In Ebonyi State, Contracts Are Awarded By Governor To Himself, Deputy – Chaka Nweze

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For those who may not have known that in Ebonyi state, contracts are awarded by the state governor, Chief Martin Elechi to his contract firm, M and J Construction Company and that of his Deputy, Chief Dave Umahi, Brass Construction limited.

In this Interview, Mr. Chaka Nweze, of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in Ebonyi state, who was the local government council Chairman of Ohaozara LGA under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and hails from the same community with the National Chairman of the ANPP, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu spoke on issues that bother the state.
How he became council boss
The truth of the matter is that shortly before I became the council chairman, I was A very strong member of PDP, and the PDP government then under Sam Egwu was a very masses-oriented government, a lot of developmental projects were scattered all over the places and so it was easier for people to make up their mind where they wanted to go to. At that time, we had little or no opposition in the state, even though Ogbonnaya Onu was running for governorship in ANPP, people had made up their mind to go PDP way, so at that time it was easier for us and people voted massively for PDP irrespective of the fact that Onu came from the same area.
No, it is not true. In 2007, you cannot ascertain what happened because crisis ensured before the election. There was an allegation that I made away with election materials which was not true because it has been investigated and proven not true. It was like an imagination, people were massively supporting my party at that time where I ran the local government and when Onu was running, he approached me to talk to the people to vote for him. Even though, ordinarily, I would have done
that, but as a party man, I felt it was like anti-party for me to tell the people not to vote for my party and vote for Ogbonnaya Onu who incidentally is my brother. So I had this problem and I said no its either I resign from PDP and join him or remain in PDP and vote for my party. So when I took that decision, it was difficult for Onu to harvest votes from my place, so what he did was set the people against me. On the Election Day people had already made up their mind that I was going to carry the election materials which I never did, so around 7: 30 am at the pre-election briefing at the INEC office, houses were set ablaze, the traditional ruler’s house was set ablaze; Dave Umahi’s house was equally set ablaze among other houses.

The 2007 vote for PDP in Ohaozara

Why he left PDP for ANPP four years after.

Yes, it is not a matter of complain, it is a matter of the content of the complaint. The content of the complaint may be different. Why I left PDP was, I and a whole lot of other supporters of PDP were not comfortable by the way and manner the PDP was being run under the leader of Engr. Dave Umahi when he was the state party chairman. When the crisis was starting, we made strong complaint to the National Headquarters of the PDP that the way and manner the party was being run was tantamount to spoiling the party and that something urgent need to be done. That advice was not heeded to and we even went to the office of the then National Chairman, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo that the founding members of the party are being sidelined out of the party. I was suspended for a flimsy reason that I don’t attend party functions. I was never invited to any party function even Obinna Ogba who was the party chairman was suspended for the same reason and I challenged them to show me evidence of invitation to any party function that I refused
to attend. Those were the flimsy reasons they were giving and a substantial number of us including Idu Igarawey were all suspended and we saw it as a ploy by very few individuals who have the high propensity to eat what belongs to everybody and so that was a way to edge most of us out of the government.

The running of Ebonyi state

If you check the way and manner the state is being run, the way contracts are being given out, you find out that it is just few individuals. I may not go into mentioning names but I can bet you that when time comes, I will but contracts in Ebonyi state revolves around not more that 5 or 6 people in a state of more than two million people and some of these jobs that are being given out are not even being executed. That was how most of us started complaining, that we can’t run the state like this; that we can’t run the party like that. We even issued a threat that if nothing changed, we will leave the party and when nothing was done, we left because we have freedom of association and we are all human beings. We needed a platform that we could use to run an election and remember they had suspended us and so we took our decision. I am sure you will be surprised how I found myself in ANPP, it was not a unilateral decision of mine, it was a collective decision and you know politics is a group game. A decision was taken because ANPP was seen as a party that was already on the ground comparatively to other political parties like the PDP. So we needed a platform that is already rooted that we can fine tune. Irrespective of whatever transpired between me and my brother (Onu) is in the past and does not really matter. What mattered was that we needed to move ahead and incidentally the man at the head of affairs of the ANPP is my own brother despite what happened in the past, it does not mean we are not brothers. So it was an easier place for me and the rest of us to move into ANPP.

