Labour Workers In Port Harcourt Protest Against Poor Welfare

247ureports
-
0
Laborers protesting in PH

– From Precious Werner Ahiakwo, Port Hacourt, Rivers State

Workers at the Commercial Industrial Company CIC operated by some group of Lebanese have stormed the Amadi Ama Federal Housing Authority in Port Harcourt, road that led to the company to protest the poor condition of workers in that company.

Hundreds of workers who carried placards with inscription “we work like elephant and eat like ants” and “Amos is a tyrant” where also chanting “Amos must go”.

Spokes Person of the protesting laborers, Kennedy Nwokuku who spoke to our correspondent Precious Werner Ahiakwo described the CIC Company’s Head of Labour simply called “Amos”, as a dictator.” ‘’He enslaves us, he is a cheat, he is demonic and a tyrant. There’s not good about this man, how can someone sit as the head of labour in a company and divert to his selfish self-money meant for over seventy laborers?” he laments.

Nwokuku also said that the management of the company was mum over the situation because of the said Amos’ strong influence on them: “the management is aware of this situation but they are not taking it serious. I tell you that this Amos guy is having something too strong that he uses in controlling the company”, he said. He called on him to quit working in the company and pay the workers all money due to them.

As at the time of filing this report, the said Amos has been picked to the Amadi Ama Police division by the O.C Human right, to answer question leveled against him by the protesting workers.

No cash to pay N1.44bn teachers’ allowance – FG

247ureports
-
1

Federal Government, on Tuesday, said it had no cash now to pay teachers the outstanding N1.44 billion allowance owed them for the 2011 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) training programme.

The non-payment of the outstanding allowance had been a subject of controversy between the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) with the former threatening to boycott the 2012 training programme.

The Minister of State for Education, Mr Nyesom Wike, who waded into the imbroglio, revealed on Tuesday that the Federal Ministry of Finance had said it had no money to pay the allowance for now.

Wike spoke in Abuja at a meeting at his instance as part of efforts to resolve the standoff, assuring teachers that he would personally supervise this year’s training programme in order to forestall the recurrence of what happened last year.

NTI had last year trained 125, 000 teachers under the 2011 Federal Government MDGs Teachers’ Training Programme and disbursed N2,500 to each teacher instead of N14,000 .

National President of NUT, Mr Michael Alogba Olukoya, had accused NTI of shortchanging the teachers of N11,500.

The minister further said that he had personally written to the Ministry of Finance over the balance of the allowance, adding that the reply he got indicated that government had no funds now to pay the outstanding balance.

He noted that the funds were not being withheld by NTI as the teachers had alleged but advised NTI not to repeat the mistake of getting involved in such a programme without adequate cash-backing.

–

Source: Tribune

“How We Killed The 4 Uniport Students, Paraded Suspects Confesses.”

247ureports
-
5

The police in Rivers state today paraded 13 persons including the traditional ruler of Aluu, Alhaji Hassan Welewa accused of complicity in the gruesome murder of four students of the University of Port Harcourt; Llyod Toku Mike, Chiadika Biringa, Tekena Elkanah and Ugonna Obuzor.

Others paraded along with the 59 year old monarch include: Ozioma Abajuo, 23; Chigozie Evans Samuel, 22; Endurance Edet, 27; Uwem Sampson Akpabio, 30; David Chinasa Ugbaje, 30; Ikechukwu Louis Amadi (aka Kapoon), 32; Cynthia Chinwo, 24; Lawal Segun 28; Lucky Orji, 43; Ekpe Daniel, 30; George Nwadei, 30; and Gabriel Oche, 33.
While justifying the decision to parade the suspects at the state police commands headquarters, located on Moscow road, Port Harcourt, the state police commissioner, Mohammed Indabuwa, said it was all because of the cruel manner the four students were killed by the suspects and the public condemnation that followed.

According to him: “It is not the philosophy of the Inspector-General of Police to parade suspects. Nonetheless, the gruesome manner in which the crime was committed, coupled with the direct and glaring involvement of some of the suspects, and the interest generated by the heinous crime, left the police with no option than to parade them.”

The commissioner of police assured that any other arrest made, would be made public, adding that investigations were continuing. A mild drama however played out when one of the three suspects allowed to respond to the allegation raised against them accused one of the policemen that got to the scene when the four students were being beaten of joining the mob to kill the deceased.

