The Rivers International Education Consultants

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Written by Odimegwu Onwumere

According to Ellen Glasgow, “All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.” Probably, Glasgow had Rivers State under Governor Chibuike Amaechi at heart by making that statement.

To some people, it is a wonderful idea that Governor Amaechi has contracted Educomp Solutions, an Indian conglomerate to manage the 24 model secondary schools that he is building in Rivers State. According to media reports credited to Amaechi, each of the schools that would accommodate about 1,000 students, cost the state government about N4.5bn.

We have also heard that he had taken Educomp’s team round some of the schools and his administration is garnering its gameness to handover the schools to the ‘foreigners’ before the end of this year.

As we know, Amaechi is a vibrant governor, but it is not ever good that one takes tapeworm prescription for cancer.  The question has been, why the international education consultants in Rivers State?

However, we are not surprised with Amaechi’s stance because Arnold Bennett had already warned: “Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.”

In the civilized climes, education consultants are created to help students in foreign countries gain admission of studying in the countries where the consultants are created. The opposite of hiring foreign education consultants is biased if based on coming to manage the students of a sovereign country or state in such country.

Education consultants advise students outside the school atmosphere, and not to take the sole responsibility of taking over the affairs of the managerial work as we would soon be experiencing in the Rivers State schools when the Indian education consultants finally berths.  

For those who care to listen, education consultants only offer students process that enables them a quick admission, but in the case of foreign students, they offer horizontal immigration process, and not to MANAGE them.

Education experts extend their expertise by guiding students through every step of their admission process, not by wholesomely managing the students.  And this is mainly found among university or college students, and not to mere pupils who are just stopping to wear their diapers in Rivers State.

With the above narrations of the work of the education consultants, we do not think that this employ of foreign education contractors would give the Rivers State education sector a boost, but a burst.

Amaechi’s quest to handover our schools to the Indians means that he does not trust the skill of our people. And this may likely damage the pace of development in the state’s education. We are surprise that Amaechi is not bringing investors. Is this the meaning of the Public Private Partnership? (PPP).  But did Amaechi ever advertise for consultants to manage these schools before telling us how far he has gone with the Indians?

Entrusting the state’s education management, for the next four years, in the hands of the expatriates, would rather mean doom than boom the governor might have been thoughtful would happen.

If the governor thought that bringing in the expatriates would help the education sector under his government, does the leadership of the government also needs expatriates before things could be got right in Rivers State? Why the expatriates whereas the state is not in dearth of qualified education professionals?

With this contraction of education in the hands of the Indians, it means that Amaechi wants to tell the people that education can be equated with the construction of roads, building of infrastructure, health centres and lots more ongoing projects which the Blackman have always reposed one hundred percent trust on the Whiteman, whereas there are many professional Black men and women loafing the streets jobless.

Now, what is going to be the work of the imported Indians? Are they going to do better than the education system here entails? Are they going to operate the Indian system of education? And how much is this project going to cost the state government? For how long are the Indians going to stay? We think the people need a holistic enlightenment on this Trojan project before our children begin to speak Indian Languages as a second mother tongue. Is this a self-imposed neo-colonization? Maybe, we also need environmental and urban development projects in the state to be managed by the Indians or Ghanaians or so on.

It is not a transformational administration in Rivers State, if the governor in his standing feels that except ‘outsiders’ are brought in, our children cannot have a qualitative education. This brings to bear why the long-queue of training Rivers teachers by foreign NGOs if they are not going to be the leaders of the ultra-modern schools that have been amplified all over the world more than Rivers State of since 40yrs plus is known to most Nigerians?

Those people and organizations talking and telling the world of the developmental strides in Rivers State anytime they visited, we are beginning to suspect if they are rented praise singers, because they cannot be praising an administration the governor is always pleading with his people to exercise patience with him over his government incapability on good governance; these praises should rather be shut up, because if there should be anything to praise, then those living in the state should  be the ones to do so, because they are the people who know where the show soupcons them.

In earnest, Governor Amaechi is grousing with the transformation of the state and has not done so much to transform Rivers State and the lives of Rivers masses as few ‘power-brokers’ want people to believe.

Amaechi should henceforth focus intensively and extensively on human and infrastructural development. The ‘next four years’ he said would be used to consolidate on the projects, should not be wasted on futilities, like the importation of the Indians.