The ANPP and election petition tribunal

Yes, so far so good. We didn’t just go to tribunal because we wanted to go there. We went to tribunal because we felt we won the election. As a matter of fact we won the election because the people of Ebonyi state needed a change because of the way and manner the state is being run so we needed a change and the change people of Ebonyi state needed was demonstrated at the polls despite the intimidation of the ANPP, using money inducement, police and the army, people still came out and voted. We also went to the tribunal because we know that by electoral act, whoever has the highest number of valid votes that meets the 2/3 spread in all the LGA wins. So we did our calculations and so far, the tribunal is coming out well, the result of the forensic analysis is out and if I have to be specific, you cannot believe it, approximately one hundred and seventy something thousand votes were thumb printed by less than four hundred people from the forensic examination.

But the tribunal refused to accept the result of that forensic examination.

Yes. Most times you are at the mercy of the judges but we are right now on cross appeal. It is unheard of in legal profession that you grant a petitioner to go all out and prove his case and the petitioner has gone out to bring expert to prove facts of his case and you say you are not taking it so why did you grant the motion to do forensic? That is why we are on appeal asking that they should take what they have asked us to do which we have done and I am sure that once the forensic is admitted, the truth will be out.
The allegation is highly unfounded. You don’t have only one clergy, the clergy is made up of so many men of God and they have many associations. If the clergy is disenchanted with the way the state is being run, even if I am the head of CAN, I can voice out what is being done in my state that I don’t like. If clergy A says he was not part of it, it does not mean that clergy B was not part of it and it is not all the clergy in Ebonyi state that is saying we are not part of it. The clergy is just voicing out what they feel is wrong in their state after the entire tribunal door is open to all.

The clergy and advertorial

ANPP and PDP

Yes off course because the ANPP is the masses movement and the person at the helm of affairs will be executing masses oriented projects and for crying out loud, what is governance, the well being of the governed. ANPP is not unmindful that any mandate you have now is a mandate given by the people.
Bridges are not what government is all about. Government is about getting your priorities right. The question would have been, how do we better the lives of common men in Ebonyi state? You cannot tell me to cross any bridge when there is no food on my table; it is only when there is food on my table that I could move out, what does a bridge mean to me when I cannot even eat?

Sudan’s NCP stressed desire for national consensus amid cabinet dissolution

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November 17, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir today presided over the final session of the cabinet paving the way for the formation of a new one.

Sudan official news agency said that Bashir thanked the ministers and state ministers for their work stressing that those who are not picked to join the new government should not feel that they have underperformed.

The Sudanese leader said that reshuffling is a normal process necessitated by the policy to decrease the number of ministries and ensure the participation of other political forces.

Even though Bashir disbanded the government he has yet to announce his new cabinet amid conflicting reports on the participation of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

The spokesman of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) Ibrahim Ghandour said that his party is keen on enlisting all political powers including the DUP and National Umma Party (NUP) and to close doors in front of foreign intervention.

But Ghandour warned that the NCP cannot wait any longer for those parties to join saying that the people want a new government that would fulfill their aspirations. He stressed that it is up to president Bashir to make the final decision.

The NUP led by former Prime Minister al-Sadiq al-Mahdi has already formally rejected participation in NCP-led government while the DUP has been giving conflicting signals.

Nyako Returns To Yola

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The Governor of Adamawa State, Gov Nyako has returned to Yola, the State capital following his trip to Saudi Arabia for the 2011 hajj pligrimage three weeks ago. Information available to 247ureports.com indicates the governor returned Yesterday evening. 

The governor had collapsed in Saudi Arabia at the holy ground when he had bent over to pick a stone in order to fulfil his religious rite. His collapse, as gathered, was the result of fatigue. Following his collapse, he was said to have been stepped on by the crowd of people who were also participating in the religious rites. His ADC was said to have rescue him from being further trampled upon.

From Saudi Arabia, the governor was flown to Germany cutting short the trip to the Holy Ground. Sources close to the government house in Yola indicate that the Governor may have been briefly admitted to a German hospital. This is as other sources within the Yola government quarters denied that the governor was admitted in a hospital. They stated that he went to Germany to visit the former Nigerian dictator, Ibrahim Babangida at a hospital in Germany.

