₦airaland Forum

A Chieftain of the PDP in Abia state, Chief Surv. Jeffrey Ogbudu has described what is happening in the PDP as a great opportunity for the party to rebuild and re-strategize to form a formidable party that is focused and ready for victory ahead of future elections.

Speaking to journalists in Umuahia the capital of Abia state, Chief Ogbudu said: "Our committed party members and supporters should not feel discouraged but rather understand that it is important that those who may not be committed enough to work towards rebuilding the party voluntarily give way for genuine, patriotic, honourable and selfless members who are ready to work and build our party and our state.”

According to him“ Nigeria is a multi-party democracy where our constitution guarantees the right of everyone to belong to any legal organization of their choice including political parties.

He maintained that “whatever that is happening now is not totally out of place, but part of the road towards strengthening the party for excellent results in elections, the defections have provided an opportunity for the PDP to “genuinely restrategize” ahead of coming elections"

“The party remains strong, formidable, and the biggest political party in Abia state, he advised members to stay committed to the PDP and join hands to work towards building a stronger party both at the national and state.

Chief Jeffrey Ogbudu, who was an aspirant for the 2023 House of Assembly seat in Umuahia North state constituency said "The PDP remains the party to beat in any election both at the national and state levels and expressed confidence that the party will come out of its present turbulence healthier, bigger, stronger and victorious"

The Chairman CHEMLAP Nigeria Ltd and Former House of Reps member Rt. Hon Solomon Adaelu has lost his father-in-law Dr JONAS AWUJO.

According to Hon. Adaelu, the late Dr. Awujo was not just a father inlaw but a father, friend, and confidant, who retired from the Nigerian Customs Service as a Deputy Comptroller General, he is a fine gentleman and a jolly good fellow who lived a life dedicated to philanthropy and kindness towards others.

He was a community leader who during his life on Earth lived and worked in different parts of the country and overseas, born into the family of the Late Mr. Felix Ukaegbu Awujo of Ubakuru Mbieri, Mbaitolu, LGA of Imo State, Dr. Jonas went to be with his maker on the 21st of February, 2024, at a fulfilled age of 79 years.

He will be buried on the 24th of May 2024 in his hometown, Ubakuru Mbieri in Imo state.

It's unfortunate the way the table has turned for the once biggest party in Africa the PDP, more worrisome is the fact that most people who benefitted hugely from the PDP during the period of its hold on power have either dumped the party or are shopping for a new political organization where they can continue to gain influence and political relevance.

The behaviour of an average Nigerian politician gives credence to the popular belief that in the Nigerian political environment, politics is not about societal development but more of personal aggrandizement and I have heard some well-respected Nigerian politicians describe political parties as not ideologically-based but a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to achieve political power.

The PDP as a political organization has had more than a fair share of being used and dumped at will for what appears to them like a greener end, Let me state that it is convenient for anyone to blame the former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike for the role he played in the making of Tinubu's presidency as against supporting his party to return to power.

Wike stood against his party and ensured that Atiku Abubakar lost the presidential election, if we all can condemn what Wike did and judge him harshly for the sabotage, what do we do to Atiku Abubakar for the Haram he committed against the PDP and Nigeria as a nation in 2015?
It's important to remind those who may not know that the plot to wreck the PDP was hatched in 2014 with Atiku Abubakar as a willing tool in the hands of the opposition led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

While many may think that Wike refused to support Atiku because he (Wike) lost the PDP primaries, those holding onto that belief certainly do not understand the character of an average Nigerian politician.

The question you should ask is, why Wike refused to also support Atiku in 2019.

Let's retrospectively assess the events that led to the Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan losing the election in 2015 and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar's role in ensuring that the party he was instrumental to its formation, lost power.

The former Vice President and serial presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar have always nursed the ambition of ruling Nigeria through the PDP, having recorded failures in 2011 and knowing that the party will still hand the incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan the party ticket in 2014, out of desperation he went into conspiratorial alliance with the opposition against the PDP and made sure that the PDP lost the election in 2015, despite all attempts, entreaties, pleas, and promises made to make him change his mind, he was arrogantly adamant and at the end, the PDP lost the presidential election, he did not stop at that, he also sponsored a mole in the person of Alhaji Alimodu Sheriff, to take over as the interim chairman of the Party, a move made to finally bury the party if not for the likes of Barr. Nyesom Wike, Dave Umahi, Godswill Akpabio, Enyinnaya Abaribe, T.A. Orji, Ayodele Fayose, Bode George, and other governors that saw beyond Atiku's evil game and went to battle to save the soul of the party with all the resources at their disposal.

While Atiku was away and attending to his businesses from his base in Dubai, Wike provided the resources and leadership that sustained and kept the PDP alive only for Atiku to launch a return in 2019 with the hope of using the PDP to unseat a Buhari whom he assisted to power at the expense of his party, the PDP.

Having mastered Nigeria's political behaviour with the realization that the PDP is hooked on transactional politics, in 2019 Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, threw in dollars and purchased the PDP presidential ticket from the party leadership led by Uche Secondus and lost the general election thereafter, that outing caused another round of crisis in PDP as many southeast and south South governors led by Wike, Dave Umahi, Ike Ekweremadu, Fayose, etc. refused to support his ambition.

For Atiku, the PDP ticket is a commodity that is up for grabs by the highest bidder, and each political season his immoderate ambition further divides and deepens the crisis in the party, he allows the likes of Wike, Bode George, Fayose, etc. to do the work of financing and keeping the party alive while he comes in after 4 years to purchase the presidential ticket, needless to repeat the already known story of how his last attempt claimed the head of another party chairman Sen. Iyorchia Ayu

Political sins are hardly forgiven, Wike, Bode George, Fayose, and the G-5 Governors only paid Atku back in his own coin, Atiku does not deserve to use the PDP, a party he helped to destroy to achieve his selfish ambition of becoming president, Atiku not only destroyed the PDP he destroyed Nigeria by assisting Muhamadu Buhari to power, Atiku does not deserve such honour. what if there was no Wike to protect, fund, and defend the PDP when Atiku plotted the party's loss and destruction?
Any person in Nyesom Wike’s shoes will certainly feel hurt and demeaned watching Atiku reap from a party he defecated on, he has been a pillar in the PDP when the party was defeated and deserted and he’s one of the consistent members of the PDP that have never left the PDP to another party.

You may not like Wike's face, it's within your rights, you are free to hate his guts, I don't think he is bothered about that, you may even choose to park out of or not to go to the FCT again because of Wike, that's your choice. but one thing you cannot deny about Wike is his passion, commitment, love, and commendable efforts to ensure that PDP remains alive and potent.

PDP, though shedding a lot of weight, remains the most potent opposition to the ruling APC, the party is being restructured, it will bounce back, the leaking umbrella is being stitched and it will come back stronger, bigger, more colourful, rebranded, and better.

DISCLAIMER...

ACTORS GUILDS OF NIGERIA ABIA STATE CHAPTER

It has come to the knowledge of ACTORS GUILDS OF NIGERIA ABIA STATE CHAPTER that one Mr David Onyebuchi Amalaha and others namely:

Nathaniel Nwoko,
Solomon Onyekwere
and Daniel Egwuatu

Have been illegally parading themselves as the duly elected Chairman and Executive Officers respectively of Abia State Chapter of The ACTORS GUILD OF NIGERIA.

In view of the above, the general public is hereby notified that neither Mr David Onyebuchi Amalaha nor the above mentioned persons was at any time ever elected as the Chairman and Executive Officers respectively of Abia State Chapter of ACTORS GUILD OF NIGERIA as they falsely claimed.

We wish to inform the general public that Doris Ogala, was on May 26th, 2023, duly appointed Chairman, Interim Government of Abia State Chapter of ACTORS GUILD OF NIGERIA by the resolution of the National Executive Committee of AGN, and as such remains in office in that capacity as interim Chairman of AGN, Abia State Chapter pending when election to elect new Executives is duly conducted.

Other members of the Interim Government of AGN, Abia State Chapter appointed same day by the National Executive Committee of AGN alongside Doris Ogala are:

Moira Mba - Secretary Chybyke Agu - Member.

The general public is hereby warned that anybody or group of persons that deals or transacts any business with Mr David Onyebuchi Amalaha and his above-mentioned cohorts as Chairman or Executive Officers of Abia State Chapter of ACTORS GUILD OF NIGERIA, does so at their own risk.

Signed..

Doris Ogala
Chairman, Interim Government, ACTORS GUILD OF NIGERIA,
Abia State Chapter.

Moira Mba
Secretary, Interim Government,
AGN, Abia State Chapter.

The name, His Excellency Senator Orji Uzor Kalu means different things to different people depending on how you perceive the persona of this successful businessman, politician, former governor, and Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Many perceive him as a tactical, bold, and courageous politician who bares his mind without inhibitions irrespective of whether he is right or wrong, others see him as an enfant terrible with a magic wand that evokes success and dominates his environment.

Others think of him as a man who is always courting controversies and never allows himself to get lost in the crowd even if he has just a partial grasp of the issue on the table.

But my evaluation of OUK suggests him as a hardworking and visionary character who lives his natural self, displays openness, is very humane, unpretentious about life, and is very vociferous, he doesn't hang onto malice and cannot display ethnicity or tribalism.

As a businessman, Orji Uzor Kalu was formidable, influential, and vast, he built his business empire at a very young age and is the owner of a conglomerate that consists of an array of successful companies, among which are Ojitex Furniture Company, SLOK Nigeria Limited, SLOK Vegetable Oil, SLOK Paper Factory, SLOK Airlines, Sun Publishing Limited, First International Bank Limited, and host of other international businesses under SLOK group, he is an employer of labour with thousands of Nigerians working and earning a living under his business empire.

In Politics, Kalu is persuasive, foresighted, outgoing, and confident, he is also analytical and creative, an astute politician with strategic thinking, and an amiable personality.

He became the governor of Abia state in 1999 upon the return of the 4th republic politics and during his time as governor, he pioneered most of the developmental milestones subsequent governors have been building on including the Aba Independent Power Project that is being celebrated across the country today, I can vividly recall how he recovered most parts of Aba from infrastructural decay, parts of cemetery road and other areas of Aba was fully submerged under the mud then, save for the intervention of OUK.

He established an indigenous home-grown and people-oriented security that effectively contained and to a very great degree decimated the activities of criminals and mafia groups that brazenly held the commercial town of Aba to ransom unchallenged, overpowered the police and were even imposing taxes on residents and grounded commercial activities until OUK stepped in, he established and equipped the Bakassi boys that later became Abia Vigilante Services and charged them with the responsibility of returning security and sanity to Aba and Abia state at large and till date we are yet to see a better equipped and more successful Vigilante outfil in the whole of Nigeria.

