it received supply.

    NAN reports that Oando, Total, Master Energy and some NNPC mega stations are selling the product at the new rate but have long queues of prospective buyers.

     

  • JAMB, NBTE take unethical practices battle to South-East, South-South

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) have ended a 3-day workshop for polytechnics and monotechnics in the South-East and South -South regions to fight unethical practices in the institutions.

    No fewer than 20 tertiary institutions in the zones gathered at the Federal Polytechnic Oko, in Anambra state for the three-day workshop which started on Wednesday

    The theme of the workshop was, Restoring Academic Integrity and Engendering Quality Assurance in Polytechnics and similar tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

    Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, was represented by the Commissioner for Science and Technology, Chief Chinedu Emeka.

     

  • South East roads need urgent attention – Osinbajo

    South East roads need urgent attention – Osinbajo

    Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, at the weekend affirmed that the worst problem bogging down people of the south East zone is the area’s dilapidated road networks.
    Speaking while fielding questions from journalists in Enugu, where he attended
    a function at the Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd, Anglican
    Communion, Professor Osibajo said the situation is clear to the federal government.
    He noted that despite government financial constraint at the moment, there is a need to make improvements on roads in the South East where commerce thrives and people move about a lot to earn their living.
    The Vice President disclosed that he had discussed the issue of the roads with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, adding that the issue was not unknown to the federal government.
    ” Not just only one problem that the people of the South East have in terms of roads, you know what our financial constraints are, there is a need for improvement on roads where there is a lot of commerce and movement of people.”
    Prof Osinbajo noted that there is need to raise the value of naira by discouraging importation of some items.
    In a homily at the church, where the Vice President attended a wedding ceremony, Arch. Bishop of the Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Anglican Communion, His Grace, Emmanuel Olisa Chukwuma had appealed to the Federal Government to create employment for the teaming unemployed youths in the country who are wallowing in poverty.
    He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for fighting corruption in the country.

  • South East right to vote PDP, says Ekweremadu

    South East right to vote PDP, says Ekweremadu

    Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, said yesterday that the decision of the majority of the people of the South East to vote for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was appropriate in the circumstance.

    He said that given another opportunity, the people would vote in the same manner.

    Addressing his supporters on arrival at  the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, Ekweremadu said  he decided to take another shot at the position of Deputy Senate President when it appeared the people of the zone were about to be sidelined in the scheme of things following the last elections.

    The Deputy Senate President, who is also the Speaker of ECOWAS parliament, urged his fellow senators and all political office holders to settle down for business to deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

    He advised President Muhamadu Buhari to accommodate all Nigerians irrespective of party and ethnic inclination.

    He said:”We have no regrets. The Igbo have no regret for the way they voted; if they have the opportunity tomorrow they will do it again.

    “We are convinced we voted rightly, and because we believe we are part and parcel of this country, we believe what we got is within our right. So we expect that APC should be able to accommodate the people of the South South as they form their government, because don’t forget that Buhari got about 15 million votes; we have more than 150 million Nigerians, so he is not the president of 15 million people; the rest of the people must be accommodated.

    “In fact, that was why, when we saw that it appeared that the South East and South South were being marginalised in the scheme of things, we decided to take a shot so that our people would be part and parcel of the government so that every part of Nigeria will have a sense of belonging.

    “I’m very delighted to be among my people that have come to receive me after I was honoured by the entire senators of the Federal Republic Nigeria; I’m honoured by the people of Nigeria and my people, the great Igbo people, were also honoured by the people of Nigeria, PDP was also honoured by the people of Nigeria.

    “So I’m here coming home to my root, and I’m happy that they are here to receive me. We have finished with politics, now is time for governance; we should put politics behind and move on; this country is bigger than any political party, so let’s work together as a people to ensure that we deliver dividends of democracy to the people of Nigeria,” he said.

