The pastor in charge of Arm of the Lord Church in Imo state, Mr. Goddy Onyeho has been apprehended by operatives of the Imo state police command for accurately prophesying the location of the corpse of Mrs Augustina Inebere, a woman beheaded by unknown assailants.
The cleric is expected to provide the police further details of what knows about the incident, which took place at Alaiyiama, Obollo community, in the Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State recently.
The body of Mrs Augustina Inebere, 68, who went missing on February 3, 2020 was found headless and disembowelled along a bush path at Mbara Alaenyi.
In his prophesy, Onyeho had said the deceased, would be found at that exact spot during a prayer session with the family, whom he instructed to go to a particular area in the bush where they would see the woman either dead or alive.
After Inebere’s corpse was found, the matter was reported to the police who in turn arrested the pastor.
Imo state police command spokesperson, Orlando Ikeowku, who confirmed the incident, said the sexagenarian went missing in Ugiri community in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State and the matter was reported at the Isiala Mbano police division.
“Some people came and told the family of the woman that they saw the woman walking towards the direction of a particular bush and she was being trailed by her late husband who died 10 years ago. The person told the family that he saw the woman moving while the husband was moving behind her. That was very suspicious.
Later on, a pastor within the area said he wanted to hold a prayer session for them so that God would reveal the location of the missing woman to them. “They held the prayer session and in the course of the prayer session, the pastor prophesied that they should go to a particular area in the bush and they would see the woman either dead or alive. Behold, after the prayer session, they went there and they met the decomposing corpse of the woman without a head.
“The pastor was arrested for questioning and we currently have about four suspects. Investigation into the matter is ongoing,” he said.

Residents of Onuorah street, Amaenyi village, Awka, Anambra state capital are still in shock following discovery of lifeless body of Mr Richard Ifeanyi Obi, a Warri, Delta State-based pastor in his hotel room in the area barely 24 hours before he was scheduled to lead a family prayer deliverance.
The cleric was said to have been found lifeless at No. 5 Onuorah Street Amaenyi Awka, the Anambra State capital where he was lodged by the family for whom he came to conduct the prayer on Thursday morning.
The Anambra state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Haruna Mohammed, who confirmed the demise of the deliverance cleric, said the state Commissioner of Police, John Abang has ordered for a discreet investigation to ascertain circumstances surrounding the incident.
According to the police spokesman: “One Ikechukwu Uchendu ‘m’ of No. 5 Onuorah Street Amaenyi Awka reported at the Central Police Station Awka that one Pastor Richard Ifeanyi Obi ‘m’ who came from Warri to perform family prayers in his house was found lying lifeless in the room he slept.

“Following the report, Police detectives attached to CPS Awka visited the scene, photographed the victim and rushed him to the hospital where he was certified dead by the medical doctor. Corpse deposited at Amaku hospital mortuary for autopsy.”

About 100 retirees of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, COOU, Uli, Anambra State stormed the Igbariam Campus of the university last Wednesday, carrying placards of different inscriptions depicting anger to protest backlog of pension and gratuities.

The protesters, whose ages ranged between 70 and 85 years, were complaining that since they retired ten years ago, the university management had not been able to pay their pensions, gratuities and other entitlements.

Some of the inscriptions on their placards read: “Pay us for job well done. Many of us have died”; ” Govt pay us, save our lives; we have dependents;” “Life is hard without money, please, we need our entitlements,” “Do we not deserve our dues or do you want to pay our dead bodies?”

Chief Emenike Frank, leader of the group, said most of them started work with the institution since 1996, when it was still Anambra State Polytechnic; before it converted to a university. “Most of us retired in 2010; some retired earlier, but since then, we have not received our entitlements as pensions and gratuities.

“About seven of our colleagues have died since we started this agitation; but government and the school management have not addressed our anxieties. We have written several letters to that effect, but we got no response.

“We appeal to the management to come to our help, because, we are aged and cannot do any other work. We also have dependants”, he said.

85-year-old retiree of the university, Lawrence Uhuoha, former Chief Caretaker at the Department of Works in the university, who was among the retirees, begged the university management and Anambra State government to offset their backlog of pensions and gratuities now that they were alive; not when they die.

“At this age, I believe I am very close to my grave. I worked hard during my active years. I want to enjoy the fruit of my sweat before I join my ancestors,” he pleaded.

Prof. Solomon Ekwenze, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), who addressed the aged protesters on behalf of the school management, thanked the retirees for the matured way they relayed their message.

Ekwenze urged the retirees to exercise patience with the university as, according to him, the school management was working hard to offset their accumulated pensions and gratuities.

“As you are all aware, your letters were handled by former university administration; but since Prof Greg Nwakoby came on board as VC, we have just received one of your letters, which we are already working on. Persevere, very soon, you will smile. You worked hard for this university; therefore, the management will not allow your labours to be in vain,” he promised.

By Olisemeka Obeche & Chinelo Nwangene
[img]https://orientdailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Mirabel-Anedo-750x430.jpg [/img]

Mrs Mirabel Ego Anedo, a widow who had spent the last 12 months battling for justice over leaked private videos on her mobile phone says obtaining justice remains her last hope and chances of rebuilding her battered life.

The 29-year-old mother of four children, who is currently locked in a court battle with some persons over alleged leaking and sharing of her nude video, told Orient Weekend that after selling off all her goods and borrowing heavily to finance the case as well as support her family, she was barely living on borrowed time. And threatened to terminate her life if she was not sure that the pendulum of justice would swing in her direction to end her misery.

“I have lost everything I have while pursuing this case and yet people are laughing at me, making jest of me because they know I am a widow and have nobody to assist me get justice. If I can’t find help any time soon, I will end it all”, she told Orient Weekend ahead of the February 18, hearing on the case.

“Depression and pains are swallowing my life. I hardly sleep at night due to what my life has been reduced to, laughing stock. I have no rest of mind at all, because I have lost everything.

“As I speak, those behind this wicked act have ensured that my husband’s family had received the nude video and nobody wants to associate with me.

Mrs Anedo, who hails from Achina in Aguata local government area of Anambra state, but married to a man from Omo in Ayamelum local government area of the state, told this paper that her ordeal started inin January 2019 when she sold her Infinix Note 4 mobile phone to one Chibeze at the sum of N15, 000 without deleting her photographs and videos. By the second week of the following month, February, the nude video clip in the sold phone was on the internet.

She said the buyer was, indeed, known to her, being a neighbour along Survival Line in the market.

On hearing the rumour about the video, on February 12, 2019, she confronted Chibeze who denied complicity in the exposure, claiming he didn’t see the video in the phone. This, she said was even as “Chibeze and other people with him laughed at me”.

According to Mrs Anedo, a woman just got busy playing the video in the market as an amusement for whoever cared to watch. “For weeks I was dying in pain, kept away from the market and contemplated suicide.”

“They circulated the videos to the extent that all, including the security guards in the market, saw it. Both market chairman and chief security even intervened, warning people to delete the videos from their phones and threatened them that it was against the law to damage one’s image on social media. They did not stop and, in fact, sent it to Facebook and WhatsApp platforms.

They even contacted an acquaintance of mine with whom I had a disagreement in the past who now fueled the spread of the videos the more.

“On March 2, 2019, I received a text message from an unknown telephone number, demanding N100,000 and that my acquaintance had also offered him N100,000 to push the videos. I ignored him and my nude video went viral again.

She disclosed to this paper that, because of the nude video leak, she had made several unsuccessful attempts to end her life. “I have drunk poison two times but was saved by doctors and I decided not to take it again because I had figured out that God wanted me to be alive and see to the end of this case.

On the way forward, she insists that her only chance of survival was justice. “Since the human rights organisation, Behind Bars took over the case and got some of the people arrested. They included the buyer of my phone and are currently were detained by the police in Awka, with the case later charged to the magistrate’s court.

“I have been getting calls here and there with people pleading with me to forgive those people but the problem is that I can’t talk in public again. I have lost everything, including my dignity as a woman. My husband’s people have told me to keep away from their compound. It’s only through judicial justice that I can salvage my life.

Orient Weekend gathered that the trial of the two suspects dragged to court over the sharing of the explicit videos of Mrs Mirable Anedo was adjourned till March 24, 2020 when the matter came up last Tuesday, February 18, 2020, at the Magistrate’s court in Awka. It was further gathered that the suspects had been granted bail by the court.

