Ebonyi State Governor, Engr. David Umahi, on Thursday described Biafra agitator Simon Ekpa as a new bandit that terrorizing the South-East region, vowing that his group must be flushed out, especially as the 2023 general election approaches.
Umahi made this known while addressing stakeholders and party members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the Elders/Widows Party that took place at the Christian Ecumenical Centre, Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi State.
The governor said that Ebonyi State can’t be part of Biafra, and lamented the continued killings and destruction of lives and properties in the region.
According to him, “When this agitation for Biafra started, I told them that this matter will go beyond Nnamdi Kanu. And today, it has gone beyond Nnamdi Kanu. Every criminal says he is IPOB. Every criminal says he is ESN.
“Now, we have another bandit they call Simon Ekpa. Is this the Biafra we desired? To be killing ourselves and displacing others. That’s why we said in the heat of that crisis that Ebonyi State can never be part of Biafra. We are not Biafra.
“If Biafra is to be killing ourselves, to go to the market and start shooting people that have done nothing, to be declaring sit-at-home in our homeland and destroying the economy, for what reason? These things are strange to our culture.
“We have phones, and we call our people to call us on phone and tell us where these people are. The Police and Ebubeagu security outfit are on ground. I warn politicians who use these boys. They are the ones that go to court to sue Ebubeagu. They go to national television to condemn Ebubeagu.
“They have killed a lot of Ebubeagu people who are trying to protect our people. I ask all the local government people to give us information because we are ready to enter into the forest to flush out these bandits,” he stated.
Nigeria, on Wednesday, joined seven other nations to vote in favour of retaining Iran on the United Nations Women Rights Commission despite Iran’s violations of women rights.
The U.S. called for Iran’s ouster after Tehran took action to forcibly put an end to demonstrations that broke out in response to the disputed death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian young woman, who died in custody.
Twenty-nine nations voted in support of Iran’s expulsion, eight nations including Nigeria, Russia and China voted against it while 16 nations abstained from voting.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, had said Iran’s continued membership was an “ugly stain” on the integrity of the commission. She asserted the U.N. known “for promoting gender equality and empowering women” cannot do “its important work if it’s being undermined from within.”
The resolution to “remove with immediate effect the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term” was approved on Wednesday by the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) comprising 54 member states.
Ms Amini, detained by Iran’s morality police over allegations of violating the Islamic nation’s strict dress codes, died mysteriously after spending a few days in custody.
Ms Amini’s death sparked global outrage as both local and international human rights groups excoriated Tehran. Women in Iran trooped out to the streets to protest the death of one of their own.
Some Nigerian citizens have taken to social media to celebrate Iran’s expulsion from the commission while distancing themselves from their government that voted to keep Iran on the commission in spite of the oppression of women.
Good Governance Ministry (GGM) ,a political Ministry driven by passion for effective and efficient public sector management,has requested for an urgent review of Anambra State Scholarship Board to reflect the determination of Soludo Solution Government for merit- based approach to public administration.
The call was made by Comrade Ndubuisi Anaenugwu,the Ambassador of the Ministry in line with GGM resolve for optimal management of tax payers money . Speaking further ,Comrade Anaenugwu noted that Ndigbo are endowed in both human and material resources, and to maximize our enormous resources ,there is an urgent need for Government intervention to moderate the activities of millions of our people and in doing that set direction towards solving our numerous problems in an ordered manner.
” A State sponsored scholarship should be targeted towards promoting creative education,skill acquisition,medical training, agricultural entrepreneurship etc that will help to solve an existing societal problems . Award of scholarship should be globally publicized and highly competitive to attract the best and most qualified indigenes of the State whose parent may not have the resources to give the child best education among other criteria” Ndubuisi concluded that an efficiently run scholarship board will encourage competition among students and will attract participation in Government business as well as increase in productivity. It is recommended that the Scholarship scheme should start from primary education where Government will harvest them young .
The Director of Media and Publicity of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Bayo Onanuga, has said Bola Tinubu, was not rushed off the stage due to health concerns at his rally in Minna, the Niger State capital on Wednesday.
