The former Vice President of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Ekwueme has reportedly slumped and in coma. The second republic Vice-President was reported to have collapsed early morning of Saturday 29th of October, 2017 at his residence at Independence Layout in Enugu.

Report from his family members said Dr. Ekwueme is currently at the Intensive Care Unit of Memfys Hospital located along Penok petrol station in Trans-Ekulu, Enugu State for Neurosurgery.

“He was trying to get something from the table when he suddenly collapsed and immediately someone raised the alarm, we proceeded to revive him while cautious enough not to attract neighbours,” a relative, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said. “When it became obvious that he had lapsed into coma, we rushed him to a hospital (unnamed) in GRA (Government Reserved Area), but we were referred to Memphys Hospital by medical consultants who had critically examined his condition.” “When there was no sign of improvement on Monday afternoon, we rallied round and informed the former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, who is like a son, and he has been making plans to fly him overseas.”

Source: vanguard

A former Chairman of Police Service Commission, Chief Simon Okeke, has told former Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State and his successor, Willie Obiano, to settle their differences out of public domain instead of ‘washing their dirty linen in the public’.

Chief Okeke reasoned that since former Governor Obi claimed that Governor Obiano owed him N7 billion, nothing stopped him from deducting the amount from the N75 billion he claimed that he handed over to Governor Obiano.

He condemned the ‘embarrassment’ generated by their claims and counter claims. He said he wondered whether former Governor Obi wanted to be the godfather of Anambra politics.

The former police boss said at the age of 80, he has no more interest in partisan politics but would only offer advice as an elder statesman.

In his words, “Having hit 80 and sound in health, I will only advise. I remember that before Obiano was made the Governor of Anambra State, Obi called me as the Igbo leader in Abuja and Chairman of Anambra State Public Officers and Elders Forum and told me that he would introduce to me who would be the next Governor of Anambra State.

“I rallied the Anambra people at Chelsea Hotel, Abuja and the entire executive members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) led by himself, Chief Victor Umeh, Tim Menakaya, Uche Ekwunife and many others gathered. It was there that Obi raised the hand of Obiano and declared him tested and trusted person to take over from him. He appealed for support for Obiano. On that ground I called all Anambra people living in Abuja to go home enmass and vote accordingly. I told them that Obi had done well and the man he presented to us as tested and trusted should be voted for. Even though I was a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member then, ours is ours,” Chief Okeke said.

He noted that it was shocking that within one month or so of Obiano’s take over there came up stories of discord between him and Mr Obi.

“Here is a man he said is tested and trusted. If indeed he is asking Obiano to pay him N7 billion because Obiano is now untested and untrusted and Obiano could not then there is a big question mark on the ex-Governor. I do not know whether Obi really demanded that or not because I was not there. I expect that Obi would have called us again to tell us that he no longer trusted this man. If Obiano has committed an offence against the State, I will be the first person to cast my vote against him. But as at today, I have not heard that Obiano committed a fraud to the magnitude to be voted out.

Okeke was of the view that if Obi had reached an agreement with Obiano to lend him N7 billion for an election signed and sealed, that it would have been a different thing. He said Obiano would have to pay that but not from Anambra purse. He told the duo to settle the matter outside the people’s view.

He noted that Governor Obiano had performed excellently to deserve a second tenure. He mentioned security as a major breakthrough of Obiano’s administration.

He also said it would be rational, cost effective and would lesson tension to allow Governor Obiano to complete his two tenures instead of dissipating energy to shop for replacement.

Source: The Sun

The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) candidate for the November 18 Anambra State governorship election, Dr. Stephen Obiorah Mbah, has said that his edge over other candidates is that he has uses his hard-earned money for the election with no sponsor or godfather that he would be accountable to if he wins.

Mbah spoke, on Wednesday, in Nnewi, when he visited some prominent men and elders at Ekwusigo, Nnewi North and Nnewi South Local Government Areas of the state including the monarch of Nnewi community, Igwe Kenneth O. Orizu III, Chief Ejiamatu Igbokwe and former Chairman of Police Service Commission, Chief Simon Okeke.

He said that the political parties spending heavily to win the gubernatorial election did not mean well for Anambra people as they were bound to recoup all their election expenditures before, if ever, they could begin to work for the state.

He noted that this extravagant spending to win election had been responsible for non-performance of past and present administrations in the state. Mbah said as someone who had lived in America for 22 years and studied their system very well, he would do away with wasteful spending beginning from his campaign style up to when his party would take over leadership of the State.

He also said as a servant of the people of Anambra, he might even be coming to office from his present home, saying that he would not engage in ostentatious living while people he governed were struggling to survive.

He explained that it would amount to a breach of social contract and nonchalance par excellence for a governor not to feel the pulse of the people he governed. He said he was coming to serve not to enrich himself.

” While should I live in luxury while some families could not afford three square meals and people wallow in abject poverty. My government would be people oriented and since nobody sponsored me to become a governor I will not be accountable to anybody except the people of Anambra State who gave me the mandate. Just give me four years I will transform this State to look like America where I lived for many years. What I will do in Anambra would attract other States from the federation to copy from Anambra State,” Dr. Mbah promised.