During his time, OUK was rated as the best-performing governor and Abia was the most celebrated state in terms of infrastructural development after Lagos at the time, he influenced the context in which development could be evolved and sustained and that earned him the moniker "ACTION GOVERNOR"

OUK is referred to as the father of Abia Politics because most successful and less successful politicians in Abia State started under him directly or indirectly.
As a governor he prioritized education and health care and made primary education compulsory and free, Yes, he has his lows as a human but objectively one can attest to his visionary, charismatic, pragmatic, and sterling leadership qualities.

Little wonder he remained relevant even after leaving office as governor and without any political position for close to a decade.

As a Senator, it is debatable if any other senator had attracted more developmental projects to the zone than OUK or outperformed him as a legislator, he has attracted the construction of rural roads across the 5 LGAs, which make up Abia North senatorial zone, he has also attracted construction, and Renovation of public schools and hospitals, and had delivered empowerment items and scholarships to his constituents among other numerous achievements in the green chambers that earned him a recognition as the 2022 Best Senator of the Year in constituency projects.

The truth is that Senator Kalu has always demonstrated deep-rooted concern for the welfare of people particularly the underprivileged.

Senator Kalu is a revered political figure whose opinion on national issues is never taken for granted, a significant personality whose achievements and inputs in business and politics will remain embossed in Nigeria's history.

His Excellency Senator Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu is one outstanding stakeholder in the Nigerian project whose contributions to the growth and development of the country's socio-economic and political development have been very significant.

Though often misunderstood, he has always lent his voice to the injustice and imbalance in our political system and has in many political seasons signified intentions to contest for the presidency.

Senator Kalu is very eminently qualified with all the characteristics and qualities of a prepared leader, but sadly he may not have the chance again to be president unless, by some divine arrangement, the present political equation does not favour his ambition given his geographical identity as an Igbo Man
Senator Kalu celebrated his 64th Birthday on Sunday 21st April 2024 Let's wish Mmiri Riri Enyi Ndi Igbo, a happy birthday.

Chief Uche Aguoru

A Public Affairs Analyst
Writes From Umuahia

The remains of late Sir Ihekweaba Godson Uwaga, (KCW) were on Friday 19th April laid to rest in his hometown Umuda Isingwu, Ohuhu in Umuahia North LGA of Abia state amidst tears.

The late Sir Ihekweaba Godson Uwaga, (KCW) until his death was a teacher, Great Mathematician, Composer, Choir Master, Father, Grand Father, and Uncle who left an indelible footprint in the teaching profession, he was a devoted Christian, award-winning composer and choirmaster who led his local church to win so many laurels, an author of mathematics books and most importantly a mathematics teacher who made maths classes fun, interesting and simple to understand.

During the funeral service which was held at St James Methodist Church Nigeria, Umuda Isingwu, The Methodist Archbishop of Umuahia Archdiocese, Most Rev Chibuzor Opoko urged Christians and those whom the late Sir Uwaga left behind to emulate the exemplary life of the late Sir Uwaga whom he described as one who dedicated his life to the service of God and humanity and reminded the living of the futility of life and the need to submit their lives to God, He noted that the deceased lived a fulfilled life on earth and has gone back to his creator.

Also speaking the member representing Ikwuano\Umuahia federal constituency Hon. Obi Aguocha encouraged the family and friends of the deceased to take solace in the fact that Sir Uwaga even though dead, left a legacy of selfless service to humanity, he said Sir Uwaga, lived a life worthy of emulation.

One of the children of the late Sir Uwaga Chief Hope Uwaga in an emotionally laden tribute to his late father said “My father was a character engineer with excellent interpersonal skill and an ability to inspire and motivate a generation into success, he impacted so much into humanity and ensured that every child that came under his tutelage was not just successful in academics but in character, he described him as a disciplinarian who didn't spare the rod and never discriminated between his biological children and his students and insisted that his father was simply unforgettable, he expressed gratitude to everyone who attended the ceremony.

At the event were high-profile personalities, including clergymen, community leaders, Government officials, captains of industries, members of the academia friends, and well-wishers of the Uwaga family who gathered to bid the deceased farewell.

See photos from the burial below.

The bold and courageous move by the Chairman of Umuahia North Local Government Area, H\Chief Victor Ikeji to demolish shanties and illegal settlements within the city center to ensure proper infrastructural upliftment and reinvigorate the major metropolis by aligning its developmental trajectory with other state capitals
Mayor Ikeji's entry into the administrative landscape of Umuahia North brought forth a renewed sense of optimism and transformation, armed with a resolute determination to instill change and decency, as a first assignment, he embarked on the remodeling of the administrative building turning it into a masterpiece and a beauty to behold.

Over the years the once serene and beautiful environment Umuahia is known for has been destroyed and all attempts made to sanitize the capital city and give it the ambiance it deserves haven't yielded impressive outcomes.

The city center especially the Isigate axis has become host to all manner of criminal activities, like snatching of phones and handbags, armed robbery, hawking of illegal drugs, and even rape during the dark hours.

There has been a cluster of unapproved shanties behind the popular Okigwe Park and the former Mgbuka area while the valley behind the bypass known as Down Below has become a den and a safe coven for notorious criminals.

Investigation has shown that most of the criminal activities in Umuahia and environ have been planned and executed from there, the place has become a den of criminals and very notorious for gun-running and a distribution point for all manner of hard and illicit drugs being sold in Umuahia and environs.

Mayor Ikeji's move to demolish those dreaded areas of the town will return security and sanity to the capital city, as a courageous leader who understands his charge and is ready to take on his responsibilities inline with his oath of office, as the council chairman he understands that he is charged with the responsibility of protecting and managing the Capital Territory’s environment, and also the enforcement of all environmental legislation, and the abatement of all forms of environmental degradation and nuisance.
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it's an established fact that the general image and impression of the state for a first-time visitor lies on the looks of the major metropolis (Umuahia) and It has become necessary to remove the shanties. as a proactive leader, Mayor Ikeji's commitment to sanitizing the city and making the environment healthy, beautiful, and secure should be encouraged and supported by all.

The effort to sanitize Umuahia should not stop at just bringing down shanties, there should be plans to build a central hub for intracity transporters and also build a park and pay center to avoid indiscriminate parking of cars along the streets as that will ease the incessant traffic usually experienced between cooperative to Uzuakoli road and the adjoining streets along that corridor.

Bus stops should be created with modern bus stop shelters at designated landmarks with commercial vehicle operators encouraged to use the designated bus stops for pickups and passenger disembarkments or face sanctions.

Trading around Isigate should be seriously frowned at and discouraged using every available strategy not excluding force, over time trading at Isigate has constituted an eyesore for people coming into the city and it leaves a very poor impression of the state.

Umuahia should be given priority attention and this move should not end with just the news and photo sessions, there should be intentional efforts and investment by both Umuahia North LGA administration and the state government to give the capital city a deserving ambiance.

Mayor Ikeji should ensure that before embarking on the demolition exercise that provisions will be made to resettle owners of legitimate businesses who operate within the marked environment whose businesses will be affected to avoid escalation of crimes and criminal activities, government should also make immediate efforts to develop those areas because if left undeveloped, the shanties will return, creating the impression of an unserious government.

It's very impressive to note that within the first one hundred days in office of the Chairman of Umuahia North Local Government Area, Mayor Ikeji has exhibited integrity, self-awareness, courage, commitment, dedication, vision, and resilience and I have no doubt his vision will spark a renewed transformation of the capital city while aligning with the aspirations of a community yearning for 21st century developmental touch.

Aguoru
A Public Affairs Analyst Writes From Umuahia

Dr Alex Otti is a very lucky governor,

Just as his name implies "CHI-OMA" he has a benevolent God

The Aba Integrated Power Project (AIPP) was initiated in 2013 under the then Governor TA Orji,

Ochendo provided the investment ambiance, approved and constructed the access road to the project site, and gave tax holidays within the neighbourhood of 500 million Naira to enable Geometrics Power Plant the smooth take-off of the first indigenous power generating plant in Nigeria.

Shortly after Emeka Offor took up fights with Prof Barth Nnaji's Geometrics Power Ltd for acquiring the Aba ringed fence the fight stalled the project.

In 2015 Ikpeazu took over, he understands the importance of power in driving industrialization and SME development, and he knows that if AIPP functions optimally his vision of industrializing Aba would have received a very big push, he intervened and worked very hard, investing time, energy, and resources to untie all the knotty issues surrounding the contractual disagreements involving Enugu Disco and Geometrics that had stalled the operations of Geometrics and hindered the realization of the AIPP.

His administration invested 5m USD giving the state access to 5% ownership of the power project and also assisted Geometrics to secure funding for the project through AFREXIM BANK, today Ikpeazus's time was up and he had to vacate the seat and leave the remaining part of the job for another governor.

Just like the historic AfDB Loan Of USD 263m, the Otti administration is benefitting from and being used to carry out the development of key road infrastructure across the state, the processing of that facility started during Governor TA Orji's era, it was under Gov. Ikpeazu that the state paid the counterpart funding and followed up with all the processes and also fought very hard to resolve the human-induced bureaucratic bottlenecks which the current Governor Dr. Otti, admitted to have made efforts at stopping the state from accessing the loan but today he is the beneficiary.

Governor Otti, within a short period of 9-10 months as governor is commissioning the first Independent power project in Nigeria. what a lucky governor!

I must admit, Governor Otti is lucky, the past administrations laid the foundation and set the platform upon which he is excelling

The gullible Social media community who doesn't know that power is on the exclusive list is celebrating him for being the only governor who built a power-generating plant in his state.

Abegooo Ndi Sosha Midia, to build a Power Generating Plant takes time and cannot be built in 8 months.
He is enjoying all the media glitz and taking the entire glory by giving a little touch to the infrastructures built by his predecessors.

His supporters are celebrating him for mounting solar streetlights and patching the roads constructed by his predecessors.

He has repainted the flyover built by the Ikpeazu administration and he is being hailed and praised for it.

He understands the use of media and his media support base is large, his Chi is very benevolent, and has his palm kernel cracked.

My Govo don't take all the shine alone, in the spirit of fairness abeg give small credit to those who deserve it.

But what is more important is that Aba now has light.

Uche Aguoru

The Anambra waxbill is a species of estrildid finch found only in the eastern part of Nigeria

Discovered by Reichenow in 1902, the waxbill is a small bird with many colours measuring approximately 12cm long, with a pale greyish head, olive upperparts, buffy underparts, a distinctive orange-red bill, rump, and pale eyes.

Found in pairs and usually in small and large groups in the wetlands of southern Nigeria

This bird is reputed to exist in only one place in the world, the Southeastern part of Nigeria. (IGBO LAND)

Nigeria the acclaimed giant of Africa today has all the trappings of a failed state.

We are today experiencing extreme poverty

Galloping inflation rate

Hunger

High cost of living

Insecurity

Food crisis and

High level of unemployment

Extreme poverty is a threat to human security and a hungry nation is an angry nation.

Shockingly and unknown to many Nigerians, the Buhari administration sold out our crude upfront. The country can't earn enough forex to service dollar liquidity, which is the major cause of the forex crisis.