Gov Nyako is scheduled to travel to France with President Jonathan tomorrow.

Sen Obiorah Sues Anambra State, Halts Construction of Anambra Liaison Office

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Information available to 247ureports.com indicates that the former Senator of the south senatorial district of Anambra State, in the person of Barrister Ikechukwu Obiorah, has sued the government of Anambra State along with the Nigerian Police Force and Paul B PLC [a court injunction] against the continued construction of the Anambra Liaison Office located in the Central Business District in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory [FCT].

The court injunction which the former senator pasted at the entrance of the abandoned construction site – stated that the court has ordered for work to be halted on the site until further notice. The injunction, as a result, has put a stop to the efforts of the Anambra State government to complete the project that was abandoned by Senator Obiorah’s company 8 years ago.

As 247ureports.com reported previously, the Federal government of Nigeria had issued an ultimatum to the ggovernment of Anambra State to act on the abandoned building or have it demolished by the federal government. The building, according to the federal government, poses a security risk to the sensitive neighboring structures in the area.

[see FGN To Demolish Anambra Liaison Office, Sen Obiorah, Mbadinuju Fingered In Mega Fraud [Documents Included]] for more.

Anambra Business Man Nabbed With 2.75kg Drugs At Lagos Airport

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unigwe_anthony_iwuchukwu

A 28 year old suspected drug trafficker caught by officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos said that he had lost his life savings he invested in the illicit drug deal. The suspect was apprehended for being in unlawful possession of substances that tested positive for methamphetamine weighing 2.750kg. He was to board a Qatar airways flight to Vietnam when he tested positive for drug ingestion and was placed under observation.

NDLEA Airport Commander, Hamza Umar gave the name of the suspect as Unigwe Anthony Iwuchukwu. Hamza said that he was detected for drug ingestion with the aid of scanning machine during routine check on passengers. “The arrest was made possible by the scanning machine. During observation, he excreted 2.750kg of methamphetamine. He is currently being investigated” Hamza stated.

According to the drug suspect, he was tempted to indulge in the illegal business due to expectation of high returns on his investment. “I went to Benin Republic in search of business that could yield high profit. Unfortunately, I was introduced into drug trafficking. They told me that I needed to give them part of the capital to have a larger share of the profit. I then came to Nigeria and sold all that I had including landed property. I sold everything and invested 5 million naira in the drug deal. They told me that I could earn 20 million from the 5 million I invested. Unfortunately I was caught and all that I have worked for is gone. It was devastating because I almost gave up my ghost. I have not recovered from the shock. Even my mother is down with stroke and I am in a helpless situation. I regret my involvement in the drug seal” Unigwe lamented.

Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA Ahmadu Giade said that drug traffickers should learn from the arrest. According to Giade, “the outcome of drug trafficking is usually regret, pain and disappointment. Drug traffickers should expect more of unsuccessful drug deals in the days ahead. It is clear that the suspect was motivated by greed and insatiable desire to be super rich. Five million naira can start a small and medium scale enterprise. In fact, there are many legitimate business opportunities open to him but he preferred drug trafficking. He must therefore face the legal consequences. It is expected that others will learn from his case”.

The suspect is single and hails from Oraifite, Anambra State. He will soon be charged to court.

APGA Crisis: On Chekwas Okorie’s Rejoinder

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The problem with this report is that it is unfortunately one sided and silent on the many salient issues that transpired on the day in question. I was not present at the occasion but was reliably informed and I verily believe my impeccable source that the many constitutional questions thrown at Chief Chekwas Okorie were either not satisfactorily answered or tacitly glossed over.  It maybe interesting to bring to your attention that APGA as a political party has a substantive National Chairman in the person of Chief Victor Umeh with functional executive members, a fact which you have duly acknowledged in this publication. But what is baffling in your publication is the fact that you fail to acknowledge the fact that Chief Victor Umeh in exercise of his constitutional powers as a duly elected National Chairman of APGA has properly constituted and inaugurated a new  executive team to pilot the affairs of the party in the UK for a more assured outcome. Chief Chekwas Okorie did that when he was the National Chairman of the party and since he has moved on by virtue of the legal pronouncements of the highest court in Nigeria namely the Supreme Court of Nigeria in respect of his membership of the party, the party felt the need to reconstitute the executive team in the UK for effective leadership. Something that falls within the constitutional purview of the substantive chairman & his executives.