The Model Primary schools should be in use by our people. Most importantly, Amaechi should realize that nations do not grow when its sensitive area like the education sector is managed by foreign firms. What we expected Amaechi to do was to make education in the state more friendly by mandating teachers to teach in our mother tongues as most European schools do.

It is time our leaders started to think and act responsibly if we still believe that “readers are leaders of tomorrow”.  People have asked Amaechi where India is in educational ranking of the world, for them to be allowed to manage the Rivers State educational system.

Why do we have a Ministry of Education in Rivers State? Does Amaechi mean that the Ministry cannot be trusted to manage the schools? If Amaechi wants Rivers State and its people to grow, he should allow our people to take up the responsibilities ourselves.

Odimegwu Onwumere is the Coordinator, Concerned Non-Indigenes In Rivers State (CONIRIV). Mobile: +2348032552855. Email: nirivpol@gmail.com

Delta Police charges ex-lawmaker aide, mother, sons, others for illegal possession of firearm, conspiracy

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The Delta state Commissioner of Police has charged one Mr. Fredrick Alawo (Alias Barrister), 42, an aide to the former house of Assembly member representing Isoko South constituency1, Mr. Benjamin Efekodho to Oleh magistrate court, headquarters of Isoko South local government area of the state for illegal possession of firearm. Also arraigned at the court for illegal possession of firearm, conspiracy and mis-information are Monica Efijemueh, 50 and two of her sons, Sabastine Sunday, 34, Sabastine Karo, 32, as well as Dennis Ukoliko, 38 and Eke Usiagbada, 32.

In a charge No MCO/38/C/2011, Mr. Alawo and Sunday charged with one count charge alleging to have been in illegal possession of firearm on the 6th of August, 2011 at the Oleh police station in the Oleh magistrate district conspiring with one inspector Sunday Ojieh to commit felony with unlawful possession of firearm punishable under section 516a (1) of the criminal code cap C21 vol.1, laws of Delta state of Nigeria 2006.

While Monica, Sunday, Karo and Dennis were charged on two count charge of conspiring among themselves on the 4th, August, 2011 at the Delta state police command in Oleh magistrate district to charge one Eke and others with the offence of threat to life knowing that they were innocent of the alleged offence as well as giving false information to the Commissioner of police of threat to life with intention of causing injury or annoyance of Eke and others and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 125 and 125A (1) of the criminal code cap C21, vol, 1 laws of Delta state of Nigeria 2006.

That Eke on 6th, August, 2011 at Ivori community in Oleh magistrate district unlawfully wounded one Inspector Sunday Ojieh serving at the police headquarters, Asaba with a matchet while on lawful duty at Ivori community and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 338 of the criminal code cap 21 vol.1 laws of Delta state of Nigeria 2006. However the matter is billed for hearing this week as all accused persons are in police custody at Oleh police station.

It would be recalled that the supporters of the former lawmaker, Mr. Efekodho who is in the election tribunal challenging the victory of the DPP candidate in the state house of Assembly had under the instructions of their boss petitioned the commissioner of police over threat to life accusing the DPP member representing the Isoko South constituency 1 in the state House of Assembly, Mr. Benjamin Okiemute Essien of masterminding the threat, prompting the invitation of the CP’s team to effect the arrest of one Mr. Eke, supporter of the DPP lawmaker where an English made pistol was alleged to have been recovered from him but all were later turned to be lies and it was discovered that the pistol allegedly belonging to the former lawmaker was allegedly given by his aide on his instruction to the police who went for the arrest to be planted in Eke’s house so as to frame him up.

When contacted, the former lawmaker denied any knowledge of the pistol.

Meanwhile as at the time of this report the said policemen in the saga are said to be cooling off their feet at the Zone 5, Benin City pending when they will be court marshalled and dismissed if found guilty.

Ekiti Groups warns investors over Fayemi’s N25billion bond

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Coalition of Non Governmental Organisations in Ekiti State under the


aegis of Movement for Peace and Good Governance in Ekiti (MOPEGO) has warned investors to steer clear of the N25 billion bond being sought from the capital market by the Dr. Kayode Fayemi-led government in the State, saying; “investors that allow themselves to be used as facilitators of Governor Fayemi’s agenda of enslaving Ekiti people will be doing so at their own risk.”