Buhari and Emefiele went aborrowing from every lending institution without consideration to our revenue ratio, standing our external debt profile at 43.2bn USD

We are in a dire situation with every indicator of a failing nation

The most frightening is the hunger ravaging the nation which we must admit has security implications

As Nigerians, we have reached the stage of unshockability that nothing shocks us anymore

But the scary reality is that the nation is on the edge of a precipice and needs urgent intervention.

Nigerians are on the streets protesting and calling on Jagaban to perform the Lagos magic

While lawmakers insist that Emefiele must be made to account for the mess he created which had defied all the economic precepts that Cardoso and his team have so far applied.

But am I hopeful of the nation surviving the current economic crisis? .... YES 💯%

but don't ask me how and when

Uche Aguoru

Sim is definitely a governor in power but without powers

He is stripped of the full powers a Nigerian governor enjoys

But come to think of it, it's either Sim is a dullard or a poor student of history who does not understand the political history of his Oga

If he doesn't know let me tell him a little story, since 1999, no governor in Rivers state has succeeded in producing a successor except Wike.

Wike has built a strong political cult around himself and has succeeded in suppressing all known political voices in Rivers state either through heavy dose of kindness or brute political force including that of his former boss and close ally Amechi who is known to be very loquacious


He single-handedly and carefully handpicked all the people he wanted in power including Sim.

Fubara must have been very naive or have taken his advice to fight Wike this early from a madman

Fayose warned him openly not to fight if he is not prepared to go the full hog.

You can't successfully fight a war without arsenals

The 90% of Rivers legislators both at the national and state level are members of Wikes political cult where he serves as the Capon.

And mutiny is an unforgivable sin in politics

Wike also enjoys the support of the judiciary in Rivers State because he was intentional about their welfare and placement when he was governor.

That means he has the keys to the entire armoury and the question is how did Sim embark on mutiny without access to requisite arsenals?

Amaewhule and his group of 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike have made laws stripping the governor of any influence in LG administration and funds and have gone ahead to veto the governor, which leaves the Sim without network

Today those who openly supported him are facing the heat and smelling the rods, while Wikes supporters are having fun. the court has ordered the arrest of his CoS and other hatchet men that he used to avert his impeachment by destroying the House of Assembly.

Fubara, underestimated his boss, he must be full of regrets now for acting without thinking, even as a governor Sim is without a network, lonely, cold, and powerless.

Put Sim in your prayers he needs it, but again that's the consequence of ingratitude even heaven hates ungrateful people.

Serving Injustice And Confusion From The Temple Of Justice

By Uche Aguoru

For the sake of emphasis, the Nigerian election political cycle starts with the INEC registration of voters and ends in the courts.

While the politicians and political parties are expected to conduct their intra and inter-party activities within the guidelines as set by the umpire in this case INEC, the judiciary is expected to apply sanctions where necessary for the failure of any politician or political party to abide by the set rules of such election as required by either the constitution or the regulatory body in this case the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), because the constitution did not empower INEC to punish or disqualify any politician or political party for conducting their activities outside the set guidelines.

Recently, decisions arising from the judiciary have left Nigerians more confused than they were politically before the 2023 general elections.

The tribunals and Court of Appeal in some of their decisions sacked some governors and lawmakers anchoring their decisions on issues around membership and/or non-sponsorship by political parties for those seeking elective offices since independent candidacy is unknown to our laws.

In some instances, the tribunal and appeal panels viewed non or partial compliance to the electoral act as punishable and went ahead to sack those who by the wisdom of the courts did not comply with the guidelines as enshrined in the 2022 electoral act as amended, a further review of the judgments as dispensed by the courts during the last election cycle, calls for serious concern on how our judiciary is presently structured.

Some of the cases that stood out are that of Plateau and Abia states where the appeal courts in their wisdom citing the provisions of the electoral acts nullified the elections of the lawmakers, in Abia state the appeal court panel sitting in Lagos sacked the Senator representing Abia Central Senatorial zone Senator Darlington Nwokocha and member representing Aba North state constituency in the Abia State House of Assembly Hon. Destiny Akaraka Nwagwu all of the Labour Party, one can rightly describe the ruling of the 3-man panel of the Court of Appeal led by Hon. Justice Georgewill Biobelle JCA, that sacked the Senate Minority Leader Sen. Nwokocha as dramatic because the same panel in a different ruling few munites later upheld that of Hon. Ginger Onwusibe in an election that went through the same process of nomination and sponsorship.

In Plateau state, the election of all 16 PDP members in the state House of Assembly were nullified, the Appeal panel also sacked the Governor, senators, and House of Representatives members elected under the umbrella of the PDP on the grounds of the party’s alleged lack of structure to nominate them as candidates, there are also similar occurrences in other instances like Kano, Adamawa, Nasarawa, etc.

However, the Supreme Court had in their recent rulings declared that the reasons adduced by the tribunal and appeal courts for voiding those elections as pre-election matters, and therefore cannot be entertained by the election tribunals.

I can recall that Senator Nwokocha before the ruling of the Supreme Court on Abia, Kano, and Plateau, had approached the apex court in an attempt to review the rulings of the appeal court that sacked him only for the Supreme Court to dismiss the motion and slam him with a cost of 2 million.

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled, and in many cases berated and cautioned the appeal court justices and election petition tribunals that matters bothering on internal affairs of a political party, membership, sponsorship, nomination et al, should not be entertained by election petition tribunals, does it not amount to injustice to deny those whose legitimate electoral victories were voided on those grounds the right to review their matters?

However, it is a widely held opinion that the rulings of the Supreme Court especially as they relate to the 2023 governorship election are attempts at mending the already dented image of the judiciary and discourage politicians from relying on technicalities arising from INEC guidelines and constitution to climb to office but rather work hard to impress the electorates and gain their votes at the polling booths. but in their efforts to redeem their image, they have created deeper confusion and more injustice.

I am not a lawyer, but my study of the recent pronouncements by the Supreme Court being a court of policy whose decisions in most cases are not predicated on provisions of the law but on many other considerations majorly national interest and security. but their recent pronouncements appear more as Protest Judgments aimed at discouraging politicians from burdening the courts with petitions after elections.

Truth be told, the recent pronouncements of the Apex Court have thrown the entire political landscape into serious confusion, defeated the essence of the electoral act, and murdered internal party democracy.

The Supreme Court ruling which no doubt has straightened the needless controversy on the jurisdictional ambit of the Election Petition Tribunal has deepened the confusion in our body politic, in Abia, Hon. Destiny Nwagwu has refused to vacate his seat insisting that though the appeal Court is the final court in matters involving State Assembly and NASS elections, he had insisted in a tone that sounds like self-help citing the recent declaration by the Supreme court, that matters of nomination and sponsorship are internal party matters of which the tribunal and appeal court has no jurisdiction over and therefore has validated his election irrespective of the fact that INEC has withdrawn his Certificate of Return and reissued it to Aaron Uzodike of the PDP who came 2nd in the election.

In Plateau state, the 16 PDP lawmakers are also insisting that their position as validly elected lawmakers has been validated by the Supreme Court since they are all elected through the same process as the governors whom the Supreme Court has declared properly elected despite the clear breach of processes and have gone ahead to petition the NJC on the matter which they rightly consider as injustice.

There is no doubt that our judicial system is reputed for corruption, but does it mean that the panel of appellate court Jurists who ought to know and should know ended up not knowing, or was it a case of justice for sale?

To all those whom the Appeal Court sacked for non-compliance to the Electoral Act 2022 as amended please accept your fate as casualties of a failed and corrupt judicial system because it has been proven to be an impossible act to reverse the decisions of Courts of last instance as such attempts usually meet a brick wall.

Aguoru
Writes From Umuahia

Exclusive: Unknown Gunmen Abduct APGA Party Chairman, Businessmen Along Arondizuogu Okigwe Road.

The Abia State chairman of the All Progress Grand Alliance, Chief Emmanuel Egwu in the company of his friends, Mr. Henry Egesi and another renowned industrialist and business mogul was on Thursday afternoon around 1:48 PM abducted by unknown gunmen along the Arondizuogu/Okigwe road by unknown gunmen

Narrating their ordeal to the News-Gazette Online, Mr. Henry Egesi said they were abducted while driving back to Umuahia from Anambra state where they attended a burial ceremony.

According to him, they were heading back to Umuahia from Anambra state with two vehicles a Lexus SUV and a Toyota Hilux Vehicle when they ran into some men carrying AK-47 rifles on sighting the men racing towards our vehicle dressed in all-black attire with Biafran insignia we tried to escape but unknown to us it was an ambush of over 100 men armed with sophisticated weapons, we alighted from the vehicle and ran into the nearby village only for them to come and march us out from the compound we ran into for refuge and took us into the forest where they are camped, they subjected us to severe punishment, torture and beating and afterward forced us to transfer millions of naira into an O-pay account.

When contacted Chief Emmanuel Egwu (ESERE) who was in the hospital corroborated the story adding that they were manhandled and beaten mercilessly forcing them to transfer millions of naira into an account they provided and only released them later in the night after seizing the Toyota Hilux Vehicle, jewelries and valuables they were traveling with, he thanked God for sparing their lives and prayed God not to allow even his enemy to have such a terrifying experience.

Mr. Egesi confirmed that the matter has been reported to the police and called on the government both at the state and federal levels to intensify efforts to secure the southeast zone while thanking God for sparing their lives.

We regret to inform the public of a recent unfortunate incident involving a Toyota Hilux belonging to Mr. Wisdom Chidiebere Nwaubani. The vehicle, with registration number APR 725 PG and Chassis Number MROHX8CD190910506, was forcibly taken at gunpoint along the Arondizuogu-Okigwe Road.

We urgently seek the cooperation of the public in helping recover the stolen vehicle. If anyone has any useful information regarding the whereabouts of the Toyota Hilux we kindly request you to report it to the nearest police station.

Governor Alex C. Otti, A Titleholder In Profligacy

By Uche Aguoru

Going by the Q3 report published by the Abia state government on its website, one can rightly accord Governor Alex Otti the infamous title of being a title holder in profligacy, and his government the most wasteful since the creation of Abia state.

This descent into the abyss of corruption only goes to show that Otti's campaign slogan of transparency in governance is a mere swindle used to delude Abians into handing over the vaults to him for plunder.

A breakdown of the Q3 fiscal report slams the Otti government with the incontrovertible confirmation that our state is experiencing more corruption in a sophisticated format than we have ever had since 1999.

How can one explain that Mr. Otti who preached prudence and promised to cut down the cost of governance is today spending a whopping sum of N5.32BN in 3 months to service the office of the governor even as he operates from his private residence while his Ebonyi State counterpart spent N850m and Governor Mbah of Enugu state spent 3.32 billion within the same period under review?

Governor Alex Otti in his usual deceptive rhetoric told Abians that he has not been taking salaries since he became governor but the report posted on the state's official website reveals that Governor Otti has pocketed a princely sum of N2.8BN as security vote in 3 months when Governor Nwifuru of Ebonyi state has only taken 350 million Naira and his Enugu State counterpart has collected 1.1billion naira within the period under review.

