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  • Glo takes ‘Laffta Fest’ to Uyo

    Glo takes ‘Laffta Fest’ to Uyo

    Living up to its promise of providing unlimited fun, humour and dance, Glo Laffta Fest, penultimate Sunday, held the residents of Uyo spellbound.

    Held at the Emerald Event Centre, Uyo, the show featured six top comedians who entertained the audience to no end.

    The show was flagged off by Patrick Onyeke, popularly known as Mr. Patrick, renowned for his thought provoking online skits, who treated the audience to a series of slap-stick humour and wisecracks.

    An On-Air-Personality and entrepreneur, Acapella, was the next act and he posted the best performance of the night sharing hilarious personal anecdotes that got the audience reeling in laughter with his top notch delivery.

    Daring Dan D’Humorous who has been a regular on the Glo Laffta Fest show also had a very good outing and his vintage performance was followed by Gordons, Bovi and Basketmouth, who headlined and brought the show to a close.

    Earlier, well-dressed Uyo residents arrived the venue of the show as early as 2pm, creating carnival-like atmosphere and the deejay, DJ Lambo welcomed them with delightful music.

    The show also featured guest appearances by Kanayo O. Kanayo, ‘homeboy’, Bishop Imeh Umoh, popularly known as Okon Lagos and RMD which greatly delighted their fans.

    Up – and – coming acts, such as General Odey, Emmaralo, British Pastors who travelled from their base in Aba, and MC Josy, among others whetted the appetite of attendees before the main acts.

    Among those who graced the show were the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Onofiok Luke, a member of the House, Nse Ntuen, a political stalwart in the state, Paul Ekpo, Commissioner  for Transport and Petroleum Resources, Orman Esin and a Special Adviser to the Governor, I.E Ekong, among others.

    Other cities that will host the show in the weeks ahead include Ibadan, Awka, Ikeja, Ikorodu, FESTAC, Ajah, Asaba, Aba, Suleja, Kubwa, Ibadan, Ijebu Ode, Abeokuta, Ekpoma, Kaduna, Akure, Lokoja, and Anyigba.

     

  • No excuse for losing to Bafana Bafana – Kwara DOS

    No excuse for losing to Bafana Bafana – Kwara DOS

    The Kwara Director of Sports, says the Super Eagles had no reason losing to Bafana Bafana of South Africa in the 2019 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

    The Super Eagles lost 0-2 to Bafana Bafana in the match played at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Saturday.

    It was a win which gave the South Africans their first win over Nigeria in any competitive match at senior level, through second half goals from Tokelo Rantie and Percy Tau help.

    Reacting to the result, Kazeem told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that there was no excuse for the team to have lost, saying it was a bad Saturday for the country.
    Kazeem however said the Super Eagles were even lucky to have conceded two goals only as the visitors were ready to disgrace Nigeria more.

    “I am so disappointed. I can’t believe what happened today.

    “There was no midfield, the defence was flat and goalkeeping was zero. If not for the God of football, the South Africans could have scored more goals.

    “I don’t know what excuse the team will give Nigerians, because they have no excuse to have failed.

    “We played against South Africa and this is what we get, what will happen when we play countries like Algeria?

    “The expectations were high and this is what we get at the end. It is a pity, a very bad Saturday for us,” he said.

    NAN reports that the result means the Eagles are placed third in Group E, ahead of Seychelles who lost 1-5 to Libya in the group’s other fixture.

    Libya sit comfortably in the group’s top position ahead of South Africa.

  • Electricity consumers in Uyo raise concerns over blackout, bogus bills

    Electricity consumers in Uyo raise concerns over blackout, bogus bills

    Electricity consumers in Uyo have expressed concerns over the irregular power supply and issuance of bogus bills by the Port Harcourt Distribution Company (PHEDC).

    The consumers spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Uyo on Sunday.

    Mr, Moses Eton, a landlord at No. 3, Akpan Ukpo Street, said that the area had been without electricity for three weeks now.

    “As you can see, we have no light and the situation has been like this in the last three weeks.

    “It is most unfortunate that PHEDC distributed estimated bills to us without considering the fact that it has not supplied us power.

    “The last time we had supply, our bulbs blew up and some of our appliances got damaged because of the power surge. We have not had electricity since then,” Eton said.

    Mr Kufre Akpan, who runs a barbing saloon in Ebet Aya, an outskirt of Uyo said the situation had made him to spend nearly one thousand naira daily on powering his generator.

