Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced an extension of its ongoing nationwide strike by four weeks.
The decision was taken by the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on Sunday, July 31st at ASUU National Secretariat.
NEC said the four weeks roll-over strike, starts from Monday, August 1st, 2022.
ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, in a statement on Monday, indicated that the decision was taken at the end of the National Executive Council (NEC) held in Abuja, on Sunday.
He said the NEC meeting was convened against the backdrop of government’s obligations as spelt out in the Memorandum of Action (MoA) it signed with ASUU on 23rd December 2020.
He said: “specifically, NEC recalled that government’s failure to conclude the process of renegotiating the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement; deploy the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS); pay outstanding arrears of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA); release agreed sum of money for the revitalization of public universities (Federal and States); address proliferation and governance issues in State Universities; settle promotion arrears, release withheld salaries of academics, and pay outstanding third-party deductions led to the initial declaration of the roll-over strike on 14th February, 2022,”
He confirmed that the NEC had viewed with seriousness the recent directive given by the President and Visitor to all Federal Universities that the Minister of Education, in consultation with other government officials, should resolve the lingering crisis and report to him within two weeks, and wondered why it had taken five months and needless muscle-flexing for government to come to the realisation of the need for honest engagement.”
He said that NEC acknowledged the growing understanding of the issues and the groundswell of support for the Union’s principled demand for a globally competitive university education in Nigeria, insisting that Nigerian universities must not be reduced to constituency projects that merely exist on paper, and our scholars must be incentivised to stay back and work in Nigeria.
He extended the appreciation of ASUU to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Civil Society Organisations (CSO) for their solidarity nationwide protest held last week with the aim of creating awareness on the antics of the Nigerian ruling class to destroy public education.
He renewed that commitment of ASUU to the struggles of NLC in championing the cause of the working and suffering Nigerians.
Prof. Osodeke, however, said that the ongoing trial of the suspended Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Ahmed Idris, on allegation of monumental fraud has vindicated ASUU’s rejection of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information (IPPIS).
He, thus, enjoined the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to release reports of the latest tests on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) vis-à-vis IPPIS without further delay, insisting that ASUU will resist any attempt to truncate the deployment of UTAS with all legitimate means available to the Union.
The suspected Kidnappers of Nollywood actors, Cynthia Okereke and Clemson Cornel aka Agbogidi, have demanded the sum of $100,000 for their release.
Recall that Okereke and Clemson, who are members of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), were abducted on their way from a movie set in Ozalla Town in Enugu State, on Thursday, July 28.
The AGN national president, Emeka Rollas gave this update while speaking with Premium times, said ;
“The kidnappers have made contact with the families and are demanding the sum of $100,000. We pray to God for his intervention and for Him to put confusion in their midst.
We are also working closely with the different security operatives, but we are not sure what to expect from them because the same thing is happening everywhere in the country.”
The President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Emeka Rollas, while giving an update on the matter on Friday, also disclosed that all the money in Cynthia Okereke’s account had been cleared.
Two Nigerian movie stars, Cynthia Okereke and Clemson Cornel, aka Agbogidi, have gone missing after shooting a movie in Enugu.
The development was disclosed on Friday in a statement issued by the Director of Communications, Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Monalisa Chinda.
According to the statement, families of the actors had raised the alarm over the whereabouts of the duo after a film production at Ozalla Town, Enugu State.
The statement added that the incident has increased fear amongst members of the AGN regarding the safety of actors filming across the country.
The statement reads, “The two members were suspected of having been kidnapped, which has increased fear amongst members about the safety of actors filming in the country.
Because of this sad development, the National President of the Guild, Ejezie Emeka Rollas, has instructed all Actors to avoid going to the outskirt of cities to film except full security cover is provided to ensure their safety”.
The AGN president who also expressed shock at the development, called on security agencies to speed up investigation in a bid to rescue the actors unhurt.
Reacting to the development, the Enugu State public relations officer, DSP Daniel Ndukwe said: “Today, 29/07/2022, at about 7.30am, we received an information that a red-coloured Toyota RAV4 Jeep with reg. no. AGL 199 CY, was noticed to have been parked in an abandoned way at Four-corners, along Enugu/Port-Harcourt Expressway, Ozalla, Nkanu West. Hence, the location was visited and the vehicle recovered.
The only reason a group of terrorists with known location would brazenly abduct, kill and maim and attack security formations, Kuje prisons, the advanced security team of the President and even the Presidential Guards Brigade less than 24 hours after publicly threatening to kidnap the Commander-In-Chief himself, is not necessarily because your security agencies lack the wherewithal to fight and defeat them. Far from it! The main reason the entire country is at the mercy of those primitive simians is because both the terrorists and the govt you elected to keep you safe are on the same page.
The security problem in Nigeria is deeply rooted in OFFICIAL COLLUSION that runs right to the highest office in the land before tripling down to different organs and agencies of the govt for which this has become a money-making venture but make no mistake, the fundamental problem is at the presidency.