Any financial assistance to Mrs Anedo can be made through her First Bank Account Details: 3065455983

[img] https://orientdailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Mirabel-Anedo-750x430.jpg [/img]

[img] https://orientdailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Mirabel12-576x1024.jpg [/img]

https://orientdailynews.com/cover-story/ive-lost-everything-because-of-my-leaked-nude-video-widow/

By Gabriel Chy Alonta 

Special Adviser to the Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra state, on Public Orientation and Special Duties, Mrs. Ify Obinabo, has advised traders to avoid contacts and consumption of bush meats and other related animals that pose threats to humanity.

Obianabo said this when she visited Building Materials International Market, Ogidi, to enlighten traders on Coronavirus, Lassa fever and other infectious diseases.

Obinabo, during the visit, charged them to observe regular hand washing and maintain high level of food and environmental hygiene to contain those 'zoonotic' diseases.

"Please, stay away from consumption of rats, drinking of garri, or any uncooked food.  Also stay away from coughing patients and always use hand sanitisers.

"For those who travel to China for business trip, you can avoid traveling to China for now or use online services to place your order. Then if you have gone and come back, please quarantine yourself for 14 days to avoid possible spread, if any.

"Please, take this message to your homes. This message is from our working Governor, so Inform your friends and families to educate them also", she added.

The special adviser also warned against bush fire and careless handling of inflammable materials.

She urged the traders to procure fire extinguisher in their shops as well as to put off every electrical appliances before the closure of work or their businesses.

According to her, "Please avoid burning of tires on tied roads, it reduces the life spam of the road.

Governor Obiano has invested heavily on road constructions and rehabilitation.

"Let us sustain the tempo of support we have accorded to the Governor. Let's join hands in making Anambra more business friendly by ensuring prompt payment of taxes to enable the Governor achieve his lofty vision for the state".

Responding on behalf of the market leaders, Chief Jude Nwankwo, commended the governor for bringing awareness and health sensitisation to the market, and remarked that Obiano had recorded excellence in his administration, projecting the state to limelight.

While assuring their continuous support to the state government, Nwankwo disclosed that their market had procured and distributed fire extinguishers to traders for safety.

By Praise Necherem

The Anambra state government has said that it would not hesitate to seal any filling stations operating cooking gas plants within their premises.

The chairman, enforcement and compliance unit of the state, Prince Innocent Offordile, stated this while speaking with newsmen on the implications of locating gas plants inside filling stations. He said the practice, which had become rampant in almost all the filling stations across the state, was illegal as posed high risk to residents.

Offordile, who is also the senor special assistant to the governor on security, regretted that, despite government’s notice to such operators to remove the petrol stations, more of the plants were springing up within fuel stations. He revealed that plans had been concluded to commence enforcement on the directive as soon as the government gave a final approval to that effect.

He said, “The Anambra state government had to embark on the enforcement considering the fact that its citizens will be at the receiving end in the event of any fire outbreak.”

He further warned those siting filling stations within residential areas to desist from such practice as they would not also be spared by government.

Similarly, the commissioner for lands, Mr. Nnamdi Onukwuba, stressed that the enforcement of the separation of gas plant from petrol stations across the state was aimed at reducing the rate of explosions in filling stations. He urged all filling station proprietors to adhere to the directive or face the full wrath of the law.

Onukwuba said, “Governor Willie Obiano’s directives to all gas plants to relocate is because gas and fuel cannot co-exist as it poses a great danger of fire out breaks.”

...posts ₦12.13bn trading surplus

Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC has confirmed that it recorded 34% increase in pipeline breaches nationwide as at last December.

Within the period, 257 pipeline points were vandalized, out of which one pipeline point failed to be welded and six pipeline points were ruptured. The December number of breaches is up from the 197 breaches recorded in the preceding month.

However, the NNPC said that despite the disturbing reports of breaches on its assets, the corporation on the whole posted a positive outlook in December, 2019.

The Corporation said it posted trading surplus of ₦12.13 billion during the period in review, recording a leap from recent past performances.

The nation’s oil company attributed the positive swing in surplus to higher revenue numbers posted by the Corporation’s upstream subsidiary, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).

The upward swing in pipeline breaches, captured in the corporation’s Monthly Financial and Operations Report for December, 2018, showed that Ibadan-Ilorin, Mosimi-Ibadan, and Atlas Cove-Mosimi network accounted for 90, 69 and 57 compromised points respectively or approximately 34%, 26% and 22% of the vandalized points respectively.

The report said that the Aba-Enugu pipeline link accounted for seven percent, with other locations accounting for the remaining 11% of the pipeline breaks.

Despite, the activities of the pipeline marauders, the NNPC report said the corporation continued to diligently monitor the daily stock of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol, to achieve smooth distribution of petroleum products and zero fuel queue nationwide.

The report said that 1.80 billion litres of PMS, translating to 58.17 million liters/day were supplied for the month. Overall, during the month under review, 1.96 billion litres of white products were distributed and sold by NNPC downstream subsidiary, Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), compared with 1.09 billion litres in the market in the November 2018.

This comprised 1.94billion litres of PMS, 0.0070billion litres of kerosene and 0.014billion litres of diesel. Total sale of white products for the period, December 2017 to December 2018, stood at 21.84billion litres and PMS accounted for 20.17billion litres or 92.36% In terms of value, ₦241.46 billion was made on the sale of white products by PPMC in December 2018, compared to ₦146.56 billion sales in the November 2018.

Total revenues generated from the sales of white products for the period December 2017 to December 2018 stood at ₦2,778.32 billion, with PMS contributing about 89.63% of the total sales with a value of ₦2,490 billion. The NNPC monthly report cited NPDC’s continuous revenue drive arising from recent average weekly production of 332,000bpd as the main driver of the positive outlook. The NPDC targets 500,000bpd production in 2020.

In the gas sector, natural gas production increased by 12.22% at 240.64 billion cubic feet  compared to output in November 2018; translating to an average daily production of 8,021.21mmscfd. The daily average natural gas supply to gas power plants hiked by 5.36% to 774mmscfd, equivalent to power generation of 3,131MW.

Out of the 240.59bcf of gas supplied in December 2018, a total of 151.13bcf of gas was commercialized, consisting of 38.61bcf and 112.52bcf for the domestic and export market respectively. This translates to a total supply of 1,245.48 mmscfd of gas to the domestic market and 3,748.47 mmscfd of gas supplied to the export market for the month, implying that 62.61% of the average daily gas produced was commercialized while the balance of 37.39% was re-injected, used as upstream fuel gas or flared.

Further in the report, gas flare rate was 9.15% for the month under review i.e. 729.55mmscfd compared with average gas flare rate of 9.92% i.e. 777.37mmscfd for the period December 2017 to December 2018.

By Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, has called on foreign investors to explore the Nigerian ultra-deep terrain which he described as largely untested.

He said that more than 41 billion barrels of crude oil and 319 trillion cubic feet of gas are yet to be discovered in Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to him, the West African the sub-region held the ace in terms of offshore deepwater exploration hotspots, and that a prolific 1.0 billion barrels of crude oil find were recently made at the Owowo field, offshore Nigeria.

In his address titled: “Foundations for New Investment”, during 19th CERA Week Conference in Houston, United States, Baru informed that in Nigeria, NNPC was currently drilling Kolmani River-II Well in the Benue Trough - one of Nigeria’s several frontier inland Basins with about 400 Bcf of gas expected to be encountered.

He used the Houston event to make a case for the domestication of oil and gas technologies within the African continent. “It is my belief that domesticating these cutting-edge technologies will develop the capacity of our people, improve our economies and emplace our national oil and gas companies on the path of sustainable growth and development,” he said

According to the NNPC boss, African countries must react positively to the new reality by deploying new policies and stabilize their business environment to attract meaningful investments.

He said critical to achieving that for Nigeria was the passage of the four components of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) which is expected to usher in a new legislation that will not only enhance the investment climate in the country, but also change the fortunes of the nation’s oil and gas business for the better. Baru informed that the NNPC was opening up its business environment to ensure transparency and accountability in its dealing with all stakeholders..

