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Tag: Umuahia

  • Umuahia beckons at night

    Umuahia beckons at night

    It was once wise to steer clear of the streets after dark. Almost an unwritten law, most workers and residents knew that it was best to head home at the close of work, eat dinner, say their prayers and get the family into bed latest by nine pm. The streets were not safe, and you had no one to blame but yourself if anything happened to you out at night.

    All of that is now in the past. Residents and visitors alike have been savouring the beauty and night sounds of Umuahia, the Abia State capital. And they have Governor Theodore Orji to thank for that. His administration has since teamed up with the security community to restore the capital city to its former peaceful glory. Nightlife is back.

    Abia state was created on August 27, 1991 by the administration of military President Ibrahim Babangida and Umuahia was made the state capital. Since then the city remained a glorified village to the chagrin of everyone who cherishes growth.

    Most people who visited Umuahia always saw it as a sleeping city and wondered when it would wake up from its deep slumber. Despite the rapid changes in every part of the city, it refused to wake up. However, no one can deny that nightlife in the state capital has improved and that is because security has been stepped up, as has infrastructure which enhances social activities in the night.

    At a time, most people felt the poor security network in the state made it difficult for people to move freely at night, coupled with the security challenge that the state faced some time ago which scared off some top investors from the state.

    This was to change when Governor Orji appealed to the Presidency which directed the then Chief of Army Staff Gen Azubike Onyeabor Ihejirika to reopen the Ohafia military barracks which was abandoned for close to 20 years. Also, soldiers were directed to join other security agencies working in the state to check criminals.

    The coming of soldiers restored hope to the residents of the state and also helped to improve nightlife in the state in general and Umuahia in particular.

    Since then the government has also moved to make the city look like what a state capital should be with modernised infrastructures. However, it has not made the city to have a sound night life befitting of a state capital. Some residents, though, continue to avoid the streets at night, not because security has not improved, but because they are yet to shake off the psychological trauma of the nightmarish past.

    If you are in Umuahia and find yourself outside by midnight, chances are that you will be alone on the streets, with only the security operatives to contend with. Surely they will stop you and quietly ask you relevant questions and your identity and once you could identify yourself they will allow you to go home or go to wherever you want to go.

    The night patrols of the security agencies and the stop-and-search operation have boosted nightlife in the state capital and have produced night-out places like DeLatinos, The Place and other such places where people unwind. In all these places you will always see rich young people of both genders dancing to the rhythm of current hit numbers, while choice alcoholic beverages and spirits are on offer.

    There are other small outfits scattered in different parts of the city where people sit out every night.

    One of those who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity said that it will be difficult for people living in the capital city to change their perception about night life, because of the fact that most people who will want to stay out late find it hard to find people to sit out with, therefore the best thing to do is to go home and either sleep or sit in front of one’s house.

    Despite the fact that security vehicles are parked at strategic points in the state capital and some others on routine patrol, people still find it hard to summon the courage to move around the city at night freely, except for few people who are given to nightlife.

    For the past three and half years now the city has undergone considerable changes, including infrastructural repairs and beautification. The Abia Tower at the centre of the city has been remodelled to a modern one with an inscription ‘Welcome to Umuahia’ backed up with lighting effects that welcome you to the city at night.

    The tower has undergone about three modifications since the present administration came into office, but the current state of the tower is the best so far and will stand the test of time. If such edifice is the measuring instrument for a night life to be in a city like Umuahia, then Abia state capital is at the verge of having a bubbling night life which will also help in the boosting of economic activities in the state.

    The once sleepy city of Umuahia, the Abia state capital, has woken up from its 23 years of slumber. That means the return of a good nightlife and a buoyant economy in the state.

