A former governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has described Senator Orji Uzor Kalu representing Abia North in the National Assembly, as a foremost and most respected Igbo leader.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader (Tinubu) said Senator Kalu, a former governor of Abia state, has what it takes to lead the country, Nigeria to greater heights.
Describing Kalu as a distribalised Nigerian at a recent event, Tinubu said the Senate Chief Whip is a well respected leader with the passion for a united Nigeria.
“Orji Kalu is one of the foremost and respected Igbo leaders with passion for a united Nigeria,” Tinubu said.
“If given the opportunity, Kalu has the capacity to lead Nigeria to greater heights,” he added.
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has been an advocate of the Igbo Presidency, and remains one of the leading voices in the whole of Southwest Nigeria.
According to Kalu, every Igbo person is looking forward to producing a President from the South-East.
He has equally maintained that producing an Igbo president is a task every true Igbo indigene must key into.
“An Igbo president will bring prosperity to Nigeria, because the Igbo man or woman has the capacity for business and investment in areas outside their homeland”, he said.
Recently, Senator Orji Kalu said Northern political elites should not canvass an end to rotational presidency until the South-East zone had produced the President of Nigeria.
He was reacting to the call by a prominent governor in the North-West geopolitical zone, for an end to power shift in the country.
Kalu, while speaking with journalists, insisted that the Igbo must take their turn in the number one seat of the country.
The APC chieftain also explained that the agreement at the end of the 1978 national conference was that all the major ethnic groups in Nigeria must produce the President on a rotational basis.
Kalu said, “Calling for an end to the zoning arrangement now will not bring peace to Nigeria. We have to complete the zoning system. That was the agreement at the earlier constitutional conference.
“All the major ethnic groups must produce the President before we would all agree that zoning has ended”.
The former governor hinted that the emergence of an Igbo person as president would equally bring an end to protests in the South-East region.
He dismissed the insinuations that Igbos would divide the country if elected as President.
“It is the right thing to do, Nigeria is built on a tripod. You should allow the South-East to have the Presidency by 2023,” Kalu said.
Few months after its constitution, the Abia state Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has approved the immediate dissolution of the Waste Management Team for Aba North LGA for dereliction of duty.
Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu
According to a release signed by the chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Onyebuchi Ememanka, s new team to manage waste collection, especially along Aba Owerri Road would be reconstituted in the next 24 hours.
In the interim, the Governor has directed the Deputy General Manager, ASEPA, Aba Zone to immediately move men and equipment into Aba Owerri Road and ensure that the area is rid of refuse within the next few hours from now.
The Governor warns Waste Management Teams in the various Local Government Areas to face their assignments squarely or risk being removed from office, henceforth.
In fulfilment of the pledge made in June to the Staffers of the Abia State House of Assembly, the Speaker Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, on Tuesday presented a Sienna Car, on behalf of Members of the 7th Abia State House of Assembly, to Mrs Ijeoma Ezuta, a Staff of the Assembly, as reward for her dedication to duty.
Recall that Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, had during an interaction with the staffers of the Assembly promised to commence a regular reward for hardworking Staff of the Assembly.
Speaking while presenting the car to Mrs Ezuta, the Speaker encouraged other staff of the Assembly to emulate Mrs Ezuta as such a car gift is among several packages in stock for them by the 7th Abia State House of Assembly.
The Assembly’s Chairman of House Services, Hon Mandela Obasi, presented the car gift to Mrs Ezuta.
In her appreciation, the beneficiary, who was overwhelmed with joy, expressed profound gratitude to the Speaker and Members of the Abia State House of Assembly, and promised to continue to work hard in the discharge of her duties.
OYO – The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), yesterday, disclosed that the Federal Government has directed that all unqualified teachers should be flushed out of the classrooms by December 31, this year.
TRCN Registrar, Prof Olusegun Ajiboye, while inducting over 200 Education graduates of the University of Ibadan, said quacks teaching Nigerian children would be thrown out and replaced by qualified and certificated Education graduates to mould sound future leaders for the country.
He noted that teachers must stand shoulder to shoulder with other professionals in the knowledge-driven economy.
While administering the Oath of Practice on the inductees, Ajiboye reiterated that any teacher found wanting in the code of practice would be sanctioned, adding that Nigerian teachers now have a separate and unique career path with the recent approval of Teachers’ Career Path by the National Council on Education.
