₦airaland Forum

Over 24-hours after an explosive device was detonated at the Christian Universal Church Incorporated located on No. 25 Azikiwe Road, Mile 3, Diobu in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike, has yet to make any statement on the incident.

The church, also known as God’s Power House, is believed to be owned by the governor’s father, even as the police fingered members of the Indigenous People of Biafra for the attack.

As of the time of filing this report on Monday, neither Wike, nor any government official had reacted to the attack on the church.

Residents of Azikiwe and adjoining streets expressed fears that the state government might impose a curfew on the area as a result of the attack.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Diobu Vigilante, Prince Amatari, has alleged that Saturday’s attack on the church was targeted at Wike.

Amatari, who spoke on a live radio programme on Classic FM, 91.9 in Port Harcourt on Monday and monitored by our correspondent, corroborated the position of the spokesman for the state police command, Nnamdi Omoni, that IPOB members might have masterminded the attack.

He stated, “There was a burial in Diobu that same Saturday and the attention of the Diobu Vigilante was drawn to ensure that visitors, who came for the burial, go home safe and secure, which we did.

“This (explosion) funny incident played out after the burial. So, the rumour that it was IPOB that carried out the attack could be true because, the governor has been under attack from IPOB members.

“I remember vividly during the #EndSARS protests that the IPOB boss (Nnamdi Kanu) made offers to anyone, who could bring the governor’s head. They even went after the vigilantes and gave specific instructions that the vigilantes, who saved police stations, should also be killed.

“But my greatest joy is that God is bigger than them. So, what played out is a target on the governor and it is related to the IPOB. Since then, threats are still coming to Diobu on how they will still burn down police stations.”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/punchng.com/wike-keeps-mum-as-vigilante-chair-says-church-explosion-targeted-at-gov/%3famp=1

There was a drama at the Kwannawa motor park in Dange-Shuni local government area of Sokoto state on Sunday as a commercial driver identified one of his abductors amongst his passengers.


The driver (name withheld) was kidnapped along Kankara in Katsina state while returning from Kano about two months ago.

We learnt that the driver had spent three weeks in captivity before his release after the payment of an undisclosed amount of money as ransom.

The suspect met his waterloo, when he boarded a vehicle going to Kano, unknown to him, it was the same vehicle ‘they blocked and kidnapped its driver.’

“The driver was quick to identify him because the incident happened not too long ago.

” After identifying him, he alerted our leaders who in turn informed the nearest police outpost,” one of the NURTW members told Daily Trust.

It was said that the leaders had changed the driver of the vehicle with another person after the car was loaded with passengers and the new driver started driving the car towards Shuni town.

It was gathered that the car was blocked by the police who arrested the suspect and took him to their office.

While being interrogated, he (the suspect) was said to have admitted belonging to a gang of kidnappers who fondly called him ‘Hadari’ and this was later corroborated by the driver when invited for questioning.

“The police were surprised when the driver told them the name because he was not around during the interrogation,” our source added.

It was said that the suspect was later transferred to the Sokoto State Police Command headquarters for further investigation.

The spokesman of the Command, DSP Muhammad Sadiq while confirming the incident, said investigation was still ongoing.


http://community.vanguardngr.com/m/discussion?id=4565467%3ATopic%3A3007159

Borno farmers killed by Boko Haram didn’t get clearance to work on rice fields – Garba Shehu









The Presidency says farmers who were slaughtered on a rice field in Zabarmari, Borno state over the weekend, should have obtained military clearance before resuming farming activities in the area.

Presidential Spokesperson, Garba Shehu stated this while speaking to BBC Newsday.

He said the federal government was sad about the tragic incident, but added that the “people need to understand what it is like in the Lake Chad Basin area.”

Shehu claimed that though much of the area which used to be under Boko Haram control have been liberated, there are still a number of spaces that have not been cleared for the return of villagers who have been displaced.


“The truth has to be said. Was there any military clearance from the military who are in total control of the area?” Mr. Shehu queried. “Did anybody ask to resume activity?”

Mr. Shehu emphasised that he had been briefed by military authorities that the villagers did not seek military advice before exposing themselves to “a window that the terrorists have exploited.”

“So ideally, all of these places ought to probably be allowed to pass through proper military clearance before resettlement or even farmers resuming activities on those fields,” he said.

https://www.correctng.com/borno-farmers-killed-by-boko-haram-didnt-get-clearance-to-work-on-rice-fields-garba-shehu/?fbclid=IwAR3q7sdLvYaeTcSfbkGEMN-AoGRfmI-w_SpqdG8-NvwXYVxPWzQhWfGa2UY

IMO Govt Empowers Youths With Rabbit .
This is part of the state government’s N2Billion Rabbit Empowerment Programme.