It would have been really appreciated if Chief Chekwas Okorie had addressed the gathering as any other politician from Nigeria or under a different political platform. This would have cemented his claim to being a law abiding citizen and by extension, a man of peace. Addressing the gathering under the platform of APGA and his continued claim to the leadership of the party even in the face of the finality of the decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria which affirmed his expulsion from the party as proper and legal says much about his vaunted claim to peace .It is a cardinal principle of law (and life) that “whosoever goes to equity must go with clean hands”. May I politely ask if the  flagrant disobedience to the well considered judgement of  a properly constituted court ( the apex court) in a country as big as Nigeria amounts to acting with cleans hands or an act of desperation? I was concerned for him because he was deliberately charting a collision course with the Supreme court of Nigeria with devastating consequences. To put it bluntly, he was consciously knocking on the prison doors. 

I want you to place it on record that I personally consider Chief Okorie as a man of integrity and an industrious politician and I wish he will stay the course though he did make a terrible mistake by stabbing his party at the back with his ill advised offer to Dr. Chris Ngige. Such act in political parlance is unforgivable because it signifies greed and the worst form of anti party activities which is punishable with immediate expulsion from the party without any further proof of verifiable damage. In Military parlance, it amounts to treachery and the punishment is swift and severe. His feeble excuse of offering the Governorship candidate position to Dr. Ngige as a way of preventing him from joining another political party when there is a substantive Governorship candidate of his party who was waging a fierce battle to reclaim his stolen mandate smacks of political criminality. That decision and his subsequent inexcusable defense has scared him for life politically and I wish he will devout more time to repairing his image than committing more political illegalities.

I sincerely believe that Chief Okorie has more to offer Nigerians with his experience as a politician. It is very unfortunate that he has to part ways with APGA as a party but that should not be the end of the story. It is my sincere advice to him to explore ways to come back into the APGA fold as the party is large and progressive enough to accommodate all those that genuinely knock on it’s doors. He should re-apply to be re-admitted into the party and I am quite sure many people including my humble self will be more disposed to making strong representations to the party’s hierarchy to give his re-admission request  a favourable consideration. Anything short of that will not work. APGA as a political party under the able leadership of Chief Victor Umeh has demonstrated that it’s progressive march towards total political & economic emancipation of the geographical entity called Nigeria starting from the South East through good governance is credible. It does not need to be distracted from this onerous task. Therefore such unfounded utterances of the party having factions in the UK or elsewhere is not helpful because there is no FACTION in the party. We do not want to waste valuable time debunking such false reports. The task ahead is of such importance and of such magnitude that I will personally consider it a disservice to the nation if we are distracted.

I do not begrudge Mr. Nnamdi Kanu for parading himself as the Chairman of APGA UK/Europe. I only want to remind him that “you cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand”.  He has no mandate to act as such because an exercise on the basis of an expired and or non existing mandate is “null and void ab initio”. He should have a deep look and hopefully a deep knowledge of the constitution of the party to which he claims to belong and maybe he will realise that what he is doing is an exercise in futility.

I did not believe the report that APGA members that I know were engaged in violence at the said interactive meeting. I refused to buy that piece of thrash rather what came to my mind and which is more believable is that somebody wanted to sell his publication with fabricated sensational reporting. APGA UK chapter of which I am a member and the substantive Publicity Secretary is made up of men and women of impeccable characters, of the finest qualities and very law abiding who will NEVER dare disobey or flout court decisions.  I wish I can say that of others. The notion that anyone of them will engage in thuggery or violence is something I recommend to the writer to gladly tell the marines.

From Mike Merenini Esq.
Publicity Secretary  APGA Europe/UK Chapter

Much ado about removal of subsidies in Nigeria

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By Muhammad Ajah
 
Is the government’s resolve to remove subsidies from everything that sustains the nation’s economy really anti-people? Are they policies specifically targeted at impoverishing the citizenry the more? Are these subsidies really the problems that have militated against the development of the country? Who are those advancing this cause? What are the real problems with Nigeria? What is the position and benefit of the masses in all these throaty abracadabra of the politicos?
 