Governor Otti"s security vote of 933m every month is the highest in the whole of the southeast, not even the governors of war-torn Bornu and Niger States where Boko haram terrorrists and insurgents hold sway collects so much in security votes.

The only expense line that went down is personnel cost, Governor Otti only spent 4b naira on staff salaries whereas, same period in 2022 Personnel cost was about 12billion naira

This accounts for the over 10.000 staff sacked by the Otti administration and the deduction that goes into Abia workers salaries and a large number of legitimately engaged civil servants yet to be paid since 6 months after assuming office under the guise of unending verification.

Abians can now understand why there is so much hunger and poverty in the state.


The breakdown reveals that the governor has spent on just himself and his family the sum of N8.12BN in the midst of unprecedented hunger and hardship that Abians have been subjected to since the coming of the Otti administration.

These expenditures and indeed other fiscal breakdown as contained in the state website have subheads attached to each report, it, therefore, amounts to barefaced lies to drag the Ikpeazu administration into it.

It is indeed alarming that in so short a time, an administration that rode to power on claims of prudence and transparency has broken the records in wasteful expenditure and plundering of the people's resources and it becomes even worse, irresponsible and dishonourable when a government attempts to deny its own financial record in an effort to cover up its financial recklessness.

This is in addition to the issuing of contracts without approvals from the House of Assembly, lack of due process of open bidding, as well as statutory guidelines and checks by government departments, saddled with such responsibility to forestall financial sleazes.

Is it not suspiciously shocking that under Mr Alex Otti, a supposedly renown first-class economist, our IGR has dropped from 800 million to less than 600 million monthly while our recurrent expenditure has tripled?

The media-manipulated performance claims by the Otti government can only be a product of delusions of grandeur as the reality on the street of Abia, is completely at variance with the fabricated lies and imaginary performance indices that the government is hiring media houses and skit makers to propagate, little wonder they claimed to have spent 543 million Naira in publicity within a period of three months.

Apart from the one lane added to the existing two lanes of the over-advertised less than three-kilometer Ossa\Okpara square roundabout that is being constructed at the cost of 18 billion naira, can the Otti administration name one landmark project it conceptualized, and commenced since coming into office? I stand to be challenged that 90% of the infrastructural projects listed by the Otti administration are projects Ikpeazu started and left at various stages of completion which Governor Otti is now appropriating at a highly inflated cost.

I, therefore, challenge Governor Otti to come clean and show some honour and integrity by apologizing to Abians for this financial recklessness and waste of the people's resources.

Aguoru
Writes From Umuahia

Community Youths Lock, Entrance Into Church Premises, Insist On The Sack of Presbyter

It was a huge drama Sunday morning as youths of Umuda Isingwu in Ohuhu Umuahia North LGA of Abia state locked the gate of St. James Methodist Church, thereby preventing worshippers from entering the church premises, for Sunday church service and other activities.

According to an eyewitness, the youths were protesting what they termed intimidation and highhandedness by the presbyter of the church Very Reverend Ede.

They are complaining that the presbyter has been harassing members of the church who complained of his activities and brags that nobody not even the Archbishop or the Prelate can post him out of the parish despite having stayed for 5 years which is above the stipulated tenure that a priest should stay in a parish before being posted out and that only him (Revd. Ede) will determine when to leave.

They also complained that he operates a large fish pond using the church premises and the pond is not being well managed. The odour emanating from the pond poses a heavy environmental risk to the community and anybody who dares complain, the Presbyter will brandish a pistol threatening to shoot such a person and that nothing will happen, he also uses his self-acclaimed position as the southeast president of the vigilante groups of Nigeria which he also uses to intimidate people and harass the members of the community even at very simple arguments.

When contacted by our reporter the community youth President said the continuous stay of Reverend Ede in the community poses a heavy threat to not just the church members but to every community member including the youth and elderly as he harrases and intimidates all the villagers.

" We are calling on the church leaders, knights, ministers, Archbishop, and Prelate of Methodist church Nigeria to quickly intervene and do the needful by removing the presbyter in order to rescue the church from total collapse" he concluded

Several calls placed on Reverend Ede's mobile phone by our reporter were not answered at the time of filing this report.

Dr. MIchael Enyinna, the President of FundVine Group Ltd and the Vice Presidential Candidate of the Young Progressive Party in the 2023 election was today honoured as the MODEL IN BUSINESS DIVERSIFICATION AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT by Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka.

Receiving the award, the astute businessman, politician, and entrepreneur spared no words in expressing his appreciation to the management of the institution for singling him out of many business gurus, to be honoured.

In his speech, the Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe Prof. Charles Esimone said the award of MODEL IN BUSINESS DIVERSIFICATION AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT is a different brand of recognition for service, taking into consideration the Innovative and entrepreneurial strength of Dr. Enyinna in the capital market industry and how he has remained successful in the nations business environment over time, he thanked Dr Enyinna for his positive impact to the larger segment of the youth population.

He said the award seeks to empower development operators in the system to do more by creating innovations wherever they find themselves like Dr. Michael Enyinna is currently doing.

The event which was held at the ASUU Secretariat Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, in Anambra State had in attendance notable businessmen, government officials, politicians, and members of the academia including Prince Engr Arthur Eze, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, Hon. Prof. Obiageri Orogbu, Dr. Uche Nworah and a host of notable personalities.

Insecurity: South East Traditional Rulers Meet Iwuanyanwu, Call On Tinubu To Release Nnamdi Kanu


South East Traditional rulers have called on President Bola Tinubu to release the leader of the indigenous people of Biafra Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in order to curb insecurity in the region.


The Royal Fathers under the auspices of the Supreme Council of Nigeria Traditional Rulers, South East Chapter made this call last week when they paid a courtesy visit to the President General, Ohaneze Ndigbo Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu at his office in Owerri, they lamented that the continuous detention of Kanu has escalated insecurity in the southeast which has affected the regions economy in several ways and has chased away foreign and local investors.


The chairman of Supreme Council of Nigeria Traditional Rulers, South East chapter Eze Nnamdi Ofoegbu lamented that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has suffered so much in detention and urged the Ohanaeze Ndigbo President to work harder and if possible move for a political solution to enable a quick release of the IPOB leader.


He applauded Chief Iwuanyanwu for his visionary and purposeful leadership since he assumed office, the royal fathers reminded him that by virtue of his office as the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide he is the leader of the region and his opinion should be respected.


They commended Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State for the massive infrastructural development of the state and his relentless efforts in the battle against insecurity, the Royal fathers enjoined Imolites to massively vote for him in the upcoming Governorship election.


In his response, the leader of the apex socio-cultural organization Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu said the organization has advanced plans to meet with, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to canvass for the urgent need for the Federal Government to grant Mazi Nnamdi Kanu freedom, he expressed gratitude for the visit and thanked the Royal fathers for their patriotism, he however expressed regret that other ethnic groups in Nigeria have sold the dummy of perceived secession of the Igbo ethnic group to the Federal Government, thus creating undue fear and suspicion of every intention of the group before the Federal Government.


Chief Iwuanyanwu stated that statistics have shown that Igbos are the real critical stakeholders in the Nigerian project as they own over 60% of the investments across the country while their investments and properties are spread all over the nooks and crannies of Nigeria, unlike other ethnic groups whose investments are sited just within their region.


In his words “your request and solidarity visit have reinvigorated my leaderships intention to see the President on issues concerning the Igbos, more especially the need to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. whose continued detention is escalating insecurity in South East"

” Let us see any person or group that will be instigating insecurity or crisis in Igboland using his name when he is eventually released?

“Some people and groups are illegally feasting on his popularity and detention just to cause unnecessary trouble and problems in the entire South East and for their own selfish interest"

“There must be peace and stability in Igboland and I believe the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will definitely restore sanity and unravel a lot for the benefit of the nation"


Chief Iwuanyanwu further informed that since his emergence as the President of Ohaneze, he has instituted the organization in all the continents of the world including America, Europe, Asia, and South Africa noting that over 6,000 000 Igbos are living in diaspora.


Earlier, the Chief Host of the delegation, HRH Eze Dr. Oliver Ohanwe, the traditional ruler of Isiama ancient kingdom in Isiala-Mbano LGA of Imo State said the essence of the visit is to form a partnership with the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo in the execution of their mission and vision which he insists must be for the overall interests of the Igbo race.


Ohanwe eulogized Chief Iwuanyanwu, describing him as a 5 Star General while commending him also for being a stabilizing factor among the South East Governor’s and other critical stakeholders and leaders of the region.


He canvassed his organization’s foremost desire of advocating for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu as a strategic means of arresting insecurity in the region and the need to have a harmonious cultural identity among the ethnic nationalities.


The foremost Royal Father further disclosed their plan to meet with President Tinubu and some eminent Nigerians concerning the continual marginalization of the Igbos and the need to readdress the injustices especially as it bothers on the detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu despite the courts ordering for his release and commended the South East Governors for their patriotic desires to revamp the region’s socioeconomic activities as well as their untiring efforts in repositioning the zone for sustainable development.


In his own speech, HRM Eze Dr. Douglas Okwara, the Okwarachukwu IV of Umuna ancient kingdom made a case for the promotion of Igbo culture and tradition and pleaded with Chief Iwuanyanwu to carry the Supreme Council of Nigeria Traditional Rulers and traditional institutions along in his leadership agenda in order to achieve an inclusive leadership and sustainable progress of the region.



Royal Fathers present include the Leader of the Supreme Council of Nigeria Traditional Rulers, South East Chapter HRK Eze Iheanyichukwu Nwokenna, The Oba of Ekeoba Kingdom and leader of the Abia chapter of Supreme Council of Nigeria Traditional Rulers, HRM Eze A.I. Ezeigbo- Ochima, HRM Eze G.N . Asomugha, HRH Eze G.N. Ejiogu (Eze Kara) and HRH Eze E.L. Ukaegbu (KSC)

WHY ALEX OTTI IS MISERABLE.

Part One.

By Eze Chikamnayo.

On Friday, the 6th day of October 2023, the reconstituted Governorship Tribunal that oscillated between Government House - Hotel Damgrette and the Court delivered its very predictable and widely considered "Perverse " Verdict in favour of their host, Mr. Alex Otti.
Abians ignored them as they didn't disappoint those who were convinced abinitio that their stay in Umuahia was a mere rehearsal.
Now, that we are happily done with that unfortunate episode, let's quickly examine some of the real issues brought before the Tribunal which can neither be swept away nor sacrilegiously sacrificed in the altar of brickmanship.

First, it is not the intendment of the Law that the Law should give with one hand and also take away with the other hand.
The Electoral Act clearly provided for Witnesses to be Subpoenaed and those witnesses can only be Subpoenaed during the course of the Tribunal Trial, that's after the petitioner has filled his petition.