By Phil Okose Onitsha

Nemesis reportedly caught up with a woman and her daughter who tried to outsmart each other in their illicit relationship with the same man as they went into fisticuffs on Wednesday in the lover-boy’s apartment at Nkutaku Layout in Okpoko, a suburb in Ogbaru local government area of Anambra state.

Orient Weekend gathered that the man, who is in his early 30s, is a boy friend to the woman and usually patronize her restaurant at Ochanja market, near Onitsha where her daughter also assist her mother to attend to customers.

According to a neighbor who had been following the dramatic battle for the lover boy, trouble started when the young lady in her early twenties began to succumb to love advances from the friendly customer simply identified as ‘Oga Dubai’. “She did not know that her mother and Oga Dubai were already dating secretly before he decided to switch to her”, the source who did not want his name mentioned, said.

“He continued: “The mother kept her calm initially thinking that it was mere friendly play. But, trouble started when on one of the man’s visit to the restaurant, the daughter rushed to him and embraced and kissed him.

Angered by her daughter’s provocative action, the mother warned her to behave herself in a good manner, but the daughter fired back that she was old enough to choose whom to love and that she love Oga Dubai and would like to marry him if he eventually propose to her. After a brief exchange of words, the duo kept their cool and went home as if nothing happened.

Not ready to surrender her lover to her daughter, the woman decided to play the spoiler game on them. Days later when the man invited her daughter to his house at Nkutaku layout Okpoko, her mother was already tipped off and she trailed her to the rendezvous for a showdown.

“The daughter did not know that her mother was a regular visitor to the house and as such very familiar with co-tenants to the man. So after about three hours after her daughter went to the man’s house, she decided to pay an unscheduled visit to the man. On arrival, she made straight to the man’s apartment without greeting the co-tenants as usual whenever she came calling, ostensibly to get them in action.

“After knocking, she pushed the door open and saw both naked, with the daughter’s hand bag hung on the wall. The woman kept her calm and managed to hold herself until the man told her that ‘you are suppose to wait for someone to come and open the door for you before you come in’.

According to the witness, this infuriated the woman who raised her voice, accusing the man of sleeping with mother and daughter, swearing that she has cut their relationship and that the girl will not return to her house again but will remain there in the man’s house.

“As heated argument ensued between the man and the mother, the daughter tried to sneak away but unfortunately for her the mother rushed outside and held her, dragging her back to the man’s house. As the girl was trying to resist her mother, the mother started beating her up and calling her lover- boy snatcher. As the beating became unbearable, the girl fought back and tore her mother’s clothes into shred, exposing her unclothedness”.

The timely intervention of on-lookers who rushed and separated them saved the situation and both headed home from different directions while abusing each other, calling themselves ‘ashewo’.

A man who claimed to be one of the co-tenants of the loverboy also disclosed that the mother of the girl usually visit the man regularly and that that day was the first they saw the young girl. “The woman comes to our yard steady, we even think she is the wife to the man. Sometimes she will cook and fetch water and wash the man’s clothes”, he said.

A woman, Aisha Isah, on Thursday dragged her father, Isah Ibrahim, to a Shari’a Court l, sitting at Magajin Gari, Kaduna, for allegedly forcing her into marriage and locking up her house.

The complainant, who resides at Kadaure area of Kaduna, told the court that her father, who had been pressuring her into marriage, also had her house locked up for defying his order. Aisha pleaded with the court to order her father to unlock her house.

She also prayed the court to restrain her father from further pressuring her into marriage so that she could marry the right man at the right time.

Ibrahim denied the allegation, saying he only asked his daughter to choose and marry from the numerous suitors coming to seek her hand in marriage.

The respondent, however, said he had to lock up her house because of the kind of people she kept company of.

“People have been saying it to my face that my daughter brings all kinds of men to the house; that was why I locked the house because no responsible father will allow that,’’ he told the court.

The Judge, Malam Dahiru Lawal, after listening to both parties ordered the complainant to make peace with her father and avoid all kind of vices likely to tarnish her family’s image.

e judge urged the father to be patient with his daughter and follow the right way of giving out his daughter in marriage in accordance with the Shari’a law. He adjourned ruling until March, 20.

Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja

Confusion seems to have surrounded Train 7 of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) resulting in an eight months take-off delay after the signing of the front end engineering design. Yet the NLNG says the projections are still on track

The NLNG Train 7 expansion project is designed as an upgrade from Trains 1-6 and adding of train 7 and associated infrastructure at an estimated cost of $4.3billion. it is designed to increase the company’s production capacity from 22 metric tonnes per annum to over 30 MTPA by NNPC

The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, which is one of the shareholders, said in July last year that the FID for the project was expected to be taken in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The NLNG corporate communications and public affairs, Mr Andy Odeh, said the design programmes are being executed on schedule and in line with NLNG’s demand for the highest standards of safety and quality. He said the FEED work is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2019.

“The NLNG is fully focused on achieving other pre-conditions, which will eventually lead to Final Investment Decision and the success of the project,” he said. FEED is the basic engineering conducted after the completion of conceptual design or feasibility study. The FEED work takes about one year in case of a large-sized project such as an LNG plant.

He hinted that indeed after FID on the Train 7 project, the construction period would last approximately four to five years. “We expect train 7 to be operational by 2024. Long-term contracts have been signed,” he said, describing the global LNG market as dynamic with increasing competition from new supply sources as well as new opportunities in established and emerging markets.

He pointed out the NLNG, with its track record and years of experience in the market, is well positioned to compete in the market with the deliberate commercial and operational strategies, which enables the organisation to deliver volumes efficiently across the globe. He said NLNG focus has always been to be a global player and deliver products at the optimal value worldwide.

The NLNG had participated in the domestic market through the supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, also known as cooking gas, since 2007. “We currently supply over 50% of the LPG volumes of cooking in Nigeria. Our vision of helping to build a better Nigeria remains intact and we will continue to explore opportunities to further deepen the use of LPG in Nigeria by making the product available to the market.”

The NLNG is also looking at options of increasing its footprints in the domestic market in line with the Federal Government’s aspiration on gas-based industrialisation in Nigeria. The company is jointly owned by the NNPC (49%), Shell (25.6%), Total (15%) and Eni (10.4%).

Kaduna State Government has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the troubled Kajuru Local Government Area.

The government said this in a statement by Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s spokesperson, Samuel Aruwan.

Aruwan said the curfew would be from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily until further notice.

The government directed security agencies to ensure strict enforcement of the curfew.

The government appealed to the residents in the affected areas to bear with it the inconveniences the curfew might have caused and urged them to cooperate with the security agencies on the directive.

Kajuru is in Kajuru Local Government while Kujama and Maraban Rido are in Chikun Local Government area of the state.

Kaduna State Police Command on Monday said no fewer than 16 persons were killed by gunmen at Barde Village under Maro in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state.

Sabo said at about 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, some unknown armed men entered Barde Village under Maro in Kajuru Local Government Area and started shooting sporadically which resulted in the death of 16 persons.

He said on receipt of the information, the command mobilised teams of police operatives led by Kajuru Divisional Police Officer (DPO) alongside military personnel with a view to apprehend the perpetrators and restore normalcy to the area.

He added that the operation was ongoing and the situation had been brought under control.

”While investigation is in progress, the Commissioner of Police, Ahmad Abdurrahman, has vowed to uncover the masterminds of this dastardly act and bring them to justice,” he said.

He appealed for calm and extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of those who were affected by the recent carnage.(NAN)

By Damian Duruiheoma, Owerri

The most topical discussion amongst groups in Imo state today is the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Chief Emeka Ihedioha in last Saturday’s election.

The returning officer of the Imo state governorship election, Prof. Francis Otunta had declared Ihedioha the winner of the election during the early hours of Tuesday having polled the highest number of votes cast, 73,404 to defeat Uche Nwosu of the Action Alliance (AA), Ifenyi Araraume of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 190,364; 114, 676 and 96, 458 votes respectively.

Ihedioha’s victory, to many residents, is seen as Governor Rochas Okorocha’s loss and that of the ruling APC, which had stood a better chance of retaining the state had the governor not brought his 2023 presidential ambition to bear.

The governor had in the course of trying to remain ‘relevant’ to contest the 2023 presidential election, insisted that his son in-law, Uche Nwosu would succeed him as the next governor of the state. And this was against all odds which ranged from the urgent need for the governorship seat of the state to rotate to other senatorial zones of the state (Owerri and Okigwe). Uche Nwosu is from Nkwerre local government area of the state in Orlu Senatorial zone, same as Governor Okorocha, who hails from Ideato South LGA.