I was recently in a place where the masses were debating these subsidies removal. Not more than one percent supported the policies. In short, majority were of the opinion that, though it has been so that the government is practically run by just few Nigerian companies in alliance with their foreign counterparts, subsidies should be removed from Aso Rock and National Assembly. Out of frustration, some of the discussants opted that subsidies should be removed from the whole lives of Nigerians.
 
One is scared. This land is being stained the more with unguarded politicking. One is scared that this land may become like a situation created in poem titled “Silence!” where the poet said: Silence!; Thread not hard upon this land; Where beneath sleep quashed innocent souls; Where upon sleepless stained and stainless struggle; Where beneath the quashed await vengeance; Where the acclaimed powerful flesh abhors exit; Where the quashed have condescended to might; Silence!; Let there be peace nowhere; Let mercy be drifted off hearts; Let no man be human; That when all eyes become red; Man will fear no more; And peace becomes natural savior.
 
The pronouncements by the Federal Government of its plans or concluded plans to remove subsidies from petroleum products and fertilizers are yet another move to indirectly emasculate the plebiscite and create more rooms for larger participation of the very few in the nation’s economy.
 
Howbeit, it points to the contrary that a measure that would give ample opportunity for corruption to flourish should be acceptable by patriotic citizens. A move that supports sharp practices in the importation of petroleum products suggests that the deplorable state of Nigeria’s refineries is a deliberate sabotage.
 
Trust is lost in the leadership and that is why the masses do not believe them anymore. They embark on policies without proper study of the pros and cons, give unconvincing explanations and at the end, only the masses suffer it. Petroleum Minister Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Perth, Australia claimed that the proceeds of the subsidy removal will be managed by a credible team of citizens to be put together by government; the list of names already awaiting President Jonathan’s approval. A CREDIBLE TEAM!! That is surely a team of privately managed companies and not the one made up of representatives of the masses.
 
While the debate on fuel subsidy removal is yet unconcluded, the National Economic Council (NEC) announced its planned removal of fertilizer subsidy, with the endorsement by the 36 Governors of the federation under the leadership of Vice President Namadi Sambo. Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo, briefing journalists, claimed that the council approved a transformation plan presented by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adeshina which recommended that the private sector should handle the distribution of fertilizer in order to make it promptly available to farmers.
 
If this is implemented, it means that procurement and distribution of the commodity will be left in the hands of businessmen who will be granted special incentives to
invest in fertilizer production since Nigeria is a gas endowed country capable of exporting it.

Again, a marketing board to be known as Commodity Corporation would be set up to ensure that farmers ultimately get maximum results on their investments and labour. But does NEC being the highest economic decision making body in the country really consider the interest of the people?

 
In her own version, the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, claimed that the measure was aimed at saving the country from bankruptcy, as the funds being currently spent in subsidizing the petroleum products seem too huge. According to her, in a couple of years, Nigeria would be short of funds, should the Federal Government continue the fuel subsidy.
 
Iweala tried to substantiate her claim by a fact that the subsidy was going into the wrong hands made up of some cartels in the oil business who are the ones really enjoying the subsidy. The question is, are these cartels above the government so that government turn the hammer on the masses instead of facing the identified cartels?
 
While many Nigerians are not happy with these developments, some have given a total support, with a third group seeking a balance. Gen. Buhari has openly distanced himself from supporting such plans. Rather, he reveals that most of the elements that goes into what is called subsidy is the cost of corruption in the opaque business of oil importation.
 
Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, rolling behind the federal government claims that the policy was the best measure to regenerate the country’s ailing petroleum sector. Aliyu is of the opinion that if fuel subsidy is removed, measures must be put in place at local, state and federal government levels to cushion its effects, adding that all of Nigeria’s refineries were not functional. He agreed that there was a cabal in the country enjoying the subsidy being paid by the federal government at the detriment of Nigerians. This cabal, he said, does not want the refineries to work.
 
According to a member of the Senate, Senator Datti Baba Ahmed, most senators from the opposition political parties would not accept the policy.
 
Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer, Union Atlantic Petroleum Limited and the Chairman, Private Refinery Operators of Nigeria, Samuel Omotunde Ilori, also believes that the policy without substitute would impoverish the Nigerian masses. He wants old refineries repaired and private ones built for many multiplier effects like appreciation of the naira as a result of billions of dollars spent abroad on importation of the products, provision of employment for millions of Nigerian people, citing that when telecommunication was liberalised, no one was thinking of the commoners selling recharge cards and earning legitimate livelihood.
 
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), on its part, has condemned the plan. It’s National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, urged the federal government to name the beneficiaries of the subsidy and tell Nigerians why they cannot be stopped. “Why should Nigeria, with huge crude oil deposits, import refined products? Why should Nigerians pay for the resources so bestowed on them by God through their noses? Why is the price of products, even among importer/exporter nations, higher in Nigeria? The answer lies in the crude, corruption-ridden system that we operate in this country,” Lar opined, suggesting that refineries with a total refining capacity of 280,000 barrels per day should be built in nine cities: Gusau, Enugu, Ibadan, Kano, Makurdi, Maiduguri, Lagos, Auchi and Gombe, in addition to reviving the existing ones.
 
But a former member House of Representatives and one-time acting governor of Abia state, Chief Stanley Ohajuruka, advocates for a partial removal of the fuel subsidy since a total withdrawal will be too much on Nigerians, wondering why government should not rise above the acclaimed cabal believed to be sabotaging the petroleum sector. Notably, he postulated, “If we can use proceeds from crude oil to build refineries and other support infrastructure, we then begin to talk about partial removal of fuel subsidy,”
 
As usual, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has avowed to down tools if the proposal on subsidy removal is ever considered. NLC President Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar criticized the claim that the funds from subsidy removal would be managed by a credible team of Nigerians, describing it as disingenuous. Omar wondered who those managing the national economy were and queried the annual budgets. “Recreating a DFRRI as General Ibrahim Babangida did, or a Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) as General Sani Abacha did, is disingenuous,” Omar insisted.
 
The NLC has therefore urged Nigerians not to relent in their patriotic mobilization to resist this policy that will further impoverish the citizenry.
 
Also, the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) had threatened to go on hunger strike over the policy. President of the council, Mr. Olawale James Ajani simply said the policy was demonic and revealed NYCN’s move in collecting signatures from Nigerian youths in readiness to pass a vote of no confidence on the President Goodluck Jonathan led administration.
 
South South Youth Leaders Forum, equally expressed disappointment with this policy, hailing Gen. Buhari for his outright stand and calling on all past leaders of Nigeria, to speak out against anti-people policies of federal government, particularly on the issue of fuel subsidy removal.
The Forum, through its chairman, Amb, Barr, Amachree Odiedim, congratulates all those fighting against the policy because it is painful that not a single campaign promise of the present administration has been fulfilled.
 
Muhammad Ajah is a writer, author, advocate of humanity and good governance based in Abuja. E-mail mobahawwah@yahoo.co.uk

Imo State Union [UK] Visit To Hon Dimaku in London

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PRESS RELEASE

IMO STATE UNION (UK) MEMBERS VISITS HON. DIMAKU IN LONDON

Executive Members of Imo Union (UK) today paid a courtesy visit to one of ‘their own’, Honourable Kingsley Dimaku who is on a working visit to London.

Honourable Dimaku is a Member representing Ehime Mbano in Imo State House of Assembly.

L-r: Sir Emma Ahanonu, Mrs Dimaku, Hon. Kingsley Dimaku & Lady Ngozi Ahanonu.

The Honourable Member is a very active member of the Union before his people called him up to represent them in the State House of Assembly.

In the last election which saw his emergence, Hon, Dimaku overwhelmingly defeated his opponents to represent the people of Ehime Mbano in the State House.

Speaking during the visit, the President of Imo State Union (UK) Sir Emmanuel Ahanonu who was visibly elated said; ‘Honourable Dimaku, Imo State Union UK is very proud of you. It is on record that you are the first member of the Union to be elected a Member of Imo State House of Assembly and that goes to show how highly your people regard you. There is no doubt, you are a tried and tested character and above all, your hard work and service to your community in the past years had paid off’.

Again let me state here that your transparent attitude and honesty in the things you did when you were here with us, are pointers to the good things to come to your constituency in particular and Imo State in general. And, we hope you will show in House that politics is for service and not a do or die affair.