The Law did not contemplate and could not have contemplated a situation whereby witnesses of the adverse Party would willingly depose to Statements of Oath for Petitioners - to have enabled them to file same along with their Petition at the time of filing.

The above absurd and impossible scenario is what the Trial Tribunal held in their curious Judgement which is clearly to every discerning legal mind an irrefutable error.

Ordinarily, once the final result of an Election is declared, a Party has just 21 days from the time of the declaration of Results to file his Petition.

The question which the Tribunal failed to answer is whether a Petitioner can get a Tribunal which hasn't started sitting to issue a Subpoena on an adverse witness or Party to compel such witness to make depositions for frontloading?

For instance, in the Abia Gubernatorial Elections case , INEC is the 1st Respondent in the Petition. There's therefore no way PDP or Chief Ahiwe would have gotten the Tribunal to issue a Subpoena to get INEC to depose, sign and do all the administrative routine of the Supeonea and hand it over to PDP to enable them to file ( all within 21 days) when the Tribunal is yet to start sitting. That is not possible.

The Tribunal Judges very well know that a Subpoena is a document used to COMPEL witnesses to come to Court- whether recalcitrant witnesses or those who refuse to come UNLESS COMPELLED BY LAW.

The PDP and Chief Ahiwe took advantage of this provision of the Law and brought the INEC Witnesses to Court, yet the Court unexplainably ruled that such witnesses should have been brought to depose at the time of filling!

By the wrongful exclusion of the official witnesses who came on Subpoena, the Tribunal willfully denied itself the benefit of their evidence both documentary and oral and in so doing, the Petitioners were denied the benefits accruable from those evidence which inadvertently has evidently occasioned a glaring miscarriage of Justice for which there should be an Appeal.

Sadly, it is for such perplexing ground above that those who believe that tremendous amount of water has passed under the bridge in this Otti matter are predicating their position. This is a very sad story for the Judiciary.

Another area of Interest is what transpired regarding the Kano Judgement which co-incidentally was put in evidence by Alex Otti and the Labour Party as Respondents - they were the ones that initiated that particular angle.

As we speak, there is in existence, a Judgement in rem and in personna and subsisting to the effect that Candidates of Labour Party were disqualified and that they had none for the Elections.

Mr. Alex Otti as shown by him as the Second Respondent interestingly made efforts to Appeal against the Kano Judgement in order to be hurriedly sworn in as Governor.

But that particular Appeal is no longer subsisting by virtue of the operation of the Constitution and that leaves us only with the Judgement of the Federal High Court Kano.

Invariably, the fact is that before the Law, Mr Alex Otti was not even a Candidate during the Gubernatorial Elections for Abia State held on the 18th of March.

That is the irrefutable effect of the subsisting Judgement of the Federal High Court Kano which remains and will continue to remain subsisting since the Constitutional window created for its Appeal has forever elapsed.

In their decision, the Abia Gubernatorial Elections Tribunal again apparently glossed over the grave implication of the Kano Judgement whereas they are supposed to have given effect to that Judgement which is subsisting. Moreso since that is the cardinal ground in contention which is that Mr Alex Otti was at the time of the Elections not qualified.

Remember that the said the particular matter that resulted in the Judgement of the Federal High Court Kano was initiated even before the election, so it is a pre- election matter; already pending at the time.

The Tribunal ought to have correctly given effect to that subsisting Judgement against which there is not and can never be an Appeal again because constitutionally the time allowed for any Appeal on the matter has expired.

Thirdly, The Electoral Act provided for declaration of Results at different levels, that is wherever that level of Election or Collation took place.
If Election takes place in the Unit, it MUST be DECLARED there. Then the result must be taken to the Ward Collation Center, and it MUST be Collated there. Thereafter, the Collated Ward Results must be taken to the LGA Collation Center where they will again be Collated and also ANNOUNCED and DECLARED.

In the case of Obingwa Local Government, when the results which has duly passed through the Unit, Ward and LGA Collation Stages, were now brought to the final / State Collation Center at Umuahia , the cantankerous Returning Officer, one Mrs Nnenna Otti, for reasons best known to her, contrary to the provisions of the Law decided that she wasn't going to use the results ALREADY DECLARED AND ANNOUNCED IN OBINGWA LGA in the final Collation at the State Level.

She then brazenly took away the Results to Abuja to be "RECOLLATED" ostensibly because she's not comfortable with the outcome.
This illegal, hide and seek moves she did without notice to the political Parties again contrary to the clear Provisions of the Electoral Act and INEC Guidelines which makes it mandatory for the Agents to witness what is happening.

After this strange "RE - COLLATION EXPEDITION" in faraway Abuja, surprisingly no Agent of any Political Party witnessed or signed the new "Abuja Results " Nnenna Otti and her cohorts concocted and brought back after a whole three days!

In a very condescending manner, unscrupulous Mrs Nnenna Otti, the obviously biased Returning Officer, came back and used the strange Results to announce final scores thereby ROBBING THE PDP OF THEIR ADVANTAGE ACCRUING FROM THEIR KNOWN STRONGHOLD AND DENYING THEM LAWFUL VOTES already Collated at all levels.

And that again, is one of the major reasons why the Petitioners , Chief Ahiwe and the PDP complained that there was substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Law and then that the Alex Otti and Labour Party did not win by majority of the votes cast.

In deciding this issue, the Tribunal drew an instant explosion of noise and uproar in the Court Room from even Journalists, when they magically held that the Petitioners didn't prove that the Obingwa LGA Results results were taken to Abuja - A FACT OF PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE WHICH THE RESPONDENTS ALREADY ADMITTED TO IN THEIR OWN DEPOSITION EVEN VIA THEIR STAR WITNESS AND WHICH WAS REPORTED IN VERY MAJOR MEDIA OUTLETS ACROSS THE GLOBE!

Such glaring, "overzealous", miscarriage of Justice in a FACT that would have entirely altered the outcome of the Trial is another fundamental flaw.

With utmost respect to the Tribunal, this very perplexing finding made by them on the issue of the manipulation and exclusion of LAWFUL VOTES already Collated from Obingwa LGA is to say the least, untenable.

Cases in the Tribunal are fought principally on pleadings and the Petitioners ( Ahiwe/PDP) pleaded that the Obingwa Results was Collated, Declared and Announced at the LGA Collation Center at Obingwa and that when it was brought to Umuahia, the State Returning Officer, the reckless and incompetent Mrs Nnenna Otti suspended Collation and took the Results to Abuja for doctoring.

Interestingly, at the Tribunal, both the Labour Party and Alex Otti admitted that they did go to Abuja with the Collated Obingwa LGA Results.
Infact, Mrs. Nnenna Otti had a deposition prepared for her attached to the reply of the Respondents wherein she gave graphic details of what made her take the already Collated Obingwa LGA Results to Abuja for alteration.

So, the question of whether the Obingwa Results were taken to Abuja is not in dispute and it need not be proved any longer because in Law, A FACT THAT IS ADMITTED NEED NOT BE PROVED!

So, for the Tribunal to turn round and hold that the Petitioners did not prove that the Obingwa Results were taken to Abuja is like a huge joke; the 8th wonder of this world and a travesty which has occasioned a gross miscarriage of Justice in this case.

As always, Alex Otti is miserably daft and ignorant. His petty reactions to what some people have since described as "prepared" and "prepaid" is pathetic.

After the widely rejected Judgement, he danced naked in the streets taunting his opponents to the divert monies they intend to spend on appeals for building roads in their villages.

Yet, it is this same diminutive Alex Otti who after the 2015 Gubernatorial Elections went all the way up to the Supreme Court three good times and criss - crossed all other available Courts in Nigeria in his futile attempt to truncate the Electoral mandate of his Predecessor.

By hastily mocking the APC and PDP after this very controversial and curious Judgement, he is nonsensically gloating in futility over nothing.
An election Tribunal lacks the power to ignore or set aside the decision of the Federal High Court. Also, For you to subpoena a witness, you must situate the witness within a petition. INEC cannot claim that they monitored Abia Labour Congress when in actual fact , there was no Congress to be monitored

These and many other grounds which are still available for legal scrutiny at the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court is the reason why the premature gyrations of Alex Otti is a sign of deliberate amnesia.

Judgements are not supposed to be transactional. However, it's unfortunate that certain judicial pronouncements which often collapse when subjected to dispassionate legal scrutiny have become common place in our clime.

Unexplainable, politically motivated judgements dent the Judiciary and whenever the dispensation of Justice is colored by pecuniary interests, it certainly spells doom not just for our hallowed Judiciary but for the entire society.

...to be continued.

Eze Chikamnayo
8/10/23

Owaza Seaport Project: Taking The Game Of Deceit To An International Height


By Uche Aguoru


Governor Otti should know that the mind of every Abian is not malnourished to the point that we should all start cheering most of his highfalutin speeches meant for media razzle-dazzle

Having carefully studied Governor Otti's actions and speeches, I have identified so many gaffes that suggest that my governor is not in touch with the environment he governs, thereby making those who describe him as an helicopter politician sound correct

I listened carefully to the speech made by the Abia governor at the South East Economic and Security Summit In Owerri, As beautiful as the speech sounded, I was embarrassed that my Governor is yet to know that there is no DEEP SEA at Owaza in Ukwa West LGA and that what we have in OWAZA can best be described as an ESTUARY which cannot carry a seaport.

Governor Alex Otti who contested the Governorship of Abia state three times before succeeding at his third attempt is expected to have toured round the state on each of those occasions and should have had a fair knowledge of every important landmark in the 17 local governments of the state.

What happened yesterday at the summit in Owerri simply gives endorsement to the name "Helicopter Politician"

While I welcome every idea or policy that will bring development to the state, your address at the Southeast summit which part of it states that your administration is proposing to site a seaport within the Owaza industrial cluster, and the state is set to perform the flag off tomorrow Saturday 31st of September 2023.

Sir, unless it is by way of your administrations' usual mad hunt for media validation and attention or poor understanding of the Owaza zone in Ukwa West, there is no way you can site a seaport at Owaza knowing that the relevant factors that are directly related to the siting of a project of that nature such as adequate depth, shelter from waves and sea currents, good logistic access, etc are not present. the estuary in Owaza cannot carry barges and the closest to a stagnant river is at Odagwa in Eche LGA of Rivers State.

The closest Abia state has to siting a seaport will be in Azumini River in Ukwa East which was also pointed out at the same summit by the President of Ohanaze Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu who stated that already they are working on realizing that vision of having the Azumini seaport.

What can be more embarrassing than this, that someone from a neigbouring state is now showing a governor the potential present in his local environment?

Does it mean that Governor Otti is rushing to waste Abia's money on flagging off a project that was not subjected to a thorough process of identifying the potential of such investments?

What about the Enyimba economic city an ongoing project that that has passed through all the requirements and now enjoys the buy-in of investors which includes EPZ status and 20% equity by the federal government of Nigeria?

