The National Board of Technical Education, NBTE has restored the accreditation of the state-owned Abia State Polytechnic Aba, ABN TV reports.

The board has weeks ago de-accredited the school over a backlog of unpaid salaries, numbering over 20, it said in a statement earlier.

Barr Eze Chikamnayo in a statement on Monday said the restoration of the state Polytechnic is in line with the vision of the state Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu to "smiles on the faces of the students and Stakeholders of the Abia State Polytechnic Aba."

Recall that the Governor has mapped out funds to pay a part of the salaries owed to the lecturers.

The commissioner said in a statement, "Consequently, His Excellency, Dr Okezie Victor Ikpeazu rose to the occasion propelled by the fact that the welfare of our citizens has always been of utmost concern to his administration beyond all other legalistic consideration.

"We are, therefore, happy to announce that the accreditation of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba has been restored by the National Board of Technical Education, NBTE owing to the gallant efforts of our Dear Governor.

"The achievement of this uncommon feat on scheduled time has been made possible not only by the prompt provision of 450 million Naira by our education-loving Governor to bail out the Institution from their self-inflicted malaise but by the immediate adoption of far-reaching reforms aimed at establishing sustainable growth and best practices moving forward.

A 16-year-old Ezera Nmesomachi has emerged as the overall winner of the 2022 Teens Essay Competition organized by The National Children and Teens Desk of The Presbyterian Church Of Nigeria, ABN TV reports.

A native of Ebem Ohafia, Ohafia LGA Abia state, Nmesomachi worships at Solid Rock Parish of Presbyterian Church Of Nigeria, Umuahia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kna9keKZh0A
The essay competition which has as the theme, “The Beauty Of The Presbyterian Liturgy” was organized for teenagers between the ages of 13 – 19 years in all the parishes of the church within the country.

Nmesomachi, an ex-student of Intellectual Giant Christian Academy Umuahia sat for the 2022 WAEC.

Speaking on the essay Topic she said it has to do with the uniqueness of the method of worship, making one stand apart from every other method of worship by other churches.

Nmesomachi while speaking said it is her first time writing an essay competition and having the first position motivates her.

She said hard work inspired her to write the essay, In her words ’’actually, when I was writing this essay it wasn’t easy at some point I became frustrated I just felt like I won’t be able to get the first position so it’s of no use writing this I just need to drop my pen because as that time I was still writing my exams so I was actually struggling, reading for my exams and writing an essay to emerge the first position.

‘’I feel very happy and grateful to God, to my parents, and to the church at large for giving me this opportunity to showcase my talent and do what I love most.

Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu has revealed that his administration has commenced and delivered no fewer than 150 roads in the past seven years since it came on board.

The governor also hinted that at the moment, about 48 road projects across the state are at their advance stages which he hopes will be completed before the end of the administration next year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWqBmAVvkLM
The governor who spoke in a state-wide broadcast as part of activities marking the 31st anniversary since the creation of the state noted that the projects executed by his administration will serve as monuments to the work his leadership did after the expiration of his tenure.

He said, "We have over 150 roads which our administration has commenced and delivered in the course of our tenure. We are strongly advancing work on another 48 roads and we have a target to finish them before we hand them over to the next administration by May 29, 2023.

"One aspect of these projects I am proud of is their strategic significance and economic importance. A project like the Osisioma Interchange has forever changed the trafficking narrative at that junction.

"Users of that road in recent years will recall how they were often condemned to spend hours in traffic due to the lockdown on the road at peak periods. Today, that episode is in the past as there is now a guaranteed seamless flow of traffic along the axis in addition to the aesthetic uplift of the general environment.

"The adjoining Aba Owerri Road which also hitherto used to be a nightmare has been rebuilt and expanded with relevant road furnishings installed.

"Roads abutting the Aba Owerri road have also been opened up to ventilate the city of Aba.

"We have a solid Abayi Umueze-ABSUTH road built with our signature rigid pavement technology that is a beauty. The perennial swamp along that axis leading to recurrent road failure has been decisively resolved. Kamalu , MCC and Eziukwu roads are all our signature projects. Down Okpu Umuobo road, we are completing and bringing back the old road that leads to Mgboko Obingwa LGA Secretariat from where motorists can join the new Obikabia – Obikabia Road and emerge at the Enugu – Port Harcourt Expressway.

"Our work in other areas of Aba are equally heartwarming for their strategic importance. Osusu, Imaculate, Milverton, Azikiwe, Ukaegbu, Ehere, Umuola, Ebenma, Egege, Opobo, Okigwe, Chima Nwafor Road and other roads we have built around the city are all of immeasurable importance to the continued economic vibrancy of Aba. We have advanced work on the Ngwa Road axis where we have constructed 6 internal roads so far. We are hard at work on Omuma, Obohia, Ohanku, Uratta and Port Harcourt roads which we will complete before we leave office.