In his response, Honourable Dimaku thanked the Union Executives for the visit. Hear him, ‘your visit today shows the cordial relationships that exist between us as individuals and as members of the Union. As a Member of Imo State House of Assembly, I can tell you here today that I am working very hard and making positive contributions to the debates. I have moved several motions and I am on the verge of sponsoring a Child Right Bill. To move the state forward, we are to a certain extent keyed to the ‘Rescue Mission’. And, as members of the PDP we can only support good and worthy programmes from the Executive’, he said.     

Group Photograph of Imo State Union (UK) Executive Members with Hon. Kingsley Dimaku and his Wife.

                                     

Signed: Omekiri Emmanuel Oguike, Publicity Sec.  Imo State Union, UK. Tel +447588199949

Gov Uduaghan Awards Umeh Road Contract To Boost Farming

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Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan (right) being presented with a bunch of plantain by a member of the Umeh Community, during his unscheduled visit, Tuesday

…Gives contractor, Setraco, 18 months deadline
Delta State Government yesterday (Wednesday) awarded the contract for the construction of the 7.6 kilometre Umeh Road in Isoko South Local Government Area to Setraco Nigeria Limited at a cost of N3.625 billion.
 
The road project when completed would ease evacuation of agricultural produce from the locality to the rest of the state and beyond.
 
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan had on Tuesday during an unscheduled visit to the area, following a Facebook page campaign which drew his attention to the situation of the road, informed that his administration was interested in the construction of the road because of the great agricultural potentials of the people adding that the farm produce from the area could feed the state and country in general.
 
The contract for the road project was awarded during a tender’s board meeting which gave a completion period of not more than 18 months.
 

Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan arriving the Umeh Community, during his unscheduled visit, Tuesday

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan during the said visit, his second in a space of two months, to the largely agrarian Umeh community, said priority would be given to the construction of the deplorable access road linking the area to the outside world.
 
He explained that the community would enjoy the dividends of democracy after so many years of neglect by previous administrations.
 
Amid chants of political slogans by the community members, the governor said; “I did not come here for politics, I came here as the governor of the state, I am the governor to every Deltan.
 
“I assure you that the contract for the road will be awarded soon and it will be given to the best contractor to handle. I will do my part to see to the completion of the road. You will also do your part in increasing your farming proceeds,” Governor Uduaghan had assured during the visit.
 
Governor Uduaghan observed that he learnt about the deplorable situation of Umeh Road from the Facebook site created by Barr. Afohokor Duncan, an indigene of the community and decided to come and see things for himself.
 
He said “you people are sophisticated farmers, what I saw in your farm lands are wonderful. You people have gone far in Agriculture. I commend you.”
He also promised that the only primary school in the area would be renovated in addition to the construction of modern classroom blocks.
 
In a brief response, a community leader thanked the governor for the visit, saying “this is the first time we are seeing a governor in our midst. This shows that you have interest in our road.”
 
He commended the governor for the promise he made to renovate and re-build the primary school in the area adding that the community did not lobby for the dividends of democracy.

APGA, PDP Square up in Bonny House of Assembly Election war

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… As Hon Aye Pepple Face Renewed APGA  Litigation
 
Hon Aye Atamah Pepple of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, may have been pronounced winner in the last Rivers State House of Assembly election that took place in Bonny Constituency, but there are strong indications that all may not be uhuru for the lawmaker as Hon. Ajay Banigo of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA who ran against him in the election has started instituting another process in a renewed legal tussle.
 
Following the outcome of a recent legal battle, involving the Labor party and the wife of former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu of the Action Congress, where the National Judicial Commission, NJC ordered that a matter that was scrapped by the tribunal in favor of a third party who never replied to a petition must be returned back to court, insisting that there was no basis for the matter to be scrapped when one of the respondents did not reply.  Counsel to the Bonny APGA House of Assembly candidate is putting his acts together with a view to renew its legal battle against the PDP opponent. The APGA counsel is praying the National Judicial Commission to intervene and return the matter between his client and Aye Pepple who wrongly benefited from the tribunal’s judgment in a case Pepple never responded to a tribunal petition against his supposed victory at the polls.
 