The groups, which described the N25 billion bond as a “bond of bondage” that was only conceived for motives other than the development of Ekiti State said it was insulting, hypocritical and criminal for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) government, which only last month, got N9.7 billion as allocation from the Federation Account to still be talking about taking another N25 billion bond.


MOPEGO, a coalition of NGOs, comprising of the Ekiti Justice Group (EJG), Ekiti Justice and Equity Movement (EJEM), The Ekiti Patriots (TEP), Ekiti Youths Vanguard (EYV) and others said in a statement jointly signed by the Coalition’s Chairman, Comrade Kunle Ologunodo, Secretary, Comrade Ebenezer Olaleye and Director of Communications and Strategy, Gbenga Babawibe that Ekiti does not need any bond to develop.


The group, which wondered what happened to the N4 billion bond obtained by the Otunba Niyi Adebayo-led Alliance for Democracy (AD) government, said apart from the Adebayo government, successive governments in the State did not borrow a dime and still performed creditably well in terms of developing the State. While demanding explanations from the Fayemi-led government on what it has done with the over N50 billion it has received as allocation from the federation account, MOPEGO said it was obvious that nothing meaningful has been done in the State since October 15, 2010 that Fayemi became governor.


The statement read; “We wish to sound a note of warning to those investors that are being deceived into investing in the N25 billion bond of bondage being sought by the Ekiti State government. “This bond, which is unnecessary, is ostensibly being sought to pay the over N10 billion indebtedness to Fayemi’s Lagos masters. “This is because from information available to us, the estimated cash flow of the State from October 2010 that Fayemi became governor to December 2011 will be about N70 billion.


“Even in a single month, the government got N9.7 billion and according to the federal Ministry of Finance, Ekiti State got over N40 billion between January and June, this year. “So having gotten over N15 billion between July and August alone, what does Fayemi need the additional N25 billion bond of bondage for if not to satisfy some hidden and extraneous interests?” While threatening to use all resources available to it to prevent the State from being thrown into debt, MOPEGO said; “We won’t fold our arms and allow our State to be mortgaged by anyone and investors who put their hard earned resources in this bond should know that they are doing so at their own risk.”



                

            


        

            

            

                

                    
                        Nnaji assures on improved power supply to Osha, Nnewi                    
                


                

                    

                    

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 The Minister of Power, Prof Barth Nnaji has reiterated the need to boost power situation in Anambrs state to rediscover its industrial, manufacturing potentials and ingenuity.


He assured that some far-reaching programme has already been initiated by the Federal Government through his ministry already. These he disclosed included the building of additional lines to Onitsha from Benin , Delta, and Alaoji.


The Minister, who was in Onitsha to inspect facilities of the Power Holding Coy (PHCN), said that the issue of Power in Onitsha was one of his major concerns in line with the policy of Government to strengthen power in critical industrial areas in the country. He said the matter was even more critical now to accommodate the many industries that have been having serious energy supply challenges in the area.


Anambra Governor, Peter Obi, told the Minister that power supply had remained one of the greatest problems hindering the rapid development of Nnewi and Onitsha industrial axis. He said many companies had collapsed and many having rough times because of power problems.

                

            


        

            

            

                

                    
                        We will act to sanitize NDDC – Jonathan                    
                


                

                    

                    

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Managing Director, NDDC


President Goolduck Ebele Jonathan declared Tuesday in Abuja that his Administration will take prompt and decisive action to sanitize the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and transform it into a much more effective organization.




Speaking at the ceremonial presentation to him of the report of the Presidential Committee established in July to undertake an inquiry into the crises in the  NDDC, President Jonathan pledged that the Federal Government will implement remedial measures to ensure that the commission begins to give the people of the Niger Delta real value for the huge sums of money committed to it annually.


“We will do whatever it takes to sanitize the NDDC,” the President assured members of the committee after formally receiving their report from the Chairman, Mr. Stephen Oronsaye.


Mr. Oronsaye said that the committee had undertaken its assignment expeditiously and with proper diligence, being very mindful of President Jonathan’s determination to take genuine development to the Niger Delta and all other parts of Nigeria.