Deep down, you know this and I know that you know.
Those who think the President lacks the capacity to confront the terrorists are hugely mistaken. A govt that could figuratively cross seven foreign seas and seven foreign oceans to extra-ordinarily rendition Nnamdi Kanu, a govt that staged a murderous python dance and crocodile smile in the southeast and south south respectively and simultaneously, a govt that used diplomatic channels to put Sunday Igboho on trial on a foreign soil…..it strains credulity to believe that such a govt lacks the capacity to deal with a bunch of pre-historic barbarians OPERATING WITHIN ITS OWN TERRITORY and riding on motor-cycles to carry out their evil trade. To believe this amounts to conscientious idiocy bordering on the fringes of lunacy.
The capacity is there. What is missing, deliberately, I must add, is the WILL. And that is because the President has a pact with these terrorists which he is yet to reveal to the Nigerian people. Two months ago, while parading their victims in a video, the terrorists stated that the President knows what they want. Neither the President himself nor any of his aides has refuted this.
Those who think the fault lies solely with the security agencies are mistaken too. EVERYTHING RISES AND FALLS ON LEADERSHIP. No military can act differently from the command and body language of its Commander-In-Chief. And no military, no matter how powerful, can win a war on terror if the terrorists they are fighting have some unexplained social intercourse with the commander-in-chief of that same military.
How can the so called bandits ride on a long motorcycle convoy to kill, maim, abduct and still ride safely back to their camps even when we have Airforce and fighter jets and Tucano war plane??? How can they kidnap innocent Nigerians and use PHONES to call their victims family and negotiate and collect ransom running in hundredS of millionS and the govt still can’t track them IN A COUNTRY WHERE EVERY PHONE LINE IS LINKED TO NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (NIN)?? Why do we even need to track them when, according to governor Nasir El-Rufai , the govt knows the location of the terrorists and even listen in on their conversation? Has Sheik Abubakar Gumi not been visiting their camp accompanied by uniformed security operatives?
C’mmon, you don’t need Charles Ogbu to show you what is right before you. The truth is staring you in the face.
If the so called bandits are not Fuulani, do you think President Muhammadu Buhari would be treating them this way? The truth is, Buhari appears to have this intrinsic weakness when it comes to using legitimate and rightous force against any terrorist group that shares his region and or religion no matter the enormity of their terrorism. This is why he is giving the dreaded Boko Haram terrorists amnesty, feeding and rehabilitating them with our common resources at a time the terror group is still visiting festival of blood on Nigerian civilians and servicemen alike. And this is why we are where we are today. A culture of impunity.
Ask yourself, if terrorists are emboldened enough to take the battle to your own PRESIDENTIAL guards brigade after PUBLICLY threatening to abduct the so called commander-in-chief himself, WHERE COMETH YOUR HOPE AS AN UNARMED CITIZEN??
If the Nigerian media and journalists like Channels Television , Seun Okinbaloye Seun Okinbaloye , Arise News Reuben Abati Reuben Abati , Tvcnewsng , Sahara Reporters , Omoyele Sowore Premium Times TheCable , Punch Newspapers , The Nation Newspaper and indeed all Nigerians, don’t keep politics aside and start holding the govt accountable for this collusion which General T.Y Danjuma had earlier warned us about, THERE MAY BE NO 2023.
At this point, only a man with an innate habit of lying to himself will argue that the Buhari govt does not have a hidden agenda against the Nigerian people.
Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo has called for speedy trial of inmates in the nation’s Correctional Facilities
Governor Soludo made this call when he visited the Awka Correctional Centre to mark his 62nd birthday with the inmates. The Governor also used the occasion to announce plans to grant prerogative of mercy to three inmates in the Nigerian Correctional Service within the jurisdiction of the Awka Custodial Center, next week.
According to the Governor, who disclosed that the review is still ongoing, the pardon, he said is an offshoot of the review which ended in May. He stressed that another review will be concluded to pardon those who truly deserve it after spending a reasonable period of time in the Correctional Centre.
Governor Soludo also said that the Executive and Judiciary arms of Government are already synergizing to make for speedy trial by exploiting the option of virtual sessions, so that those awaiting trial could easily be served justice.
While pointing out that it is heartbreaking for people to await trial for many years in custody, without conviction, the Governor reiterated that justice delayed is justice denied.
He promised to fix the roof of the Center’s health clinic, provide a central solar power and cable television subscription, while the review of conditions of inmates continues.
The Governor disclosed to the inmates of his administration’s plan to build a liveable and prosperous smart mega city, asking them to join hands with him in whatever way they can, to make the state and society at large, a better place to live, work and enjoy.
The Controller of Correctional Centre, Anambra State Command, Mr. Pat Chukwuemeka eulogized Governor Soludo as a man who honours his words whenever he makes promises.