  • Comments

    Comments

    For Olatunji Dare

     

    Without doubt, former President Obasanjo and his political son, the incumbent President Dr. Jonathan have foibles of which no quarantine could purify them. That apart, there is so much that is bad about the best of both men and so much that is good about the worst of them that it does not behove one of them to criticise the other. May God give Nigeria leaders with good morals soonest. From Adegoke O. O., Ikhin, Edo State

    Dare, Obasanjo’s letter should not be used to divert the truth. I think what Obasanjo is calling for is the abrogation of the land use decree which gave him half of Ogun State lands on a platter of gold. If he calls for adjudication on corruption let us start from there and corruption will leave Nigerian shores. Thanks! Anonymous

    Dare, one gets peeved to read about an elder politician ‘railroading’ his ‘boys’ to presidency as claimed in “December 2013: A month in missives” with Obasanjo on Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Jonathan. What does such an act make of Nigerians and the electoral process than a pack of fools electorally supervised by corrupt and inept bodies? And yet the media knew Nigerians’ votes were in Obasanjo’s personal choice, competent or otherwise, but chose to lump into the ‘fools’ pack instead of protesting against such electoral malady. And what has the scrutiny of passports at the airport got to do with OBJ’s claim that Jonathan has a watch list? That is too cheap a proof. Jonathan’s response to Obasanjo’s letter was cautious and deserves commendation and not condemnation. Sanusi Lamido’s issue is most nauseating; considering his egoistic demeanour. And Iyabo Obasanjo’s case remains blurred from truth. From Lai Ashadele

     

    For Segun Gbadegesin

     

    Some of the issues you raised in your write-up “The centennial of greed” are the issues that would have been discussed immediately after the civil war but the elders lacked the foresight. From Ogo, Delta State

    I just finished reading your essay titled “The centennial of greed”. You said it pointblank. Thank you. Anonymous

    Segun, really interesting, your “The centinnial of greed (1)”. The only problem is that you seem to have left a truly critical question. What do you think caused the civil war? Until the rest of the Nigerians wake up to this aboriginal conspiracy by Lugard and his northern cohorts to dispossess the south, and address the issue with candor and fortitude, l am afraid we may spend another centennial running around in circles. From Marizu Ogbuehi

    Great write-up on “The centennial of greed”. Britain destroyed us from the start and religion is helping to sustain that destruction. From Archibong, Calabar

    Re: The centennial of greed. Greed did not come to Nigeria with the arrival of Lord Lugard, it was an attempt to civilize us and give us a near modern governance. In the process, southern protectorate proved to be civilized and got less. North cooperated and got big. We tasted governance and began the struggle to share the headship of number one. Our not valuing the centennial celebration lies in the same number one. Remove corruption today and Nigeria will appreciate centennial celebration. In that respect, I bow to late Gani Fawehinmi and Papa Jakande. The present crops are ‘jeunjeun’. From Lanre Oseni

    Your article will be of great importance if all Nigerians will have access to it. But the problem I see is that, hatred has been planted in the heart of every individual right from birth by our forfathers, even among different groups, ethnics, religions, e.t.c. From Bamaiyi T. Kaduna

     

    For Tunji Adegboyega

    Re: ‘Missing link on Okoh’s homily’. Your comment shows how narrow you can be in your write-ups. Why do you comment on areas that you lack knowledge? You don’t know anything about salvation. Prosperity was a blessing to Adam. He lost it to Satan. It was reclaimed in salvation. Tunji, you will win our minds when you write on matters that bring peace, that encourage it; certainly not on things that take peace away and put this country on fire. There is room for improvement. Anonymous.

    The Most Revd. Nicholas Okoh should be criticised for the unbalanced ‘sermon’. It is a confirmation that we are in an age of blandness, of superficiality, of submerged vigour and of atomized thought. Today, many worshippers’ relationship to public morality has diminished to a vanishing point. May God touch the hearts of our leaders for a positive change in due course. Anonymous.

    Thanks, Tunji, some of our religious leaders have turned their churches to political platforms for the President. Anonymous.