He told the President that that the committee had visited the NDDC Headquarters in Port Harcourt and interacted with its management, staff and stakeholders.


It also received a memorandum from the Presidential Monitoring Committee on the NDDC which substantially corroborated its own findings, Mr. Oronsaye said.


Describing the NDDC as “acutely crises ridden”, the Oronsaye Committee recommended “immediate intervention” to reverse the decay in the commission.


President Jonathan had late yesterday at the Presidential Villa, also received several reports from the NDDC Presidential Monitoring Committee headed by Chief Isaac Jemide.


Receiving the reports, President Jonathan declared that the era of contractors abandoning projects after receiving funds from government was over in Nigeria.


He said that his Administration will undertake a clinical review of the reports submitted by the Presidential Monitoring Committee and request law enforcement agencies to apprehend contractors identified as having defaulted after receiving funds for NDDC projects.


“Project abandonment is totally unacceptable to us. The era of contractors taking money and not doing their work is over. If the NDDC is to act as a catalyst for development in the Niger Delta, then we must act to redeem the situation,” President Jonathan said.

                

            


        

            

            

                

                    
                        SSS anticipates more violence in Jos                    
                


                

                    

                    

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The recent multiple explosions that occured in Northern part of Jos, the capital of Plateau State on Sunday night continues to reverberate across the Nigerian governing quarters and the international community. This is as 247ureports.com have learnt through a source within the top ranks in the State Security Services [SSS] that the office of the presidency has been receiving “a good amount” of pressure from leaders calling from the international community who are concerned over the continued bomb explosions growing into larger scale explosions around the country.


 As gathered, intelligence information collected by foreign anti-terrorism experts, according to a SSS source, points to possible/likely up-ramp of violent activities in the Bauchi-Jos belt. Particular attention was given to the area where the University of Jos is housed/situated – belonging to the federal government which had been settled illegaly by Hausa settlers in the early 1980s through the early 1980s – naming the area, Anguan Rogo, Anguan Rimi. The Hausa settlers who came from Kano, Kaduna and Bauchi were said to have laid claims to the land. Some of the said Hausa landowners tell 247ureports.com that the land area was given to them by Berom Chieftains.


Adding gravitas to the fermenting stench is the renewed talks of dislocating the Hausa settlers from the university area by the Jonathan administration. This move has caused heightened concerns within the already agitated militant Islamic sect in the area. According to the SSS source, the militant Islamic sect has in turn marked the said area as priority target. As gathered, trained Hausa moslem youths in the act of terrorism are reported by residents in Jos as being bused in from areas believed to be East Africa [Somalia/Sudan] into the Jos/Bauchi belt to “protect” their lands against a possible enchroahment by the Jonathan led administration. 


Our source understand that the Hausa settlers have had a history of expanding and protecting their acquired land area through un-forced violence. According to the source, “they have since increased their border lines after every crisis they buy off the surrounding (abandoned) lands and houses. They are heavily funded from the international Muslim body. They did this in 2001, 2008 and 2010. But in 2008 the govt stop the issuance to Certificate of Occupancy of the sell of any property in the city“.  The government had halted the issuance of new certificates of occupancy as part of the implementation of the recommendations of the Panel of inquiry. This is as State Government suspected that the Hausa settlers were heavily funded from outside Jos – with the instruction to buy off burnt houses and abandoned houses – knowing that Christians were not willing to reside on the boundary lines. One of the prime Anglican churches and a few ECWA churches situated in the heart of the Hausa settler strong hold [Anguan Rogo] were among the many properties abandoned and taken over by the settlers.


It is against this backdrop that intelligence officers suspect a ramp up in the violence in the immediate university area which as understood has always posed problematic for the Hausa youths in terms of inducing terror. In January 2011, a near clash between the angry student of the University of Jos and the Islamic youths was averted by a 4am intervention by the Vice Chancellor of the University. It was gathered that the various cultist groups had unified under one umbrella to “deal” with the Islamic terrorist once and for all – but was averted through a tip by an Ulama to the Vice Chancellor.


  


A day before the twin bomb blast in the city, the “Gbongwom Jos” Gyang Buba made a public accusation of the Hausa settlers as being the responsible parties of the crisis in the state -while adding that they were not indigenes of Plateau State. Other indigenous monarches have followed suit in making similar public declarations concerning the status of the Hausa settlers. These public proclaimations, according to the security agent, appears to have tensed up the already tensed atmosphere in Jos.