    “This is the only way I can stay in business. We are suffering in this state. See PHEDC office close to us but we don’t have light.

    “The little profit that I am supposed to make is being spent on fuel to run my generator so as to meet the customers’ demand.

    “We are told there is a fault in the transformer servicing the area. We appeal to PHEDC to restore electricity to this area instead of giving residents high bills for electricity not consumed.

    Mr Akan Ukpong who resides in Esuene Housing Estate said that the PHEDC was not keen to render good services to consumers.

    According to him, the company was more interested in exploiting consumers by increasing their bills without commensurate services.

    “I wonder why the electricity company has not supplied the residents with prepaid meters and stopped estimated billing; It is only in Nigeria that you are forced to pay for electricity not consumed.

    “The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) should rise up to its responsibility and check the excesses of these electricity companies across the country.”

    When contacted on phone, Mr John Onyi, PHEDC’s Head, Public Relations declined comment on the situation.

  • “33” excites consumers in Jos, Uyo, Port Harcourt

    The ”33 Export lager beer is supporting “33” Export Friendship Experience parties has continued to excite consumers in different parts of the country. The parties, which started yesterday in Port Harcourt, will be held today in Jos and tomorrow in Uyo.

    In a statement, the company said “33” Export Lager Beer connects and engages with its target consumers by celebrating friendship and friends across the country.

    It said the brand had commenced this year’s Experiential Parties in March, and has hosted several top DJs and Comedians in the entertainment industry to thrill consumers with the best of music, games and comedy experiences. The experiential parties are targeted at bringing to live the values of the brand, and deepening the bond that exists between the brand and its customers.

    “My friends and I have not attended an event this interesting in a while. It is not just about the party, but the ambience of friendship, memories, and wonderful stories that we can share from this,” Abba Cornelius, a winner and guest at the event held in Abuja, said.

    “This week, the experiential parties will hold in Uyo, Jos and Port Harcourt. Lovers of “33” Export Lager Brand outside these cities need not feel left out, as they and their friends in those other cities across the country will definitely have a taste of this remarkable experience,” he said.

    According to the Portfolio Manager, Mainstream Lager and Stout, Nigerian Breweries, Emmanuel Agu, the parties are part of the brand’s commitment to creating memorable experiences for consumers of “33” Export Lager Beer wherever they are.

    “In line with the brand positioning as “Your No. 1 Friendship Beer”, the brand has continued to create consumer experiences that bring our consumers together, recognising that those moments are memorable to our consumers,” Agu said. “We have successfully created an opportunity for them to connect, and we can promise our dedication towards a more engaging and memorable experience for all our consumers across the country.”

  • Lest we forget Uyo tragedy

    Lest we forget Uyo tragedy

    For the sake of tomorrow, for the sake of the deceased and for the sake of posterity, the report of the enquiry into the Uyo tragedy must be made public. Those found guilty must be punished to serve as deterrent to others. If the report is swept under the carpet for whatever reason, ground is being prepared for another shoddy job capable of leading to another disaster.

    A radio station, Planet Radio, woke me up from slumber a few days ago. It donated N3.4 million to support 54 victims of the Reigners Bible Church building collapse in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital. The beneficiaries include: those mortally injured, those still receiving treatment, those who have been healed to some extent and relatives of the deceased.

    This news item reminded me that we seem to have moved on five months after the church came down and took Josephine Effiom and several others in the tragedy in which Governor Udom Emmanuel survived by the grace of God. The report of the enquiry into the tragedy remains hush-hush. Have Effiom and others gone in vain?

    Effiom, who was a polytechnic student, a friend said, “was one of the first three brilliant chaps in my class”. Her seat at the polytechnic lecture theatre is now occupied by another, a sad reminder to her course mates that a brilliant soul had been wasted.

    Effiom is the face of a tragedy in a house of God, where fear should have been the last thing on anyone’s mind. The founder of the church was to have his ordination as a bishop. He is not a small fry. So, the church was jam-packed. Emmanuel came with some of his commissioners and aides. Some of the commissioners were new in the State Executive Council at the time having been sworn-in December 1, last year.

    Thirty minutes into the governor’s arrival hell literally came down. No thanks to human error, the church’s iron pillars gave way and the blue roofs came thumping down. Of course on people! And Effiom died. And many others too. An account even said someone was cut into two by the iron pillars. A policeman who reportedly saved the governor is now six feet below. And some others broke their necks, their limbs and their back. The founder of the church, Pastor Akan Weeks, had his leg broken.