It is believed that the Imo West (Orlu zone) has got their fair share from the power rotation, having since 1999 retained the governorship seat of the state for 16 years through Achike Udenwa (1999 – 2007) and now Governor Rochas Okorocha (2011 – 2019) who ruled two terms each.

Most political forces in the state including elders of Imo West and Udenwa, the former governor, all had a consensus to zone the coveted seat this time to Ihedioha who hails from Imo East to maintain power rotation.

The governor had thought that with his son in law, he would have had an enormous war chest to prosecute the 2023 presidential polls after President Muhammadu Buhari must have completed his second term in office.

In his attempt to foist his son in law on the APC as its governorship candidate, Okorocha met a stiff resistance with members of his party, particularly those from Owerri zone, who described it as a third term bid in disguise.

This resulted to crises from the APC congresses that held in the state, which polarized the party into factions, and eventually, giving rise to a “reluctant” Senator Hope Uzodinma to emerge as the party’s governorship candidate.

Hope Uzodinma, the APC’s candidate would have had it easy and considering that Imo is the only state controlled by the party in the south east, he would have flown through the wings of the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential election as Okorocha did in 2015 general elections.

However, the crisis within the APC in the state, caused by the ambition of the outgoing governor, to choose his replacement, nailed the party’s chances. Moreover, Hope Uzodinma hails from Orlu Zone, thus presenting another impediment to APC chances.

Before the election last Wednesday, the race was to be a straight one between candidates of the APC and the PDP, but Governor Okorocha disrupted that design by sponsoring his son in-law to pick the ticket of the AA and backed him up with the state government structures and heavy fund to go into the election.

Going into the election, votes were divided among four major candidates: three of which were initially aspirants in the APC with Araraume and Nwosu leaving the ruling party to fly the flags of APGA and AA respectively.

Their defections were as a result of their failure to win the APC ticket in the primaries enmeshed in several controversies.

The trio faced the PDP’s Emeka Ihedioha, who went into the election favoured by zoning arrangement to clinch the seat and as a result of the division.

Again, before the election, the PDP candidate had strong control in the nine local government areas in his Imo East (Owerri zone) and for the first time in the election history in Owerri Zone, the nine LGAs came together to put up a strong showing.


Loss of goodwill

Another factor that gave Ihedioha and PDP victory was what many refer to as Governor Okorocha’s loss of the people’s goodwill. Recall that Governor Okorocha flew into power in 2015 on the wings of the people’s goodwill. He was seen as the messiah that would come to rescue the state from the hands of then governor, Ikedi Ohakim.

Under Ohakim, the masses lost trust in government as the then governor was seen to be running the state like an emperor. Okorocha exploited the hardship that was existent in the state then and promised to make free education a state policy. He used his Rochas Foundation Colleges as an example of what he would do for the state if he assumed power.

He equally promised to conduct local government elections and allow the third tier of the government to control its own resources. All these promises however, turned out to be lies and deceit as the civil servants were the people whose salaries were deducted to ensure ‘free education’. Again, Okorocha ran the state worse than his predecessor as the local government system was under his tight grips while projects were executed only by members of his family.

Above all, the governor lost it when he started owing pensioners, a development that forced the senior citizens out on street protests on several occasions. Civil servants were equally not spared as their salaries were slashed down to 70 percent.

The governor’s action that broke the camel’s back was the forceful demolition of Ekeukwu Owerri and other markets and the eviction of their traders within the Owerri municipality without any alternative, thus putting thousands in hardship. Thousands of traders stayed weeks and even months at home without having any place to sell their wares.

This resulted to traders still staying put on Douglas Road, Rotibi Street and other adjoining streets long after the Ekeukwu market had been demolished. As all these were ongoing, Okorocha made himself a common enemy of the state and boasted that nobody could take the governorship position away from his son in-law. He went as far as telling the political gladiators in the state that he had already retired them and they include Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, former governors Achike Udenwa and Ikedi Ohakim; Senator Ifeanyi Araraume and a host of others.

All this played out and resulting to the huge amount of money thrown into the elections just to deliver Uche Nwosu. Therefore, it did not come as a surprise to keen observers of the political interplay in Imo when INEC declared Ihedioha as winner of the governorship election in the state.

Peace Obi

The European Union (EU) has said that it would launch a 30 million Euro sustainable energy investment fund in Nigeria. This was disclosed by the former National Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (NIEEE), Adekunle Makinde recently in Lagos.

The launch is said to be part of the activities to mark the upcoming Nigeria Energy Forum (NEF) 2019. And that the Director of West and Central Africa, European Commission Department for International Cooperation and Development, Carla Montesi would launch the EU-funded Electrification Financing Initiative’s (ElectriFI) Nigeria Funding Window.

According to Makinde, Montesi is expected to make a keynote presentation at the conference. “The forum will provide up to 30 Million Euro investment for off-grid and captive power projects in Nigeria.

“NEF 2019 will also focus on achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 7 and how to facilitate investments in sustainable electrification, grid modernization and digital energy technologies.

“The Forum, which will hold from April 9 to April 10 at the Admiralty Centre, Naval Dockyards, Victoria Island, Lagos, will have as keynote speakers, James Momoh, Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

“Others are Dr Weibe Boer, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) All On; and Engr. John Funso-Adebayo, NIEEE National Chairman,” he said.

The forum Chairman, Dr Oluwole Adeuyi, said that NEF 2019 would address key themes pertinent to mobilising local and foreign investments for sustainable energy development in Nigeria.

According to Adeuyi, the forum will feature over 3 top-class hands-on capacity building workshops on Making Bankable Energy Projects, by the Sterling Bank.

“Others are Electrification Finance Initiative (ElectriFI) Nigeria Window Launch, an EU-funded project; and Ghana-Nigeria Climate Innovation Exchange, by GhCIC, Ghana.

“Over 250 participants are expected to attend seven different technical, investment and training sessions, acquiring new skills through practical exposure to modern energy technologies, engage with expert speakers, exhibitors and training providers,” he said.

By Ikora Ayungbe, Uyo

A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and former national publicity secretary, Senator Aniette Okon, has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s claims that votes meant for Senator Godswill Akpabio and the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the last president and National Assembly elections in the state were stolen was a slight on the people of the state.

Vice President Yemi Osibanjo, who represented President Buhari, Monday, during a ‘thank you’ visit to the APC supporters in the state assured that efforts would be made to recover the votes of Akpabio and other candidates stolen by the PDP in collusion with INEC in the state. He said, “it is impossible for Senator Godswill Akpabio to lose election in Akwa Ibom.”

But Okon described the President’s utterances as callous and a disrespect to the people of Akwa Ibom, stressing that, “he is ignorant of the current state of affairs in the politics of the state.”

He advised Professor Osinbajo to rather look for solutions to why his party lost elections in his Ward. “When did he know that there was a stolen mandate here. The stolen mandate is in Sokoto, Bornu, Yobe, Jigawa, Kano and Katsina. Let him go there and show preachment rather than to come here and desecrate the temple of truth by claiming that there was a stolen mandate. It shows complete disrespect to the values of the people of Akwa Ibom state.

“If he has nothing to say he should keep quiet and stop raising the tempers of decent people. He cannot call himself a pastor and a professor of law and there are desecrations and breaches of the basic principles of common conduct.

“When we are talking of the country burning, he is busy parading and pretending as if he is an expert in anything. Rather than talk of protecting the interest of those who have been murdered or those who have suffered carnage in Benue he said we should return to prayers. What prayer is Osinbajo truly capable of.

“They are talking about threats and destruction, but, even on that day of election, an INEC official had the gut to say that there was a bomb blast and after two hours the people came out to vote. Were these people animals or skeletons because we have the evidence that there was no such massive turnout anywhere.

On the fact that it was impossible for Akpabio to lose elections in Akwa Ibom, Okon said the former governor had “lost his glamour and charisma since he joined APC in his desperate attempt to be protected from his numerous sins”

“Is Akpabio better than Saraki that lost elections and he left peacefully and heaven has not fallen? That somebody lost 8 out of 10 local governments and is still talking about stolen votes is ridiculous.