According to Onanuga, Tinubu made his speech brief in order “to attend to other programmes of the day”.
The APC PCC’s statement reads: “A massive crowd of APC supporters welcomed the presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to Minna on Wednesday, as he arrived for the mega rally.
The cheering crowd was unprecedented, according to journalists at the Trade Fair Complex, venue of the rally.
Tinubu, who held another successful rally in Kaduna on Tuesday, arrived in Minna in the evening of the same day for a series of meetings with APC leaders.
The crowd was so huge that Tinubu spoke briefly to appreciate the supporters and identified the party candidates seeking elective positions.
Contrary to the rumours that he was rushed off stage because of health concerns, Tinubu cut it short to attend to other programmes of the day.
“He commended the party supporters for coming out en masse to witness the flag off of the presidential campaign.”
Nnamdi Kanu’s legal representative, Barr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor has dragged Simone Ekpa to an Abuja High Court over his recent declarations in the South East.
Ejiofor who attached copies of the suit to a a statement posted in his verified Facebook page on Tuesday said it was one of numerous suites instituted against the Finland based Biafra agitator.
The statement reads: “Today, we formally commenced a legal action before the FCT High Court against Simon Ekpa, which action is founded on a plethora of grave infractions arising from his violent, disturbing and false declarations.
I may not release further details here so that it will not prejudice the robust legal actions already lined up for him and his cohorts. It shall be coming in piecemeal. This is the first batch.
I also want to assure Simon Ekpa and his cohorts affected by this compelling legal action, that no matter the country you people believe to be presently hiding under its sovereign protection, the full arms of the law shall certainly catch up with you all, in the legal onslaught already commenced.
This is just one in the long line of compelling civil and criminal litigations coming your way. The hour has come, and I wish to reiterate that you Simon Ekpa cannot escape from the long arms of the law.”
The Labour Party, LP, Presidential candidate, Peter Obi has promised to end insecurity, hunger and revive the economy if Nigerians elect him into office in the 2023 presidential election.
Obi, who gave the promise in Lokoja on Tuesday during his campaign rally, expressed optimism that a functional steel project would bring about employment of millions of unemployed youths and check crime and economic prosperity.
He therefore promised that he will esuscitate the moribound Ajaokuta Steel project as a vehicle for job creation.
Obi promised that his administration would secure the country from criminals, and unite its citizens with a view to returning it to one family as it was known, years back.
According to Obi, a Labour Party Government will ensure that the rule of law and human rights are rooted firmly, a development where nobody will be oppressed.
The LP candidate promised that his Government would synergise with state governments to clear arrears of their minimum wage and other emoluments to boost their morale and increase productivity.
Obi described Kogi State as a geo-political entity that could feed itself, process its agricultural produce for export, reduce poverty to the barest minimum and propel the state to a level of prosperity.
He reiterated his commitment to change Nigeria from consumption to production nation, if voted into power.
In his remarks, Obi’s running Mate, Sen. Ahmed Datti, urged the electorate to collect their Permanent Voter Cards, PVC and vote for the Labour Party, assuring them “it is only the party that can change the narrative of poverty, hunger, poverty among others negative developments in the country.
Keep our words, hold us responsible for our action, if voted into power next year and fail.
We will move the country out of poverty to wealth, stop the killing and start the healing, Nigerians should trust us with their votes, ” he said.
National Chairman of the party, Barr. Julius Abure, also advised electorates to vote for the party, assuring them that” LP is what Nigeria needs to solve her numerous social, economic and political problems.”
The rally was attended by party members and supporters from the 21 Local Government Areas of the State.
Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo has inaugurated the Anambra State Oil and Gas Development Committee.
He performed the function at the Government House, Awka. Barrister Uju Ifejika is the Chairperson, while the Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources is the Secretary. Vice Chairman of the Committee is Engr. Ikechukwu G. Okafor.
Other members include the Commissioner for Transport, Barr. Patricia Igwebike, Commissioner for Information, Sir Paul Nwosu, Mrs. Nkechi Obi, Prof K.K. Nwozor and Dr. Chris Ofokansi.