The Controller reiterated that notwithstanding the fact that Governor Soludo came at a difficult time when the polity was troubled, he has made outstanding successes within the very short period
He pledged to keep supporting his administration’s policies for the overall development of the state.
Food items were distributed to the inmates during the visit which also witnessed the presence of the Governor’s wife, Mrs Nonye Soludo, among other dignitaries.
I have always maintained that apart from conspiracy from both local and foreign scene against president Goodluck Jonathan another major reason the Otueke-born Zoologist lost his 2015 presidential re-election bid was not unconnected with the fact that he had one of the most criminally inept and fantastically clueless media aides who were more endowed in tongue than they were in that area meant to house the grey matter known as the brain.
Reno Omokri ‘s recent tirade against Ndigbo confirms this.
An Igbo man and the leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu, reportedly granted an interview in 2014 where he said that Jonathan was weak and incompetent as president and the best way Reno Omokri who was GEJ’s social media advisor could think to couter the assertion in 2017 was to start hauling invectives at the entire Igbos and listing individual appointments Jonathan gave to them.
In 21st century 2017, a supposed intellectual is listing individual appointments as achievements and even trying to use same to counter the argument that his ex boss was incompetent while in office.
He couldn’t mention one monument erected by his boss. He couldn’t mention road network or any health or academic centre built for Ndigbo by his boss. All he could point to was individual appointments.
This is a walking shame!
Quite frankly, I should simply pause here and die laughing…. Laughing at a m£ntally truncated media aide who doesn’t know that the best way to counter allegation of incompetence against his boss is by listing infrastructural facilities and other solid achievements built by this boss of his, not by naming individuals who were appointed into govt positions by him.
With this kind of m£ntal miscarriage from Reno Omokri, do we still wonder why the APC propaganda machinery effortlessly swallowed Jonathan’s media team and successfully painted him as a president who did nothing all through the 5 years he was in office?
If Mr Omokri cannot marshall out facts and figures to counter a mere allegation of weakness and incompetence levelled against his boss by an individual, how could anyone expect him to have any reasonable response to the web of earthquakic lies and brain-resetting propaganda mounted against Jonathan by the very powerful APC lying machine??
Poor Jonathan! He thought he had a media aide in Reno. How wrong he was!
The tragedy of Reno’s situation is that he does not even realise that his failure to list Jonathan’s achievements leaves observers with the conclusion that indeed, Jonathan did nothing for Ndigbo.
In this case, who really insulted Jonathan? Is it a private citizen who said his ex president was weak and incompetent, the same thing that has been said by Asari Dokubo, Edwin Clark etc or a former media aide to this president who resorted to hauling invectives at everyone rather than listing the achievements of this president to counter this assertion???
In an article titled, “THE LESSON NDIGBO TAUGHT JONATHAN AND FUTURE LEADERS”, Omokri stated that Igbos lost the 1967-70 Biafra because they knew nothing about diplomacy which left them without much friends to help them during those trying time. According to him, the fact that no Igbo leader has come out to attack Kanu over the said interview suggests that Kanu’s position represents the views of the entire Ndigbo about Jonathan. This, he says, means that the Igbos are ungrateful bunch. In that same article, Mr Omokri categorically stated that Jonathan was the first president to give Igbos the position of Chief of army staff and Secretary to the govt of the federation and as such, Ndigbo should be eternally grateful to him.
As a full blooded Igbo man, I find this criminally offensive. This is a double barreled insult to Ndigbo because 1, what was said is a grave misrepresentation of fact. And 2, because Mr Omokri is the least qualified person to say those things, having himself been implicated in a case of identity theft in Feb. 2014 when he stole the identity of the son to the wife of his brother-in-law, one U.S based Wendell Simlin, to write an article linking the spike in boko haram bombing to the suspension of the then CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. (A quick Google search will give you the detail)
What moral right does a spineless faceless identity thief have to talk to Ndigbo? If he was man enough, why did he resort to hiding behind a fake identity just to make a mere accusation?
Let’s treat the no1:
Igbos owe Jonathan nothing! Absolutely nothing. It is Jonathan who owe Ndigbo everything. We made him!
When the bunch of political terr0rists known as the Cabal, prevented the gentleman Jonathan from taking over from the good man, Yar’Adua of the blessed memory, it was an Igbo woman, the late Dora Akunyili, who publicly confronted the Cabal and told all Nigerians that Yar’Adua was incapacitated. Her revelation gave birth to the doctrine of necessity which brought Jonathan to power. Without Akunyili, Yaradua would probably still be running the country by now even from the grave while Jonathan would be sitting quietly the exact way Mr Muhammadu Buhari is currently running Nigeria from the land of the WhiteWalkers with Osinbajo sitting quietly like an Arsenal fan when his club is facing a 5-0 defeat in the hands of ManU.