“The number of accredited voters in the card reader were 14,641. Out of that you claim to have 105, 000 votes. Are you a magician? Less than 15000 people were accredited and you say people that voted were over 100,000. I mean it is shameful and a monumental fraud in embrace of APC

“Oshiomhole is from Edo state and the sitting governor is APC, yet PDP won in the state, so why is he not questioning the outcome of the election. The only thing is that Akpabio has been elevated higher than his competence.

“The vice president and the leaders of APC, in an effort to massage the ego of Akpabio, should know the dangers it means to us because they are encouraging breakdown of law and order. All I know is that the fate of Akwa Ibom state will be determined by the Akwa Ibom people”, he said.

“I have in good authority that the vice president arrived here with three national directors of INEC and supposed to be deployed to police the REC. We are not worried about that so far as the policing will not mean influencing wrongly or clamping down on the will of the people as expressed in their votes. They are welcome.

“But the desperation shown and displayed in the last few days by the APC over the election in Akwa Ibom state tells us a lot. It shows that they are only interested in our resources and we will bring an end to this,” he said.

In renewed calls for the redeployment of the State resident electoral commissioner Barr Mike Igini, Okon said the PDP was not afraid of a new REC and would accept anyone sent provided the person would not bend the rules.

“Igini has been resolute and disciplined in protecting the electoral guidelines and people like him should be made the chairman of INEC but we will accept any new REC provided the person is coming on a mission of counting the votes that have been properly cast by the people. So, we don’t care who the REC is provided you are doing what is right.

“But if it is the one that will come with an already written result then the person should write his will before he comes.”

By Elizabet
In a bid to promote local manufacturing, the  Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has placed restrictions on the
sale of foreign exchange to importers of textiles and other clothing materials.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, made this known on Tuesday while meeting with the  stakeholders in the cotton value chain. Emefiele said that the restrictions which will take immediate effect was to encourage the growth of the textile and cotton industry.

He said henceforth, banks and dealers in the foreign exchange market are prohibited from selling forex to those seeking to import textiles and clothing materials.

By Sunday Agbo, Abakaliki

A 45-year-old man, Mr. Peter Nworie, from Amaeka community in Ezza south local government area of Ebonyi state has been dragged to court by his wife for allegedly pouring grounded ‘Cameroon’ pepper into her private part.

Mrs. Florence Nworie in suit numbered FLC \ 015\2019 is seeking divorce in her 20 years old marriage before the Ebonyi State Family Law Center, Abakaliki and sought order of the court to mandate the husband to take responsibility of their children.

She alleged that constant beating and all forms of maltreatment from the husband forced her to run for her life for three years now, until one day in November 2018 when she was apprehended by her husband and some of his kinsmen at a market and forced to the family house.

On reaching their well fenced compound at Ameka, she alleged that her husband striped her naked, tied her hands and feet like a criminal, beat her blue-black, poured pepper into her private part and abandoned her for days to die of hunger and pains in a vacant room in the compound.

Mrs. Nworie also accused the husband of not taking care of her and their three children but always expects her to render detailed financial account from her mining business to him.

Responding, the accused husband, Mr. Peter accused the wife of infidelity, he insisted she left their house to a rented apartment to boost her said adulterous business, identifying that their second son was not his biological son, but a product of her promiscuous lifestyle.

He admitted to have forced her and dragged her home because he married her lawfully in accordance to the law of their land. But had to beat, tie her hands and legs with her cardigan on that day because she attempted pulling off his male reproductive organ from its original position.

He also admitted pouring sauce on the wife’s body but denied that he didn’t not pour grounded Cameroun pepper into her private part as the wife alleged.

After listening to the parties in the matter, the Chairman, Ebonyi state Family Law Centre Abakaliki, Mrs. Elizabeth Nwali ordered invitation of eye witnesses and parents/relations of the couple. She also directed that the under aged children from the union be kept under custody of the wife while the husband care for their upkeep accordingly.

The matter was adjourned to the 14th March, 2019 for continuation of hearing.

By Okechukwu Onuegbu

The Anambra state governor, Chief Willie Obiano has sworn in a new acting chief judge for the state. She is Justice Ijem Onwuamaegbu.

Onwuamaegbu is the first female (Acting) Chief Judge in Anambra state and replaced Justice Peter Umeadi, who retired from service, voluntarily.

Speaking during the swearing in ceremony, Gov Obiano said the appointment would further re-position the state judiciary to effectively address the problem of delayed dispensation of justice.

He assured her of his administration’s support to enable her deliver on her new mandate. On her part, the attorney general of the state, Dr Uju Nworgu, emphasised that the 1999 constitution empowers the state governor to appoint and swear in an acting chief judge when there is vacancy.

Mrs. Nworgu noted that the governor deemed it necessary to appoint Justice Onwuamaegbu as new acting chief judge, in her capacity as the most senior among the judges of the state High Court.

Responding, Onwuamaegbu promised to build on the legacies of his predecessors in office and to ensure speedy dispensation of justice, in the state.

By O’star Eze & Praise Necherem

The Indigenous People of Biafra led by Nnamdi Kanu has discredited the 2019 presidential and national assembly elections as a ‘shambolic rigging fest’ and a confirmation of its stand that voting in Nigeria was a “useless” exercise.

The group also said it remained the only ray of light in a dark and murky political landscape in Nigeria and that its exiled leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, was the only good thing that had happened to Biafrans in 50 years.

IPOB’s media and publicity secretary of the group, Emma Powerful who made the declaration in a press statement issued on Sunday argued that the outcome of the presidential election won by President Muhammadu Buhari had vindicated their position that only referendum would address the country’s political logjam.

The statement reads in parts: “The unacceptable levels of humiliation, intimidation, killing, announcement of fake results, coupled with sponsored propaganda against our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and entire peaceful movement like IPOB by strategy deficient perennial losers, cannot stop our total resolve to restore Biafra sovereignty in the shortest possible time.

“Only a slowpoke and worker of iniquity will pretend not to know what transpired in the colonial contraption called Nigeria during the recently concluded presidential elections. Using the military, police and armed thugs to rig in favour of the ruling APC was clear for all to see.

“That the result has been sanctioned by some weak-minded apathetic Nigerians as well as the Fulani loving British colonial masters, despite the horrors of that elections, is proof, if one is needed, that poor masses of Nigeria are like tormented caged animals stripped of every dignity and lacking in courage.”

“It is a pity and downright unbelievable that their so called Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its agents would allow themselves to be used by the executive the same way they used the judiciary in the country to subvert the will and desire of the people. Thankfully such brazen display of primitivity will never obtain in Biafra.”

The outlawed pro-Biafra group recalled that it had forewarned that the Buhari is not willing to relinquish power. “Before now, IPOB have always maintained, through its various press statements and our leader’s broadcasts via Radio Biafra, that Nigerian government headed by Jubril-Buhari and his kinsmen, will never willingly relinquish power in a peaceful process and will always use INEC, Army, Police, DSS to intimidate the masses during elections.”

IPOB also called on all politicians from its geographical region still nursing the idea of being president of Nigeria to discard the idea and join Biafra struggle. The Nnamdi Kanu led group insists that no amount of negative publicity with stop the group and its leader from achieving the indigenisation of Biafra in a short while. It disclosed that it had plans underway to secretly employ the right personnel to achieve the actualisation of Biafra state within a short time.

“We are not unaware that some Fulani slaves in Biafraland, particularly Igbo politicians, are still nursing the misguided hope of becoming president of Nigeria in 2023.

“We are calling and advising them to retrace their steps and join the movement for Biafra restoration because Biafra sovereignty is sacrosanct. If they were ignorant of the fact that current Nigerian system will never allow them to come near Aso Rock, events of February 23 in Lagos and northern Nigeria has brought home the stark reality that Biafrans are not needed at the heart of Nigerian politics.

“Another Fulani man will, in all likelihood, rig himself into power in 2023 with the help of Yoruba Muslims and the British. All the people will say then is, let us live in peace and move the country forward. Therefore, politicians, artisans, traders, academics, professionals, businessmen and women in Biafra land and all over the world must support IPOB in this noble quest for Biafra liberation or we are doomed to be enslaved in Nigeria along with our children and generations unborn.