    My understanding of your Sunday write-up is that peace without justice is peace of the graveyard. In some churches, the front pews are reserved for the rich and powerful. They don’t speak truth to the front pews. So, Okoh’s incomplete sermon is not surprising to me. More grease to your elbows for your Solomonic writings on Sundays. Anonymous.

    Your article on January, 5 was super, articulate and direct to the issue at stake. You made my day with your write-ups a la carte. You went beyond religious bigotry. From Comrade Rufus Olusesan, Lagos.

    Thanks for telling it as it is to the Rt Revd. Okoh, the head of the Anglican Church in Nigeria, “Missing link in Okoh’s homily”. I won’t forget his extremely provocative, myopic, undemocratic call for the proscription of ASUU during the varsity teachers’ strike … From Gab A. Uche, Umuahia.

    Tunji, well-done. You have said it all. Anonymous.

    Dear Tunji, to preach only what pleases our leaders is a sign that our emancipation remains a mirage. Without fear or favour, I want all the churches to stand by the truth, just as the Catholic Church stood boldly against evils like gay or same sex marriage, abortion, paedophile and inordinate lifestyles of some men of God amid the prevailing hunger, abject poverty and penury in the land. Our religious leaders have the capacity to help reverse the nation’s seemingly gloomy future at the pulpits. From Collins Obodo, Kubwa, Abuja.

    I feel you; most of our men of God shy from telling our leaders their wrongdoings in government because of what they will get from the politicians. The funniest thing with them is that they see politicians who rigged elections and engage in other vices and would grant them space for thanksgiving in their churches. What a country! From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia State.

  • Persons with disability destroy Abia Sure-P office

    Persons with disability destroy Abia Sure-P office

    Angry members of Joint National Association of Persons with Disability [JNAPD] numbering over 200 have demonstrated at the federal government office of Subsidy Reinvestment Empowerment Programme [SURE-P] in Umuahia and destroying all the window blades, chairs and tables over alleged neglect by the office.

    Speaking with The Nation in Umuahia after their demonstration, the state chairman of JNAPD Stanley Onyemaechi said that the SURE-P was designed to accommodate people like them, but that they have been neglected by the members of the board in the state.

    Onyemaechi said that he attended a workshop in Calabar in the month of March this year, where they were told that their group are included in the SURE-P programme and that up till now that no member of the board of the programme in that state have gotten in touch with them.

    He said that all attempts to get in touch with the board chairman in the state, David Nwokocha have proved abortive and that they have not been paid any amount of money, saying that the board chairman said that their group is not recognised by the programme.

    The Abia JNAPD chairman said that he had visited the SURE-P office on several occasions, “Without anything to show to my colleagues and this has made them to think that he collects personal money from Nwokocha, which is why I told to come with me to fight for their right”.

    Onyemaechi then called on both the federal and state governments to involve them in the SURE-P programme, “We deserve to be involved in the programme as we are Nigerians and should be involved with any programme designed by the federal government”.

    He said that when President Goodluck Jonathan announced the programme that will take care of all categories of the people in the country, “We felt that our problems are over, as every segment of the society are expected to be involved in the programme, but we are disappointed with the things we are seeing now”.

    The JNAPD boss in Abia said that they are about 6170 persons with different forms of disability in the state and that most of them are graduates without jobs, “So we want the federal government through the SURE-P programme to include us, by teaching skills or empowering those of us with skills to establish ourselves”.

    Onyemaechi said that their colleagues in other states have benefitted from the SURE-P programme in their states and wondered why their own should be different when the federal government had already included them, saying that they are suspecting foul play in the activity of the programme in the state.

    However one of the members of the board of SURE-P in the state, Kingsley Ngunu said that the programme is handled by Community Service, Women and Youth Empowerment [CSWYE] and that he has heard their complaint which will be handled accordingly.

    Ngunu said that he is hearing about their group for the first time and urged them to come back on Thursday for a meeting with the board members, where their grievances will be handled and assured them that their problems will be taken care of.

