Tag Archives: Enugu State

Governor Ugwuanyi Promises Better Welfare Of Inmates In Enugu

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Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has assured the inmates in the state of his resolve to attend to their welfare.

Speaking during his 53rd birthday celebration at the Enugu Maximum Prisons, Governor Ugwuanyi said he has set aside funds and necessary logistics to lawyers and Civil Society Organisations to secure the prompt release of inmates.

“Having taken notice of the over-crowding or congestion in the prisons, especially the ever-growing population of inmates that are awaiting trials, we have set aside funds and we are providing necessary logistics to lawyers and civil society organisations to secure the prompt release of inmates where legally possible.

“I have listened to the demands of the Comptroller of the Enugu Prison Command, I want to assure and reassure you that very soon, government will attend to some of those issues,” he said.

In her address, the Enugu State Comptroller of Prisons, Mrs Ukwuori Ndukwe Kalu, commended the Governor for the attention the command has received since inception of his administration.

“I have been following with keen interest your assistance to prison inmates since my arrival in the state, ranging from prompt intervention during the Nsukka jail break incident in 2016, renovation at the Enugu Prison, release of funds for procurement of drugs for inmates and granting of pardon to seven deserving inmates among others,” she said.

The Prisons Comptroller noted that the level of sophistication of inmates would require proactive measures to avoid incidents like jail breaks and riot in the prisons.

“To be proactive, we need five escort vehicles to convey armed squad personnel to and from courts in Enugu, three eighteen-seater buses with gadgets for effective communication to convey suspects and inmates to courts across Nsukka, Oji River and Enugu Prison in the State Command,” she said.

Mrs Kalu also called the governor’s attention to the sewage challenges they face in the facilities, especially in Nsukka.

In his response, Governor Ugwuanyi reiterated his commitment to assisting the command in the area of welfare.

“We have taken note of sewage and other allied challenges confronting these prisons and I have resolved to take necessary measures and we will address them adequately and satisfactorily,” he said.

 

Source: Channels TV

IPOB warns President Buhari against visit to Enugu State.

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The Indigenous People of Biafra, on Monday, warned President Muhammadu Buhari to ‘stay clear’ of the South-East.

The President is slated to attend the opening session of the South-East Economic Summit in Enugu on Thursday.

But IPOB, in a statement entitled, ‘Muhammadu Buhari must stay clear of Biafra land or have himself to blame for the outcome of any such visit,’ told the President to cancel the planned visit.

The secessionist group, in a statement signed by its spokespersons, Emma Nmezu (a lawyer) and Dr. Clifford Iroanya, equally warned Igbo governors and other political leaders against hosting Buhari in Enugu or any other part of the South-East.

IPOB warned that the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and other leaders should be held responsible for any breakdown of law and order in the state if Buhari went ahead to visit the Coal City on December 22.

The pro-Biafran group alleged that Buhari was a ‘killer and persecutor’ of Igbo and should not be allowed to visit the geopolitical zone.

The statement read in part, “The Indigenous People of Biafra have received information that Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) will be visiting Enugu on the 22nd of December, 2016. We object totally to this visit.

“We warn that any governor or Igbo politician that receives Buhari in Enugu will have himself or herself to blame. We make it public that should there be a breakdown of law and order in Enugu on the 22nd of December, greedy Igbo politicians will have themselves to blame.

“Any Igbo governor or politician that is found among those hobnobbing with Buhari becomes an enemy of the people and shall pay dearly for it.”

IPOB also demanded an investigation into the Amnesty International report, which accused the army of mass killing of Biafra activists.

The group urged all pro-Biafra activists to be in Enugu on December 22 to show their anger over Buhari’s visit.

“We are calling on all Biafrans to descend on Enugu on the said date of December 22, 2016 to show our anger and displeasure at this attempt by some greedy Igbo men to insult the memory of our glorious dead and those still in detention with our leader.

The police could not be reached for comment as calls to the Force spokesman, Donald Awunah, indicated that his line was unreachable. He had yet to respond to an SMS as of the time of filing this report.

Enugu Appeal Court Strikes Out Ekwunife’s Application, Insists On Rerun

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The Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal, Thursday refused to set aside the earlier judgement it delivered on December 7, 2015, in respect of the Anambra Central senatorial district.

 

It will be recalled that the Appeal Court had in its judgement delivered in favour of Victor Umeh of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, nullified the election of Uche Ekwunife of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

 

The court based its decision on non-conduct of PDP primary in line with the electoral act.
However, based on recent Supreme Court judgements, which were at variance with the Appeal Court’s decision, Ekwunife approached the court praying it to set aside the December 7 judgement.