“With or without your votes, Fulani terrorist soldiers and police in Nigeria uniforms including INEC will continue to rig elections and publicly disenfranchise Biafrans. A new equation has been successfully introduced which is the use of INEC Collation Officers to allocate figures to their preferred candidates under the watchful eyes the Nigerian military. We are not bothered who becomes president of Nigeria from May 29, 2019 because our focus is on Biafra restoration. One thing we know for sure is that in the end IPOB will win and Biafra sovereignty will be fully restored.”

By Damian Duruiheoma, Owerri

Following Governor Rochas Okorocha’s outburst over his suspension by the national leadership of All Progressives Congress (APC) last Friday, the party’s governorship candidate in Imo state, Senator Hope Uzodinma, has advised the governor to accept the reality that neither the party nor Imo state is his private estates with which he can do whatever he likes, without consequences.

Reacting to the governor’s outburst over his suspension from the APC by the national working committee (NWC) of the APC for anti-party activities, Uzodimma, in a statement by the director of media and special duties of his campaign organisation, Declan Mbadiwe Emelumba, said the governor should accept that he is the architect of his woes instead of looking for scapegoats in the national chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshimole, and himself.

The statement regretted that Okorocha had always used every slight opportunity to pour insults on Oshimhole and the APC governorship candidate in Imo state, blaming them for his political travails.

“This is the greatest insult anybody can give to Imo people because it’s an outright attempt to make a people with proud Republican heritage slaves in their own state. Unfortunately, because of Okorocha’s uncontrollable greed to own everything in Imo state he has failed to appreciate the gravity of this insult on our people ” Uzodimma said.

According to him it’s this greed that has led him to commit brazen anti party activities for which the national leadership of APC has slammed on him a long overdue and well-deserved suspension, adding that instead of showing remorse he is busy insulting everyone.

Okorocha had in his reaction to his suspension accused Oshiomhole of trying to destroy the APC in the South east as well as giving the APC Imo guber ticket to Uzodimma who he claimed was facing some charges.

But Uzodimma dismissed his allegations as empty noting that even when all the governor’s efforts to tarnish his image had failed, he continued to delude himself with his nonexistent charges against him.

“This governor should grow up and accept responsibilities for his blunders and accept the inevitable consequences that follow his evil political plot against Imo people and the APC,” Uzodimma added.

The statement concluded that it was the same wanton greed that led him into committing the atrocities he committed in the Imo West senatorial election last week wondering who he will blame when the full consequences of his desperate actions come knocking on his door soon.

Chibisi Ohakah

Nigeria became the largest of buyer of gasoline from China with 51,000 mt of gasoline imported from the Asian country in January 2019.

While it is the first such export to any African country, latest data from General Administration showed that the first to receive gas export from China was Togo, with 50,000 mt of gasoline in April 2018.

General Administration is the China Customs border agency supervising inbound and outbound activities. It is a full-ministerial-level government agency that directly reports to the State Council of the People’s Republic of China and oversees all the regional customs across the country.

Quoting records from the General Administration, S&P Global Platts, a leading global independent provider of information, benchmark prices and analytics for the energy and commodities markets, said that Nigeria was the fourth-largest buyer of Chinese gasoline in January, and also the only buyer outside Asia last month.

The global agency said the Nigerian general election in February has been a key factor in the growing gasoline flows into the country since December. PetroChina, China's largest gasoline exporter, last year had set up an office in Nigeria, which could possibly point to the first gasoline cargo landing in the African country.

The Asian trading hubs of Singapore and Malaysia remained the top destinations for Chinese gasoline — both took 86.8% of the total outflows from China amounting to 1.32 million mt, up from 75% over January-December 2018.

Oil products from Asian countries are usually sent to the hubs for blending or trading before heading to end-users. Exports to Singapore — the top destination increased by 31.2%  in January to 1.14 million mt, while outflows to Malaysia also grew 56.4% from December to 175,000 mt.

China’s gasoil exports to African countries also continue to grow, with Mozambique and South Africa climbing into the top 10 destinations in January, receiving 147,000 mt and 82,000 mt of gasoil, respectively. This compared with zero in December and a year earlier for both countries. Exports to Mozambique jumped to 316,000 mt last year from just 7,000 mt in 2017, to be among top 10 destinations for China’s gasoil export.

Meanwhile, strong low sulfur marine gasoil demand in Hong Kong continued to boost China’s gasoil exports there in January. Hong Kong was the top destination for country’s gasoil exports, GAC data showed. Exports from China to Hong Kong were up 107.5% from a year earlier to 308,000 mt, though down 26.1% from December.

The jump in exports to Hong Kong comes after China imposed a 0.5% bunker fuel sulfur limit from January 1 along its entire coastline for all vessels sailing within 12 nautical miles of the coast as well as when berthing.

China’s exports to Australia also rose 94.8% month on month to 306,000 mt in January and tripled from a year earlier at 75,000 mt, making it the second-highest receiver of China’s gasoil outflows.

Chibisi Ohakah



Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has stunned economic observers with the report that the country loses between $15 and $18 billion every year to Illicit Financial Flows [IFFs], of which it said the oil and gas sector in Nigeria drives by over 92.9%. These flows, according to the report, are recorded yearly through companies and persons operating in the sector.



Titled, “Averting Illicit Financial Flows in Nigeria’s Extractive Industry”, which was presented in Abuja yesterday, stated that while it is generally difficult to measure IFFs as a result of their illegality, types of activities, and data challenges, available records show that Nigeria’s oil and gas sector contributes the most to the illegality.

Of the 92.9% contribution from the oil and gas sector, oil bunkering was pointed as claiming about 35 %, while commercial transactions conducted illicitly by players international companies who dominate the sector contribute more than 60%, the NEITI report said

Expectedly, tax evasion, non remittances, money laundering, and transfer pricing in their practice of IFFs, were indicated as the popular routes the flows were executed, and this is attributable to Nigeria’s oil industry vulnerability to the thriving practice of IFFs.

The report also said the IFFs have continued to thrive because Nigeria depends so much on oil to drive the economy, whereas the sector is equally highly influenced and controlled by the political class. In addition, the technically and structurally complex nature of oil transactions, and Nigeria’s reliance on cash-based economy, was given as added reason why IFFs thrive in Nigeria

The IFFs report on Nigeria’s extractive sectors stated that Nigeria accounted for 30.5 per cent of all IFFs outflows from Africa, which is $217.7 billion, between 1970 and 2008. It stated that opportunities for IFFs through fraud and money laundering in Nigeria’s oil industry generally starts as administrative control failures by those expected to exercise statutory and regulatory frameworks in the industry.

The failure of statutory and regulatory frameworks, the report said, has resulted to high politicisation of discretionary powers, inadequate corporate governance, regulatory capture, political interference, conflict of interests, tax evasion and bribery.

To check the high incidence of the IFFs in Nigeria, NEITI said the authorizes must mitigate the risks of criminal activities, increase scrutiny and accountability of processes, promote effective demand-side accountability platforms, and get signed on to channels and platforms that discourage trading in illegally exploited minerals. The country must also try to enforce laws and taxation instruments, as well as automate service delivery processes.

NEITI executive secretary, NEITI, Mr. Waziri Adio, said that the worrisome level of IFFs in Nigeria meant the country needed to move from asking how much it was paid or not, to how the payments are made to it. “Everybody is talking about illicit financial flow. It is one of the buzzwords now, and there are all kinds of reports out there about how countries are bleeding from this.

“There is a report published by One Campaign in 2014 about how developing countries lose about $1 trillion annually from this, and you can imagine what that would do for these countries. But, it is not just about talking about these studies and the figures but how these illicit flows are actually depriving countries of their resources.

“Some of these reports have also focused on Nigeria and when you look at the latest estimate from the Thabo Mbeki-led HLP, Africa loses about $50 to $60 billion every year to IFFs and it is estimated that Nigeria accounts for 30 per cent of that loss, that means Nigeria is losing between $15 to $18 billion every year to IFFs and that is not a small amount of money,” he said

By Olisemeka Obeche

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has warned farmers and youths in local communities across the south east against attacks and killing of Fulani herdsmen and their cows.   

The chairman of MACBAN in Anambra, Alhaji Sadiq Gidado who fired the warning shot in an exclusive interview with the Orient Weekend while reacting to the recent farmers/herders’ crisis in Anambra West local government area of Anambra state, stressed that its members would not withstand further unprovoked killings in their line of duty.