    He said, “I am just a member of the board and I do not have the capacity to tell you what we are going to do, therefore I urge you to go home and come back on Thursday with about ten of your members for us to discuss on the way forward. I think you have a genuine case which we will look into during the meeting”.

  • Abia steps up infrastructure

    Abia steps up infrastructure

    Modern market, roads, clinics, drainage built

    The vast undulating architectural layout is what instantly strikes a first-time visitor. The sprawling market is designed in rolls based on what a consulting architect on the site termed ‘architectural atmospherics.’ The market is devoid of the choking atmosphere that most major markets of its type have come to be known for. At the freshly ‘minted’ Ubani/Ibeku Modern Market at the outskirts of Umuahia, the capital city of Abia State, there are large openings and spaces which allow for free circulation of air and unhindered movements of both buyers and sellers as well as merchandise. The shops and stalls are neatly arranged in rows and sections according to the types of business or trading each group of traders is engaged in.

    When The Nation visited the market, frantic efforts were being made by both the traders and the construction workers to put finishing touches to the shops and other facilities. The roads have been asphalted.

    The Chairman of the Relocation Committee of the Ubani/Ibeku Modern Market, Sir Ebenezer Offor, said: “We are relocating the old market to this new one. The old market is at the centre of the town. It is an eyesore for anybody coming into the town. When you get into that Okpara Square, you see that the place is very noisy, very dirty. You see all sorts of things, keke, wheel barrows and other things around that place. It is not good for the state capital.”

    Any transparency in the relocation exercise?

    Offor, a retired civil servant who claimed to have a reputation as a strict incorruptible person, said: “They know I don’t take and I don’t give. Those who are working with me have to follow my footsteps. Anybody who does that will be dealt with. We are now focusing on the people who have sheds in the old market. When we are through with them then from next week we’ll start considering those who do not have sheds in the old market.”

    The Ubani/Ibeku Modern Market is one of the major legacy projects that the administration of Governor Theodore Orji is bequeathing to the people of Abia State. Apart from the market being equipped with most of the needed facilities, there is also a school and a clinic. There is a housing estate very close to the market. Roads are being built and widened into the new market. Also introduced by the government are brand new buses carrying the traders to the market and back to town at a much reduced price. One of the traders quipped: “What else do you need? It’s a question of doing your business and going back to town.”

    Granting audience to The Nation, the governor spoke at length regarding the evolution of the new market.

    “You have a market at the centre of the town, obstructing the aesthetics of the whole place and stalling the development and expansion of the town. It is incumbent on me to remove the market to another place so that Umuahia will expand. Some people don’t realise that these things need sacrifices from the citizens. If you check history, you’ll see that relocating a market is not easy, especially this one in Umuahia. The idea of relocating it first came up in 1935. Since then till now, no government has been able to do it because the traders had been resisting it. But the approach we took made it easy for the relocation and the traders are extremely happy.”

    Governor Orji claimed that the government built the new market without assistance from anybody. And, according to him, the standard of the shops is very high. He stated: “If you evaluate the cost of each, you’ll know the cheapest you can get it for is about N1.5 million. Some people would be willing to pay that. But I said no, these are traders, we have to help them. That is a very magnanimous gesture on the part of the government. The traders are on their own moving into the market without being forced.“

    The Nation also paid a fact-finding visit to the recently relocated industrial market housing largely those who are dealing in building and industrial materials. The traders moved into the market a couple of months previously. The Nation noticed a number of lapses in the market. The roads have not been fully asphalted as that of the main Ubani/Ibeku market. The drainage system is also noticeably poor.

    The governor, during his interaction with The Nation, acknowledged the lapses. “We are not totally through with the work on the industrial market. We made some mistakes in the relocation of the industrial market and we are being guided by that in handling the Ubani/Ibeku Modern Main Market. When we wanted to relocate the industrial market, the workers were extremely hesitant and very aggressive. They even took us to court. Then we had to put our foot on ground to tell them they had to move. Therefore, we were building as they were moving in. Now that they have moved in, we are sting building, making the drainages, asphalting the roads so that the place will be conducive for them. We are still on the development; we are not through with it,” he said.