In his words: “The crowd took the boys to No. 9 Royal Hill, Omuokiri, Aluu Road, where they ( students) pointed at a room occupied by one Bright (now at large) from Ogoni. Bright’s door was locked. He was my co-tenant. They beat the boys severally and very seriously. One of the police was pleading but the other one even joined hand in kicking one of the boys. After joining hands in beating the boys, the policeman said, ‘let the crowd handle them’. The crowd said they will not agree. I only participated by using my belt to flog the boys, and I told the people who brought them to the house to take them away so that they would not kill them there. One of the boys was my customer at the campus. I am a cobbler. He was an Igbo boy.”

Also giving his own account of how the four students were beaten to death, another suspect, Ikechukwu (aka Kapoon) said: “the boys were beaten mercilessly, police came and they refused to hand them over to the police. We resisted their killing them in our compound. I was flogging both the crowd and the boys. I used short stick on them.”

The third suspect who was allowed to speak, Segun however denied taking any part in the killing of the four students.

 

Uniport 4: Destruction At Aluu Community

247ureports
-
1
One of the burnt houses in Omuokiri Aluu

The gruesome murder of four students of the University of Port Harcourt [Uniport], Rivers State by the vigilante operatives of the Aluu community has continued to send shockwaves through the neighboring communities – particularly the Aluu community.

Following the gruesome murder of the four, the students of Uniport in tandem with the National body of students union had led a protest into the Aluu community – destroying properties and setting ablaze several vehicles and houses.

247ureports.com has obtained some of the photographs of the destruction.

The agents of the Joint Task Force [JTF] who are stationed at the community [Aluu] have secured the community away from the rage of Uniport students – and from the lens of investigative press persons. But the police in Rivers State denies that the operatives of the JTF are staged at the entrance to the community. The JTF has also denied that their agents are staged at the community.

The authorities at Uniport announced the closure of the university following the violent protests by students.

Some vehicles destroyed by angry students

 

 

Prof Dora Akunyili to Rescue EFCC? – By Mazi Odera

247ureports
-
2

She is an AMAZON .A legend when it comes to TRANSPARENT LEADERSHIP, doing the impossible, cleaning a very dirty plate.

She did wonders with NAFDAC, from a hopeless and senseless ADULTRATED market, infested with Thugs and heartless monkeys in human form. The Market was so bad that sub-standard became the next best thing, because every other thing was outright FAKE.

She sanitized NAFDAC to the extent that MADE IN NIGERIA drugs during her tenure got more potency than imported ones, and made in Nigeria Drugs and many eatables with NAFDAC NUMBER became number one in Africa.

She took our information ministry to a greater height; she reduced the NORTHERN POLITICAL CABAL to bunch of crybabies.

She was the only person that stood and told the nation that our YARA DUA is no longer capable of continuing in office and, by her declaration, DR GOODLUCK was made the President and Turai stop acting as a POTENTATE, that was democracy in action.

Now that our EFCC is worse than NIGERIAN PRISON SERVICE, so bad and worthless that nobody takes them serious because they will arrest suspect just for the fun of it, and never secure a court conviction, not even a tiny one since inception. They arrest, collect money and plea bargain then case closed and sins pardoned, I ask WHY CAN,T WE HAND EFCC TO PROF DORA AKUNYILI to do what she does best ? SANITISE IT AND MAKE OTHER NATIONS TAKE US SERIOUS FOR ONCE

EFCC Arraigns Fraudster Over N5.7m Scam

247ureports
-
0
NEBANI BENARD AT THE COURT TODAY

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday October 15, 2012, arraigned one Benard Nebani before Justice Habeeb Abiru of the Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja on a one count charge bordering on stealing and fraudulent conversion of money to the tune of N5, 720,000 (Five Million, Seven Hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira).

According to the charge, “Benard Nebani on or about the 13th of June, 2008 at Lagos within Ikeja Judicial Division Stole and fraudulently converted 57,200 litres of AGO petroleum products valued at N5, 720, 000 (Five Million Seven hundred and Twenty Thousand Naira) property of Leadland Resources Limited”.

When the charge was read to the accused person, he pleaded not guilty. The prosecution counsel, Takiyudeen Arabi, prayed the court for a trial date and that the defendant be remanded in prison custody.

Counsel to the accused person, John T. Enoh told the court that he had filed an application for bail dated 11 October 2012 and urged the court to consider his application.

Justice Abiru adjourned the case to October 24, 2012 for hearing of bail application and ordered that the accused person be remanded in Kirikiri prison.

Minister arrested over alleged Mugabe remark

247ureports
-
0
Zimbabwe’s Energy Minister Elton Mangoma

Harare – Zimbabwe’s Energy Minister Elton Mangoma was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly undermining veteran President Robert Mugabe in a speech at a rally, his lawyer said.