“The Fulanis are not people you can push to the wall. I know how I am managing these herdsmen and I pray that the kind of killings that is taking place in other parts of the country will not happen in South East. They should stop confronting and killing these Fulanis without reason. There is a level it would reach and I may not be able to control them anymore.

This paper earlier reported that tension rose last weekend in Mmiata Anam community following speculations that heavily armed herdsmen arrived the area to carry out reprisal attacks following a recent clash involving farmers and herders.  

But Gidado traced the latest conflict to the killing of four herdsmen in the area between since the beginning of the year without tangible evidence of destruction of crops. "The genesis of this current clash was that on January 2, 2019, two Fulani herdsmen were killed at Mmiata Anam and nobody knows what really led to that, except that it was alleged that somebody was wounded inside a farm in the area and youths in the area mobilised themselves and went on rampage.

“Three people were arrested in respect of that matter and we thought everything was under control. But again, on February 22, the traditional ruler of the community called me and informed me that a farmer was killed in the area and they were suspecting Fulani herdsmen for the crime. And I quickly assured him that if Fulani people were behind it, I would get them arrested to face justice. But residents of the area mobilised themselves and killed two Fulani. Up till now, the corpse of the two Fulani are nowhere to be found.

The MACABAN leader further disclosed that the recent land tussle between the Igbo-speaking and Igala-speaking communities in the area was also fuelling the crisis. “Actually, it’s not only Fulani herdsmen and farmers clashes that we are witnessing in Anambra West. There is equally the land dispute between the Igbo-speaking and Igala-speaking communities in the area which is creating a sort of confusion.

According to him, there was usually no proper investigation to ascertain whether it was a Fulani man or Igala that wounded the farmer and what they did was that they went and killed Fulani people. “To me, that was wrong because if Fulani are fighting, you can never kill them like that. The truth is that I know the way I control my people, especially those operating in Anambra West, to ensure that there is peace. I try to tell them to avoid getting into trouble and even when some people are trying to confront them, they should just leave the area and that’s what they are doing.

Gidado disclosed that MACABAN was working in synergy with the security operatives, the indigenes and the state government through the Cattle Menace Control Committee and that those whose farms were damaged by cattle should channel their complaints through the body rather than resorting to violent attacks on its members. “To ensure that they operate peacefully, I ordered that nobody should carry weapons. If they were armed, they would not be easily killed like that. And that is because we have a properly constituted peace committee in Anambra West and another committee in Awka that investigates and addresses issues relating to farmers/herdsmen conflicts.

“So far, none of the committees has received reports from these communities that their farms or crops were destroyed by Fulani herdsmen. But, even if farms were destroyed, I believe we have to follow it legally and not through bloodshed. So, I condemn this act and I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the people of these communities to approach this matter legally.

Meanwhile, efforts to get the official response of the Anambra state police command on the matter was not successful as messages sent to the state public relations officer, Haruna Mohammed, were not replied as at press time.

By Phil Okose Onitsha

Dissatisfied with the victory of President Mohammadu Buhari at the Presidential election held last Saturday, commercial sex workers at the notorious Upper Iweka axis, Onitsha, Anambra state, told Orient Weekend that, “it is going to be another four years of bad market to us”.

Speaking through their spokesperson who simply identified herself as Chinwe, from Awka, they feared that the very few customers they have will run away this time around because of Buhari‘s victory adding that there is no money to spend.

“How can we continue in this bad market again, our customers ran away when Buhari came on board and the few that we manage, sometimes we give them sex free of charge because it is not that they don’t want to pay but that the money is not there.

When they want to pay they pay #300 for short time and N1,000 a night unlike when former President Goodluck Jonathan was in power, then you are sure of ‘take home’ after expenditure, people then queue up with reasonable sum of money, waiting for their turn to have sex with us and sometimes they give us drink and money but now nobody cares to see your face”

“The victory of Buhari will lead some people to commit so many atrocities because a hungry man is an angry man. There is no money and people are hungry and no hope until after another four years of suffering. Does that man know God at all?”

“I graduated from the tertiary institution three years ego and would have died of hunger if not for this my prostitution. Who cares about me except my poor old parents and I am their bread winner. It is from prostitution that I paid my school fees up to graduation and severally I tried to gain employment but no way. In this business of prostitution they have come again with their trouble that Buhari has won again after the first four years of bad market for us, see me oo, see wahala”

Whoever that doesn’t want our business to prosper his own business will not prosper. Let government give people work, food, money and these things will get to us through our customers” she pleaded.

In her contribution, one of those who flanked by the spokesperson, who gave her name as Nkky, from Ihiala, said that, “formerly I see at least seven to ten men a day and go home with reasonable money but today, Buhari chops alone”.

“My three siblings are in secondary school and I cater for them and pay for the house rent where we live in Fegge. I make the money from this prostitution business because nobody wants to know or take care of me”.

“Today I hardly get three men to keep body and soul together because Buhari is in power. If I see former President Ibrahim Babangida or Jonathan I will give them sex for free because they put food for me on the table, God will bless them” she prayed.

...as FG targets $3.5bn investments, annual GDP impact of N$1bn

By Chibisi Ohakah     

Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources has confirmed that over 700 firms have registered on the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme [NGFCP] portal to jostle for about 178 gas flare sites located in the Niger Delta region. This followed the call for interested bidders to bid for gas flare sites by the ministry.

The ministry also assured that the program would attract over $3.5 billion worth of investments to Nigeria to achieve the gas flare commercialisation targets by 2020, and a potential annual revenue and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) impact of around $1billion.

Two years ago, the Federal Government announced the commencement of the verification of gas flare sites across the country, and had discovered that there were at least 178 sites where gas was flared by various oil companies as opposed to 140 sites listed in the past.

The ministry said it has therefore designed the NGFCP as an important climate change action plan for Nigeria.

It said that the site is the first market-driven programme undertaken on this scale globally, which means bidders will have the flexibility of choosing which flare sites to bid for, the gas price, and the end market or gas product, as well as the technology to be used

The programme manager, Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme in the federal ministry of petroleum resources, Mr. Justice Derefaka, said the verification exercise was conducted in conjunction with the World Bank, United States Agency for International Development and the Canadian government.

He explained that the essence of embarking on the verification exercise was to address issues of bankability and the need to attract investors and financiers to the gas flare commercialisation initiative.

According to him, the overall idea is to ensure that the country has a credible, measurable, attainable data that would be bankable, so that it would be an investment-grade data for investors and lenders to put their money. Derefaka informed that the worth of about 22 million tonnes of Carbon IV Oxide flared by oil companies in Nigeria, was $500 million (N153 billion).

The gas could be put to good use and potentially displace other fuels like coal and diesel that generate higher emissions per energy unit, he said.

“For the 22 million tonnes CO2 we emit, we lose approximately $500m emission credit value. If harnessed, we could power two to three LNG trains and if used for power, we could generate about 3,000MW of electricity,” the NGFCP chief said.

By Olisemeka Obeche

Residents of Mmiata Anam, Umuenwelum and other communities in Anambra West local government Area of Anambra state are living in fear following speculations that armed herdsmen had infiltrated the area to carryout bloody attacks.

The alleged massive arrival of armed herdsmen through speed boats at Onono beach over the weekend came barely 48 hours after some herders were driven out of the area by angry youths in aftermath of a farmer that was attacked at Mmiata farm settlement.

Orient Daily gathered from a reliable source that the latest herders/farmers crisis occurred last Friday when a farmer was nearly butchered to death by unknown herdsmen. A video clip of the farmer allegedly butchered by suspected herdsmen during the confrontation in the area provoked umbrage on social media.

“After the attack, youths in the area mobilized and chased away the herdsmen and their cattle from their camps. On Sunday after the election, there was speculation that the Fulani herdsmen had regrouped and were coming back into the area in large numbers through Onono. That prompted many people to flee from the area”, he said.

Reacting to the latest development, Mr. Nnamdi Anekwe-Chive, a security expert and political leader in the area, urged the state and federal government to urgently find lasting solution to the herders/farmers clashes in the area. Describing the latest tension as worrisome, Anekwe-Chive who is the Anambra West state Assembly candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said: “Our major concern is the bloody dimension of the herders/farmers clashes in recent times because Anambra West is a peaceful agrarian settlement and people rely mostly on farming for survival. So, having these clashes would definitely lead to a lot of displacement of farmers and destruction of crops.