Others are Chief Tony Okwesa, Engr. Jideofor Chukwuemeka Etele, Barr. Anthony Ifeanya, Engr. Somtochukwu Mezie Okoye, Dr. Boniface Emengini, Emmanuel Nwabia,Mr. Francis Abuah Nwabueze and Barr. Anthony C. Madichie.
While pointing out that Anambra has joined other states as an oil and gas producing state, Governor Soludo stressed the necessity of having a formal committee because, according to him, ‘to exploit oil and gas, one has to pass through the land.’
Speaking further, Governor Soludo said, “land in Anambra is a very scarce commodity, as such, special care should be given, to ensure that the right things are done.”
“With the hostile environment we have, our own land is prone to erosion, flooding and degradation.
“Our landmass is shrinking. Anambra is the headquarters of gully erosion in the country for the remaining part of our land to be damaged by exploitation of land and mass.
“I am trying to situate the importance of this committee. Anambra is unique in the sense that we have no offshore. Everything is onshore, on the land people use for farming,” Governor Soludo said.
“It’s a blessing that we have this huge resource domiciled in Anambra. 35.5 million cubic feet of gas which is about 18% of proven gas in Nigeria.
“I don’t know of any other state that has a higher percentage. And so we can really say that Anambra is the gas capital of Nigeria.
“It’s supposed to be a huge blessing but there’s a threat as earlier enumerated.
“With a huge investment in the oil sector, we need to be guided because we don’t want to repeat the same mistakes of the past.
“Being a late comer is a blessing in disguise because we wouldn’t want to repeat the same mistakes of the past in Anambra,” Governor Soludo noted.
“In this context, we decided to have a team of experts, those who know about oil and gas. I know little about oil and gas.
“The experts are here and I must thank all the members of this committee for accepting to serve Anambra.
“You are all very distinguished professionals in your various fields.
“Yours is to help us navigate through the uncharted waters in the state.
“Societies that have abundant resources end up being poor.
“Both the state, oil companies and communities are supposed to contribute,” the Governor stressed.
He continued; “you need to advise us as a government on major policies on exploitation and take inventory of what we have. What are the best ways to engage?
“We hope to engage the federal government and oil operators very actively on this, help us screen and promote investment opportunities in these sectors.
“We need to have responsible investors in place. We are not going to wait until the damage is done.
“On our part as the state government in next year’s budget, we have set aside 5% for investment purposes. The oil companies have to do theirs.
“If anything, host communities need to become models.
“We need your advice and guidance. How do we get this thing in a sustainable and profitable manner.”
Governor Soludo added; “the gas we have is quite a huge chunk.
“There should be no limit to the scope of your thinking and steps to be taken.
“The Chairperson is one that doesn’t take a no for an answer. I’m quite excited to have her on this team.
“We can only develop Anambra because we have the human resources and capital to take the state to the next level.
“If everybody can contribute a little bit of their time, resources and talent, we can make it anything we want to be.
“These are people paying to serve! God didn’t make a mistake to make you an ‘onye Anambra’.
“On the last day, God will ask how you made this state better,” Soludo concluded.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Barr. Anthony Ifeanya disclosed that Anambra has 13 blocks/concessions within its blocks namely; OPL 228, OPL 280, OPL 901 to 907, OPL 914, OPL 915 & 916 (Operated by Orient Oil Resources), and OPL 91.
He noted that activities in the OPL have not helped because it is believed that Anambra basin is mostly gas and since there’s no gas infrastructure in the SouthEast, the urge to explore and exploit the gas resources isn’t there.
“Global warming and climate volatility are now existential threats to humanity and the environment. The world needs to accelerate efforts to achieve net-zero and mitigate global warming effects in Africa’s climate because people and agriculture will suffer in the coming years,” he said.
While stating that oil remains the main driver for Nigeria’s development, Commissioner Ifeanya maintained that the Anambra basin holds an estimated gas reserve of over 30TCF and 1.3 billion barrels.
In a vote of thanks, Chairman of the committee, Barr. Uju Ifejika, expressed happiness about the rare privilege of being called to serve the people, more importantly, in a field where she has invested 36 years of her life.