 

She equally filed a motion for injunction seeking to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from conducting the rerun election.

 

But in a judgement by the 5-man Appeal Court justices, the court refused to grant the injunction.

 

It equally held that it cannot set aside its earlier judgement, maintaining that there must be an end to the case.

Former Enugu First Lady To Be Buried November 27

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The former first lady of Enugu state, Late Mrs Nnenna Agnes Nnamani will be buried on Friday, November 27.
Mrs Nnamani died on Friday, September 4 in Orlando, Florida, United States, after complications from sickle cell disease and cerebral aneurysm at the age of 47.

 

In a burial programme released by her son, Chimaroke Ferguson Nnamani, on behalf of her family, the activities marking the final burial of the former first lady will commence with Christian Wake/ Service of Songs on Thursday, November 26 at 5 pm, at the residence of her husband, Chimaroke Nnamani, in Ojiagu-Agbani, Enugu state.

 

According to the media consultant to the family, Dan Nwomeh, this will be followed by burial service/interment on Friday, November 27 at 10 am, while funeralr/condolence visits will be on Saturday, November 28 all at the same venue.

 

On his part, the former governor extended his deepest appreciation to all and sundry for their condolences, support and prayers.

 

Recently, Nnamani was ordered to forfeit his assets worth billions of dollars to the federal government.

 

Credit : Daily Post

Board to launch School Feeding Programme in Enugu

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The Enugu Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB) said on Monday in Enugu that it would start a School Feeding Programme in public primary schools in the state in 2016.

The Chairperson of the board, Ms Nneka Onuorah, said that the programme would begin with a pilot scheme with selected public schools.

 

Onuorah said that mothers of the pupils and their communities would be involved in the programme.

 

“Unlike in the past where the government used vendors to provide meals to children, this school feeding programme is more unique in that the community is fully involved.

 

“It involves the mothers; the mothers will divide themselves into teams of two or three.

“So each week, at least say team A group of mothers will cook for the children and feed the children and they will rotate.

“So the following week, team B group of mothers will now cook for the children.

“Now we find this model to be the most sustainable and we hope that we can branch it out to other schools in other communities and local governments.

“Now, if we do start, we won’t start with every school because of cost.

“We will start small, maybe we will choose one to two schools per local government; and it is always better to start small with this kind of programme.’’

 

Onuorah, who said that the state government would include the programme in the 2016 budget, appealed to the Federal Government, to support it.

She said that the board had sponsored a project aimed at de-worming pupils in primary school between June and Nov. 2015.

According to her, nearly 300,000 children benefited.

She said that the children also underwent ear, eye, and nose screening during the exercise, adding that the programme was to promote healthy growth among the children and lay a better foundation for learning.

Onuorah said that the board had organised series of training and re-training for teachers to enable them to manage schools effectively.

 

(NAN)

Gov Ugwuanyi Flags Off Road Construction In Nsukka

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Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State on Friday flagged off construction and rehabilitation of major roads in the Nsukka Local Government Area of the state.

 

The project includes dualisation of the Opi-Nsukka Road, reconstruction of Obeachara-Mechanic Village Road and reconstruction of Ogurugu-Total Roundabout-University Road and Nsukka-Orba Road.

 

Flagging off the work, Ugwuanyi said the projects were in fulfillment of his campaign promises.

 

The governor urged people of the area to cooperate with contractors handling the projects.

 

“This is in fulfillment of my campaign promises. More would follow as the administration progresses. We must equip and modernise Nsukka to compete with other university towns in the country. It is my expectation that the contractors will deliver quality work and complete the projects at the agreed time,’’ he said.

 

The Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, Mr Edward Ubosi, told Nsukka people to be ready to make sacrifices.

 

Ubosi made it clear that no compensation would be paid for those whose houses or land would be affected as a result of the dualisation of the roads.

 

“If you want Nsukka to be developed, residents should be ready to make sacrifices because no development comes without sacrifice,’’ he said.

 

The Senator representing Enugu North Senatorial Zone, Sen. Chukwuka Utazi, thanked Ugwuanyi for fulfilling his promises to the people.

 

Utazi assured the governor that National Assembly members from the zone would work with him to reposition the state.

 

The Chairman of Nsukka Local Government, Mr Charles Ugwu, thanked the governor for remembering Nsukka people as he promised during his electioneering campaign.