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Uzodinma empowers Imo youths with rabbits
By Emmanuel Adikwu -November 28, 2020

Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has flagged off rabbits empowerment scheme for youths in the state.

Speaking at the flag-off ceremony on Friday, Mr Uzodinma said he is determined to engage youths in productive ventures that will guarantee their meaningful employment.



His words: “We have flagged-off the commencement of the empowerment of our youths through agriculture and the official handover of the Imo State office of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) at Okigwe road Owerri as Imo is the pilot State and South East Zonal Head Office.

“It is worthy of mention that the Federal Government, through NALDA, has empowered 250 beneficiaries from Imo State on rabbit farming as it flagged off the second phase of the NALDA empowerment scheme for young farmers in the area of rabbit breeding and rearing.

“The NALDA is saddled with the mandate of harnessing the full potentials of the vast arable lands in Nigeria for the purpose of empowering and supporting small holder farmers both on large scale and mechanized scales.

“I thank the Presidency for this initiative aimed at empowering our youths and growing the economy. I also thank the Executive Secretary of NALDA, Mr. Paul Ikonne for all the support.

“I have always maintained that the most effective way to ensure sustained socio-economic development in Nigeria and Imo State, in particular, is to engage youths in productive ventures that will guarantee their meaningful employment.

“This programme will guarantee food security, empower youths and reduce restiveness amongst other benefits and so engaging 774,000 youths across the nation would stimulate huge economic growth. These efforts will lead to food and fibre security and assist in diversifying the nation’s economy, improving household income and enhancing revenue mobilization and generation nationwide.

“The government has provided enabling environment for them, including being their primary off-takers, ready to purchase whatever they produce.

“To this end, I urge the beneficiaries to take the business seriously.”


https://platinumpost.ng/2020/11/28/uzodinma-empowers-imo-youths-with-rabbits/

It is in the orbit of verisimilitude to say that some Yoruba citizens have sculpted a criminal enterprise in the UK. It is also indisputable if posited that most of the crimes linked to Nigerians in the country have the imprimatur of some Yoruba kingpins.

Let me add, the criminal specialty of some Yoruba in the UK is fraud and drug-dealing.


I will put perspicuity to this point. As of July 2016, a Nigerian of the Yoruba stock, Bayo Lawrence Anoworin, (42), from Lagos, was declared as one of the 10 most wanted fraudsters in the UK.

According to the UK Standard, he is wanted for “allegedly stealing more than £12 million from NHS Trusts in the UK and Guernsey between January 2011 and July 2012”.

The newspaper reported he used a string of fake identities to commit fraud, and that he also laundered money.


“Anoworin, who has connections to Thamesmead, and Chatham in Kent, was arrested in Abbey Wood, in November 2012, but fled when he was released on bail,” it added.

Since 1998 the UK government has tried to break the Nigerian crime behemoth run by Yoruba citizens.

According of the UK Independent, intelligence agencies MI6 and MI5 were being used to clamp down on fraud and drug-dealing gangs linked to Nigerians (of course, Yoruba citizens).

“The criminals, mainly Nigerians, have been discovered working inside government departments, the police and tax offices,” it said.

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At the time, the Yoruba crime menace was said to cost the UK government £3.5 billion a year.

Just last week, some members of a Yoruba criminal gang were sentenced to jail by a UK court. This was after they had stolen £2.5m – most of which they sent to Nigeria.

Kayode Sanni led the gang which used the identities of members of the British parliaments, judges and police officers to steal millions of pounds from taxpayers.

According to the UK Daily Mail, Sanni received a jail term of five years and three months for his part in the elaborate scam.


The newspaper reported the fraudsters stole personal details from the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC), which provides sport and fitness facilities to more than 120,000 public sector employees and pensioners.

“Member lists were ‘stolen to order’ from CSSC and used to place orders for tax credit starter packs used in fraudulent claims over a four year period,” it said.

“CSSC events manager Adedamola Oyebode, 30, stole membership lists and passed them on to her brothers-in-law Oluwatobe Emmanuel Odeyemi, 34, and Oluwagbenga Stephen Odeyemi, 39, who ran the fraud with Kayode Sanni, 38.”

“The gang managed to get away with £2,500,000 before staff at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs spotted the ‘extraordinarily high rate’ of claims being made by civil servants.