    As typical of our nation, no one appears sure of how many people died. The day after, we saw figures as high as 160 in the media. It was attributed to the Chief Medical Director of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, who later denied it. Police gave the figure as 29.

    Commissioner for Health Dr.  Dominic Ukpong said 26 people died in the unfortunate incident. His words: “Death toll now 26. Patients in the hospitals are 168. Total out patients are 50. Total deaths 26. Nine hospitals have the following patients. UUTH, 28 patients; Ibom Specialist Hospital Uyo, 70 patients; Sifon Clinic, 9 patients; Lifecare Clinic, 24 patients; Premiers Clinic, 9 patients; St Lukes Hospital, 22 patients; Gateway Medical Centre, 2 patients; Uwah Mfon Clinic, 1 patient. First Line Clinic, 1 patient. Alma Clinic and Surgery, 2 patients.”

    And no one is willing to give the names of the dead. Thanks to Effiom’s classmates who revealed her identity, she would have died anonymously! Now, she is the face of the Uyo tragedy that should not have been.

    This tragedy turned the University of Uyo Teaching hospital (UUTH), Anua General Hospital, Life Care Hospital and the Ibom Specialist Hospital into Mecca of some sort. In these hospitals, those who defeated death received treatment to heal their broken necks, arms, back and heads. Tears from families of those recuperating now rented the air in these hospitals for weeks. The story at the mortuary sections of these hospitals was grimmer.

    For students of the University of Uyo and the Uyo City Polytechnic, which are believed to have been worst hit by the disaster, reality looked like dream.

    Emmanuel’s men who crawled out of death’s hole had interesting testimonies to share. His Chief Press Secretary, Ekerette Udoh, said an iron rod nearly cut his neck, but eventually hit him on the back. The cap of his left knee was broken and pains travelled all over his body.

    The commissioner for Information, Charles Udoh who joined the State Executive Council only some one week earlier, thought he was watching a movie when the pillars started coming down. He was on his way out of the church to catch a flight when tragedy struck. He would have been out but protocol demanded that he told the governor before vanishing from the church hall. It was this protocol-induced task he was accomplishing when death almost took him away like Effiom and the others whose true figures and names we may never know. He had to run here and there to prevent the iron pillars from turning him to a candidate for the mortuary.

    Nollywood actor Ekere Nkanga, who had acted almost all roles imaginable and was some sort of bad man in Emem Isong’s Weekend Getaway, was humbled when he had to wade through bodies to safety.

    “Shortly after the governor and his entourage and the bishops took their seats, the next thing I heard was the bang from the falling iron. By the time the iron came down, I noticed that people from the safe areas were  running to the centre, where I was sitting,” he said, adding:  “I hid under some people. A few seconds later, as I was trying to get up, the body of a man cut into two and fell on me. There were other corpses on me. I looked out for my brother but I couldn’t find him. Later, I found my phone. I called the Chairman, Uyo Local Government Area, to mobilise rescue officials to the venue.”

    He managed not to have a direct impact with falling rods, but he later discovered his neck was broken.

    “The impact of diving must have been responsible for my broken neck,” he said.

    He had to wear a neck collar and was under observation in the hospital for some time. Effiom and others would have gladly given testimonies if Nkanga’s fate had befallen them.

    The governor immediately set up a panel to probe the disaster that could have claimed his life. Pastor Weeks argued it was the devil fighting back and he urged Christians to unite and not see it as his battle alone. My argument at the time was that we must give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and give unto God what is God’s. I also pleaded that the fleeing contractor must account for this tragedy, which the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) said was caused by shoddiness.

    Five months down the line, we are yet to get the report of the enquiry into the Reigners Bible Church Int’l Inc tragedy.

    My final take: For the sake of tomorrow, for the sake of the deceased and for the sake of posterity, the report of the enquiry into the Uyo tragedy must be made public. Those found guilty must be punished to serve as deterrent to others. If the report is swept under the carpet for whatever reason, ground is being prepared for another shoddy job capable of leading to another disaster. This certainly is not what we need in Akwa Ibom or anywhere in Nigeria.

     

    And Calabar’s tragedy

    of passion

    Football is a game of passion. Its fans are always passionate. There have been instances when fans stabbed each other or killed each other out of passion. It was passion that led Man United fans to a viewing centre under a high-tension wire in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, last Thursday. The wire gave way some minutes into the game and fell on the viewers. Initial reports said as much as thirty died while savouring their passion. It has since turned out that this figure is highly exaggerated. About ten are confirmed dead.