We gave Jonathan everything we had in 2011. We even died for him in the North in large numbers. Our support for him was 100%. Even when Jonathan bashing became the order of the day sometime last year, Ndigbo rose to the occasion and defended him even against some of his own people.
In 11th August 2016, I Charles Ogbu, wrote a fact-studded piece titled “IN DEFENCE OF PRESIDENT JONATHAN” published in the Guardian Newspaper which attracted a rejoinder from the presidency titled “IN DEFENCE OF PRESIDENT BUHARI, IS THIS THE CHANGE WE VOTED FOR? YES, IT IS” written by president Buhari’s senior media aide, Garba Shehu to which I again responded with “IN DEFENCE OF THE MASSES, THIS IS CERTAINLY NOT THE CHANGE WE VOTED FOR”.
When I was doing this verbal gymnastics with the highest office in the land over a Jonathan whom I have never met, where was Reno Omokri then? He was hiding somewhere in the U.S, too afraid to write anything in Jonathan’s defence. Now that the monumental disaster, Buhari, has been declared incapacitated, Reno is running his mouth. How convenient!
Our support for Jonathan was driven by a sense of justice, fairness and equity coupled with the fact that his opponent has always been a hopeless murder0us ethnic jingoist with generational hatr£d for Ndigbo.
Why should we now sit back and allow an integrity-challenged Reno Omokri a.k.a Wendell Simlin disparage us for no just cause??
Why did Omokri not denigrate the entire Fulanis when Nasir El-Rufai and numberless Fulanis made sport of demonizing Jonathan at every turn?
Asari Dokubo, Edwin Clark, Seriake Dickson have all described Jonathan as weak, yet, Omokri neither attacked those people nor their ethnic groups. Why?
Why does he now think he can attack the whole Igbo race simply because one Igbo man purpotedly chose to criticise his ex president?
Saying that a former president was weak and incompetent, is that an insult????
Frankly, I don’t get this! Is Reno such a bad user of the Queen’s language that he no longer understand that “weak” and “incompetence” are but mere adjectives naming an attribute of a noun?
So far, Goodluck Jonathan remains the best president Nigeria ever had. His worst remains better than the best of Buhari. Is this even debatable? He was and still is, a perfect gentleman. Matter of fact, I belong to the school of thought which believes that Nigeria was and still is, too primitive for people like Jonathan to preside over.
But was he weak as president??
Keep sentiment at home let’s find out the answer.
Several months before 2015 election, Jonathan was presented with credible evidence of the treacherous ways of Attahiru Jega, the man he appointed INEC boss but he did nothing! He chose to allow JEGA continue as INEC boss because he felt he (GEJ) couldn’t withstand the pressure JEGA’s sack would bring him.
That was weakness! Jonathan’s failure to sack Jega was the height of weakness on his part.
ChibokGirlsSaga remains unresolved till today mainly because Jonathan bowed to foreign pressure and admitted it happened and by the REAL Boko Haram even after his govt had earlier dismissed it as a scam. If GEJ hadn’t bowed to pressure, he would have simply arrested that woman Principal of
Chibok school and within hours of questioning, she would have spilled the beans.
GEJ showed weakness by allowing many people including Buhari to undermine his govt.
Are we really gonna waste our time arguing this obvious fact?
Now, let’s visit the dictionary:
The term “Weak” is an adjective and it means “liable to break or yield under pressure” among other meanings.
So I ask again, was Jonathan weak as president? In the Nigerian context, the answer is YES! Refer to the above instances I just listed out.
What then is the problem here?
Even if we lie to ourselves, how can we descend to the level of believing our own lies as the gospel truth?
My father, the late Emmanuel Nwodo Ogbu Nwachima, once allowed my uncle to take possession of our piece of land on the ground that he didn’t want to make trouble with his brother. To me, that was him being a peaceful man but it also portrayed him as weak.
I remember my father as a good man but each time I see my uncle’s children on that land, I think my dad weak. Context is of utmost importance here.
May I remind Reno Omokri that before Jonathan, two Igbo sons, Alex Ekwueme and Ebitu Ukiwe have held the position of both civilian and military vice presidents respectively. Allison Madueke has equally held a very high position in the military. So why should we be grateful for getting individual appointments of army chief and SGF even after paying with our blood in the North and are still being victimized by the present govt over our support for Jonathan?
Reno Omokri and co need to realise that those who live in glass houses should be wise enough not to start throwing stones around.
As far as Jonathan is concerned, what Ndigbo deserve from Reno and Co is gratitude, not attitude.
The Presidency last night pooh-poohed opposition senators especially members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), over Wednesday’s threat to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari as a result of the worsening security situation in the country.
Presidential media aides, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, both waded into the matter describing the opposition lawmakers in the Red Chamber as flippant and confused people.
The Presidency also said that what the people require from the PDP Senators was their collaboration in the efforts of the government to solve the problems Nigerians face on a daily basis.
While Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, issued a statement, Adesina, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, featured on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.
Mallam Garba Shehu said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was committed to finding lasting solutions to the emerging security threats, including those left behind by the PDP administration.
The statement read: “The performative and babyish antics of those senators staging a walk out notwithstanding, Senate President Ahmad Lawan’s refusal on Wednesday to entertain the ridiculous motion to impeach our President was quite appropriate and correct.
“Rather than making a mockery out of voters by trying to imitate what they see in America, the opposition would be well advised that their time would be better spent tackling the pressing issues Nigerians face, such as the current global cost of living crisis.
Their continued failure to do so goes some way to explaining why they remain in opposition.
“In contrast, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is committed to finding lasting solutions to the emerging security threats, including those left behind by the PDP in the South-South, the Northeast and throughout the federation.
“In the last 24 hours, two more Chibok girls were freed, in addition to the three brought home last week.
“These kinds of headline grabbing stunts for which the opposition is now well known serve no one, least of all their constituents. We would respectfully remind them that it is those same constituents that they were elected to serve, and are paid to do so with public money.
“We would welcome their collaboration in our efforts to solve the problems Nigerians face on a daily basis. No one is asking them to waste their time attempting to impeach a democratically elected President at the end of his second term – certainly not their constituents.
“They should ask themselves: do they want to be in government or do they want to be in the headlines? If they want to be in government they should start acting like it and stop undermining Nigerian voters.”
Earlier in the day, the lawmakers in the Red Chamber staged a walkout and threatened to commence impeachment proceedings against President Buhari should he fail to address the insecurity within the period given by the lawmakers.
Reacting to the development on Channels Television, Adesina dismissed them as people merely playing to the gallery, adding that there was not much they will do after the drama.
“I think it was just bravado, and sadly, security is not something you subject to bravado. You don’t begin to issue flippant ultimatums in something that is a matter of life and death,” Adesina asserted.
As the 6th democratically elected governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, has literally brought governance from its high horse to the down-trodden. Within a short period of four months the people of Anambra State are feeling the positive impacts of Soludo’s people’s oriented government
1. In Security, Law and Order. He Created a new Ministry of Homeland Affairs (for homeland security) to signal the emergency and utmost priority placed on homeland security.
2. Massive consultation, mobilization and sensitization of the citizens and critical stakeholders— including security agencies, the clergy, traditional rulers, town unions, youths, civil society organizations, businessmen and women, agitation groups, etc.
3. Worked with South East Bishops to organize prayers; offered amnesty/carrot to repentant outlaws; etc. The people are united in fighting against the lucrative criminal enterprise and its idolatrous energizer which had held the entire South senatorial zone plus Ogbaru local government hostage.
4. The criminals masquerading as agitators have been exposed, and the nexus between crime, idolatry and hard drugs has become evident. The narrative is changing and the people are seizing the conversation and initiative.
5. Declared zero tolerance for criminality and drug abuse. Took the war to the criminals in Anambra State.
6. Put in a place a cohesive operational team with the State Security Council to enhance operational capabilities.
7. Created Anambra State Vigilante Central Strike Force to complement the security forces to keep our forests and homeland free of the criminals.
8. Successful deployment of Direct Labour Intervention to rebuild the washout section of Onitsha – Enugu Federal Highway opposite Chisco Park at Onitsha as well as the Amansea section of the Enugu – Onitsha Federal High way (entry section of Anambra), at a very cost effective rate.
9. Engineering design and procurement process completed and contractors have completed the dangerous portions of two federal high ways which experience massive flooding each year, drowning unsuspecting commuters. The Ekwulobia- Nnobi federal road (Igboukwu/Isuofia boundary) and the Ogbunike – Ogidi section of the Enugu – Onitsha Road (old road) will follow soon
10. De-silting of 1km of the Obodoukwu road, Okpoko to Idemili River end of the Sakamori storm water discharge. Same to the Fegge/Nwangene end of the discharge drain.
11. Hydrological studies and hydraulic designs of storm water discharge channels as well as engineering designs almost completed for over 220 Kilometres of roads scattered all over Anambra state and these roads will all be flagged off for construction before the dry season commences.
12. In Power and Water Resources: There has been Reinvigoration of the Anambra State Power Committee, which also has the EEDC as a member. The Committee recently finished a Retreat and is finalizing details of the plans and programmes (including the legal/regulatory framework) to align all the stakeholders in the electricity market in Anambra and ensure optimal performance and delivery of government’s target.
12. Rehabilitation of the water facilities at the Jerome Udorji Secretariat for civil servants. The Secretariat has not had water running in the offices for over eight years. Today water runs freely at the secretariat
13. Completion of the Urban Water generation at Amuko-Uruagu, Nnewi.
Achievement of Open Defecation Free (ODF) status for Aguata LGA. This is the second local government, after Anambra East LGA to achieve such a status.