President Jonathan’s response of deploying the CDS to Plateau State is said to have been done as a proactive step to halt planned excalation of violence by the Islamic terrorist sect – owing to intelligence reports received from foreign based intelligence gathering services. But the security agent also noted that President Jonathan may not fully understand/appreciate the underlinings of the crisis in Jos – and may repeat the mistakes of General Obasanjo. The agents adds that he is aware that President Jonathan does seem hesitant accepting the intelligence report indicating that the violence in Jos is funded and fueled from the same group [both international and local] funding the Boko Haram.     

                

            


        

            

            

                

                    
                        I’ve no regrets over single tenure – Jonathan                    
                


                

                    

                    

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*Says Nigerians ‘ll decide








*Explains it’s 7 years single term


*Dismisses Wikileaks as beer parlour discusion


BY EMMANUEL, Political Editor, DAPO AKINREFON, CHARLES KUMOLU & GBENGA OKE


ABUJA – President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said he had no regret for his proposal for a single tenure for the President and Governors which he said was for seven years apiece even as he chided critics for commenting on the issue which he said had not even  been tabled before the National Assembly.


Speaking during the first media chat of his new administration, President Jonathan assured Nigerians that the government was on top of the insecurity situation in the country affirming that the top echelon of the security apparatus had been mobilized to curtail the security breaches in parts of the country.


In the wide ranging recorded interview with select journalists in the State House, President Jonathan equally gave his administration’s determination to address lingering issues in the power sector and agriculture.


While drawing back from giving any figure on the projected power generation, he however, promised that power generation would from henceforth steadily increase. Promising a radical departure from the agriculture policies and programmes of his predecessors, President Jonathan pledged not to give waivers on duties for rice imports as he affirmed that Nigeria would through the agriculture programmes being articulated by the administration become self-sulficient in rice.


President Jonathan also used the opportunity to defend Nigeria’s stance on  the Libyan crisis saying that Nigeria acted on the basis of the African Union agreement in Malabo, Sao Tome that ousted Libyan strongman, Mummar Ghadafi should step aside.


President Jonathan also used the opportunity to dismiss the leakages of United States diplomatic cables related to him, his wife and one of his top aides, Barrister Oronto Douglas dismissing them as beer parlour talks.


The interview anchored by Stella Din and Tukur Abdulrhaman, Kunle Bakare and Wole Laoye as other members of the panel.


Single tenure proposal


Giving reasons for his proposal of a single tenure which he said the originating committee conceived to be seven years for the President and Governors, he said it was aimed to beat back the tide of unrest and cost associated with frequent elections in Nigeria and the continent.

According to him the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC spent as much as N130 billion in conducting the last election besides the much more expended by other agencies and political stakeholders.


He said: “But the issue is that in Africa elections create social unrest and we need to manage this. Look at election that was conducted in this country that both local and foreign observers agreed that the elections were credible and still there was crisis in some of the states.”

Affirming that he had no regrets over the proposal that has been repeatedly attacked by critics as diversionary and misplaced, he said:


“I have no regrets. Transformation is costly, transformation is painful. The issue of single tenure is to stabilize the polity. A country cannot be stabilised economically without first and foremost stabilizing the polity. We must stabilize the political environment before you can talk about the economy. We and Brazil and Malaysia, we were almost at par at independence.


It is very easy to say all your problem is caused by corruption, corruption is there, and we must all fight corruption. From 1960 to date, Nigeria has not been under steady political environment. Some people are not too sure of what will happen the next day of because the long history of military rule has affected the polity. We had succeeded in installing Obasanjo as the president once; Yar’Adua had been president and now I before another election. We can say that this democracy has come to stay.”


Continuing, he said: “In a situation where you elect a governor and that governor has not sat down, another election is around the corner. Look at Delta State, the Delta state governor was in court until two months, when the decision was taken by the court, he conducted another election. Will you tell me that such government will be focused?


It won’t. Every four years you conduct elections, you create so much tension in the political environment. As we are talking, some people are busy holding meetings for the 2015 elections. It creates series of confusion in the political environment. I am not saying that single tenure, alone, will bring one hundred per cent stability.