“He was convicted after standing trial for one count of conspiracy to become knowingly concerned in a fraudulent act between 10 March 2009 and 11 June 2013.”

It also said Odeyemi, Chantelle Gumbs and Oyebode – all members of the gang – pleaded guilty to fraud charges.

“Odeyemi was jailed for three and a half years, Gumbs was handed a 15-month sentence suspended for two years, and Oyebode received a two-year sentence suspended for two years,” it said.

It was said that the scam could have reaped more than £10,260,525 if it had not been stopped.

Also this week, a UK court slammed Babatunde Adu, a Yoruba man based in Bexley, south-London, with a six-year jail sentence for laundering £1 million in a year through bank cards and dating scams.

These are just rough pick-outs of “intellectual crimes” – as Kayode Ogundamisi calls them – perpetrated by Nigerian citizens of Yoruba extraction in the UK.

In conclusion, there is an appreciable mass of Yoruba citizens who are making an honest living in the Queen’s principality. I must say, this is not to cast an indiscriminate slur on all Yoruba persons resident in the country, but a call for a total redress of social values, and a cry for spirited effort in addressing that which make young people travel abroad to traffic in crime.

Again, there is a known politician from the south-west who is wanted in the US for drug-dealing, and there is also a traditional ruler from the region who is wanted in the UK for fraud. Crime thrives when its purveyors are celebrated and not punished. The same scorn and stigma visited on criminals at home should be reserved for those abroad.

I would like this article to be read with an open mind.

https://www.thecable.ng/yoruba-intellectual-crimes-uk/amp

Okorocha Visits Sanwo- Olu Solicits for better Welfare of Ndi Imo in Lagos State

Sen. Rochas Okorocha Visits Gov. Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State in company of Fmr Chief of Staff, Imo Govt House & Gov.Candidate, Ugwumba Uche Nwosu, SLA to Sen. Okorocha, Barr Chief Steve Asimobi, others

Congratulations to Kene Ilochonwu as he becomes the first black bencher elected to the law society of Alberta.

Kene, a graduate of Abia state university, is the first elected black bencher since the Law Society of Alberta was formed 113 years ago.

Classified: Meet Agent Fash, a Top CIA Officer.

He had succeeded in solving cases and discovering mystery cameras in seconds.

Let's celebrate him.

Delta state Debt Surges to 256.6 Billion .

Some Ghanaian youths have reportedly helped a man to regain his strength for round two of beatings after being beaten over a suspected case of theft.

According to reports, some young men in Takoradi, Ghana gave an energy drink to the thief so he can regain himself to receive another round of beating.

An eyewitness who shared the story online said the hoodlum was caught right in the act of stealing.

Instead of handing him over to the Police, the area boys took the matter into their hands and gave him the beating of his life.

Noticing that he’s weak from the beatings, the thief was given Rush Energy to recover so that the beatings can resume.


The eyewitness posted a photo of the moment the alleged thief was seen taking the energy drink as youths surrounded him.



”Welcome to Takoradi Ghana, where subsequent to beating a criminal, we offer him a container of surge caffeinated drink so we can beat him once more. You perceive how kind we are. No spot like Taadi”.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/11/youths-revive-thief-with-energy-drink-for-another-round-of-beating/

Arochukwu, Abiriba, Aba and Ngwa Rightfully belongs to Ibibio. All are ancestral Ibibio land.


precolonialism the igbo wars of aggression claimed ancient ibibio land.
During the tribal wars, igbos occupied towns like Aba, Ngwa land , Aro and others which are Ancestral ibibio land and some ibibios left their occupied inland ancestral homes and migrated downward towards the Atlantic to the present day Akwa ibom state.
Aba = hole or space in ibibio language. ( in ancient ibibio belief,that's the hole the ibibios believed the spirit of their ancestors would come out from, the original name was Aba Ekpo meaning spirits hole in ibibio).
Abiriba = It takes two to play. Original name Ebere iba referring to the traditional ibibio sword fight called Ukwa, usually displayed by Ekpo masquerades.
Ngwa= feather in ibibio language.
Aro= thing in ibibio. the igbos after their wars of aggression added chukwu to aro making Arochuwkwu. The original name of Arochuwkwu was AroAbasi meaning Gods thing in ibibio.a sacred land of the ibibios set aside for their God.
If you go to those cities you will find indigenous ibibio people in those lands even though some of the have acclimated to igbo language but almost 70% of the igbos in those areas speak ibibio and are ibibios.
Even those who speak igbo know their history, that their ancestors are ibibios.