He argued that the lease agreement reportedly reached by state government, some community leaders and these herdsmen that granted them grazing rights on lands in the area remain suspect and should be terminated. “We are being told that government is going to compensate those whose crops were damaged, yet investigations revealed that there has never been such compensations.

“Our position is that whatever agreements between the government, community leaders and herders should be terminated and their monies refunded back so that they can leave Anambra West”, he adds.

He called for adequate security beef up in the area to stem escalation of violence in the area. “We have seen military patrol and police check points in the area in recent time and we hope that would boost confidence peace, but we haven’t seen a satisfactory approach from the government on how to resolve the conflict. We will like to see proactive measures that would lead to permanent resolution of conflicts between farmers and herders in the area and the only way to resolve such problem is to stop herders from coming into contacts with farmers and their crops.

“At the moment, when you drive through communities in Anambra west, we see large numbers of herders and their cattle grazing on people’s farmland and whenever they are confronted, it usually leads to conflict. And in absence of government’s structured intervention, they usually take laws into their hands.

On the forthcoming state assembly election in the area, Anekwe-Chive said. “One of the major challenges we have is the recent internecine conflict between Umuenwelum and Nzam communities and though the recent peace accord that was signed had brought calm, the current herders/farmers conflict has also displaced many people from their farm settlements and villages. And we are worried that if there is no resolution of the crisis, these people would be disenfranchised. So, we are appealing to government to beef up security in these flash points to prevent further bloodshed so that people can vote without fear.

Orient Daily was informed that the Anambra West local government transition committee chairman, Mr. Sylvester Okafor had issued a formal report to the state government, requesting for a follow up on Governor Willie Obiano’s earlier pledge to the people of the area that the herdsmen would operate peacefully until they leave the area.

Efforts to get reactions from the Anambra state police command yielded no positive results as the state public relations officer, Haruna Mohammed was yet to respond to our official enquiries on the incident as at press time.

The governorship candidate, Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Cross River, Mr Eyo Ekpo, said the performance of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the Feb. 23 Presidential and National Assembly election was shambolic.

Ekpo made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Calabar.

He said that there was enough institutional experience that INEC should have built on between 1999 and 2015.

He said that the logistics arrangements were totally unacceptable and in a typical Nigerian fashion, no one had come out to take responsibility.

“INEC of 2019 has enough to build on the previous experiences but it failed.

“I would like INEC to improve in the delivery of materials subsequently, there is a Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) office in all the local government in the state but did anyone go to NIPOST to ask if they could use their logistics base to deliver the electoral materials, nobody.’’

“Also, the adherence to the rules at the elections was very poor, people were busy helping others thumb print and the training for the electoral officers was too short.

“I think INEC should have known that you cannot execute the elections in Nigeria except you spend a particular number of days preparing and by now, they should know the number of days.

“I do not think security was an issue, you have to look across the country, how many incidents did you see, how many cancellation was done on account of violence, not much, I think the police did reasonably well,’’, he said.

Ekpo however said he was not surprised with the low score his party gathered in the presidential election because the damage had already been done to Donald Duke, who was the SDP’s presidential candidate.

“For about half the allotted time for campaigns, Duke was not even a candidate, it wasn’t until about Jan. 20 or so that the Court of Appeal said he could go back by then the election was few days to go.

“So I think he really did not have the opportunity to campaign and scoring what he scored in Cross River was in itself a plus,’’  he said.

NAN reports that SDP had the third largest number of votes in Cross River with 1,395 votes, PDP had 295, 737, while APC had 117,302 votes. (NAN)

The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki has wished winners of the Presidential and National Assembly election in Kwara “best of luck, despite blaming reported inadequacies for his defeat.

In statement issued by his special adviser, media and publicity, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu, on Tuesday in Abuja, Saraki said while the election is generally peaceful, there were inadequacies. He alleged that card readers were not used in over 70 per cent of the polling units, while multiple voting, over-voting and other discrepancies were reported by agents of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) across the state.

The senate president said the state chapter of PDP would take a position on the right response to the inadequacies. “Whatever the final outcome of the election, I wish the candidates that have emerged all the best in their attempts to serve our people. It is my prayers that the good people of Kwara state will always have the best from any government both at state and federal levels..

The special adviser to the President on justice reform, Mrs Juliet Ibekaku and APC candidate for the Enugu West Senatorial district has rejected the result of Saturday’s election for the zone.

“I reject the result announced by Enugu state independent national electoral commission (INEC) in its entirety and will contest it,’’ Ibekaku told a news conference on Tuesday in Enugu. I call on well meaning Enugu people that have evidence that will assist us to please do so.’’

She alleged that Saturday’s Presidential and national assembly elections in Enugu state were fraught with irregularities and outright hijacking of ballot boxes and ballot papers.

Ibekaku said that apart from the non-use of smart card readers, there was indiscriminate thumb printing of ballot papers by individual who disguised as INEC officials, adding that there was also vote buying.

She, however, assured her supporters in the zone that their votes would count.

Ibekaku said she had joined the state chapter of All progressive Congress (APC) in “rejecting the outright stealing of the people’s votes by Sen. Ike Ekweremadu and his thugs who disguised as INEC officials.’’

Ibekaku accused Ekweremadu of snatching ballot boxes because of his desperation to return to the Senate for the fifth time.

She also alleged that the deputy senate President deployed the “people’s stolen wealth to brazenly compromise electoral officials, using thugs’’. She said the PDP in Enugu and Ekweremadu “presented the sad past where results of elections are written in the bedrooms of local government chairman’’. She thanked the people of Enugu west senatorial zone for their support throughout her campaign and during the election. (NAN)

By Damian Duruiheoma,Owerri

Governor Rochas Okoroch of Imo state and Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for Imo West senatorial district (Orlu Zone), has been declared winner of the senatorial election.

Also, Okorocha’s men who contested House of Representatives seats on the platform of APC and Action Alliance (AA) in the zone won all their elections.

The governor was declared senator-elect on Monday by the returning officer, Francis Ibeawuchi at the collation center in Orlu local government area of Imo state.

According to Ibeabuchi, Okorocha garnered 97,762 to thrash his closest rival of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Jones Onyereri who got 68,117 as well as that of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with 30, 923 to come the third position.

But Onyereri of the PDP, has raised the alarm that the returning officer, Ibeawuchi was forced to declare Okorocha winner. He declared: “I am here to alert the whole world an hour ago that collation center for the Imo West Senatorial district have been invaded alleging that, “they are forcing the returning officer, Professor Francis Ibewuchi to declare Okorocha winner.

Onyereri expressed worry that the manner in which “the governor, with his staff, security agents led by the assistant Commissioner of police, Onu arrived at the collation center.

“At about 1am, Ibeawuchi pleaded that let us go to Owerri and announce this result that he is not safe again at the collation center, but they refused and stopped the man I hope the man stays alive in the next one minute. We are calling on international community to come to our rescue concerning the invasion.

“Just imagine, the number turned out in Ideato federal constituency is far above the registered voters. “As it is now, they have not announced the genuine result that is why they refused the man from coming to Owerri.” He said

Meanwhile, in Owerri Zone (Imo East senatorial), INEC, announced member of the House of Representatives for Owerri federal constituency and Peoples Democratic Party senatorial candidate, Hon Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi as the winner of Owerri Zone (Imo East) senatorial election. Onyewuchi scored 146,647 votes to defeat the APC candidate, Engr Emma Ojinere who scored 37,329

In another development, Okorocha’s associates won their seat to represent their various federal constituencies in Orlu zone. They include Kingsley Uju who won Ohaji Egbema /Oguta /Oru  West Federal constituency with the ticket of AA; Dr. Paschal Obi won Ideato North /Ideato South with AA; Ugonna Ozuruigbo won Njaba/Isu/Nwangele/Nkwerre federal constituency with APC while Chief Iheannacho Oru East /Orlu /Orsu federal constituency APC.

In Owerri Senatorial zone, PDP won in the four federal constituencies of Ahiazu Mbaise /Ezinihitte Mbaise federal constituency; Ikeduru /Mbaitoli federal constituency and Aboh Mbaise /Ngor Okpala federal constituency.

Results of the Okigwe senatorial zone and the two federal constituencies were still being awaited as of the time of filing this report.