    Since the tragedy, there have been talks about banning viewing centres, but for the passion for the game, fans are ready to resist any move against communal viewing of the leather game. Talk about being passionate about one’s passion.

    May God grant the families of the deceased the fortitude to bear the losses, and may their passion for the game not die with their loved ones.

  • Orezi to make ‘Real Deal’ debut in Uyo

    Orezi to make ‘Real Deal’ debut in Uyo

    Music superstar Orezi will on Sunday, April 30, make a first appearance on Legend Extra Stout’s annual nationwide tour, Real Deal Experience at the Discovery Park in Uyo.

    The event will mark Orezi’s first appearance on the brand’s signature music tour of Nigeria.

    “The show in Uyo will be great and I promise to give fans a wonderful time,” said Orezi.

    “I hear the Akwa Ibom people know how to have a good time, so I definitely cannot wait to meet everyone.”

    The tour which takes some of Nigeria’s biggest music stars to various cities around the country will also see fans win exciting gifts such as flat-screen TVs, generators, and refrigerators to name a few.

    “We’ve been doing this for a long time and I’m glad to say that it has not only been a rewarding experience for the brand but also for the consumers,” said Oluseun Lawal, Brand Manager, Legend Extra Stout.

    “They get to see exhilarating musical performances from some of the biggest stars in the country, exciting gifts from the brand, and lucky followers of the brand on social media also get to share the stage with the music superstars that headline the show. There’s also a simulation room at the event where attendees get to witness how the full brewed stout is made. We can’t wait for the show in Uyo because we are very sure that it will be nothing short of our expectations. Great ambience, great music and great stout equals a great time.”

  • 2017 JAMB: applicants decry tasking registration formalities, want more centres

    Some candidates for the 2017 Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), examination have decried the stress and difficulties associated with registration formalities and called for creation of more centres.

    The applicants made the appeal in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Eket, Uyo, Calabar, Benin and Port Harcourt areas in the South-South geopolitical zone.

    Some applicants in Uyo, Akwa Ibom complained on Friday that the two centres designated for registration in the city were always crowded with applicants seeking for registration.

    Miss Blessing Onwineng, an applicant, told NAN that the centres in Uyo, could not cope with influx of applicants, adding that if more centres were created the registration process will be faster.

    “When I was doing my registration at JAMB office at Abak road, Uyo, the centres were so crowded and filled to the brim with applicants.

    “The applicants pushed and shoved until tables and chairs used by the officials were broken,’’ she said.

    Onwineng lamented that the new JAMB registration process was cumbersome when compared to the straight forward regime of previous exercise.

    Another applicant, Mr Christopher Imoh, who said that the new JAMB registration process was complex and difficult compared to the previous exercise “where you go to any cyber cafe and thumb print”.

    Imoh said: “Now there is a central point where some applicants do their registration and by so doing the crowd control challenges and stress involved are worrisome.

    “If JAMB says it is the process, it means that we don’t have any option than to comply because JAMB is an organised body that carried out analysis before choosing the process.”

    He also urged applicants to comply with the new process and urged officials to shun corruption in the registration process.

    Imoh said that although he was not computer compliant yet he was expected to go to a cyber cafe for help from computer operators to be registered online.

    He said that some cyber cafe charge as high as N500 and above to create n online profile for an applicant.

    He also complained of incessant network problems encountered at the banks, saying that the difficulty in network connection also slowed the bank registration.

    “The banks have restrictions when network problems arise, they encountered difficulties in logging applicants email during the process,” Imoh said.

    Paul Oscar, another applicant in Eket, said that JAMB should increase their registration centres in order to reduce crowd at the designated areas.

    He lamented that the only centre in Eket Local Government Area, which is a library, was always overcrowded by applicants during the registration process.

    Oscar also decried what he called unnecessary running cost during processes of the registration.

    Another applicant in Uyo, Ekemini Bassey, who also expressed disappointment in the new JAMB registration described the process as unregimented.

    “I can think of a better way to describe a situation where thousands of restless and anxious applicants arrive almost at the same time to register at a particular centre.

    “There was pushing and shoving by the adults who should have ensured orderliness and speedy attention,’’ she said.

    She outlined the challenges faced by applicants during the registration to include network problem which encouraged application slow down, sometimes making application out rightly impossible and human factor.

    She also advised JAMB to encourage parents and guardians to use Point-of-Sale (POS) services at registration venues to speed up applicants’ registration processes.