These tribes are hated by igbos in igboland because they always accuse them of being ibibios or not being igbo enough. That's a fact.
The ibibios historical have no quarrel with igbos because deep down we know a lot of them especially the ones I have mentioned In This writeup are our kin who choose to stay in their ancestral homes instead of migrating with their ancestors after the igbo war of aggression.
If you go to Arochukwu today you will see ibom hall that houses otherwise called the long juju house. They long juju are ibibio gods which are still worshiped in Arochuwkwu today. People there bear ibibio names like Uko, udo, etc.

They play Ekpe, Ekpo masquerades and can read chant and write Nsibidi. And share cultural ties and similarities with their ibibio ancestors. These culture is a remnant of their ibibio ancestry and heritage.

The igbos are occupying ancestral ibibio land and majority in those ancestral ibibio land are our own kith and kin.

Br

Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics
N25bn refund pitches Ubah against Governor Obiano
November 22, 2020
Ifeanyi Uba
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By Sanni Onogu, Abuja
The N25 billion refunded to the Anambra State Government by the Federal Government for repayment of rehabilitation and reconstruction of Federal roads has pitched Senator Ifeanyi Ubah (Anambra South) against Governor Willie Obiano.

Ubah at a press briefing on Sunday gave Obiano 72- hour ultimatum to address Anambra on why he had to discount the promissory notes with about N8billion or two-third of the money ahead of their maturity dates.

He threatened to institute a legal action against the Anambra State Government if Governor Obiano fails to heed his request.

The promissory notes were issued to the Anambra State Government by the Debt Management Office in 2018 and 2019.

The refund was made to the state through two separate promissory notes issued by the Debt Management Office (DMO) in December 2018 and April, 2019, to the tune of N10.097 billion and N15.146 billion respectively

The two Promissory notes had maturity dates of December 28, 2020 and April 1, 2022 respectively.

Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. C-Don Adinuba, had in a statement denied that the State Government raised money from “the Debt Management Office or the Federal Ministry of Finance under a bond, or any financial instrument from any institution or organisation.

“Our record of prudent financial management and integrity is well acknowledged far and near. It is tough to speculate how the senator came about the phantom N25billion bond which Anambra State purportedly raised surreptitiously from the DMO/Federal Ministry of Finance.”

However, Senator Ubah, who was armed with documents concerning the transaction from the DMO and signed by its Director General, Patience Oniha and the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, insisted that the N25billion was expected to be paid in two installments.

He lamented out of the N25billion, only N16.1billion was realised by the state government after the promissory notes were discounted at the rate of 15 per cent and 13 per cent respectively, by Governor Obiano through a commercial bank.

He said the state lost whopping N8.85billion after the promissory notes were acquired at discounted rates by the bank.

“The governor paid banks over N8billion in order to cash out the promissory notes before their maturity dates, thereby ensuring that Anambra lost the amount from the transactions,” Ubah said.

According to the documents obtained from the DMO by Senator Ubah, the amount and tenor of the first promissory note was N10, 097, 722, 436.90 and issued to the state government on December 28, 2018 with a maturity date of
December 28, 2020.

The second promissory note of N15,146, 583, 655.00 was issued by the DMO on April 1, 2019 with a maturity date of April 1, 2022.

The letter from the DMO to Senator Ubah with reference number DMO/PMD/598/S.4/III/881 and dated November 16, 2020, reads in part: “The Distinguished Senator may wish to be informed that these were the only promissory notes issued to Anambra State Government which fully settled the outstanding claims of the state as approved by the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly.”

But Senator Ubah further alleged that “in order for Governor Obiano to cash out on the N25billion that hasn’t matured, he had to terminate the deal by giving up 15 per cent and 13 per cent respectively of the total sums per annum.”

He added: “The Governor paid about N3billion in bank charges for N10billion on the first promissory note which has a tenor of two years and paid another N4.5billion on the second promissory note of N15billion which has a tenor of three years.”


The lawmaker, however, vowed to petition the Anambra State House of Assembly after which he would sue the Governor should he fail to explain to the people of Anambra State why he threw away N8billion in his rush to cash out the money before the respective maturity dates.

He, however, wondered why the governor failed to capture the money realized from the promissory notes in the state’s annual budgets.

He called on the Governor to explain what he did with the N16billion he collected after making the state to lose whooping N8billion as discounts as well as why he allegedly lied through his commissioner about the funds.

He insisted that the road projects for which the N25billion was refunded by the Federal Government were executed by the administrations of Governors Chris Ngige and Peter Obi.