Is this not a confirmation that Dr. Otti is deliberately playing politics with something as serious as a seaport in the Southeast or is it confirming what we have always known that Dr Alex Otti does not really know the state he is administering?

While it is not practicable to site a seaport at Owaza, if Governor Otti goes ahead to flag off the seaport in Owaza tomorrow then know it that this administration have taken the game of deceit to international height.

Aguoru
Writes From Umuahia

In a congratulatory message to Rt. Hon. Barr. Elechi, the CEO of Ricklux Paints International West Africa, Chief Richard Nwankwo described the appointment as well-deserved and urged him to use his wealth of experience in public administration towards developing the nation just like he did in all the places he has served in Abia state.

"It is with a great sense of pride and admiration that I, Chief Richard Nwankwo on behalf of the management and staff of Ricklux Paints International West Africa extend my warmest congratulations to you Rt. Hon. Barr. Chinedum Elechi on your well-deserved appointment as Secretary of Economic Planning, Revenue Generation, and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

Your appointment is truly a testament to your exceptional leadership qualities and long-standing track record in public administration.

I trust that you will continue to work for the improvement, growth, and development of the nation just like you did in all the places you have served in Abia state."
Congratulations boss as you move to the national stage, we expect nothing but the best.

Chief Richard Nwanko
CEO Ricklux Paints International West Africa

100 Days In Office: Otti Dragging Abia Into Multi-Dimensional Poverty

By Uche Aguoru

Ordinarily, Mr Alex Otti who got into office as governor and chief security officer of Abia state on the 29th of May 2023 will have been in office for 100 days, a lifelong ambition which Mr Otti pursued for 8 years and only succeeded in his 3rd attempt.

My concern here is not the length of time, the notion of 100 days in office, or even how much has been achieved or what has been gained and lost.

I am only assessing Otti's government on the strength of his background as an economist and ex-banker, his highfalutin promises to Abians in all these years he has begged for an opportunity, his promises of economic prosperity way above what was experienced by the previous administrations, his overall performance within the period he has governed, and public expectations.

And sadly I have to announce to Abians that the honeymoon they erroneously threw themselves into on the 29th of May 2023 is anything but over and gone.

The foundation of any serious administration should have been laid within the period of the first 100 days in office, which includes moving into office, appointment of key officers, and giving policy blueprints on general administration, health, education, works, housing, agriculture, and especially economy, amongst others.

As of today, the only component that Gov. Otti brought on board is the notion of probing/ recovery of misappropriated public funds and assets which was warmly welcomed by every well-meaning Abian including yours sincerely but sadly the probe from conception lacks genuine sincerity of purpose, a product of a witch hunt only targeted at perceived political enemies, and it has led the administration into making avoidable mistakes of sealing peoples legally acquired estates for lack of proper investigation.

The Otti administration has no known policy direction across all sectors, it is still in a trial-and-error approach and has only succeeded in the blame game, bitterness, vendetta, and witch-hunting without a defined developmental roadmap and sadly some experienced senior civil servants that would have guided his government properly were illegally disengaged and today a deputy director is now heading a civil service where we have Permanent secretaries

ROADS CONSTRUCTION: Despite receiving over 60 billion Naira from the federal government in less than 3 months, the Otti administration has yet to show any remarkable effort, the only road construction the Otti administration has so far undertaken is the completion of a few internal roads initiated by the Ikpeazu administration and left at different stages of completion before the coming of the Otti administration, the only original road project so far conceived by the Otti government is the 6 lanes less than one and a half kilometer OSSA to Okpara square, a road that attracts no economic value which the state government said it will expend a record sum of over 15 billion Naira on.

ECONOMY: A few months before the coming of the Otti administration the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, the Nigerian government's foremost rating agency conducted its periodic surveys to determine the level of growth, development, decline, and other variables across the board and from many angles and statics released in its 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index, MPI which was conducted across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT based on four key sectoral indices namely; education, health, security, and standard of living across 15 indicators: namely nutrition, food security, time to health, school attendance, years of schooling, school lag, water, water reliability and sanitation, housing materials, cooking fuel, assets, unemployment, underemployed and security shocks.

The summary shows that Abia State was one of the best five States in the federation after Lagos and Ogun States and the best in the Southeast, The survey which is usually conducted using data from the World Bank, was done during the terminal days of the last administration, the NBS and the federal government relied on clinically sourced data and reliable statistics based on verifiable indices thereby making their releases authentic and faultless. and today the once robust economically viable state of Abia just a few months ago before the coming of the Otti administration has become the headquarters of hunger in the federation and is now ranked amongst the poorest states because of the massive sacking of legitimately engaged civil servants thereby swelling the already high number of unemployed people in the state, lack of functional local government administration has completely demobilized effects of economic activities of government at the grassroots, unstable or outright lack of clear economic policy direction that has brought government business in ministries, departments, and agencies to a dangerous standstill, non-payment of workers' salaries, especially in local governments, departments and agencies of government, geometric rise in insecurity which has brought the activities of SME,s to an all-time dangerous low never experienced in Abia.

As of today, the effects of poor governance can be seen and felt on many fronts but the most and easily identifiable is the reinforcement of poverty, needless to remind us that it has hindered economic growth and may lead to ruin if aggressive economic and human-faced measures are not immediately put in place.

TRANSPARENCY: One area the Otti administration campaigned seriously, is on transparency, Mr. Otti while begging for an opportunity told Abians that he would run a transparent administration and reduce the cost of governance, Going by his promises Abians expected more from Otti in the area of transparency, and reduction in the cost of governance but shockingly Abians have been kept in the dark and are unaware of how much that has accrued to the State as there seems to be a formal policy of secrecy in the states finances, the procurement process is done in secret and contracts are awarded without due process, today the Governor is the procurement and transport officer and recently he openly confirmed to the world how he personally made efforts to procure Innoson vehicles neglecting due process, the governor has not also told Abians what he has been using the JAAC funds which the FG releases monthly for the running of the local government administration since there is no Local Government Administration in Abia either the elected or the Transitional Committee in place.

It is public knowledge that Governor Otti comes to work from Abuja and on each trip, he parks a private jet at the Owerri airport and heads to his Umuehim Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South home where he holds meetings including State Executive Council Meetings, each of the trips allegedly costs Abia an average of 18 million Naira and this frequentative trip which is repeated 3 days in a week is a clear case of squandering taxpayers’ resources on his ostentatious lifestyle that is gulping billions of naira amidst grave concerns of widespread poverty and insecurity in the state.

SECURITY: A survey carried out by Global Rights, an international human rights organization, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) analyzed by The Cable Index, the data and research arm of The Cable on the death rate resulting from violent crimes in Nigeria in the last three years (2020, 2021 and 2022), placed Abia as the least affected in terms of violent crimes.

The survey recorded a total of 1,178 deaths in the southeast due to violent crimes within the period in review (2020, 2021, and 2022) with Abia recording just 72, Imo – 183, Ebonyi – 391, Enugu – 215, and Anambra – 317. This record is just a testament to the premium the Ikpeazu administration placed on the security of the lives and properties of Abians, The Ikpeazu administration received various local and international accolades for its efforts in securing Abia and Abians but sadly today Abians are dying in their numbers and many are being kidnapped on a daily basis and the Otti administration, seem not to care or are at a loss on how to tackle insecurity despite the promises to secure and protect the lives and properties of Abians but like payment of salaries/pensions, waste management, Julius Berger and other promises, the security of Abians has been left to fate and in the hands of God and I am sure if the survey is conducted using current statistics Abia will be topping the list of the least secured states in the southeast because of the astronomical surge in kidnapping, armed robbery, Unknown gunmen, Snatching of Vehicles, burglary, and destruction of innocent lives and properties.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION: With a hundred days gone In Mr. Alex Otti's Administration there is no local government administration in place in Abia state, This very important tier of government which is saddled with the role of bringing the government nearer to the people and allows for popular participation in politics by reducing the centralization of power in the center, provides an organized system where councils exercise their power and responsibilities and manages the affairs of a locality through planning, organizing, staffing, controlling, coordinating, and budgeting in different Local governments is no longer active only in Abia out of the 36 states of the federation including the FCT, federal allocations due to the LG,s are not being accounted for and the local government workers are not being paid, it is alleged that Gov. seized the seals of the 17 LGAs. and I dare ask Mr. Governor where is the money meant for the development and running of the 17 LGAs?

THE LEGISLATURE: It is not enough that Governor Otti not only suppressed the standing rules of the house, but he also went ahead to intimidate the members and personally ensured that the minority LP took the leadership of the House. He further desecrated the global order of the legislature by installing someone from the minority LP of 10 members in a PDP dominated house as the majority leader an arithmetics that scholars are still battling to solve and today the vibrancy that is usually seen in the Abia State House of Assembly is dead and my Governor has succeeded in making the 8th Assembly a rubber-stamp legislature where he remotes their activities from the comfort of his bedroom.

CIVIL SERVICE: The civil service also received its own share of destruction from the Otti administration, the Ikpeazu administration initiated and pursued civil service reform through the introduction of biometric accreditation which was aimed at ensuring discipline and productivity in the civil service but with a human face and in total reverence to the rules governing the civil service knowing that it is an essential organ of the executive arm of government while agreeing that further reforms are still needed, the introduction of draconian measures and total disregard to laws guiding the civil service has further exposed the inexperience of Mr. Alex Otti in public administration, though many are of the opinion that it was as a result of the bitterness and mindset of vengeance with which Mr. Otti came into power with.

The Otti administration has completely demonstrated total disregard for the extant rules of the civil service by the mindless sacking of thousands of Abians legitimately engaged in the civil service, forcefully suspending Permanent Secretaries without establishing any infractions, queries, or recommendations by a disciplinary committee and till date no official communication or letters issued to that effect, he also violated the public service ethics by appointing a Deputy Director as Head of Service in a system that has serving Permanent Secretaries and Directors and what we operate in Abia today is an inappropriate organizational structure. where a PermSec will now take instructions from a Deputy Director and the resultant effect has been unproductive work operations, lack of competent leadership, etc.

Not surprisingly though, policy inconsistency, lack of direction, and profligacy have defined the Alex Otti administration. the governor has built around himself a strong individual whose subjects, personal aides, and every government functionary are afraid to approach and has deliberately succeeded in rendering every institution of government weak and in most cases non functional.

Let me conclude by honestly saying that Governor Otti's first 100 days in office have indeed betrayed his ill-preparedness, incompetence, and ineptitude, for an office he has spent his entire life running for and regrettably the honeymoon that Abians threw themselves into has ended in a sour taste.

May Abia Succeed

Aguoru
Writes From Umuahia

There was uproar in Abia State, yesterday, as the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice-Designate, Chief Lateef Fagbemi, appeared at the Abia State Election Petition Tribunal holden in Umuahia the Abia State capital.

He is the lead counsel to Mr Alex Otti in the case brought by PDP’s Chief Okey Ahiwe challenging the declaration of Mr Alex Otti as winner of the March 18 2023 governorship election in the state.