13. In Agriculture: Successful launch of new Agro-economic transformation along the Oil-palm and coconut value chains, with the target of planting one million seedlings per annum. Over 30 Communities, institutions and investors have been profiled to plant over 2.5 Million seedlings, in partnership with the State government. This is designed to re-start from where Dr. M.I. Okpara stopped and to maximize our potentials in these highly profitable agro value chains – to create jobs, wealth and revenue to government.
14. Creation of 14 task teams to aggressively drive the agro-transformation agenda of this new government at all levels.
15. Reactivation of the Ministry of Agriculture E-platform for data gathering, hosting and dissemination, to enable R&D, tech-driven monitoring and evaluation
16. Restoration of the image of Anambra State as a responsible, trustworthy recipient of development programmes by World Bank, African Development Bank, UN, JAPAN, FGN etc by paying Counterpart funding
17. Adoption and Declaration of Regenerative Agricultural Systems as a state policy.
18. Embarking on the decongestion/removal of obstructions along major roads (Amansea to Head Bridge, Upper Iweka to Amorka & Awka to Ekwulobia, etc), market encroachments/trading activities on the roads & sustenance of free flow of traffic. To achieve this, state government has completed the cycle of Public Service Announcement and Town Hall meetings with Transport Unions/Associations
19.Identification/Assessment of public parks in the State
20. Central Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Teams at Zonal levels have been constituted.
21. In Culture, Entertainment & Tourism:
Hosted a high-profile research team from the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture for the possible enlistment of the Ogbunike Cave at the UNICEF World Heritage Site.
22. Three designs from notable Architectural firms have been shortlisted for further consideration for the building of a world class Entertainment and Leisure Park, at Agulu Lake.
23. Anambra State Executive Council (ANSEC) has given approval for the deployment of Anambra Tourism System Statistics, a globally approved strategy which will provide automated/digital monitoring and regulation of the Tourism and Hotel Industry among other sectors. This will boost and standardize Hospitality, Hotel and other related businesses.
24. Lands: The Evaluation and Service Delivery Committee is a new innovation introduced under the present administration. The Committee is charged with the responsibility to, among other things; ensure expeditious action and quick service delivery in every documentation process within the time frame stated in the Ministry’s Timeline for Execution of tasks. The Committee also ensures strict compliance with the time limit assigned to every department/unit in the Timeline for efficiency and quick service delivery.
25. Land Disputes Resolution Committee has been set up to review land disputes
26. Issued public notice directing holders of Certificate of Occupancy issued on or before the 31st day of December, 2018 to pay up their outstanding ground rents. The Ministry also intends to announce the proposed revocation of the Right of Occupancy of those who fail to pay within a particular time.
27. The implementation of Geographic Information Service (GIS) to enhance effective land administration and increase revenue has been approved by Anambra State Executive Council.
28. The launching of Land Transparency Initiative and Setting up Partnership Forum with Private Sector Investors and Operators in Land and Property Sectors is ongoing.
29. Begun to engage with host communities on acquisition of 1000 – 2000 acres of land for the building of the World Class Entertainment Resort akin to Disney World.
30. A trial run on Implementing Fast Track Mortgage Transaction Acceleration Programme, in the Ministry of land has commenced.
31. The Anambra State Land Reform Committee has been constituted. The Committee is to review the procedures, parameters and purposes for land acquisition, allocation and revocation.
32. Technology—ICT: Anambra Digital Tribe; Initiative ready for launch and activities will commence within the next 90 days.
33. Standardization of Internet Assets; the process of hosting all MDAs under the same domain has begun. All Government assets will gradually be migrated to the Internet domain name anambrastate.gov.ng as we finalize our Cloud Strategy.
34. The Anambra Cloud; a public cloud service just finalized. It will consolidate the numerous cloud providers being used by MDAs today.
35. State Digital Assets SOPs; Released the Digital asset SOP based on the naming convention approved by Mr Governor, which is currently being adopted by all MDAs.
36: Last-Mile High-speed fiber optic internet provision; In line with the Manifesto of providing high speed broadband, the State is in final negotiations with a PPP partner which would ensure a dig-once policy and the laying of fiber-optic cable in ducts. This project will attract thousands of direct and indirect jobs, as well as help launch Anambra fully into the global economy.
37: Public WiFi Proof of Concept; the concept and proposal for a public Wi-Fi for the state is being finalized and upon deployment would ensure that select Public areas would be powered with Wifi.
40: NITDA’s Planned Innovation Centre; the National Information Technology Development Agency ( NITDA) has expressed interest in launching an Innovation Centre in Awka – the First of its kind in the South Eastern Part of the Country. Land will be allocated for the project shortly.
41. Baseline Study of e-government in Anambra State; the ICT Agency undertook the study, which showed the state of e-government infrastructure in the state. This will serve as a basis for the development of our Civil42 service into a Digital workforce.