    Orji was asked to react to the criticism from some quarters alleging that he is concentrating all the legacy projects in Abia Central, especially Umuahia axis where he hails from. He gave this defence: “I am the governor of Abia State; the whole of Abia State voted for me. And as such, they are supposed to be participatory in government. We don’t discriminate here in terms of sharing the dividends of democracy. We have three major senatorial zones: Abia North, Abia Central and Abia South. I am from Abia Central. But that does not mean that Abia North and Abia South are neglected. We are spreading development to all the nooks and cranies of Abia State.”

    He spoke further: “Starting with Abia South which is Aba area, Greenfield is building a major mall in Osisioma, very close to Aba. There they are going to develop 600 stores of international standard. They have started work. We’ve given them land and they have already started work. ABIC is also building another market in the same area. We are also developing another market in Ukwa East. You know Aba is mainly a commercial area. We have a specialist and diagnostic centre in Aba. We are building a major operating theatre in Abia State University Teaching Hospital in Aba. These are all in Abia South.

    “We have built a lot of roads in the whole of Abia South. Virtually all the local governments have been touched. Aba urban, especially, has witnessed unprecedented road construction, or rehabilitation. We are also making sure that Aba is neat. There is a lot of environmental improvement. Refuse is being carted away on daily basis. People are no longer complaining. In that same Aba, if there is any rainfall, you’ll notice minimal flooding because we undertook the opening up of all drains and construction of new ones to channel flood water into Aba River.

    “We are also helping Geometrics, the private power station, in Aba in many ways including construction of roads and waiver of taxes to make sure that the company starts generating power. We are encouraging the small scale industries that are all there. And more importantly, we have provided good security for the whole of Abia South, especially Aba because the major security lapses we were having in those dark days came from that zone – from Aba, Obingwa and Ukwa West. Now it is no longer like that. In Abia South also the courtrooms are being renovated, schools are built, hospitals are being upgraded and additional ones – general are being built in Aba, Osisioma, Ogunabo and Ukwa East Local Government Areas, Okipe.”

    Focusing on Abia North, he declared: “It is the same story in Abia North Senatorial Zone. We have also constructed numerous roads. In Isikwatto Local Government Area, we have about five roads undergoing construction. Some of them have been completed. Also in Umuneji, we have done roads and completed a bridge that was a problem in that locality. We are building a general hospital in Arochukwu. We are building another one in Ohafia and Izia. We are renovating the schools in these areas. We are also working on Ndioji/Ndi Okereke, a major road that had remained bad for donkey years – it is through this road food items are transported from the rural areas to the urban areas. They don’t have another road. By the time we leave office we want to make it an express road. The people of the area are extremely happy about the development.

    “We have entered into an MOU with a company that is going to produce cement in Arochukwu which is blessed with a lot of limestone deposit. We have250 health centres all over Abia State and they are adequately distributed to Abia North, Abia Central and Abia South. Those who criticise us do so out of ignorance because they don’t know what is on ground. “

  • Jonathan has right to contest 2015 polls, says Abia PDP boss

    Jonathan has right to contest 2015 polls, says Abia PDP boss

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman in Abia state, Chief Emma Nwaka, has said that President Goodluck Jonathan reserved the right to contest the 2015 presidential election as a sitting president.

    Nwaka made this known when he spoke with newsmen on the crisis rocking the party and sundry issues in Umuahia on Wednesday.

    According to him, all over the world, the practice is that sitting presidents reserve the right to contest election for a second tenure, “so Jonathan has the right to seek re-election in 2015.”

    He debunked the claims that there was no internal democracy in the party, explaining that the party’s flag bearers at every political contest emerged through democratic process.