Senator Ubah also alleged that Governor Obiano has prevailed on the Federal Commissioner for Works in the state to stop him from rehabilitating some bad roads in his constituency even as the governor has continued to neglect the roads.

https://thenationonlineng.net/n25bn-refund-pitches-ubah-against-governor-obiano/?fbclid=IwAR3YHM6zVlPa6ywfsQiOMDibY0-1uMizxHD4WK40dCTo2uQOZurFeinS-7o

A restaurant owner has been arrested for selling to the public food prepared with water used in bathing corpses in Akwa Ibom.

Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested a female restauranter, Mrs Gloria Edet, popularly known as Madam Honey Food, for allegedly cooking food with mortuary water in order to attract customers in restaurant located along Itam road in Uyo.

Mrs Edet was reportedly arrested on Wednesday after she was exposed by a mortuary attendant who claimed she was owing him money for three months.

According to reports, the morgue attendant told the police that Edet visits him daily to buy the water he used in bathing corpses so that she will use it to prepare the food she serve in her restaurant.


On interrogation, Edet confessed that she uses the water she buys from the mortuary to make the charms she uses in preparing the food she sells to attract more customers and make more money.

She said because of the charms anyone that goes into her restaurant to eat will automatically be addicted to eating her food.

The woman is reportedly detained at the police headquarters, Ikot Akpanabia, Uyo.

https://onlinenigeria.com/stories/148890-restaurant-owner-arrested-for-cooking-with-mortuary-water-to-attract-customers-in-akwa-ibom.html

Ikoli Harcourt Whyte

Harcourt Whyte was born in Abonnema, Rivers State in 1905 and was diagnosed with leprosy at age 14.

He was sent to Port Harcourt General Hospital, which had a thriving leprosy ward. When residents of Port Harcourt, agitated for the removal of people with leprosy in their midst, Whyte led the other patients to resist attempts of forceful evacuation, insisting that they be provided with an alternative location instead.
The Methodist missionaries intervened and then established the Uzuakoli Leprosy Centre in the now Abia state in 1932, where they were moved to. There, he met British missionary and medical doctor, TF Davey, a music lover and a pianist who coached him on everything music.
Whyte channelled his experience of suffering and stigmatisation into music, and went on to compose more than 600 inspirational hymns, mostly in Igbo language and he became widely known as "father of Igbo church music". He formed a vocalist band with forty other lepers who toured Nigeria.
It was reported that he wrote with the stubs of his thumb and index finger and sometimes it took him a whole day or more to write one page of music.
He later included Ikoli (a traditional name) in his birth name, so as to not be mistaken for a foreigner. Despite being cured in 1949, he insisted on remaining at the leprosy center. His first wife, who also had leprosy, abandoned him there a few years earlier after she was cured, leaving him with their two children. He is best remembered for his classic hymn "Atula Egwu".
He died in a motor accident in 1977.

Passengers left at the middle of nowhere as their train breakdown along the Abuja-Kaduna railway track


Instablog9ja

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1306372086396396&id=273102863056662&fs=1&focus_composer=0&refid=28&_ft_=qid.6897505187713835772%3Amf_story_key.-6437057011166310672%3Atop_level_post_id.1306372086396396%3Acontent_owner_id_new.273102863056662%3Apage_id.273102863056662%3Asrc.22%3Aphoto_id.804172670145827%3Astory_location.5%3Astory_attachment_style.video_inline%3Aview_time.1605950572%3Afilter.h_nor%3Atds_flgs.3%3Aott.AX8vriAFy0FY-wdw&__tn__=S%2AW-R

Moment IPOBs took the Staff of office belonging to Oba of lagos.

Yoruba Ronu!!!

Meet the Longest Reigning Monarch in Rivers State Oba of Ogbaland


Meet Oba Chukumela Nnam Obi II of Ogbaland, The Only King in Rivers State bearing Oba

The Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni people found within the northern axis of Rivers State are a distinct tribe of the Edoid stock with trace from the ancient Bini kingdom. Ogba kingdom speak language which is mutually intelligible.

The current king of Ogba land is Oba Chukwumela Nnam Obi II who ascended the Eze Ogba throne in December 1970. He is the eleventh king of Ogba monarchy. His father Obuoha Obi was a Crown Prince of Ogbaland while his grand father reigned as Obi Chukwuma. Chukwumela Obi II is the only king among the Edoid groups that bear the title of Oba as confirmation of Ogba genealogy from the ancient Bini kingdom. The Ogbas pays allegiance to Benin kingdom.