GovTech preliminary strategy; The state participated in a World Bank subnational Government GovTech Maturity Index survey and based on the preliminary results of this survey and the baseline study, the state has designed a first draft gov-tech strategy which advises the government on the relevant infrastructure to put in place, for a transition to e-government.
43. Education: Completed Phase 2 of screening of over 40,000 candidates who applied for teaching job in the primary and secondary schools. The next phase of interviews for the last 6,000 candidates will soon commence.
44. Reviewing the state of Anambra tertiary institutions with a view to aligning them to global best practices and responsive to needs of the State and Nigeria..
45. Launched “operation bring back our school/Adopt a School Programme” to support Government effort in improving our Educational system.
46. Students successfully completed their WAEC exams despite the insecurity challenges
47. Health: Ground breaking ceremony of Coordinated Wholesale Center, Oba has been achieved. The project was jinxed for six years. When completed, it will be the largest drug distribution hub in West Africa.
48. Introduced andlactivated drug revolving fund in the State hospitals.
49. Achieved a rapid response to measles outbreak in 13 LGAs. Currently the outbreak has been contained in 12 LGAs out of the initial 13
50. Fixing of the State ambulances to aid emergency responses with a toll free number boldly displayed
51: Ongoing Massive recruitment of health workers in our General hospitals
52 Activation of Endoscopy unit at General Hospital, Onitsha.
53. Activation of dental units in General hospitals, Enugwu-Ukwu, Umueri and Ekwulobia.
54. Optimization of laboratory department of general hospital Agulu and general hospital Nnobi with haematology analyzers.
55. Introduction of Anambra State hospital Inspection team.
56. Zero Malaria Initiative: In collaboration with the Malaria Consortium flagged off the distribution of 3.8 million Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN).
57. In collaboration with the State government, the Global Fund is building a new Oxygen plant at Onitsha.
58. Women and Social Welfare; Rescued a total of 13 Children from agents of human trafficking.
59. Establishment of a situation room for Sexual Gender Based Violence and Data collection in the State.
60. Budget & Economic Planning: Submitted the 2022 revised budget to the State House of Assembly tailored to meet the state governemt’s ambitious infrastructural and other capital development, especially roads.
61. Anambra State Internal Revenue Service (AIRS)
a. Completely digitalized our revenue collection to remove leakages and widen the bracket to meet our set targets (ANSIDD has been replaced with ASIN which ensures a dynamic Biometric Data collation structure).
63.New Digital structure would ensure long term and user friendly channels and we have commenced pilot schemes on the use of POS , USSD, Web and App channels and the payments into Banks and Bank ordered agents which ensures that those within the informal sector especially, can make payments seamlessly.
64. Commenced wide scale engagements with the various markets and Transport Unions to ensure that the leakages are plugged.
67. Local Government, Chieftaincy and community Affairs
a. PwC reviewed the operations of the local government and submitted report for
government action
68. Resolved 15 community disputes which include re-instating 4 Presidents General through the rule of law; resolved 11 community crises and successfully conducted 15 Town Union Elections
69. Egagement with key stakeholders in the communities with a view to resolving the crises
70. Environment.; Embarked upon the clearing/cleaning of mountainous waste dumps in Onitsha, Okpoko, Awka, Nkpor, etc which had impeded flow of traffic, undermined commercial activities and constituted health hazard.
b. De-silted over one kilometre of drainage preventing the impending flood that faced the residents of Okpoko and environs.
c. Revised and launched a framework for the collection and evacuation of solid waste within our state, and selected waste management contractors for the 31 zones specified in the State.
71. Launched the tree planting campaign designed to make Anambra the greenest State in the country.
72. Others
Updating the social register which is a social protection net for the poor and elderly in
Anambra state. It was last updated in 2017.
UNDP/UN System is back to Anambra and an office space has been given to them with other logistics support to enhance their functionality.
Ongoing engagement to implement the Ease of Doing Business programme in Anambra with support from the Office of the Vice President
Ongoing Development of Economic and Social Database with the Statistical Office
Establishment and inauguration of the Truth, Justice and Peace Committee to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the agitation and violence in Anambra/South East; seek a restorative justice approach for truth-telling or real facts; for the healing of the victims of the violence, accounting for responsibility and accountability of the actors, conditional mercy for the repentant perpetrators, restitution for certain losses and rehabilitation of the perpetrators, for the overall aim of restoration of peace and justice as well as the promotion of development in the State/region.
Declared zero tolerance for touting (Agbero) which has endeared the government to transport owners, operators and stake holders. More programmes and projects will be unveiled in due course particularly to retrain and empower the former touts.
Citizen participation has been emboldened. We have created an avenue for connecting with the people by the provision of seven phone lines for citizens to reach the security managers of the state. There is a flood of actionable intelligence and the security forces are prompt with response.