Although Mr Fagbemi did not announce his appearance, his presence in court and his sitting with Mr Alex Otti’s lawyers was interpreted by some lawyers present as a needless attempt to intimidate members of the tribunal.

“After being nominated by the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, screened, cleared and confirmed by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to serve as a Federal Minister, and having been assigned the portfolio of Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, one thought that Chief Lateef Fagbemi ought to know that he can no longer appear in court for private cases in which he has interests like that of Mr Otti,” one of the lawyers present quipped.

Another lawyer wondered why lawmakers appointed as ministers by President Bola Tinubu had to quit their former roles to attend Senate screening and focus on the job ahead but Fagbemi chose to cling to a private matter he was handling in court thereby casting doubts already about his impartiality as Minister of Justice if not just to intimidate members of the tribunal.”

In their own reaction through a statement signed by its Convener, Ukachukwu Chinonso and the Secretary-General, Mrs. Maria Nwokoma, and made available to the media in Umuahia, the Abia Renaissance Movement, ARM, said, “Having accepted public service, we wonder why Mr Fagbemi should still concern himself with private matters.

“It is obvious that since Mr Alex Otti sensed that the plethora and quality of evidence against him at the tribunal were too weighty, he has resorted to doing everything possible to intimidate the judiciary, armtwist witnesses and misrepresent INEC.

“We urge members of the panel to remain forthright and neither be swayed nor intimidated by an appointee when they enjoy the full support and protection of the Nigerian Judicial Council, NJC, which is the only Body they are answerable to in the discharge of their duties.

“We call on Mr President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to call Mr Lateef Fagbemi to order and not allow him bring opprobrium to the administration that is still trying its best to solve the myriads of problems afflicting the nation”, the statement noted.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/sunnewsonline.com/abia-uproar-as-minister-of-justice-designate-fagbemi-appears-in-court/%3famp

I don't think it's a very big issue that my Governor Mr. Alex Otti purchased second-hand Hilux Vans abandoning the INNOSON BRAND which he told us was the only request Peter Obi made of him, after all, he has the Bullet Proof Version purchased from INNOSON and two other bullet Proof Ford brands procured with taxpayers money as his official vehicles while the rest of us are covered with the blood of Jesus and handed over to God for protection.

While I honestly pray for Mr. Alex Otti's government to succeed in all sectors, sadly the current security situation in Abia today is scary, and against his campaign harangues, Gov. Otti made adequate security and economic growth his campaign slogan but going by what we see and are experiencing today I seriously doubt his preparedness and sincerity in tackling issues of security, economy and other critical aspects of governance, Gov. Otti obviously lacks leadership acumen, he is confused, unprepared, directionless and appears to be living in the past as it concerns issues of security.

The launching of OPERATION CRUSH by the Otti administration proves that Mr. Otti is simply after media glitz and Braggadocio and not anywhere committed to curing the challenges of insecurity which has continued to geometrically rise by the hour since he assumed office as the governor of the once most peaceful and secured state.
The setting up of OPERATION CRUSH to me is a security misstep that cannot yield a desirable result as history has shown that such a security outfit will only expose Abians to extortion, victimization, and intimidation by those supposedly commissioned to protect them.

Security challenges in Abia and anywhere in Nigeria have never been solved by the deployment of stern and fearful-looking machine gun-wielding men sitting on the tailboard of tokunbo pickup vans, even in the Boko haram ravaged northeast, the little results being recorded there did not come solely through kinetic engagements but through alternative security option known as Civilian JTF.

Going a little down history lane, during the terror reign of the dreaded Osisikankwu the then Governor TA Orji (Ochendo) used the homegrown security option by deploying local intelligence to combat and neutralize Osisikankwu and his gang of terrorists, and that restored peace and security in the state.

Your predecessor Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, whether you chose to accept it or not had the most decorated security achievements in entire southeastern Nigeria not by employing stern-looking security men who will be harassing, intimidating, and extorting Abians unnecessarily but by the use of local intelligence and homegrown approach devoid of media hype or the launch of an ineffectual security operation that will end up being used by landlords to intimidate tenants and agents of governments using it to oppress targeted opposition.

Without sounding ambiguous, the criminality and activities of kidnappers, car thieves, armed robbers, etc. were emboldened by the lack of willpower, directionlessness, ineptitude, and unpreparedness of the Otti administration, and the present measure being put in place is only for the optics and bragging rights and can hardly achieve the desired effects needed to restore the strong security you inherited.

Mr. Governor Sir, please demonstrate a real sense of responsibility to the duties of your office in the interests of vulnerable Abians who are daily falling victim to the series of violent crimes currently on the rise in our dear state by applying a tactical, non-kinetic homegrown approach in tackling insecurity, the present arrangement lacks the capacity to effectively tackle issues of insecurity but can only achieve braggadocio, extortion, and harassment of innocent Abians.

The security and economic situation in our state under your watch is not normal and exceptional steps need to be taken to restore it to normalcy.

Mr. Governor sir, please come down from the private jet, come back to Abia sit up and tackle these challenges time is ticking, and Abians are waiting.

Uche Aguoru

A Current Affairs Analyst Writes From Umuahia

It was a fun-filled event at the 2023 prize-giving and graduation ceremony of Mercy International Academy, Trans Ekulu Enugu, as the pupils elegantly dressed in their school uniforms entertained the guests and parents that came to witness the event.

The colourful event brought together teachers, parents, friends, and well-wishers of the school, to celebrate the commitment, high moral standards, and educational achievements of pupils during the academic year.

The chairman of the event Prince Ejike Eya commended the proprietor and teachers for the excellent brilliance exhibited by the pupils and also praised the high moral standards that the school impacted on the pupils, he admonished parents not to entrust the training of their wards only in the hands of the teachers but also take interest in the education of their children by assisting them in their school works at home, stating that the quality of education at Mercy International Academy was as a result of the dedication, passion and hard work on the part of the teachers, Prince Eya also made a cash donation to support the school.

The Co-Chairman Pharmacist Edison Iwundu in his own speech acknowledged the exceptional brilliance of the pupils and attributed it to the quality of the teaching and dedication of the teachers and management of the school whose mission is to deliver a life-changing education and prepare them for higher school challenges
The best graduating primary six pupil at Mercy International Academy was awarded a scholarship by Pharmacist Edison Iwundu on behalf of Edison Iwundu Foundation, while other graduands received different gift items from the proprietor of the school ranging from educational materials to home utensils.

In her speech, The Head Teacher of Mercy International Academy Mrs. Chinyere Okeke ascribed the successes that the school had recorded since it came into existence to the quality of teaching they give to the pupils, "In this school, we impart not just academic education, but with discipline and fear of God" and stated that in Mercy International Academy we transform pupils to become better academically, socially and otherwise, Mrs Okeke announced that the school has a well equipped library stocked with international and local educational books and a computer room where pupils are exposed to the computer right from the nursery school.

Some of the parents interviewed confessed that their children have been significantly transformed, with evidence based academic and moral improvement.

The highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of gifts and awards, word recitation, debate sessions, drama and cultural display, dance competition, poems presentation, news broadcast, and various other activities.

Governor Otti Scheming For a Shortcut To Legitimize The Sack Of Innocent Civil Servants

By Uche Aguoru

Since the inception of the Alex Otti administration, Abia State has been in the news for the wrong reasons, starting from denial of campaign promises, sacking of top civil servants without regard to legal procedure, award of contracts without due process, House of Assembly crisis, victimization of the opposition, allegations of agents of government fraudulently collecting bribes from people to make them union executives and most recently sacking of over 7000 civil servants.

With the public now questioning and asking for details of the so called 2,300 ghost workers that Alex Otti's government claimed to have discovered

It is now obvious that Governor Otti is scheming for a shortcut to legitimize the sack of innocent civil servants using a nonfunctional and uncompleted staff verification portal.

It is unfortunate that the state Government has in its usual character of inflicting hardship and pains on innocent Abians devised a means of denying so many civil servants access to completing the online staff verification portal which they created and made a criterion for gaining access to the physical exercise.

Civil servants now run from one Cyber cafe to another spending most of their monthly income looking for how to fill the nonfunctional online form.

Gov. Otti through his consultant imported a platform that does not conform with the Abia civil service functional template and from our investigations the platform may have been copied from a private establishment.

When did the State Governor, Secretary to the State Government, Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, and other political appointees become Caders in the Abia civil service template?
Why will Gov. Otti, intentionally omit so many civil service caders and designations in their various fields and replace them with non-existent caders all in an effort to discredit some bonafide civil servants and label them ghost workers just because of their perceived political leaning?

As of this moment, the deadline for the completion of the form and obtaining the printout remains tomorrow 21/07/2023, no extension has been granted, the fact remains that so many civil servants will be unable to complete the form even after spending a reasonable percentage of their monthly salaries on cybercafes because of the non-functionality of the portal giving the Otti administration the excuse to label some legitimate civil servants, "ghost workers"

On the sack of workers employed between January to May, It is an act of wickedness for a government that promised Abians so much and even went on different national television stations to deny the allegations stating that rather than sack workers he will create employment but today Dr Alex Otti has proven that any politician who makes lying and propaganda a political tool finds it very difficult to adjust even when he gets into power, a case study is the Buhari government and most recently The Alex Otti administration in Abia State.

Aguoru
Writes From Umuahia

On the Nmesoma vs JAMB saga, I have trained myself to see issues dispassionately no matter the sentimental push, I try to go for balance in every issue.

Folks are now playing Tribal cards and directly accusing the examination body of ethnic bias against the little girl, not minding that from JAMB,s official record the overall best is from Anambra state.

Nmesoma's father Mr Ejikeme, said, JAMB is envious of her daughter and wants to run her down

I have repeatedly listened to the smart, intelligent, 19 year old Nmesoma Ejikeme and I have also been patient enough to listen to JAMB,s side of the story.

Nmesoma said she got the printout from the JAMB portal, but JAMB is insisting that the smart and brilliant Nmesoma who claimed to have scored 362 as her aggregate has questions to answer as to how she arrived at the result she is parading that won her Innosons 3 million Naira scholarship.

The Wahala be say, JAMB said in their records no candidate scored 362, so what happened?

The DSS got involved but unfortunately they don't owe us public explanation as to what their findings are and I see a nexus between the 3 years ban on Nmesoma and the DSS findings.

Let me digress, my son is 14 and he is IT proficient and to my amazement the guy knows so much about the Internet and how to manipulate it using online apps that I don't even know exist,

I will encourage guys to always go close to their children, be their friend and search them out once in a while you will be amazed at how much knowledge of the internet they possess and how they can manipulate it to achieve whatever they want.