     

  • VERDICT 2015: Open contest in South-East

    In this report, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu; State correspondents, Chris Oji in Enugu, Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke in Umuahia, Ogochukwu Anioke in Abakaliki and Okodili Ndidi in Owerri, offer an in-depth analysis of the political calculations in the four South-East states that would hold governorship elections this year’s February

    AS the February elections draw closer, the South-East political atmosphere has become even more intriguing. Out of the five states in the geo- political zone, only one, Anambra, currently governed by All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA- led government, would not hold governorship election this February.

    In the remaining four; Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo, where governorship elections would be held, political calculations have understandably become much more complex and interesting.

    While Imo State, currently governed by All Progressives Congress (APC) – led government may offer a different scenario entirely, The Nation’s investigation shows that the three remaining states in the zone; Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu, whose governments are still under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the current heated political situations there can be traced primarily to the implosion in the ruling party.

    The case in Ebonyi State best demonstrates this development as the sudden implosion in PDP had not only thrown up Labour Party and All Progressives Congress (APC) as serious rivals in the state, but has also made them real albatross to the ruling PDP.

    Considering that Ebonyi is one of the three states in the zone that have remained traditional PDP states since 1999, bookmakers easily gave the state to the ruling PDP. That was before the last governorship primaries, when some top PDP chieftains with the right connections in Abuja staged a very successful political coup and hijacked the party machinery from Governor Martin Elechi in a very humbling circumstances .

    Since then, the game has changed radically as Elechi and his supporters have decided to take their fate in their hands, thus breaking the PDP stronghold there and further opening up the state for other enterprising political parties to also feast in.

    Although in some varied circumstances, such complexities have been recorded in the four South-East states, there seems to be no doubt that the developments will colour this year’s governorship elections there and influence the results, that is, if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Federal Government of Nigeria allow the votes to count.

    If this happens, it will only amount to idle guesswork to continue to describe any of the South-East states as a traditional stronghold of any party. Instead, informed opinion today agree that given the realities on the ground, in most of the states, it would be to close to call.

  • South East teams record mixed results in Glo League

    South East teams record mixed results in Glo League

    South Eastern teams suffered mixed results in the Glo Premier League Week 28 matches played yesterday across the country.

    Out of the four teams playing in the elite division, only Heartland managed a win while Abia Warriors and Enugu Rangers that were involved in a derby played a goalless draw.  Enyimba lost to Lobi Stars at Katsina Ala.

    Two goals, one in each half from Emeka Ogbugh and Clement Bobby in the 44th and 47th minutes earned the Naze Millionaires maximum points at home to sinking Nembe City.

    The win catapulted the Owerri side to 40 points from 28 matches.

    At the Katsina Ala’s Chief Emmanuel Akume Atongo Stadium, the Makurdi Bombers needed two penalties before subduing Enyimba of Aba under 90 minutes.

    Lobi got the first penalty in the 49th minute but  captain Bunde Moses lost it before inspirational goalkeeper, Terkaa Melai stepped out to convert the second in the 65th minute for his sixth goal of the campaign- all from the spot.

    The win took Lobi’s points tally to 41 with a game at hand-the inconclusive Week 27 league tie against Nembe City at Omoku.

    Barnabas Imenger, Lobi’s Team Manager and a former international of repute, said Enyimba made life difficult for them adding that the People’s Elephant came to Katsina Ala with the sole aim of defending throughout the duration of the game.

    Meanwhile, at the Umuahia Township Stadium, it was a fitting birthday to Enugu Rangers Director of Media and Publicity, Foster Chime who added a year and was also part of the Flying Antelopes’ team that secured a point off Abia Warriors.

    Rangers have amassed 38 points from 28 games and are on course to stay in the premier league for another season but Abia Warriors despite the loss are still having a season to remember in their first season in the top flight. They have 41 points from 28 matches.