    Nwaka said that unlike the procedure in opposition parties, PDP always threw the process of electing its representatives open to members during elections.

    He cited the recent PDP ward congresses in Anambra, where delegates for the party’s mini-convention in Abuja, were elected rather than hand-picked, to buttress his argument.

    He said he led 97 party members from Abia to supervise the exercise, arguing that such process did not obtain in other parties.

    Apeaking to NAN, the chairman gave the assurance that whoever would succeed Gov. Theodore Orji, in 2015 must emerge through a transparent electoral process, devoid of manipulation.

    He said that there was no division in Abia PDP, pointing out that the state was loyal to the Alhaji Bamanga Tukur-led PDP.

  • It’s Umuahia next for Federation Cup — Eguma

    It’s Umuahia next for Federation Cup — Eguma

    Dolphins’ next competitive game will come up on Wednesday, July 17 at Umuahia in the Federation Cup Round of 32. The game will be against Akwa Starlets of Uyo.

    To get to this stage, Dolphins beat NAF Rockets of Abuja 3-1 in Benin while Akwa Starlets beat Kwara United via penalty shoot-out after full time ended 2-2.

    Last season, Dolphins got knocked out in the Round of 64, their worst ever performance in the Federation Cup, but Eguma insists that will not happen this season.

    “The Federation Cup is different. It brings a lot of surprises and we work against any unforeseen thing.

    “By their name Akwa Starlets, people may want to underrate them but we won’t do that because they worked hard to get to this point. We will come out fully to fight with them and ensure we are not taken by surprise,” Eguma said.

    Dolphins have won the Federation Cup four times, in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007.

  • Abia lawmaker arraigned for alleged certificate forgery

    Abia lawmaker arraigned for alleged certificate forgery

    The member representing Umunneochi State Constituency in the Abia State House of Assembly, Prince Ikedi Ezekwesiri has been arraigned before an Umuahia Magistrate Court for alleged perjury.

     

    Ezekwesiri was arraigned on a five count charge of impersonation, forgery and false information among other charges.

     

    The lawmaker was alleged to have on Jan. 31, 2011 in the INEC Form C.F 001 preparatory for election into the State House of Assembly falsely declared to be a legal practitioner, an offence punishable under Section 192 of the Criminal Code Cap 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004.

     

    He was also alleged to have on the same date in a judicial proceeding in the High Court registry before the Commissioner for Oats given false testimony contrary to Section 117 and punishable under Section 118 of the Criminal Code Cap. C 38 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004.

     

    The prosecution said that the false testimony was to enable him contest for the state house of assembly election which he won to represent Umunneochi state constituency in the state legislative arm of government.

     

    Ezekwesiri,  a prince from Umunneochi was alleged to have fraudulently altered and mutilated the INEC Form CF 001 during investigation by the Nigeria Police by inserting the word ‘business man’ instead of ‘legal practitioner’ as earlier professed and presented same to the police.

     

    The prosecution said that the act was contrary to Section 468 of the Criminal Code and punishable under Section 465 of the Criminal Code Cap. C. 38 laws of the federation as applicable in Abia state.

     

    He was alleged to have fraudulently presented to INEC and the police during investigation, an LLB in Law degree certificate bearing Eze Ikedichi awarded with an honour in the 3rd Class degree instead of pass by the Abia State University.

     

    When the charges where read, the accused person pleaded not guilty to all the charges, while his lawyer, Bar. Okey Amechi (SAN) who appeared with over ten lawyers applied for the bail of the accused on self-recognition as a serving legislator.and house committee chairman on public petitions.

     

    Amaechi said, “This is a political issue and he will not jump bail which is the major reason for granting bail and he is the house committee chairman on public petitions”.

     

    The Prosecution Counsel, Mr Sampson Onyemuche, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), who appeared with Mr Godwin Ijioma (DSP), said that the prosecution was not objecting to the bail application.