 

Ugwu promised to provide the enabling environment for contractors to do their jobs.

 

(NAN)

Enugu State Yet To Access Bailout Funds From FG – Ugwuanyi

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Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has said that the state government has not accessed the bailout funds from the Federal Government.
Ugwuanyi, spoke on Tuesday at the flag-off of four major roads in Enugu, said insinuations from some quarters that the state government received the money was false.
“We have not received money in the name of bailout or anything from the Federal Government.
“We must thank the members of the House of Assembly for their cooperation in approving funds for this project,” he said.
He said that the project was borne out of the desire to fulfill his campaign and inaugural speech promises.
“During our campaign and inauguration, we did promise to commit the state resources to better the lots of our people.
“We pledged to aggressively address all issues militating against the development of the state, take necessary steps to ease the difficulties and hardship encountered by our people,” he said.
The governor said that the Abakpa Nike and Nike Lake roads were strategic to the economy of the state, but expressed regrets that they were in such deplorable state.
“We listed the roads among the first eight major roads to be reconstructed by the state government and proceeded to award contracts to that effect.
“It will offer our people relief from excruciating traffic congestion and other setbacks occasioned by their deplorable state.
“They will also assist us in our urban-rural agricultural industrial development as well as enhance business activities here and beyond.’’
Ugwuanyi said that the government was committed to a timely completion of the roads in spite of the prevailing economic situation in the state.

 
Also, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr Edward Ubosi, said that he was delighted that the governor had given priority to the Abapka- Nike and Nike Lake roads.
Ubosi said that the roads when completed would be a big relief to commuters whose usage of the roads had been miserable.
“You don’t know what you have done for the people by constructing this road. It takes between 30 minutes and one hour for one to get off this road due to traffic gridlock,” Ubosi said.
He said the immediate past governor of the state did so well in building road infrastructure in the state, adding that Ugwuanyi had taken a bold step to surpass the record.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Works, Mr Patrick Ikpenwa, said that the caliber of contractors lined up for the project was a clear testimony that the governor meant well for the people.
Ikpenwa appealed to residents of the area to identify with and guard the projects for durability as government would not tolerate cutting of the roads after completion without authorisation.
“All those things that will amount to abuse of the road like burning of tyres, dumping of refuse, and illegal setting up of speed breakers should be completely resisted by you,” Ikpenwa said.
The other roads flagged-off by the governor, included the Amankwo-Amaeke -Ama Brewery Junction Bye-pass Road and the 9th Corner Bye-pass Road.

 

Credit : Vanguard

Group Passes Vote Of No Confidence On APC Leadership In Enugu State

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The Patriots, a political group in Enugu State, has passed a vote of no confidence on the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

In a communiqué after its meeting in Enugu, the group on Wednesday called for the immediate change in the party’s leadership structure.

The group, made up of elders and stakeholders from different parts of the state, expressed dissatisfaction with the management of the funds released to the leadership for the 2015 general elections.

The communiqué signed by its Coordinator, Vincent Anidiobu, and Secretary, Chief Vitalis Ani, called for an audit of the funds received by the party’s gubernatorial candidate in the election, Okey Ezea, saying it was dissatisfied with the “abysmal outing of the party in the state” at the elections.

The group also agreed to rebuild, restructure and reposition the state chapter of the APC to prepare it for the challenges ahead, while ensuring credible and harmonious leadership in the party.

It congratulated Muhammadu Buhari, the president-elect, on his success at the polls and called on him to see the entire country as his constituency.

It said the stakeholders were already studying the credentials of candidates who had shown interest in ministerial appointments in the state.

“Our ideal candidate shall be one that is technically competent, with proven track records and of proven integrity, whose loyalty to the party is not in doubt.

“The candidate must be such that shall have the capacity and ability to reconcile all the warring factions in the party and reunite and reposition the party in the state,’’ it said.

“Enugu State has always worked with the party at the centre and does not wish to be in opposition for long.

“Now that power is about to change hands from the PDP to the APC at the centre, deliberate steps should be taken to realign the state to the party at the center in order not to deprive it of developmental projects and key appointments from the central government,” it said.

The stakeholders also described as unfortunate the crisis of confidence between the executive and the legislature in the state.

“Both parties have been protecting themselves in corruption. Enugu citizens must rise up to demand for accountability from Governor Sullivan Chime and the Speaker, Eugene Odo, as well as other members of the present state assembly,” the communiqué said.

Credit: NAN