  • ‘Dismantle illegal cells in South East’

    Apan Igbo group, Ndigbo Unity Forum (NUF) Worldwide, has called on Governors in the South East to dismantle illegal cells springing up in the region. In a statement, signed by Augustine Chukwudum and Chinedu Onyebuchi, the President and the Secretary respectively, the group expressed the fears that the development could constitute serious security breach in the area. “We have observed the sprouting of illegal detention centers established by vigilante operatives in some communities in Ichi, Ekwusigo Local Government, Ojoto in Idemili South Local Government, Nkpor and Ogidi, both in Idemili North Local Government, Umuchu, Aguata Local Government all in Anambra State. “We have also observed that local vigilantes have started mounting illegal checkpoint in Isouchi near Isouchi Police Station in Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State. Similiar worrisome development has also reared its ugly head in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State. “We are against any detention cell apart from the ones recognize by law and therefore call on relevant authorities to ensure that all illegal detention cells in the South East region are dismantled with immediate effect,” the group stated

  • Atiku receives South-east delegates

    Atiku receives South-east delegates

  • Jonathan’s new strategies for South East, South West

    Jonathan’s new strategies for South East, South West

    The fear of facing an electoral drubbing in the North and South West in the 2015 presidential election is forcing President Goodluck Jonathan’s strategists to firm up other options. Remi Adelowo reports

     

     

     

    The expected declaration by President Goodluck Jonathan to contest for a second term may be months away, his political strategists are not taking chances to ensure that he posts a good showing at the polls.

    In the last few months, Presidency top aides have been having sleepless nights to strategise on a ‘foolproof’ formula to achieve a set of clear objectives.

    Two of these objectives include how to neutralise real and perceived opposition within and outside the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and using certain elements to make inroads into areas considered as shaky in the president’s support base.

    The Nation gathered that for each of the nation’s six geo-political zones, the president’s handlers are working on different options to ensuring that key political figures key into the 2015 re-election project.

     

    South East: Beyond a presidential visit

    A few days ago, the president visited Enugu to commission the remodelled terminal at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport. Done with this task, the president proceeded to the Presidential Lodge where he was hosted by the state government.

    Present at the occasion were prominent past and current political office holders and businessmen including the former vice-president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme; former Governor of old Anambra State, Chief Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, and all the South-East governors, to mention but a few.

    Expectedly, the president said all the right things. Describing the region as his ‘backbone’, Jonathan reiterated his promises to attract considerable federal presence to the area. He cited the completion of the Onitsha Sea Port early last year which had been abandoned for several years, while also assuring the audience that the plan to build the Second Niger Bridge amongst other projects were on course.

    But despite the support the president seemingly enjoys in the South East, The Nation gathered that the president and his strategists are not leaving anything to chances.

    Four political parties, according to The Nation’s findings, would be used as the platforms to guarantee that the president gets a bloc vote at the next presidential election.

    With the PDP support already taken for granted, the other parties enlisted for the project are the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), its offshoot, United Progressives Party (UPP) headed by Chief Chekwas Okorie, and the Labour Party (LP), which membership is dominated by former PDP members.

    The coordination of APGA will be handled by Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, who enjoys a close-knit relationship with the President much to the discomfiture of PDP governors in the South East.

    Obi, besides being a member of the powerful Economic Management Team that advises the president on the nation’s economy, is also alleged to be the only governor that has accompanied the president more on foreign trips.

    With speculations rife that APGA may not field a presidential candidate in 2015 like it did in the 2011 elections, there are strong indications that the party may once again adopt Jonathan as its flag bearer in 2015. This same scenario, sources disclosed, may play out in UPP.

     

    The game plan for South West

    More than any other zone in the country, close aides of the president are allegedly placing priority attention to the South West. “The Presidency’s strategists believe that if Jonathan cannot repeat his excellent showing in the 2011 election in 2015, he should at least win one third of the votes in at least four states in the South West,” said a source.

    The Nation authoritatively gathered that the president having come to the conclusion that chieftains of his party, PDP, across the region may not deliver the much needed votes for him in 2015, he is alleged to have pencilled down Ondo State governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, as the arrowhead of his re-election campaign.