There is no political system that is one hundred per cent stable, you must have some tension. That was why I came up with that. We are talking about single tenure; it is not the first time that this issue has been raised. A committee as at that time recommended five years single tenure. The late Yar’Adua appointed Justice Uwais for the political reforms.


Asked on his response to the state of insecurity in the country, President Jonathan said that the administration has mobilized the full apparatus of government to deal with the situation. According to him the government’s resolve is buttressed by regular meetings among security officials at the highest level.”


He said:“The level of sophistication in the ongoing criminality in the country, requires that we need to do more. We need intelligence gathering from everyone in order to tackle the problem. Yes, we have security challenges, I am sure that we will come out of it. For instance, trans-border criminality is threatening all of us. Recently, we spent a whole day during the Council of States meeting, discussing security. The security chiefs of all the western African countries now meet regularly to address the challenge posed by trans-border criminality.”


On the crisis in Plateau State, the President said the crisis was essentially a sectarian crisis that is continuously being fanned by religious sentiments. He pulled back from supporting suggestions for the proclamation of emergency rule in the state.


“The crisis in Jos is over eleven years. The Plateau issue is not caused by religion, but religion is the fire that increases the problem. We are working on how to end it. During the time of President Olusegun Obasanjo, a state of emergency was declared, but it did not solve the problem. For there to be peace in Jos, the people must agree that they want peace.”

He said he is scheduled to meet with Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State tomorrow, Wednesday over the security situation in the state.


According to him the country was now investing in equipment to address cross border criminals who he said were inflaming the insecurity situation in the country.


“We are acquiring more helicopters to provide adequate security at our borders and security chiefs now meet monthly to discuss ways of beefing up the security system in our borders,” the President said.


President Jonathan equally used the opportunity to comment on the lingering crisis in the judiciary opining that the judiciary should be allowed to sort out its internal problems by itself.


He said:“I am worried because an average Nigerian believe the judiciary is the last hope to get justice in this country. I believe the Judiciary will reform itself because they know what happened is no good for them, so they will reform themselves and I believe they are ready for the reform. I also believe after the reforms, they will come out stronger.”


Contrary decision


On why the Federal Government turned its back on the Ghadafi regime against the trend of most other African nations, President Jonathan said:


“We did not take any contrary decision apart from that of the African Union, AU. About 45 countries at the last meeting in Malabo gave their support to the Transitional government in Libya. When we met in Malabo, we knew it was obvious that Muammar Gaddafi can’t continue as president. The initial idea was for Gaddafi to step aside but things turned out the other way round. As for Nigeria’s support for the transitional government, Nigeria cannot continue to give support to Gaddafi’s continue stay in government,” the President said.


Why noting improved power generation in the country and a promise to increase power supply to the citizenry, the President, however, refused to be drawn into a specific figure on the level of generation output.


“Presently, we are not talking about megawatts again but we are working day and night to fix the power generation problem. I believe in the next 3months, power will improve but government will have to do away with power generation and distribution to enable the private sector handle the sector properly but I can assure you that power generation will not decrease but will continue to increase.”


President Jonathan also promised that the country would before the end of next December start the export of cement while he promised that his government would through the ongoing reform in the agricultural sector stop the importation of rice. He promised that he would under no consideration grant duty waivers for the import of rice into the country.


He lamented that less than 11 per cent of the fertilizer imported into the country got to the farmers


Source: Vanguard





                

            


        

            

            

                

                    
                        Jonathan orders Chief of Defense Staff to end Jos Crisis                    
                


                

                    

                    

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In keeping with his avowed resolve to ensure the full security of lives and property across the country, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Monday in Abuja directed the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshall  Oluseyi Petinrin to take full charge of the security situation in Plateau State immediately and take all necessary actions to stop the recent spate of killings in the state.


Following a meeting of the National Security Council, President Jonathan also directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Pius Anyim Pius to bring up all pending reports by recent committees set up by the Federal Government on the Plateau for immediate review and implementation.


President Jonathan who is scheduled to meet with the Plateau State Governor, Chief Jonah Jang tomorrow, further directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)  to take prompt action to address the plight of internally displaced persons in Plateau State.