“Within that period, I did a lot of things with my team. We have the upstream, downstream and midstream.
“In terms of knowledge base, we can come up with something collectively.
“Before we do anything, we will have to meet after this Inauguration and for the records, I am a workaholic,” she pointed out.
“The first thing is to convert OML and OPL. We have to get that done, if not, we will lose it.
“We will have workshops, engage oil companies, communities so they tell us what project they want.
“There will be a board from the Communities and we have to do it correctly.
“Looking at the gas we have, we need gas gathering infrastructure and do an appraisal to actually know what we have which shall be done by a reputable international and research evaluation company.
“With the current transition from fossil oil to green energy, nobody will look at you.
“Fossil fuel will still remain relevant but we need to start somewhere,” she said.
“The basic things we will look at is the ease of doing these things.
“If you make the investor feel comfortable, he will come in and bring other investors. The Government must help us.
“It must be a seamless and continuous process if we want to go into it.
“We need the Governor to give us the needed support in certain approvals to make the job easier for the committee and enable us leave a legacy the people will be proud of,” she pleaded.
Chief of Staff, Mr Ernest Ezeajughi, Head of Service, Barr. Theodora Igwegbe, Former Special Adviser on Political Matters, Barr. Ifeatu Obiokoye, among others, also attended the event.
Mr Rufai Oseni, an Arise TV presenter, has advised Nigerians not to bank too much hope for revolutionary change on whoever emerges winner at the forthcoming 2023 Presidential Election.
Oseni hinged his pessimism on the lacklustre manifestos being reeled out by top gladiators for the election which, according to him, only sounded theoretical but lacking in pragmatic resolution strategies on how to solve the myriads of problems bedevilling the country.
His conclusion, therefore, is that it will take a miracle for anyone among them presently angling to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, to be equipped with the capacity to turn the tide positively for the country.
The Arise TV Anchor spoke while featuring on “Boiling Point Arena”, an online platform of distinguished intellectuals and technocrats, initiated by a seasoned media Professional and an avid advocate of good governance and development, Mr Ayo Arowojolu.
Speaking on the topic: “Nigeria 2023 Presidential Election: Challenges, Reality and Myth”, he identified the greatest challenge ahead of the 2023 presidential election as identity politics.
He stated that ”identity politics is the major challenge facing the 2023 presidential election. The problems confronting the country are beyond tribe, ethnicity and religion. To salvage the country, we should begin to look at real issues of poverty and unemployment.”
To him, the media has a great role to play to assist the political class to focus attention on the real issues by deliberately shifting attention from selling sensationalism to promoting substance.
Rufai Oseni said “the political class is the same regardless of party. They are striving to manipulate the thought process of the electorate.”
He lamented the poor attitude of Nigerians in not interrogating the manifestos of the parties and urged the media to step up the game.
I am not in support of any political party but only crave for good governance. My disposition to raising issues with the candidates is the same. Unfortunately, none of the political parties has a manifesto that indicated how the problems bedevilling Nigeria can be solved.”
Responding to one of the questions he was asked, he commended President, Muhammadu Buhari, for signing the electoral law, which would strengthen the success of the 2023 elections.
He also responded to a question on the fear of the election not holding. He said: ”Elections will hold. I can assure you that President Buhari will do everything necessary to see to the success of the elections. INEC is also ready to deliver to us a credible election. However, we should be wary of saboteurs.”
The broadcaster said that politicians were deliberately gaming the voters to create voters’ apathy, adding that meanwhile, the political class has weaponised poverty to the extent that Nigerians have become gullible and lacking clear thinking abilities.
According to him, ”the voters are ready. The politicians are gaming the voters to dribble the system to voters’ apathy in order to gain an advantage but the voters should be wiser this time round.”
He attributed the challenges of the nation to the gullibility of the citizens who have been weaponised by poverty, thereby affecting their decision process.
He lamented that the intellectuals who should provide direction have become liabilities to the country.
Taking a swipe at the academics who falsified results in the process of conducting elections, Rufai lamented: “How will a Professor change results because of money? One of such was incarcerated recently and that is the type of liability our intellectuals have become.