    Bassey advised the banks officials to liaise with JAMB to collect monies at most of the registration centres.

    According to her, such arrangement will discourage a situation where several applicants occupy every available space within and around bank premises waiting to be attended to at the same time.

    She called on the Stakeholders, Government at all levels, relevant authorities to assist JAMB to solve the persistent overcrowding witnessed at registration centres across the country in 2017.

    Similarly, many prospective candidates for the 2017 Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination in Calabar have expressed dissatisfaction with the process of registering for the examination.

    The candidates expressed their dissatisfaction in an interview with NAN at a registration centre at Unity Bank, Marian road, Calabar.

    A candidate, Master Paul Okon, told NAN that he had not been able to log into JAMB’s website since March 20 that the registration started.

    Okon said that he had paid the required amount of N6,200, but had yet to receive his Personal Identification Number (PIN) from JAMB’s website due to poor internet service.

    “I have been here since March 20 and up till now, I have not completed my registration process after meeting all the requirements including the payment of N6,200.

    “I come to this Unity Bank on every working day by 8 a.m. and go back by 5 p.m. without being registered for the examination.

    “The 2017 process is too tedious as compared to last year when I wrote my first JAMB,’’ Okon said.

    A Unity Bank staff who spoke on condition of anonymity, told NAN that JAMB did not test-run the website before embarking on the registration.

    “You can see the crowd of candidates outside as if we are doing Calabar Carnival. The presence of prospective candidates is somehow distracting our esteemed customers,’’ he said.

    At the JAMB office in Calabar, Ms Comfort Onabe, another prospective candidate, told NAN that the process had exhausted her strength.

    “I keep on hearing of poor internet service by the JAMB officials every day’’.

    “I really cannot say why the 2017 JAMB registration process is difficult like this. We come to this office every day and go back unsuccessful.

    “I travelled from my local government which is five hours drive away from Calabar, only to come and witness this poor registration system,’’ she said.

    Other candidates who spoke to NAN also expressed dissatisfaction with the poor internet connectivity to the JAMB website.

    They urged the examination body to, as a matter of urgency, address the website problem with a view to enabling candidates to register for the examination without hitches.

    When NAN correspondent visited JAMB office to find out the reason for the poor internet service, the state Coordinator of Calabar Branch was not immediately on seat.

    Prospective candidates in Benin, who also described as cumbersome the ongoing registration exercise for JAMB in Edo, lauded the previous method of registration as a better option.

    She lamented that a situation where a prospective candidate had to pay a particular sum of money at a particular bank and another sum at another bank before going to Jamb office for registration.

    She told NAN that getting registered at the JAMB office even after paying at the banks was another story all together as a candidate had to wait for days before getting an opportunity to be registered.

    The story was the same for Blessing Onaiwu another prospective candidate, who, however, felt that the Banks were more friendly and cooperating than the JAMB office.

    She lamented the slow pace by which officials at the JAMB office attend to prospective candidates, adding that most of them spend virtually all day at the office without result.

    Some petty traders also took advantage of the situation to hawk their wares at the centres where a large number of prospective candidates mill around frantically to get registered.

    NAN also report from Port Harcourt that prospective candidates for this year’s JAMB registration also complained it was tasking to be registered in 2016 than in 2017.

    Miss Angela Oluwa, one of the candidates told NAN that there were long queues of candidates seeking to generate JAMB pin numbers at the banks.

    “In 2016, I registered with scratch card through a business centre and I used a day to register.

    “But I have spent almost seven days and am not even sure that Jamb will register me today with the crowd  am seeing here.’’

    She also appealed to the Federal Government to review the process of JAMB registration and make it easy for candidates to register for the exam.

    Precious Anonwa, another candidate, said he went to register at a CBT centre called campus link also in Oyibo and could not get through with his registration for the past nine days.

    Anonwa pleaded with Jamb to come to their aid and stop using CBT centres for registration.

    Meanwhile, Prof. Is’haq Oloyede, Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, (JAMB) told NAN that there might be an extension of UTME registration if need be, because no one would be left behind.

    “However, no one will be left behind as the deadline may be extended if there are applicants who do not succeed at registering due to circumstances beyond their control,’’ he explained.

  • Uyo pitch gives NFF HEADACHE

    Uyo pitch gives NFF HEADACHE

    •Football boss to visit Akwa Ibom State governor
    •Rohr prefers Nest of Champions Stadium for Eagles
    •Adokie Amiesimaka Stadium Port Harcourt on standby

    With less than 66 days to the crucial 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Nigeria and South Africa on June 9, chieftains of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are worried over the poor condition of the playing pitch of the Nest of Champions Stadium in Uyo, which they consider will hamper the performances of Super Eagles players against their Bafana Bafana foes, according to Sportinglife checks in France on Sunday night.