     

    Onyemuche said, “We however object to granting the accused bail on self-recognition, this is a criminal trial and we expect him to be given bail with a reasonable sum and surety in like sum and this is not the type of case protected by Section 308 of the Constitution”.

     

    In her ruling, the Chief Magistrate, Mrs Elizabeth Kalu granted the accused bail on self-recognition and adjourned to July 17.

     

     

  • Four dead as building collapses in Umuahia

    Four dead as building collapses in Umuahia

    A four-storey building last night collapsed at Agbama Housing Estate in Umuahia, Abia State capital. Four people were killed and four sustained injuries.

    A teenager, who would have been one of the victims, escaped death by a whisker as he went to watch the final of the UEFA Europa Cup between Benfica and Chelsea when the incident occurred.

    The building was still under construction at the time of the collapse.

    A source alleged that it was constructed with inferior materials. The owner of the building is said to be a well-known building materials dealer in the state.

    The source said a family of four, squatting in the uncompleted building, was also involved in the incident, with the man and his two children dying. The mother reportedly survived and is receiving treatment at the Intensive Care Unit of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia.

    One of the workers at the site, Johnson Ekpukete, claimed that the materials used in building the house were of high quality, but that the builders were not competent, as pillars were not included in the structure of the building.

    Ekpukete, a Cameroonian, said he began work at the site last week for re-enforcement and structuring of the building, which was identified by the owner to be defective.

    He added that he was saved from untimely death because he went to buy food when the building collapsed.

    Said he: “Although the materials used were of high quality, the former engineer did not exhibit expertise in handling the project, as the concretes were poorly mixed and the re-enforcement poorly spaced, which I am sure led to the collapse.”

    One of the neighbours, who preferred anonymity, decried the poor materials used in building the house.

    He said the concretes used in the building were poorly mixed and that the owner of the house kept changing the builders.

    He alleged that the engineers called to handle the building rejected the offer, which made the owner to use bricklayers.

    When The Nation visited the site of the collapsed building, rescue workers were bringing out some of the victims under the debris, who were taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia. The bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the mortuary.

  • NFF to wade into Keshi, Eagles bickering

    NFF to wade into Keshi, Eagles bickering

    The Nigerian Football Federation would intervene in the face-off between some Super Eagles players and Stephen Keshi, the Chief Coach of the team, Emeka Inyama, Chairman, Media Committee of the NFF, has said.

    Inyama told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia after the Week 15 midweek encounter between Abia Warriors FC of Umuahia and Crown FC of Oshogbo that the intervention would be made to get the best from the team.

    He was reacting to reports of crisis of confidence between Super Eagles captain, Joseph Yobo, strikers Emmanuel Emenike, Osaze Odemwingie and Keshi.

    He said that the strained relationship between the players and the coach was unacceptable to the NFF.

    Cue in audio

    “We’ll request the coaches to improve the relationship between him and the players.

    “The players like to be massaged; Keshi was once a player and when you have a good relationship with your coach it even makes the player to play better.

    “Players sometimes play for the sake of their coaches.

    “So the relationship in our own opinion has to be improved. We have to see what the problems are and make them to work together.

    “Yobo is the national captain of Nigeria he cannot be ignored; Emenike is one of the best strikers in Nigeria he cannot be ignored; Osaze is one of the best players in Nigeria he cannot be ignored.

    “We need the best legs for Nigerian matches.

    “So anything that will be done and everything that will be done to improve the relationship between the coach and the players Nigerian Football Federation will do so.

    Cue out audio

    Emenike had complained that the coach had never enquired how he was recuperating from the injury he sustained during the African Cup of Nations in South Africa that had sidelined him from his club-side.

    Yobo also complained that the coach should have informed him of his exclusion from the team that prosecuted the Nigeria-Kenya World Cup qualifier in March before making the list public, arguing that it was a matter of respect as he is the team captain.

    Keshi has since admitted not informing the Super Eagles captain of his exclusion from the team before the list was made public.