He married four queens and had over 35 Children. He was born 80 years ago and have reigned for 50 years by December this year. He is the longest reigning king in Rivers State, South-South, Nigeria Delta and in Nigeria he is one of the longest reigning cum surviving monarchs. This year is not just only 80 & 50 celebration but the king has also announced to be Christ-like henceforth.

LONG LIVE THE OBA OF OGBALAND.
LONG LIVE PEOPLE OF OGBA KINGDOM.
LONG LIVE NIGERIA.
HAPPY NCHAKA.

During the 33 months of the civil war as a result of the quest for a new republic, one town stood out in the entire Igbo land for more than one reason. That town is Amorka, a border town of Anambra State, which shares boundary with Mgbidi people in Imo State.

Amorka was significant for more than just one reason. First is the Biafra Airport, which though located in Amorka was erroneously christened Uli Airstrip, and secondly the Ojukwu Bunker, which provided safety to the leader of Biafra nation, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.

A Window to the World

In his last novel; There Was A Country, Late Prof Chinua Achebe described the Biafra Airport in Amorka as Biafra’s window to the world, during the civil war. This was because there were no airports in the entire Igbo land. Since it was impossible for Biafrans to travel out of the country or into the country through airports in control of the Nigerians government, it was only wise for Biafrans to quickly establish an airstrip.

Again, the airstrip served as a means through which war equipment were brought into the country to aid Biafrans in the struggle, while the order by the leader of the federal forces, General Gowon to starve Biafrans of food made it impossible for anyone to consider using an airport in Nigeria to ship relief materials to the people of Biafra. In this way, the airstrip truly became Biafra’s window to the world.

Safe Haven

Also, the Ojukwu Bunker which served as a safe place for the leader of Biafra made Amorka a unique place during the war. According to those who knew, Ojukwu was always at Amorka, inside the underground bunker, even when people thought he had ran out of the country. The bunker has a small opening that serves as a door, which leads into the ground, but it was gathered that the small opening leads into what looks like a cave, but is actually a full residence.

A look at the place, one would not suspect anything because the entire ground has grasses and trees growing on it, but only the opening which leads inside can convince one that there was something underneath. Beside being hidden in the ground, it was gathered that the bunker is located right under a deity that protects the people of Amorka, and it was believed that the location provided Ojukwu the safety he needed.

THISDAY reporter who recently visited the bunker and the airstrip and spoke to indigenes of the community reports that for such a significant community, Amorka has fallen into neglect as indigenes complain that they have been totally abandoned by the government of Anambra State.

Unfulfilled Promise

On April 11, 2018, Governor Willie Obiano announced during a meeting of members of his executive at the government house that he had initiated a plan to convert the famous Ojukwu Bunker to a tourist site. Mr. James Eze, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, who made this known in a post-Executive Council press briefing, said the facility, which provided a sanctuary to the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu during the Biafra war, would be resuscitated and refurbished for tourism purposes.

According to Eze, the council also approved major tourist centres in the state namely: the famous Ogbunike Cave in Oyi Local Council Area and the Ogbaukwu Caves and Waterfalls in Owerre Ezukala Town, Orumba South Local Government Area.

“The Obiano administration would in its first 100 days take pragmatic steps that would reposition the state’s tourism sector to enable the state mine the potential therein. These tourist centres will receive immediate attention with the construction of access roads to them as well as concrete footpaths that will lead into the bowls of the caves to make them easily accessible to tourists. Governor Obiano’s drive to develop the tourism sector into an alternative foreign exchange earner for the state is consummated by his appointment of a core professional with experience in the business, Mrs Sally Mbanefo, as Commissioner for Tourism. All these efforts are targeted at drawing attention to the state’s historical, religious and cultural endowments and make them accessible to the rest of the world,” Eze said.

During a visit to Amorka community recently, THISDAY found that despite the lavish promise by the governor to upgrade the Ojukwu Bunker to a renowned tourist site, nothing has happened, more than two years after the promise.

A Community’s Abandonment

Indigenes of the community who spoke to THISDAY lamented that not only that the project was abandoned, the community now suffers abandonment as no government project has been initiated to upgrade the life of the people. They also lamented that while the airstrip exists, it was also left undeveloped, while resources are now being pumped into a fresh site for the Anambra International Cargo Airport in Umueri.