    The medical doctor-turned-politician, it was learnt, is being positioned to serve as a counterforce to the larger-than-life influence of politicians in the dominant Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) led by its National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    What is also giving the president a source for concern is the crisis that has bedevilled his party in the South West, and which has remained intractable. In almost all the states in the region, PDP leaders are at daggers drawn over the control of the party, while several attempts at reconciliation are yet to achieve the desired results.

    “The president is not putting all his eggs in one basket. He is not comfortable using his party members to handle his campaign and already looking at other options,” said our source.

    Mimiko’s victory at the Ondo State governorship election in October last year during which he reportedly got the tacit endorsement of the Presidency has further given fillip to the belief in the president’s camp that he has what it takes to sell the candidacy of Jonathan to the electorate.

    “Mimiko is a politician in whom the president is well pleased. If the plan afoot remains unchanged, he would be the face of the president’s campaign in the South West in 2015,” a source declared.

    Another politician whose support is being sought is the National Leader of Accord Party (AP) and former Governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, whose popularity in the state, particularly in Ibadan, the largest voting bloc, will be exploited in the president’s favour.

    Our source added, “Ladoja is desperate to return to the Government House. If it gets to crunch time, he would need the support of the centre to succeed. The presidency also needs him, so it’s a case of you-rub-my-back-I-rub-yours.”

    Also contained in the ‘Operation win South West’ plan is the massive rejuvenation of Labour Party structures in all the states in the region, with the party expected to field candidates for all elective political offices.

    Part of the strategy further includes nominating disgruntled members of the ACN (All Progressives Congress) as candidates of LP, thereby dividing the bloc votes that ACN is likely to garner.

     

    Other regions not left out

    For the North East and North West zones, sources revealed that the president is not giving up that he could pull an upset at the next election.

    The Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda, has allegedly been handed the brief to secure the base for the president in 2015.

    Plans are also being fine tuned to allegedly arm-twist Yuguda’s counterpart in Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, whose relationship with the presidency and the National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has been frosty in recent times to back the president’s re-election in 2015, findings have revealed.

    In the North West, another avowed supporter of the president, Governor Ibrahim Shema, is expected to take charge of the 2015 project, with sources alleging that he will play a more prominent role than the vice-president, Namadi Sambo, in the next 2015 presidential campaign.

    For the North Central, Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State is likely to be picked as the campaign coordinator ahead of other experienced politicians like the Senate President, David Mark, who also hail from Benue.

    Suswam is one of the closest governors to the president, a reason why his choice as the anchorman for the president’s campaign in the region was an easy decision to make.

     

  • APC’s growing influence in South-East

    APC’s growing influence in South-East

    Since leading progressives political parties met in Lagos and resolved to merge into a mega party, All Progressives Congress, the politics of South-East zone has become more revitalised as the new party is spreading like harmattan fire there. In this report, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, takes a look at the political leaders behind the party ‘s growing influence in the zone.

     

     

    Before the emergence of the mega party, All Progressive Congress ( APC), the politics of the South-East geo-political zone had suffered greatly and it has become certain that a majority of the electorate and political leaders there were in search of change.

    The primary allegation for the quest for change has remained that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which has dominated the politics of the zone since 1999, has been unable to resolve, satisfactorily, the deep feeling of marginalisation amongst the people.

    Even the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), which many of the people saw as their own, had been stalled by continuous internal crises and intrigues, thus leaving the zone largely naked, politically.

    Given this reality, a majority of South-Easterners, especially those dissatisfied with the status quo, see the emergence of APC as the long awaited opportunity for political deliverance.

    The Nation’s investigation reveals that such electorate and political stalwarts have enthusiastically embraced the new party even before the conclusion of the registration process.

    Besides the people’s dissatisfaction with the status quo and the need for a more viable change, our investigation shows that the growing influence of APC in the geo- political zone is also attributable to the influence and acceptability of most of the politicians that are leading the new party in the zone.