“Minister Mangoma was arrested this afternoon by officers from the CID law and order section,” lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa told AFP.

“The police are alleging that he said something at a rally that undermines the authority of the president. We don’t have any further details.”

The lawyer said Mangoma, who is also deputy treasurer of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai‘s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, was taken to Bindura, a mining town around 90km north of Harare.

Tsvangirai and Mugabe formed a power-sharing government in 2009 to avoid a tip into conflict in the aftermath of a bloody presidential run-off election which Tsvangirai boycotted citing the killing of around 300 supporters.

Relations between the two remain tense with counter-accusations of violence.

At least 30 supporters of Tsvangirai’s party including youth leader Solomon Madzore have been in detention for over a year facing charges of killing a police officer who was in a team that came to block a rally.

In 2011 Mangoma was arrested and detained on charges of abuse of office in the awarding of tenders for the supply of diesel and pre-paid electricity metres. He denies the charges.

Arrests for slandering Zimbabwe’s long-time president and breaching the strict public order law are common.

Usually those found guilty receive light jail sentences, fines or are ordered to do community service.

Chinedu Nwogu and Reagan Ufomba, Faces of Deception

247ureports
-
2

Early this morning, one Chinedu Nwogu of the infamous The Abia Awakening (TAA); attempted to paint a very wrong picture of my native NGWA LAND. He gave the impression that my people are diminished for want of credible candidates and enterprising personalities. That was the height of deception. I was however glad that, finally; after months of operating in veiled coloration, TAA has exposed itself as a willing tool in the hands of underachievers who masquerade as statesmen. We now know that the reason they dedicate plenty time discrediting the government of TAO is to pave way for a political dwarf to take reins of power. No group can acquire power through blackmail, at least not in a democratic setting. Ngwa people know this and must distance themselves from these paid agents of calumny, destruction and poorly executed blackmail.
In his piece, he tried to eulogize what in his mind are the towering credentials of OCHIAGHA REAGAN UFOMBA who he witlessly gave the acronym of ORU (meaning a slave). I hope he was not referring to the already established fact that Regan is an Ogoni who settled in Ngwa Land. While I take exception to that disingenuous tag, I will also quickly remind him that the battle for the Governorship of Abia State come 2015 is reserved for only NDI NGWA of notable and proven track records. The last time I checked, Regan Ufomba did not make the list.

Chinedu Nwogu attempted rather unsuccessfully to inundate us with chains of University degrees credited to Reagan. Good as that is, it appears defeatist as best practices of governance have little or no relationship with one’s paper qualifications. It reminds me of that popular Igbo rhetoric that, “ka Dee John gachara ami, o leekwanu boot ya?”.

There is no record anywhere to justify the usefulness of Reagan’s very many degrees. The short and uneventful shot he had at governance was marred by lack of integrity and gross under performance. Chinedu may need to tell us what benefits accrued from that short spell as an aide of former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu. Rather, we covered our faces in shame when it was established that our dear Reagan in an attempt to convert Government vehicle to his personal property lied that the car was involved in a ghastly motor accident. That was too cheap for a man who was entrusted with so much public goodwill. What can a billionaire be doing with one unit of government vehicle? Does Chinedu also know that while in government, Reagan was empowered to handle distribution of fertilizer and other inputs to farmers? Reagan could not pass the integrity test as farmers were made to pay much more than government approved prizes. Let us go to the archives to check how many farmers of at least Ngwa extraction that benefited from that assignment.

If Reagan truly owns chains of businesses in cities outside Abia, we can as well tag him the biggest “ Oka mma n’mba 1 of Abia” for denying his people the combined benefits of establishing industries in their home land. I ask, how would Reagan explain sinking billions (who dash awo coat?) elsewhere when Abia begs for private concerns that could offer jobs to very many Abia Youths who yearn for job opportunities? Not even the dumbest fool can give in to that cheap lie.

For the records, Reagan was never mentioned as a replacement for the late Deputy Governor. First, he lacked the integrity to be so honored and mostly the party was shopping for a politician who had verifiable grassroots support. Reagan hadn’t the prerequisite political clout to be Deputy Governor as he was largely seen as a greenhorn. It is therefore unacceptable to present him as Ngwa’s most qualified replacement for Dr. Chima Nwafor.

Ngwa people already have strong stigma following them. What we need mostly now is to find a way to salvage an already worst case scenario. We have been credited with a whole lot of bad news including labeling us fraudsters, kidnappers and common criminals. Chinedu Nwogu should begin to lead the campaign for improved awareness on the perception of NGWA by the rest of Abians and not further insult our intelligence to accept a man who had contributed in under developing NGWA LAND nay Abia State.