An indigene of the community, a chief and legal adviser to the council of the traditional ruler and to the town union, Barr Chinweuba Ndukaihe who spoke to THISDAY said, “There is nothing like revenue to the community or to the state at the famous Ojukwu Bunker. A lot of people want to visit, and we have reported this to the state government to come and make use of some of those places, so that it can be a source of revenue to the state, but up till now, nothing has happened.

“The state government has sent its delegation ones and also promised that in due time it will make the place a tourism hub, but such opportunities have eluded us. Our youths have been taking care of it, because the place where the bunker is situated is under our deity, which is called Enyinja. The god of the land protects us, and Ojukwu particularly choose that place because it can offer him protection.”

Speaking on why Ojukwu who hails from Nnewi came as far as Amorka to take up a residence during the war, Ndukaihe said, “Ojukwu had a personal friend in Amorka called Engr MSC Ezemba. In fact, he was the best man during Ojukwu’s wedding, so he was a very close friend to Ojukwu. Both of them schooled at Oxford University, London. This town was like Ojukwu’s second home, because Ojukwu always visits his friend here and during the war, he decided that he can be safe here.”

Ojukwu’s Love for Amorka

Another respondent, Pastor Stanley Ezemba, a nephew of MSC Ezemba, Ojukwu’s bossom friend took this reporter through the story of Ojukwu’s regular visit to his uncle, even before the war, and how the Biafra Airport helped Amorka to beat starvation, especially as the town is usually the first place where relief materials from abroad for Biafra people first lands, before being distributed to far-flung parts of Biafra.

He said, “Ojukwu visited Amorka very frequently then. Apart from his town, Nnewi, the next town Ojukwu adored was Amorka. He took chieftaincy title here and is always here then. He fully identified with us. Engr Mark Ezemba his friend was an illustrious son of Amorka. He was the first principal engineer of Oshodi United College, former chairman of National Electoral Commission (NECON) and represented Nigeria in first World Electricity Summit in Geneva and many other positions.

“Talking about Ojukwu and his relationship with Amorka, let me tell you, when he returned from exile, immediately he came to his town Nnewi, the next place he moved to was Amorka. This was the same day that he returned. He came straight to the bunker, from where he went on exile. He did it because he had a great memory of Amorka. And, on that day, when he heard he was back, the people came together and put the bunker in order and awaited him, and truly, he came on the same day of his return, and we received him there. That bunker is a historic site and it is bad that we are poor at keeping history. We were happy when we heard over the media that the governor, Chief Willie Obiano wants to make it a world tourist site, but it is a pity that since after then, we have not heard anything.”

Ezemba speaking on how Amorka benefited from the sitting of the Biafra Airport in Amorka said, “Yes, we were told that there was abundance of corn meal in Amorka those days because of the airport. It was the only place where relief materials always came to Biafra, so, unlike the rest of Biafra that was experiencing starvation, Amorka people had abundance of cornmeal, milk and other food items. We were also well protected here because the town which had the commander of the Biafra Army was always well guarded. My dad had his property close to the Ojukwu Bunker, so he had no fear at all, during the war,” he said.

Mr Sympathy Unadike, A son of Amorka, who also did a documentary of the community told THISDAY that during his primary school days in the mid 70s, he and his friemds always played with unexploded bombs, which were dropped near the bunker to target Ojukwu. “Our school was close to the bunker. Most of the bombs did not explode when the federal forces dropped them because the gods of our land, Enyinja was protecting Ojukwu in the bunker. Even when Ojukwu arrived Amorka, asking for where to build his bunker, the community intentionally gave him that site because that is where the gods of our land lived. It was a reserved area, so, Ojukwu was well protected during the war.


https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/11/18/the-neglect-of-ojukwus-safe-haven-biafras-window-in-amorka/?fbclid=IwAR29LXVkyClm4nfRbaK1pwvcvLVWjZVs8-OJ4DQkah7gOFfcH-ZM5hGAIGY

JUST IN: Ebonyi Governor, David Umahi, Defects From PDP To APC



Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governor’s defection comes after weeks of speculation that he had taken the decision to dump the opposition party for the ruling party.

One of the reasons given by the governor for his defection is that the South East region has suffered what he describes as injustice in the PDP.

Umahi contested for the office of the governor in Ebonyi State in 2015, on the platform of the PDP and won.

Upon concluding his first term, the governor won the bid to extend his stay in office in the 2019 general elections, again as the PDP candidate.

In 2007, Umahi led the PDP in Ebonyi in acting capacity, and later served as the party chairman between 2009 to 2011.

Later that year, he emerged as the running mate to former Ebonyi State Governor, Martin Elechi, and became the deputy governor after they won the election.