Addressing Dr. Mbah and his entourage, Chief Igbokwe, who was a former member of Zikist Movement said that Mbah deserved unflinching support since he is still a virgin politician who had not been contaminated with corruption. He noted that the election would not be one of rice and beans “but we are starting a revolution in the State.”

Chief Igbokwe described the mega political parties contesting the gubernatorial election as hawks who had once again come up with their hollow promises only to renege after getting the people’s mandate. He said that would not happen again, adding that the Anambra people were now politically conscious to decipher the antics of the crafty politicians. He called for maximum support for Dr Mbah who he said had come out with good intentions to govern the State and right the wrongs.

At the palace of Igwe Orizu III, Dr. Mbah was blessed by the monarch who simply prayed for God’s will to be done just as all the members of Igwe’s cabinets concurred.

Source: The Sun

‎The newly appointed Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Gida Mustapha, has vowed to join the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration fight corruption, insecurity as well as efforts to revive the economy.

He spoke to State House Correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Buhari at Aso Rock Villa shortly before he left for the All Progressive Congress (APC), National Executive Council (NEC), meeting.

Mustapha, who was announced as the new SGF, Monday after Buhari sacked former SGF Babachir Lawal, and former Director General National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke, for corruption, said though it was not proper to talk before he is formerly sworn in, he already knows his brief and will execute to the latter.

He said already the vision of the government on how to run the country is well documented and everyone is expected to run with it.

Asked what Nigerians should expect to see differently from the SGF office, he said, “Well, I’ll wait until the oath of office is administered on me. Once that is done, I’ll now begin to take briefings from the office and begin to chart a roadmap. Is always not too fashionable to begin to talk about an office you have never occupied. That will be being too presumptuous and I wouldn’t want to do that at the moment. I will want to step into the office first.

“But I have a general picture of where we should be going, and I can assure you that my responsibility is that of coordination and ensuring the implementation of government policies as generated. Nigeria is not in lack of information and policy formulation, sometimes is the synergy of those policies for the purposes of attending the goal that has been lacking, and I think those are some of the things that I am going to bring to the office. There must be coordination, there must be synergy so that we can have a thrust that can move us forward.

“We need an emergency acceleration to get out of where we are, and I can assure you that Mr. President is focussed on the three-pronged approach to take his government to fight corruption, diversify the economy and also the other aspect of security. We’ve done so much in the area of security. Even the diversification of the economy so much has been achieved.”

Mustapha spoke on the agric policy of the administration, saying if all hands are on deck, the country will begin to feed itself.

He said, “There are no poor farmers in Nigeria again. Honestly, for anybody that is able. We can deploy our hands and our energy to growing our agriculture.

“I have been speaking to some of the governors, they are doing remarkable work with the Anchor borrowers grower scheme‎ and other schemes that are coming up. I believe that if we can do that consistently for a number of years we’ll get out of this quagmire. Because a nation that cannot feed itself has a long way to go in terms of institutional and industrial development.

“So, like I said I will not be too quick to say what I am going to do in office, but I have a general picture. Mr President has cast the vision, all of us that are appointees of government have the singular responsibility to ensure that we run with that vision. He has made it plain and whichever vision that has been made plain for those that are being charged with responsibilities we are supposed to run with that vision to ensure that at the end of the day the dividends of democracy is delivered to the people of Nigeria.

“We went round and campaigned and sought for their mandate, freely they gave us and it behoves on us charged with responsibilities to ensure that we do not disappoint them. The expectations are great out there. You live with families and you know the expectations of families. You live in communities, you know the expectations of those communities. You live in geographical jurisdictions and you know the expectations of those people. But we’ve come at a time when the resources are very very lean, in some cases not available but I believe with prudent management as being put in place by Mr. President we’ll be able to navigate these very difficult terrain and at the end of the day every Nigerian will have a smile on his face.

“We are not promising heaven on earth, but we can move our people from this state of squalor in which they are to a state where there will be hope, there will be expectations. And hope does a lot of things, because your desire for living for tomorrow is to rekindle‎ back hope. And if there is hope that things will be better, the people of Nigeria are very understanding people and I can assure you that they will continue to give this government the kind of support that will require to push the nation ahead.”

The SGF said his meeting with president Buhari was full of humour and jokes.

He said, “The President in his normal candor and humor ‎just cracked jokes and he was in very high spirit. I was pleasantly gladdened in my heart when I saw how robust and how uplifting he is in his spirit and in spite of the enormity of the fact that he has to deal with navigating the affairs of this nation. But he looked in-charge, quite calm and calculated, and the beauty about it is that his recovery process has been very very remarkable, is just a miracle and I just want to thank God for that.”

source : Daily Sun

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said he will appoint more ministers into his cabinet and also make more board appointments in response to the demand from members of his party.
The President announced this on Tuesday in his speech at the National Executive Council meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja.
He said: “Last year I said we would re-constitute the Boards of Parastatals. I must regret the fact that we have not done so, for many reasons,” President Buhari said. “Some of us in this meeting may know I had given instructions since October 2015 for this exercise to start.
“But there have been inordinate delays through several committees in an attempt to get the balance right and to make sure all parts of the country are equitably represented. On the other hand, I am keenly aware that our supporters are very eager for these appointments to be announced.
“By the grace of God, these appointments will be announced soon, especially now that the economy is improving; we will have the resources to cater for the appointees,” he added.

source :Daily Sun