Come 2015, NGWA people will present a formidable candidate, whose popularity rating is overwhelming, whose integrity status is not questionable and who would be bold enough to look Abians in the eye and tell them; I have done so much to better your lot. There are fools who went to Harvard. Harvard has also produced selfish people and the University by any means does not wash off the stinking smell of dishonesty, greed and low life.

I will advise Chinedu Nwogu to look inwards, else Abians would confirm that NDI NGWA are not committed to the arduous task of taking over in 2015. If Reagan is all we can present, that would be a polite way of telling OLD BENDE that we are not ready yet.

Okorocha Pleads For Additional Federal Universities In Imo

247ureports
-
0

The governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, has appealed to the
federal government to establish two more universities in Imo that will
specialize on Energy and Agriculture.

The state governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, who made the appeal when
the senate committee on Education led by Comrade Uche Chukwumereije
paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Owerri, said that
University of Agriculture will go a long way in encouraging the
agricultural practices in the state, while the University for Energy
will help in putting the excess gas flare in the state to proper use.

Governor Okorocha, urged the committee to remove the issue of federal
character quota for admissions into federal universities to enable Imo
indigenes secure admission to federal universities in the country,
adding that priority should be given to the states that are more
talented in education.

The governor who said that Imo is highest in the federation in the
area of education, noted that the state government has embarked on the
construction of 305 Model Schools in the state as well as extended its
free education programme to the state government owned tertiary
institutions.

Governor Okorocha also, disclosed that his administration has embarked
on numerous developmental project in the state including construction
of over one thousand (1,000) kilometer of road projects, construction
of 27 general hospitals, construct ion of Presidential Lodge, Liaison
office Abuja and Deputy Governor’s office among others and however
stressed the need for federal government to increase its quota in
educational budget to Imo state.

Earlier in his speech, the chairman of the Senate Committee on
Education, Comrade Senator Uche Chukwumereije, thanked Governor
Okorocha for finding time to be with them and expressed his
satisfaction on the level of development he witnessed in Imo state,
especially education upliftment and free education given to all Imo
indigenes in the state.

He also said that their main reason for coming is on oversight
function to federal institutions in the state to enable the committee
know their problems and channel it to appropriate quarters. Comrade
Chukwumereije, also accepted that the idea of using federal character
to deny Imo the desired strength in university pursuit is not good and
assured that something should be done about it, stressing that people
should not be punished for being talented on education.

Press Release: ACN Calls For Explanation On N2b Agric Loan To Rivers

247ureports
-
0

As the world celebrates World Food Day, the Action Congress of Nigeria, Rivers State Chapter has called on the State Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to explain what has become of the Federal Government N2b Agric Loan to the State government since 2009.

The party in a Statement signed by the Publicity Secretary, Jerry Needam made this demand in Port Harcourt while addressing journalists to mark this year’s World Food Day.

According to ACN, the Federal Government in 2009 disbursed N2b to Rivers State government as agricultural loan intervention fund for farmers in the State.

Farmers in State according to the party, were subjected to unnecessary filing of all manner of forms and other forms of documentations in 2010, through the ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP)but up till now, nothing has been heard of the loan facility.

The ACN regretted that the money may have been diverted to prosecute myriad of cases hanging on the neck of the present administration, and political activities of the Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The party also wants to know the whereabouts of several fishing trawlers purchased by the administration of Sir Celestine Omehia in 2007.

ACN argued further that under Governor Amaechi administration, agriculture has been neglected, adding that the State cannot boast of an egg in the market today harvested from Rivers State Government Farm.

The party describes as sham agricultural programes of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), stressing that the RSSDA only gives out money to political allies of Gov. Amaechi in the name of boosting agriculture, leaving the peasant farmers who have need for such assistance to their destiny.

The party challenged the Amaechi administration to release the N2b federal government agricultural loan to farmers in the State, revamp the Rivers State Agricultural Development Program (ADP) and Government Demonstration farms lying waste across the state and declare an emergency in the agricultural sector.

“Government should be honest on issues relating to agriculture now that flood is ravaging the State, which resultant effect must be food scarcity and should stop playing politics with it”, ACN concluded.

 

Signed:

 Jerry Needam, JP

Publicity Secretary

Action Congress of Nigeria

Rivers State.

 

Tuesday, October  16, 2012

1...5,4585,4595,460...5,736Page 5,459 of 5,736