    In most of the South-East states, APC seems to have a lot of political figures, who are comparatively adjudged, by the electorates, as both progressives and radical and therefore more welfarist in ideology.

    This, according to Chief Iheanacho Ukandu, a community leader and politician in Abia State, “has helped the mega party to enjoy instant popularity and acceptability here,” he said.

     

    Imo State:

    Leading the APC in Imo State and other parts of the South-East zone today is Governor Rochas Okorocha.

    Not encumbered by the disagreement over his party’s participation in the merger, Okorocha has remained steadfast in the new political process.

    Apart from Okorocha, there are also other political heavyweights in the state, whose association with APC has served as a major boost for the party in the state. They include former CPC governorship candidate, Chief Mike Ahamba, who recently decamped to ACN in a grand style and with many supporters, put by some report, as numbering over 3000.

    Even before the emergence of APC, ACN, led in the state by Chief Charles Ubah, has attracted powerful politicians.

    It would be recalled that in 2011, some of the major politicians from the state, who were associated with ACN, included Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, former governor of Imo State, Chief Achike Udenwa and Chief Cosmas Iwu.

     

    Anambra State

    In Anambra State, former state governor, Dr. Chris Ngige, the leader of ACN, is the leading force of the mega party in the state.

    Since his brazen kidnap as a serving state governor, his popularity has continued to soar. To concretise his reputation, Ngige, within the short period he survived in office as governor, gave a good account of himself as a people’s leader and a firm believer in provision of dividends of democracy.

    As various political parties commence preparation for this year’s governorship election, our finding is that the image has continued to pay off for Ngige, as many of his admirers, including some still within the PDP, are daily signifying interest to join him in the APC.

    Also the recent killing of former deputy governor of the state, Dr. Chudi Nwike, who served between 1991 and 1993, under former Governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife, though not declared political, is another factor that may favour the new party in his zone during this year’s elections. The Nation learnt that Dr. Chudi Nwike, a chieftain of ACN, was until his kidnap and brutal killing, an important force in Anambra State APC.

     

    Ebonyi State

    In Ebonyi State, the National Chairman of All Nigeria People’s Party ( ANPP), Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, who is one of the principal founders of APC, will most likely lead the campaign for APC in the state henceforth. A former governor of old Abia State, Onu will be walking with other leaders of his party in the state, the leaders of ACN in the state and that of other opposition parties, who are participating in the merger to battle the ruling People’s Democratic Party.

    With the merger, it is believed that the progressives will work as one to effectively challenge PDP in the state.

    Even before the merger, opposition political parties in the state have share common ambition of uprooting PDP in the state.

     

    Abia State

    In Abia State, APC is also poised to uproot the PDP government. The Nation learnt that the new party will be led mainly by young but radical politicians. Asides the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate in the 2011 gubernatorial election in the state, Prince Paul Ikonne, ANPP member of Board of Trustees, Dr. Francis Egu, had, according to some sources, been pencilled down to play leading roles in the APC 2015 campaigns in the state.

     

    Enugu State

    In Enugu State, where it was once reported that the incumbent governor, Sullivan Chime, a PDP member, may soon join APC, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Maj.-Gen. Josef Okoloagu (retd.), has been involved in the original coordination of the activities of the progressives ahead of 2015.

    As far back as February 25, 2013, when about 1,000 Peoples Democratic Party members reportedly defected to the ACN in the state, Okoloagu had said the defection would further embolden the ACN to wrest power from the PDP in the 2015 general elections in the state.

    Since then, so much has happened in the state as more political heavyweights have indicated interest to join the mega party.

    With these coordinated moves to ensure victory for APC in the South-East zone, starting from this year’s Anambra State govenorship election, it remains to be seen how far the new party can go. Considering the way the party has been received so far, it may not be a difficult task to claim the zone for the progressives. It all depends on how the PDP and others will respond to the challenge.