He renewed his call on parties involved in the crises in Plateau State to embrace tolerance, dialogue and compromise to ensure the success of ongoing efforts to achieve a lasting resolution of their differences.

                

            


        

            

            

                

                    
                        Kogi Guber: Gov Idris’ inlaw attempt to forcibly register self in PDP‏                    
                


                

                    

                    

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The battle for the sole governorship ticket of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi has taken a very dangerous dimension as one retired Captain Idris Wada and four others allegedly invaded Odu1 ward at Dekina demanding for the party register.


We reliably gathered that the retired Captain who is an inlaw to Governor Idris of Kogi state and being touted as his (the governor’s anointed candidate, is yet to be a registered member of the party allegedly stormed the ward at about 10 pm on Sunday night with armed men in mufty asking for the Ward Chairman of the party Mr. Ijeje Utonu and the Secretary Mr. Hassan Akeji.


The ward Chairman disclosed further that the retired Captain and his armed men ordered them to produce the party Ward register and register him as member of the party.


According to Mr Ijeje, pandemonium broke when the retired Captain was denied access to the register book as he allegedly ordered his men to shoot into the air in order to intimidate them.


Some of the villagers who were confused about the situation ran to the bush for safety as the case was formerly reported to the Police station at Anyigba.


Meanwhile the PDP Odu one ward Chairman, while speaking with newsmen on Monday called on the Federal Government and the leadership of the party to immediately investigate the ugly situation.


According to him their lives and that of their immediate families is serious danger as the team has given them between now and Wednesday to include their names in the party register or face the consequence.

“It is worrisome that people who want to lead us will display absolute lack of faith in the rule of law,the constitution of our party and due process.

This resort to threat and violence all in a bid to be registered in our great party PDP just few days to the rescheduled primary election is to say the least antithetical to all known tenets of democracy. We call on the Federal Government and indeed the Inspector General of Police to constitute a high powered investigation into this clandestine move to violently undermine our democracy” Ijeje concluded.


In another development, the Kogi PDP Youth Vanguard led by one Adejoh Samuel at a media parley in Lokoja has urged Governor Ibrahim Idris to purge himself of an unholy calculation to impose his inlaw and business partner on the people of the State but the Governor on Saturday told journalists that he had no anointed candidate.

                

            


        

            

            

                

                    
                        My Struggle is not to lead Ndigbo – MASSOB Leader, Ralph Uwazurike                    
                


                

                    

                    

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Eze Nri blessing MASSOB Leader


The leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra MASSOB Chief Ralph Uwazulike has dismissed any impression that he was struggling to lead Ndigbo through the Biafra movement saying that his aim was to get Ndigbo rid off myriad of problems they were endlessly facing in the entity called Nigeria.




 


Chief Uwazulike who spoke at the palace of Eze Nri, His Majesty Eze Obidiegwu Onyeso (MER,JP) on a courtesy visit noted with dismay that Ndigbo in Nigeria are suffering in Nigeria and Nigerian leaders were not serious on addressing their plight adding that it was the failure of Nigeria leaders to address the problems of Ndigbo that inspired him into the struggle to achieve Biafra.


 


The MASSOB leader who was accompanied to the palace by the leaders of the groups who are planning for the burial of Biafra war heroes  led by the President and founder of Odogwu Anyamee, Chief  Rommy Ezeonwuka and the leader of Ekumeku from Anioma area in Delta State Chief Emma Okocha explained that after much more examining the position of Ndigbo in Nigeria he realized that the best option left is to achieve a Sovereign State of Biafra, lamenting that the Governors of the South-east States were the major obstacle towards realizing the Biafra Nation.


 




Eze Nri blessing Ezeonwuka




…SOUTH EAST GOVERNORS ARE OUR PROBLEM


“Governors are the cause of MASSOB travails in the hands of Nigerian forces” he began rhetorically noting that the Governors were behind his series of arrest and detention by Nigeria forces. He said that MASSOB took the decision to disrupt the 2006 census as a way of telling the governors that they were not in full control of the igbo masses.


 


Although the Biafra protagonist didn’t explain parts of the problems that Igbo man was facing in Nigeria, he said MASSOB has been able to tackle effectively the problem of those disabled men who were wounded during the Biafra war by resettling them at Okwe currently the headquarters of MASSOB.