"Today, for the first time in over 30 years, our major markets in Aba are now accessible by road. The Eziukwu Cemetery road leading to the popular Cemetery Market which had long been forgotten is now fully rebuilt and back to life and it is easy now to connect that market from Aba-Owerri road seamlessly. Same goes for the Ngwa Road Market and the Ariaria International Market.

The Labour Party’s Gubernatorial Candidate in Abia, Dr Alex Otti, has unveiled his running mate, Engr Ikechukwu Emetu, a 38-year-old engineer, ABN TV reports.

Dr. Otti also inaugurated his Campaign Council, with a former House of Representatives member, Chief Nnanna Ngwu, as the Chairman.

In a speech at the event in Umuahia on Tuesday, the governorship hopeful said that Emetu satisfied his desire for a youth as running mate.

According to him, the choice is to give the Abia youths a sense of belonging in the political space.

Otti also said that he got attracted to Emetu because of his antecedent as a philanthropist.

“He is renowned in his Ohafia Local Government Area for his outstanding community development service and humanitarian gestures.

“So in all, he fits squarely into the character and quality of the kind of deputy that I yearned for,” he said.

Speaking also on the campaign council, he said that the team was constituted to drive a robust and result-oriented campaign that would ensure victory for the party.

In an acceptance speech, Emetu thanked Otti for finding him worthy for such an exalted position.

“This opportunity is not only for me but for millions of Abia youths.

“You have made us to believe that the future truly belongs to the youth,” Emetu said.

The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, PCN has expressed dismay over fake news published in some news outlets, alleging that the newly elected Moderator of the General Assembly and Prelate of the Church, Most Rev. Ekpenyong Akpanika faulted the process that brought him to power.

The news publication alluded that Rev. Akpanika spoke in an interview on August 15 where he allegedly said that the electioneering process that elevated him to the top position was "ungodly".

On Tuesday, the Director of Information and Public Relations Affairs of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Rev. Dr. Nnoke Ibe said Rev. Akpanika never granted a press interview on the said date and never made such comment on the said date.

While insisting that the new Moderator of the General Assembly and Prelate of the Church was elected through a free and transparent exercise, the church cautioned that anything Rev. Akpanika has said in the past should not be taken out of context.

According to Rev. Ibe, the Church has over the years maintained a stringent pattern in choosing its leadership which avails delegates the opportunity to vote their choices without any form of inducements.

"We are using this medium to make it clear that the Prelate never granted any press interview nor did he speak to any member of the press on the said date. We, therefore, wonder where that interview was held or where the Prelate might have made that embarrassing statement.

"We further clarify that whatever the Prelate might have said on any other occasion should not be taken out of context. To clear any doubt, we are confident that the process that produces the leadership of the Church has always been adjudged by observers to be stringent, transparent, free, and fair.

"In the processes of her elections, the PCN prayerfully depends on the leadership of the Holy Spirit as members and ministers of proven integrity gather to vote for their choices without inducement or any form of pressure. The election that produced His Eminence Ekpenyong Akpanika followed this same time-tested procedure.

"We want to finally affirm that His Eminence has promised to continue to resist all ungodly influences and practices in the process of choosing leaders for the Church to ensure that it remains pure and guided by righteousness. According to the Prelate, elections must be devoid of ungodly, unchristian, and unethical practices."

The church, therefore, urged the general public to ignore any attempt by anybody to cast slur or aspersion on it or the person of the Prelate and Moderator, Rev. Ekpenyong Akpanika.

The Presbyterian Church assures that it will continue to show the way in conducting transparent and acceptable elections through the grace of God and showing good examples for the nation and the world to follow in the course of choosing leaders.

The new Prelate of the Presbyterian church, Most Rev Dr. Ekpeyong Akpanika was elected in Calabar Cross River state recently at the 25th General Assembly. He succeeds the outgoing Prelate, His Eminence, Nzie Nsi Eke.

At least six persons have been killed at a gas explosion in Owaza, Ukwa West local government area of Abia State.

Though the details of the victims are yet to be ascertained, our correspondent gathered that at about 9:50am on Sunday, the victims stormed an illegal oil refining site in Owaza.

They were said to have used a gas cylinder to disconnect an oil pot which exploded in the process and killed the six on the spot, a source who pleaded anonymity told ABN TV.

The people of Abia Ohafia in Ohafia local government area of Abia State have said former governor of the state and senator representing Abia North, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu is the first politician to construct a road project in their community, ABN TV reports.

They also gave him credit for the power supply in their community.

Senator Kalu was in the community on Wednesday in continuation of his mid-term tour to give account of his stewardship to the people of the district.

Chief Peter Eke Onoh, the president general of Abia Ohafia Community Development Association expressed gratitude for the senator's visit in the community, praising him for the developmental projects he's currently embarking on.