Declaration of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m curfew on motorcycles (okada), tricycles (keke), and shuttle buses in 8 Local Government areas is a short term security measure that will be lifted in no distant time.
Work is ongoing to restructure and strengthen the community security architecture and deployment of technology in security.
Declaration of emergency on traffic management and the Anambra Road Traffic Management Agency (ARTMA) is being strengthened to deliver.
Following the increased security threat by terrorists and bandits in Abuja and its environs, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has ordered the immediate closure of private schools in the Nation’s capital.
A statement issued by the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools in Abuja, cited the directive of the FCT Education Secretariat for schools to officially close on July 27. All academic activities, including external examinations, were also summarily suspended.
Dear school educators, instruction reaching me now from the Ag. Director DQA is that the FCT Education secretariat has directed that schools are to make sure all examinations going on should be ended by Wednesday, July 27, 2022, and all students including those in boarding should be allowed to go home for the holiday,” the statement read.
Those writing external examinations and schools that have planned their end of the year speech and prize giving day beyond Wednesday, 27th could go ahead as planned but must put adequate security in place to safeguard both students and staff of their schools, you are addressed strictly to the above instructions.”
The directive comes barely two days after authorities similarly ordered the immediate closure of Unity Colleges, the Federal Government College Kwali, located in Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, due to the security threats from bandits.
The proprietress of one of the affected schools in Abuja said the school received the directive from the government that academic activities should be suspended.
“Most schools are supposed to close by Friday next week, but because of the information that we got from the ministry of education that all schools must close by Wednesday,” Mrs Balogun of Oprite School, Abuja told The Gazette. “So officially, we were supposed to close on Saturday, but due to the insecurity, we asked our students to stay at home.”
The forced schools’ closure comes amid threats of attacks by bandits and Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists.
The extremists who have incessantly carried out mass school abductions are said to be targeting schools in Lagos, Kaduna, Kogi, Katsina, Zamfara and Federal Capital Territory.
The FCT in particular have come under heavy security scare after elite soldiers from the Presidential Guards Brigade were ambushed by gunmen in the Bwari Area Council while on a rescue mission. The Kuje Medium Security Correctional Centre, holding many hardened criminals had a fortnight ago been bombed by Boko Haram terrorists, freeing their comrades and unleashing other criminals into the society.
Some senators walked out on the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday, after he allegedly refused the Minority Leader, Senator Philip Aduda, to allow them to lead the motion on the impeachment of the President, Muhammadu Buhari.
Aduda and some other senators of the Peoples Democratic Party then walked out of the plenary.
It was learnt that some lawmakers that were displeased with the worsening security situation in the country had threatened to impeach the President.
It was learnt that at the commencement of the plenary on Tuesday, the lawmakers questioned the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on why the issue of insecurity was not in the Order Paper.
Miffed by the development, the Senate Minority leader, raised a point of order, calling for deliberation on issues discussed at the closed-door session.
He said, “Mr. President, I raised this point of order to bring to the front burner, issues deliberated upon at the closed-door session.
Resolution made by all senators at the closed-door session which lasted for two hours was to further deliberate on it in plenary and arrive at a resolution to give President Buhari ultimatum on an urgent basis to stop the worsening security situation or face impeachment.”
To gauge the issue, the Senate President quickly interrupted him by saying that his point of order fell flat on his face since he didn’t discuss it with him.
He thereafter instructed the leader of the Senate to proceed with items on the Order Paper.
In a response to the development, all senators across the opposition parties led by the Minority Leader, Philip Tanimu Aduda, stormed out of the chamber chanting “All we are saying, Buhari must go, Nigeria must survive, Ahmad Lawan should follow.”
The protesting senators including Adamu Bulkachuwa (All Progressives Congress – Bauchi North) later gathered at the Senate Press Centre to disclose what transpired during the closed-door session.
Speaking on behalf of the senators, the Minority Leader, Philip Aduda, said their anger was fueled by the refusal of the Senate President to follow resolutions taken by senators across party lines at the closed-door session.
He said, “We are here to tell Nigerians that as senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we are disappointed with the way the worsening security situation across the country is being handled.
We held a closed-door session for two hours, where it was resolved that the issue will be deliberated upon in plenary with an agreed resolution to give President Muhamnadu Buhari six weeks to address it or face impeachment by both chambers of the National Assembly.”
Aduda added, “Our walking out of the chamber is to express our disappointment in the way the matter was later handled by the Senate President.
President Buhari has been given all he wanted in terms of adequate funding of the security agencies but nothing to show for it. He needs to shape up or ship out.”
Aside from all the PDP senators who participated in the walkout, other senators like Enyinnaya Abaribe (All Progressives Grand Alliance -Abia South), Ibrahim Shekarau ( New Nigeria Peoples Party – Kano Central), Francis Onyewuchi (Imo East), etc, also joined.