    Consequently, Sportinglife scooped that the federation’s President, Melvin Amaju Pinnick has assured his members that he would visit the Governor of Akwa Ibom, Udom Emmanuel on the need for repairs to be done on the pitch to make it acceptable for the match whenever CAF’s stadium inspectors come for inspection.

    Curiously, Eagles manager Gernot Rohr has told his employers that he would prefer to field his players against their South African counterparts inside the Nest of Champions Stadium than any other place in the country since the team hasn’t lost any match played there under his tutulege.

    Rohr’s nod for the Nest of Champions Stadium in Uyo has forced the federation’s members to shelve the idea of announcing the Adokie Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt as the venue for the Bafana Bafana game. Instead, the president’s visit to the state governor is expected to address the problem which they hope will be quickly done.

    Whispers from the Glasshouse suggested that the Adokie Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt has been kept as the alternative venue in the event that the nest of Champions Stadium’s pitch fails to pass the tests of CAF inspectors expected in the country soon.

  • Court strikes out stay of execution filed by Sen. Akpan

    The Federal High Court, Uyo, on Friday struck out the application for stay of execution filed by Sen. Bassey Akpan, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) representing Akwa Ibom North..

    Akpan filed the suit for the court to stay execution of its Feb. 27 judgment, which was in favour of Mr Bassey Etim, also of the PDP.

    The judge, Justice Fatun Riman, said that since there was an appeal on his judgment of Feb. 27, his court has no jurisdiction to entertain the same matter.

    The judge, therefore, struck out the case and awarded N50, 000 cost in favour of the plaintiff, Mr Bassey Etim, the defendant.

    The court in the Feb.27, judgment had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) to immediately issue certificate of return to Etim.

    The court faulted the primary that produced Akpan as the flag bearer of the PDP.

    Speaking to newsmen after the judgment, counsel to the defendant, Mr Taiwo Abe, described the judgment as excellent.

    He said that the application was brought by the appellant, PDP and Akpan.

    “The record shows that the appellant had already filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal, Calabar.

    “His Lordship said that only the Court of Appeal can entertain stay of execution, since the case had been transmitted from the Federal High Court, Uyo, to Court of Appeal, Calabar, since March 10, 2017.’’

    “I made the application that the court should strike out the case and award me a cost, the judge today has agreed with me and even granted cost of N50, 000.’’
    Also speaking, counsel to Sen. Akpan, Mr Godswill Umoh, said that he was satisfied with the judgment.

    “Actually that is the rule of practice, since we have filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal; the lower court cannot adjudicate on the same matter.

    “Earnestly, the rule of practice is we withdraw the case, which I did.”

  • Certificate forgery: EFCC arraigns House of Reps member

    Certificate forgery: EFCC arraigns House of Reps member

    The embattled Akwa Ibom House of Representatives’ member, Mr. Nse Ekpenyong, who is facing a certificate forgery charges is allegedly remanded in Uyo prisons for failing to meet bail conditions.

    Ekpenyong under the platform of People’s Democratic Party, PDP, was arraigned at the Federal High Court, Uyo by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over a forged diploma certificate he claimed to have earned from the Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, Abia State.

    Ekpenyong, who represents Oron Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, was brought before Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu by the EFCC on a nine count charges.

    One of the charges read: “That you Nse Bassey Ekpenyong on or about 22 November 2012, at Uyo, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did make a document to wit: Abia State Polytechnic National Diploma Certificate in Business Administration with No. 001181 dated 22nd November, 2012 with intent that it may be acted upon as genuine which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (2) (C) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act Cap M 17 of the Revised Edition (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria) 2007 and punishable under section 1 (2) of the same Act,”

    The lawmaker pleaded not guilty to all the charges preferred against him by the EFCC.

    Ekpenyong’s lawyer, Emmanuel Isangedoho argued for his bail conditions which were opposed by EFCC’s lawyer, Ahmedu Arogha.

    Justice Ojukwu assured that the matter would be given urgent attention.

    She, however, granted the lawmaker a bail in the sum of N10m and adjourned the case to April 12.

    A highly placed source told The Nation that the lawmaker who is facing nine count charges over his certificate forgery is cooling off at Uyo Prisons over his inability to perfect his bail conditions.