While Elechi’s tenure neared conclusion, the former governor supported a former Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, to succeed him – a move which was rejected by Umahi.

Umahi, who accused Elechi of violating an understanding that he would succeed him, later faced Chukwu and others in the PDP primary.

He clinched the PDP’s governorship ticket while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner of the 2015 election after meeting the requirements to hold the position.



https://www.channelstv.com/2020/11/17/just-in-ebonyi-governor-david-umahi-defects-from-pdp-to-apc/?fbclid=IwAR2wVKwv_sHd6j6nemeDc5K6BIs7WYRGMsJwI-TC-6_wBLE49etw1qRU-bY

The six governors from the South-south geopolitical zone and other important personalities from the Niger Delta region have expressed their angst at the Presidency for failing to attend a major stakeholders’ meeting scheduled in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Tuesday.


It was gathered that the meeting was convened at the instance of the Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari, to discuss the emerging threats to the peace in the Niger Delta region.
A source and aide to one of the governors said the meeting was arranged days before Tuesday and wondered why the Presidency chose to treat such crucial gathering with levity.
Details shortly…


https://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-anger-as-presidency-boycotts-meeting-with-ssouth-governors-others/?fbclid=IwAR1bsJy324dxx1Vh6XFqQshXVYTDC3HP9jjY-3I634tuBQ9KWFxi9pjSa0E


Lalasticlala

Anambra, Enugu and Lagos produce best pupils in Neco Entrance Exam



Three students from Anambra, Enugu and Lagos states got the highest scores in the National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) results released yesterday by the National Examinations Council (NECO).


They are: Umeonyiagu Chinua Crucifixio from Anambra State (199), Onwuamanam Udochukwu from Enugu State (198) and Salaam Mariam Aderemilekun from Lagos State (197).

Registrar and Chief Executive of NECO, Prof. Godswill Obioma, while presenting the results to the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu in Abuja, said the council has fixed the national cut off marks at 142.

The registrar said a total of 70,580 candidates sat for the examination nationwide, out of which 24,416 candidates passed, scoring a minimum of 66.


He added that 16,713 candidates were absent due to the #EndSARS protests that rocked the country recently.

After receiving the results, Adamu said he was delighted with the speed with which the leadership of NECO conducted the 2020 National Common Entrance Examination despite the setbacks occasioned by the outbreak of COVID-19 and the #EndSARS protest.

The minister said he has directed principals of the 104 unity schools to complete both the merit based (60 per cent) and (30 per cent) of equality of states’ admissions within 72 hours of receipt of results.


He also said the government has increased the capacity of the colleges to 26,625 having added 720 slots with the establishment of six more Federal Science and Technical Colleges across the six geo-political zones.

Adamu said: “As has been the tradition for decades, the admission criteria include 60 per cent strictly on merit, 30 per cent based on states’ representation in the unity colleges and the remaining 10 per cent to cover other sundry considerations such as Special needs candidates, gender, local community and biological children of teachers, PTA, SBMC, and old students organisations.

“Consequently, in this year’s admission, the 60 per cent merit based admission will come first, followed by the 30 per cent equality of states and 10 per cent discretion.

“I have therefore, directed that within 72 hours of the receipt of the results, principals are to complete both the merit based (60 per cent) and (30 per cent) of equality of states’ admissions.”

The minister said a selection meeting which would hold at a designated date and venue, would deal with the shopping and swapping of candidates to meet the 30 per cent states representation as much as possible.

He said the committee would handle issues bordering on compliance with laid down criteria in the admission processes, underutilisation of carrying capacity and related matters.

Adamu warned the selection committee to adhere strictly to approved carrying capacity of each school without exception.

“This is to avoid congestion of our classrooms thereby rendering them vulnerable to the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/11/17/anambra-enugu-lagos-students-emerge-best-in-common-entrance-exam-as-neco-releases-results/


Lalasticlala

Where is Nnamdi Azikiwe from?

Nigeria debts will hit N38.68trillion in 2021 — Finance Minister
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has said the total public debts of Nigeria would hit N38trillion by December 2021.
Speaking on Tuesday, November 3, in Abuja, the minister said: “The total public debt stock comprising the External and Homes debts of the Federal and state governments and the Federal Capital Territory stood at N31.01trn (USD85.90 billion) as at June 30, 2020.
It is projected, based on existing approval, to rise to N32.51 trillion by December 31, 2020 and N38.68 trillion by December 31,2021.”

PDP Debunks the Allegations that Wike Ordered the killing of Igbos in Rivers state.



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