 


He revealed that MASSOB has no means of raising money except monthly dues from its members dismissing the insinuations from some quarters that the groups were being financed by some foreign countries.


 


 


…READY FOR THE BURIAL OF BIAFRAN FALLEN HEROES


Speaking further, the Biafran fighter who lived and studied Law in India, said concerning the proposed burial of  Biafran fallen Heroes that MASSOB was not just ready to prominently participate in the historic exercise, but has already acquired a massive expanse of land at Okwe for the necessary monument of the fallen heroes.


 


 


BLESSED BY EZE NRI AS IJELE NDIGBO


In the meantime the Eze Nri who is widely regarded by the Igbo race as the chief custodian of Igbo culture and tradition has pronounced his blessing on the MASSOB leader on knelling him down for prayers and issued him with a chieftaincy title as “Ijele Ndigbo”.


 


The Nri King however announced that Uwazuruike will be officially coronated with the Ijele title during the next Iguaro festival slated for February 2012, adding that he was fully in support of the Burial arrangement for the civil war heroes.


 


The king who revealed that Igbo culture and tradition were gaining global exposure and attraction at the moment said he was hitherto not happy with Uwazuruike following the anti census activities of MASSOB in 2006 but had forgiven all that because of the pleading on his behalf by some personalities.


 


Hear the king,” what happened really is that before the census in 2006, we heard that MASSOB was in opposition to it and planning to disrupt the exercise then the traditional rulers invited them for talks at the palace of Igwe Orizu at Nnewi to plead with them, but they didn’t care to listen and went ahead to disrupt the counting of Ndigbo during the census, to the detriment and disadvantage of Igbo population, that was why I took offence against Uwazuruike”


 


He however promised to continue doing his best in promoting the Igboman culture and tradition both at home and Diaspora calling on the Igbo race to support the planned burial of the fallen heroes as according to him it was against the law of Igbo land not to bury the dead.


 


 


…ODOGWU ANYAMEE, EKUMEKU HAPPY


It was however a happy moment for organizers of the proposed burial of the fallen heroes as they expressed excitement as the Eze Nri and Uwazuruike agreed to peacefully work together for the burial in particular and for the goodness of Igbo race in general.


 


In his remark President and founder of Odogwu Anyamee Chief Rommy Anyaamee. Chief Ezeonwuka said he initiated the burial idea after discovering that it was non burial of the fallen heroes as the cause of the various problems ravaging Ndigbo as Armed Robbery, kidnapping, Unemployment, bad Governance, political marginalization etc assuring that Igbo man would rid off his problems after the burial rite performance.


 


Chief  Ezeonwuka who also received the blessing of Eze-Nri commended the Eze for his concern, efforts and contributions in defending and promoting the culture and tradition of Ndigbo urging him not to relent but use his highly respectable sacred position to aid the much needed fallen heroes’ burial. Ezeonwuka however hoped that the prayers offered on Uwazuruike would guide him against further arrest and detention by Nigerian security forces. His words, “Today is a special day for uwazuruike. For the first time, he came to the palace of Eze-nri and performed the traditional rite of itu nzu and got prayers, so with all these no more arrest, no more detention”.


 


Also speaking, the leader of Ekumeku Chief Emma Okocha, said that peace is very necessary among Ndigbo at this point time and commended the Eze Nri for accepting to make peace with MASSOB leader.


 


The Ekumeku who announced that the 2011 memorial Ceremony for Asaba Genocide v ictims would hold next month of October, unequivocally noted that he and his kindreds at Anioma will ever support and champion the cause of Ndigbo as they all know that Igbo is their father land.


 


“We are members of the Igbo family, not Ijaw, Isoko or Itshekiri, so why won’t we take part in what is happening in igboland”, he said adding that Ekumeku was fully in support of the burial of the fallen heroes.


 


Chief Okocha who ran for Delta State Governorship in 2007 under the platform of ACN said he was excited on the efforts of Chief Ezeonwuka, Eze Nri and others who are much more concerned about peace, unity and progress of Ndigbo adding that Anioma people are appreciative of their efforts.


 


In the meantime the proposal burial of Biafran Fallen Heroes has been fixed for Jan. 12-14, 2012.





                

            


        

    
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