My greatest fear about salvaging the country is the intellectual class.“
Asked to speak about the courage of his convictions and whether he would be ready to be part of the government to contribute his quota, he said he had intentionally chosen his path to be different from the majority.
He said he was not afraid of being a lone ranger and that he was determined to stand tall against harassment and intimidation stressing that he was equally not ready to switch game and become the mouthpiece of anyone.
His words: “I have rejected opportunities in the past and I will reject them again and again. My passion is to deepen the course of public participation in the governance of the nation. I desire to be a vanguard in public discourse and it is not part of my passion to be a mouthpiece.”
He tasked Nigerians not to stop talking, adding that “Whoever emerges as the President, we must keep engaging the government in constructive criticism and in analysing issues empirically.”
Rufai Oseni recommended a tripodal approach to take Nigeria out of the woods.
According to him, ”the short-term approach is for platforms like Boiling Point to continually engage the people towards stimulating a conscience breaking. The medium approach is for families to develop the right attitude and finally, the long term is for the nation to be intentional with national reorientation agenda.”
A Public Relations icon, Mr Eddy Ademosu and an erudite academic and Senior lecturer at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Dr Oluwatosin Oyetayo, moderated the programme.
The Initiator and Convener of Boiling Point Arena, Ayo Arowojolu disclosed that the monthly interview programme is in furtherance of good governance and targeted at restoring the lost glory of Nigeria as the Giant of Africa.
According to Arowojolu, “the Boiling Point platform is made up of over 200 personalities drawn from among professors, Judges, royal fathers, security experts, media professionals and entrepreneurs.”
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, has said that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, is not an indigene of Lagos State.
George spoke on Tuesday morning on Arise TV’s Morning Show, where he discussed the candidacy of Tinubu as well as the internal crisis within the PDP.
According to him, the APC candidate has yet to prove his Lagos roots beyond a reasonable doubt, having failed to produce any evidence to support his claim.
He said, “Tinubu is not from Lagos State. You can quote me. If he says he grew up in Isale-Eko, which school did you attend? I grew up on Evans Street in Lagos. 35 Evans Street was my grandfather’s house. I went to the community school. I played football at the local stadium at Isale-Eko. That’s how people knew me.
Asked if the opposition party would be able to resolve its internal crisis before heading to next year’s polls, George said the reconciliation would only happen if the party’s hierarchy “gives unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar.”
He further stated that since the formation of the party almost 25 years ago, the North-Central, which currently holds the position of the national chairman, had predominantly occupied the position of the party’s leadership.
He added, “It is not a solution that cannot be handled. All we are saying is give what belongs to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Give us what belongs to us. Turn by Turn Nigeria Limited. Take for example, what I am angry about is this, the first chairman was late Papa Solomon from North-Central. The second chairman, North-Central. The third chairman, Audu Ogbe, North-Central. The fourth chairman, my oga, Dr Amadu Ali, North-Central; Baraje, from Kwara, was also North-Central. Now you have Ayu, also North-Central.
The South-West has never enjoyed this position since the party started almost 25 years ago. What is our crime? If you are telling us you want to rule this country, you have to weave all the tribes and all the people together. That is the major problem, and unless that is resolved, I will not vote for our own candidate.”
A chieftain of the ruling All Progressive Congress and the Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr Osita Okechukwu has declared that his party is not worried about the chances of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Mr Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 election as he is no match for their candidate, Bola Tinubu.
Mr. Okechukwu who was a guest at Arise TV breakfast program, stated that the only fear in APC is the threat being posed by the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi who he said that his popularity is soaring higher by the day.
Mr. Okechukwu said, “Atiku is not a match for our candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he cannot eat his cake and have it”
“Our only worry as a party is Mr. Peter Obi and not Atiku”.
“In 2014, Atiku led his compatriots and walked out of the PDP at the eagle’s square, Abuja, when he and his friends insisted that it was the turn of the north to rule”.
Okechukwu also stated that when Atiku contested the PDP primary in 2018, there was general agreement that power should remain to the north, no aspirant from the south contested and he won the ticket, he queries why Atiku would want to continue as a northerner after Buhari’s eight years as President