"He has built the road to a certain stage. The third phase is what we are pleading with him to complete. Without him, we don't have road, without him, we don't even see light," Chief Onoh said.

He also pleaded for the assistance of Sen. Kalu to fully restore electricity to the community after a havoc following a heavy downpour.

An unidentified official of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC has stabbed to death a driver around Umuikaa junction in Isialangwa South local government area of Abia State, ABN TV reports.

Though the details of the incident is still sketchy, all efforts to reach the public relations officer of Abia State command of FRSC proved abortive.

Meanwhile, the Executive Chairman, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area, and State ALGON Chairman, Comrade Ike Anyatonwu has condemned in strong terms the alleged stabbing of the motorist.

He said, "Comrade Anyatonwu who broke his annual leave to visit Ronald Hospital, Mkpuka where the victim was dumped in the pool of his blood by his alleged killers and was later confirmed dead by the Management of the Hospital wondered why such dastardly act has become a recurring incident at Umuikaa junction and called on the State Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps to immediately investigate the matter with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book.

A detachment of the IGP Monitoring Unit has arrested a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Robinson Uwak for alleged criminal defamation of character against the member representing Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State, Rep. Benjamin Kalu, ABN TV reports.

He was arrested following his refusal to honour a series of invitations extended to him by the Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba. A court of competent jurisdiction, therefore, issued a warrant of arrest against him.

Rep Benjamin Kalu who is also the spokesperson of the House of Representatives had demanded an apology from Uwak over the accusation of infidelity with his (Uwak) wife. He had threatened to approach the court upon failure of Uwak to tender apologies.

Hon Robinson Uwak who was a member of the 7th Assembly of the House of Reps had been accused by his wife Kezia Uwak of domestic violence which led her to leave their matrimonial home as he had alleged to continue abusing her physically regardless of her pleas.

It is noted that in the past few years, Hon. Uwak has lost his first marriage to domestic violence, with a divorce case still pending in court and a newly contracted marriage which like the First broke down on the allegations of domestic violence by the wife which has also been confirmed by the NAPTIP office.

This criminal intention to damage the character of Rep. Benjamin Kalu, led him to publish falsehoods in all the major media houses in Nigeria including electronic media, Facebook, Twitter, and various blogs with the aim to institute a smear campaign on his reputation.

In all these time, Rep. Kalu recalled that his wife Kezia who is also a skilled photographer and a graphic designer had worked with him during his 2018/2019 campaign, while refusing to join issues or respond to any of the media houses, however, took the legal paths of petitioning through his lawyer Prof. Ernest Ojukwu to the Inspector General of Police.

Interpol Systems Consultant and security expert, Sir Chikwe Udensi has said the solution to the de-registration of Abia State Polytechnic in Aba is not the release of N450m by the state government but by flushing out the leadership of PDP in the state.

He said the amount which was released yesterday by the government of the state is not enough to offset the 30 months salary arrears owed to the staff of the tertiary institution.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mrVZgaQnoQ

Speaking on Love FM Umuahia, streamed live on ABN TV at a political and current affairs programme on Wednesday, Udensi a chieftain of APGA said the rot in the Polytechnic is endemic and will not be cleaned just by the release of the said amount by the state governor, Okezie Ikpeazu.

While declining to unravel the outcome of investigation he said he carried out with the assistance of forensic auditors and specialists in education about the accounts of the school, Udensi said the problems of the school have been there since its creation.

According to him, given the opportunity, he would carry out a massive re-organization of the school and ensure that heads will roll, especially those responsible for the rot.

He said there is administrative inconsistencies and incompetence which he said is at the heart of the rot.

“This rot has remained in the Polytechnic for years, from the formation of the Polytechnic.

“One of the things I stumbled on in the process of our due diligence was very disturbing. I don’t know if it’s okay to say it now but in the process of employment, within one period of time, one Rector of the institution employed 105 persons and 95 of these 105 persons are from his clan,” he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGfjcu5q3iA

Chief Obi Aguocha, the House of Representatives candidate of Labour Party for Ikwuano-Umuahia Federal Constituency has said that, HE. Peter Obi cannot stand alone in Abuja amongst the predator political wolves when he is elected the President of Nigeria, come 2023.

He stated that Peter Obi needs his own Labour Party people at the National Assembly, to support his legislative agenda(s) for good governance and production-focused development, improved security, job creation, and employment; efficient and strategic growth initiatives - moving Nigeria from consumption to a production-based economy.

These are his utmost commitment, to help Peter Obi, if elected as president to reset and usher in the new Nigeria many Nigerians are craving today.

Chief Aguocha also stated, topmost among his legislative priority, is the recognition of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu's ideals, equity, and justice to Ndigbo are within the context of true federalism - and to ensure an immediate political solution that would lead to the ultimate release and freedom for, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.