But Nmesoma said she lacks the capacity for such manipulation "I AGREE" after all she is Igbo, and nwa chineke


But JAMB is insisting that no body scored that much in their records, and that Nmesoma's aggregate was 269, I also believe them after all they are the only body with the sole authority to mark exam scripts and award aggregates

Its natural for us to blame JAMB because of the minor blips that usually occur in their centers and Result portals but from the verifications that has been conducted using the QR code, the name on the result Nmesoma is parading belongs to Asimiyu Mariam Omobolanle", and she sat for the UTME in 2021 scoring 138. JAMB claimed the printout she is displaying was outdated in 2021 and that there are many Fake JAMB Result Apps in different play stores.

JAMB had also released her actual UTME RESULT Slip that has her photograph and the score was 269


Yes, JAMB rigged Nmesoma's result because she is an Igbo girl and biafra wants to secede, oh, I forgot she is of the same tribe with Peter Obi?

Why cant we pause for a second and ask ourselves what JAMB will want to achieve by denying her of her correct scores?

I believe we will do better if we begin to take on issues strictly on its worth and not based on sentiments and biases....

Uche Aguoru

A group comprising of supporters of Labour Party in Abia State has called on Governor Alex Chioma Otti OFR to quickly caution his Special Adviser on Health Care Service Delivery, Dr Ngozi Okoronkwo before she destroys the rudimentary of the civil service.

In a letter signed by Emeka Ikechukwu Iroha and made available toThe News Gazette Online, the Concerned Abia State Labour Party Supporters, accused Otti’s SA on Health of acting against the laid down principles of the civil service which if not corrected will embarrass the government.

The group made it clear that Dr Ngozi Okoronkwo lacks the power to order the Director of Nursing Service (DNS) Abia State Mrs. Dorothy Nwosu to step down.

“A commissioner cannot take a unilateral decision to remove a Director of Nursing Service (DNS) or even Principals of Nursing and Midwifery institutions in the Abia State Civil Service. And so, if a commissioner cannot, then a Special Adviser cannot even think about it.”

READ FULL LETTER BELOW:

THE NEED TO CALL DR NGOZI OKORONKWO TO ORDER

In as much as we all desire to get things done properly in Abia State, it is equally necessary that all processes to be applied in trying to get things properly done should be proper.

With the experience of what transpired as regards the market management committees, and the need to avoid a repeat of that kind of scenario, all Special Advisers to the governor have to be circumspect and think decisions through before stamping them.

We cannot in a bid of trying to correct things, trash out good eggs and replace them with bad eggs.

At the moment, tension is building in the health sector in Abia State where the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health Care Service Delivery, Dr Ngozi Okoronkwo is naively taking the wrong steps which will in turn paint the popular Governor Alex Chioma Otti’s government in bad light.

The civil service is structural, and no matter how smart you are in the private sector you will need some time or a good guide to help you understand the process to avoid disrupting it and creating bad blood within the system.

It is public knowledge that the previous government bastardized the civil service and it will be wrong, and shameful if this government will continue in that trend. What then will be the difference?

A commissioner cannot take a unilateral decision to remove a Director of Nursing Service (DNS) or even Principals of Nursing and Midwifery institutions in the Abia State Civil Service. And so, if a commissioner cannot, then a Special Adviser cannot even think about it.”

So, the attempt by Dr Ngozi Okoronkwo to remove the DNS and replace her with her sister from the same Item in Bende Local Government Area without following the due process, without minding her capacity and equally not minding the allegations and indictment on this her sister is purely a corrupt decision.

Otti’s administration must not be seen as rewarding corrupt people just because they have someone close to the government. The government must equally not fall for the trap of describing everyone as corrupt just because they worked in the past administration.

Take for example, the Director of Nursing Service in Abia State Mrs. Dorothy Nwosu, is one person that has shown so much passion in her duty, she has worked uprightly and is the only DNS that has taken it upon herself to fight for the collegiate upgrade of Nursing and Midwifery institutions in Abia State.

The collegiate upgrade will enable nursing and midwifery graduates from Abia State to participate in NYSC, the DNS who is in Abuja at the moment has almost gotten the approval and now they want to maliciously remove her because of the intention of Dr Ngozi to favour her sister Mrs Nwakaego Onyeukwu.

Meanwhile, the position of DNS is a product of career progression and can only terminate by retirement or when indicted by a panel or committee that must be set up by the Head of Service. An SA cannot just declare that a DNS should step aside, it is not done in civil service.

The government should equally be worried because nursing and midwifery students in Abia State are already getting agitated over the rumour that their DNS which is working tirelessly to upgrade their institutions is about to be removed. They are aware that the removal of the DNS will delay the process of the institution's upgrade and equally defeat their desire to participate in NYSC.

This agitation by students if not carefully managed, can lead to a protest which ultimately will embarrass the government. This cannot be allowed to happen at this time when the government is facing numerous battles on different fronts.

It is important to also note that Abia State Nursing and Midwifery Schools have until Wednesday 28th June 2023 to conclude collegiate issue, or the schools stand the risk of the National Nursing Council Abuja withdrawing her accreditations. This will be the worst embarrassment that the Otti’s government will face as students and parents will revolt.

As for the principals, necessary civil service procedures must be followed. Moreover, why on earth will these principals be removed, when they have set standards that are currently been emulated by other neighbouring state nursing institutions?

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Health Care Service Delivery Dr Ngozi Okoronkwo, needs to be aware that the office she is occupying is new and there is nothing wrong with telling people to show you or teach you the procedures and processes.

Throwing allegations on the principals without being informed herself is bad. The school fees of Nursing students in Abia State were formally above N350, 000, it was this current DNS that pleaded with the former governor to reduce it to N215,000 considering the economic situation of Nigeria.

Dr Ngozi cannot be alleging that students pay another N155,000 just based on hearsay with no evidence to show, not knowing that the N155, 000 is part of the N215, 000 paid by the students. Civil Service is a critical organization that relies on facts and evidence to take decisions and is not based on emotional sentiment.

If you think you have your facts against the principals, set up a committee, invite them, put the evidence before them and allow them to equally defend themselves. That is due process and the process must be transparent.

Dr Ngozi Okoronkwo must be careful with the information she is being fed by Permanent Secretary Dcn Ekwueme, she is looking for every avenue to remove the principals because they rejected to accept her list of nursing applicants during the last process of intake.

The principals rejected it because it is not in their place to accept the list, it is the job of the DNS to accept the list, scrutinize the applicants and make sure that due process is followed.

The challenges in the Ministry of Health in Abia State are humongous and the task before Dr Ngozi Okoronkwo is massive. From fixing the primary and secondary healthcare centres in Abia State, making the healthcare centres functional, to payment of backlog of salaries to health workers, returning the accreditation of ABSUTH and many other challenges. Dr Ngozi should not allow herself to be distracted by the nursing institutions because of the personal interest of some people who have the aim of using these institutions as their cash cows.

Signed:

Emeka Ikechukwu Iroha
For: Concerned Abia State Labour Party Supporters

Tinubu keeps proving his pundits wrong.

His appointments so far have proven that the Jagaban Borgu, has no room for favoritism, or parochial considerations but places a premium on competency and national spread

He does not understand the colours of ethnicism or religion but has a soft spot for loyalty and competence

He understands Nigeria's religious and ethnic diversity and he is approaching it intelligently and intentionally.

Asiwaju knows that cracks have been created in the walls that hold the country united and our co-existence is being threatened by the insensitivity of the immediate past APC administration where parochial sentimentality was insensitively elevated over competence and equity.

Buhari threw regional balancing and competency into the trash basket and watched Nigeria drift into an ethnic cold war.

Asiwaju is intelligently fixing the cracks

He is boldly challenging the cabals that have over the years hijacked the country's economy and turned it into their private estate.
His decisions are very audacious and have proven that he is in charge and Baba hand and Legs no dey shake in front of any cabal or godfather.

Asiwaju is strategic and his leadership style is dynamic, he is building bridges, meeting and discussing with leaders of different ethnic groups, political parties, and business interests, and he knows that a Nigeria where the leaders play ethnic cards above national interest is only but a time bomb waiting to detonate.

His recent appointments have shown that he is sensitive to the issues of political, religious, and ethnic balancing and he values the peaceful coexistence of the country, I am sure he will visit Mazi Nnamdi Kanu's case away from the advice of Asari Dokubo, and set Onyendu free, oh sure he will release the Biafran leader.

And when that will happen those who are waiting to attend a town hall different from Bala Blu will be speaking in diverse tongues of gratitude.

Uche Aguoru

Dear Gov. Alex Otti, You Are Elected To Deliver On Promises Not Blames Not Excuses

By Uche Aguoru

Let me congratulate Gov. Alex Otti on his successful inauguration as the 5th democratically elected governor of Abia state even as the election is still being contested in the tribunal and the outcome is yet to be concluded.

I am not one given to undue criticism of leaders, I give newly elected governments ample time to settle down to work before scrutinizing their actions and inactions as democracy demands.

Dear Governor Otti, let me remind you that you are expected to come out as one of the most prepared for this job having relentlessly aspired to govern Abia for 8 years and within that period you actively criticized and disagreed with every action of the government and also moved against all of the policies of the Okezie Ikpeazu administration even where it appears unnecessary, you never at any point attributed any positives to the Ikpeazu administration even where renown organizations, national and international bodies give him accolades for such policy initiatives and interventions, but to me that is the beauty of democracy and Ikpeazu in his peaceful nature allowed free press and criticism even where it is uncomfortable to his person, family and government, let me hope and pray that your regime will also accommodate criticism the way your predecessor did.

Former Governor Ikpeazu has done his bit, he met challenges and inherited liabilities which he took on without complaints, and within his time achieved verifiable results, he may not have done everything because no governor or government can solve all the problems of its citizens, he also had his visible failures as much as he recorded acknowledgeable successes.

But let the truth be told the Ikpeazu administration should be scored high in the area of infrastructure, economy, and security.

For you my Governor, this is a lifetime ambition achieved and I want to believe that you are prepared and well aware of the huge task ahead of you because the ordinary Abian did not vote for you to come and narrate how PDP destroyed the economy, you didn't promise the civil servant excuses but hopes of meeting up with their salary obligations, you told us that you know all the challenges and you are coming to fix them, we are expecting a lot of visible transformation and not blame games, excuses or long grammar.

I want you to realize that politics is over and this is time for governance, going to the refuse dump for a photo shoot without safety garb is needless grandstanding.
Blaming the past administrations without delivering on your own promises will place you in the same ranking as former President Buhari and define you as a bad workman that will always quarrel with his tools.

The ordinary Abian believes that you have all the answers to his/her needs, having positioned yourself as one who knows all their needs and is ready to meet them, you also made several documented and undocumented promises during the campaigns, and in all these times all you promised them was greater democratic deliverables, better living standards and the hopes of a brighter future under your care and not excuses or blames.

Remember, that you are in court is not an excuse, because the FAAC and IGR will keep dropping as and when due, and the judicial processes will not in anywhere interfere with your work schedule.

History has shown that leaders who engage in blame games rather than solutions are doomed to fail before they even start because they are hired to correct the mistakes of the past and not live with them.

Dear Governor, Abians are in a hurry and the time is ticking.

Aguoru
Writes From Umuahia