Banigo’s counsel is also banking on an order by the Chief Judge of the federation, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, that henceforth, all political litigations in court must be treated on its merit and not on the usual grounds of technicalities that has now been abused referencing the case involving the Akwa Ibom and Benue state governors which have since been ordered for re-trial.
Hon. Ajay Banigo is faulting the handling of his election petition at the State House of Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal in Port Harcourt insisting that the panel judges had no reason giving judgment in favour of a respondent that never replied to a petition and the ill fated ruling above the stipulated 60 days mark..
 
In a petition written to the Chief Justice of the federation and Chairman, National Judicial Commission, Hon. Justice Dahiru Musdapher, the APGA candidate held that consequent upon the result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC declaring the PDP candidate, Hon. Aye Atamah Pepple winner without conformity with the realities on ground, the party had filed a petition at the tribunal, expecting the PDP respondents Hon. Aye Pepple to reply, however his counsel failed to reply at the stipulated time cand demanded to file the said reply at a time belated which was however not allowed by the tribunal.
 
The tribunal refused Pepple’s application for extension of time but surprisingly ordered that both the APGA and PDP parties be issued with pre-hearing conference forms TF 007 and TF 008 on the last day of the time allowed by the Electoral Act for the application for pre trial. Regardless of the perceived blunder by the tribunal, both parties complied and promptly, filled and submitted the forms as directed to the tribunal secretary.
 
However, in a controversial circumstance the PDP respondent allegedly brought an application urging the tribunal to dismiss the petition having been abandoned, and for the fact that the APGA candidate did not reply for pre trial within the stipulated time.
Based on this seeming conspiracy between the respondent and the tribunal panel, the APGA counsel argued the opposing application strenuously, holding that if the court had not on its own ordered the tribunal secretary to issue pre trial forms to his client they would have applied on that day.
 
In a desperate display of double standard unworthy of members of the honorable panel, and the fact that it reversed its earlier decision, the judge painfully went ahead to dismiss the APGA petition even as the respondent had nothing before the court.
 
Confused about the basis for the dismissal and the opposing application the APGA counsel queried who his client would have conferred with considering that a conference is bilateral, multilateral but never unilateral.
 
There were arguments, especially against the backdrop that the judges were well disposed of the realities on ground but still went ahead to make their decisions based on a “volte face” on the date of the ruling. This confusion left a serious question mark on what actually transpired between the date of the argument or motion and the date of the ruling.
 
The petition which was also copied to Hon. Justice M.L Uwais, Chairman of the National Judicial reform Committee and J.B Daudu, SAN National President of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA it held that having detected errors in the judgment and the quest to seek justice the APGA candidate filed an appeal against the ruling with arguments made on 20th September 2011.
That further proved abortive as the panel has already taken sides delaying its own judgment without any conceivable excuse only to blatantly deliver a ruling outside the time prescribed by the law.
The judgment was done in error according to observers who recalled that the National Judicial Commission has ordered that all political litigations must be concluded within 6 months which obviously was over shot in contras to the period approved.
When some newsmen caught up with Ajay Banigo of APGA, he said the case will be pursued to its logical end querying the reason why people should be allowed to swallow hook line and sinker glaring cases of injustice perpetrated with impunity and without regard for the integrity of the judicial profession.
Others insist that the matter should be recalled and treated on its merit. The case is interestingly coming at a time a recent judgment between CPC and PDP was ruled with the Supreme Court handing down an order that 60 days must now be mandatory and not discretional for the Appeal Court judges to round up and give there final verdicts on political matters.
 
If the position of the Chief Justice of the federation is anything to go by, then there is need for the Banigo vs Aye matter to be recalled having been judged along the lines of technicalities as Banigo had an obvious case that shouldn’t have been swept under the carpet.
The APGA petitioners are appealing to the relevant authorities to use their good offices to cause an open and unbiased review of the petition starting from the tribunal up to the court of appeal with a view to unraveling the truth of the matter and to do substantial justice to the oppressed.
When newsmen caught up with the APGA candidate he expressed confident that in this time of judicial reforms, expressing confidence that the NJC would accede to his request as it was obvious the APGA candidate was judicially swindled and cheated in a clear rape of justice aided by the government in power in Rivers state. The APGA counsel who has never hidden his dissatisfaction with the judges involved in the case further held that the two judges on both panels were obviously compromised.
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