He stated: “It is worthy to stress the importance of today’s induction ceremony, in line with government directives that by December 31, all unqualified people practising the profession of teaching would be swept from the classroom and their place would be occupied by young and vibrant professional teacher like you.
“We need to appreciate the fact that education unlocks the key to modernisation, but the teacher holds the key to that door.
He is the hub of any educational system and the major determinant of its quality.
“This is because he is saddled with the responsibilities of translating educational policies into practice and programmes into actions and, therefore, my dear inductees, you have a big role to play in changing the pendulum of affairs in your place of service.”
BORNO- The Nigerian Army says 13 terrorists have been killed in an operation in Duguri Island, Borno state.
Media coordinator, Nigerian Army operations, Col. Al Aminu Iliyasu, said in a release that the ISWAP terrorists were “neutralised” in an operation by combined troops of sector 3 operation LAFIYA DOLE and sector 2 of the Multinational Joint Task Force on Thursday, 28th November 2019.
The release says the troops supported by the air task force operation LAFIYA DOLE, came in contact with the terrorists while clearing Njarwa and Duguru villages.
The military troops seized three gun trucks, three anti aircraft guns, 12 AK 47 rifles, three bandoliers of anti aircraft guns and 270 rounds of 7.62 mm special ammunition among other critical assets. One of the seized vehicles.[/caption]
The release says four members of the army troops were wounded in the operations.
“Fortunately, two of the wounded soldiers have already stabilized in a nearby military medical facility while the other 2 are awaiting air evacuation for further medical management”, the release adds.
Meanwhile, the theatre commander operation LAFIYA DOLE, Major General Olusegun Adeniyi, on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, has commended the troops for their gallantry and also appreciate the Force Commander, Multi National Joint Task Force for collaborating and supporting the Nigerian troops.
AKWA IBOM- The Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) Akwa Ibom state has presented an award to the Executive Chairman, Akwa Ibom Internal Revenue Service (AKIRS), Mr. Okon Okon.
The award is in appreciation of his ingenuity in repositioning tax collection and the concomitant improvement in the internally generated revenue of the state.
The AKIRS generated N26.6 billion between January and September 2019.
Earlier this month, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriations lauded the AKIRS for significant improvement in the state”s IGR since the Okon Okon led board was sworn in.
APBN presented the award to Okon at its annual dinner and awards held at Monty suites, Uyo.
Barr. Inyene-Ibeh Bassey, receiving the award for Mr. Okon Okon, Chairman AKIRS.
The AKIRS chairman represented by the Legal Adviser to the Board, Barr. Inyene-Ibeh Bassey, thanked Governor Udom Emmanuel for giving him and members of the board the opportunity to add value to the development of the state as pioneer executives of the board.
He lauded APBN for finding him worthy of the prestigious award, urging the association to groom more professionals for greater development of the state.
The tax chief dedicated the award to all taxpayers, emphasising that the significant improvement in IGR of the state would not have been possible without their cooperation.
Okon thanked taxpayers in the state for voluntarily complying with tax obligations, urging tax defaulters to endeavour to pay their taxes to enable government deliver its social contract to its citizens.
AKWA IBOM- Governor Udom Emmanuel played host to the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management And Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq who was accompanied by the Chairman Senate Committee on Poverty Alleviation And Social Development, Senator Lawal Yahaya Gumau at Government House, Uyo, on Tuesday, 26th November, 2019.
The team was received by the Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel, the deputy gobernor, Mr. Moses Ekpo, Secretary to State Government, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem and members of the state executive council.
The purpose-built venue for Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia is close to completion.
Work on the 15,000-seat Diriyah Arena only began two months before the fight, which is on December 7.
Briton Joshua is seeking to regain the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles after June’s shock defeat by Ruiz in New York.
“The arena and site are utterly breathtaking. We can’t wait,” said promoter Eddie Hearn.
Joshua visited the venue after landing in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The Diriyah Arena was built by 175 staff and incorporates 295 tonnes of steel.
It will take a month to deconstruct after the bout, with 95 percent of the material being reused to stage other events. Saudi Arabia was chosen to host the match ahead of rival proposals from Cardiff’s Principality Stadium and Dubai.
The country hosted British boxer Amir Khan’s win over Billy Dib in July and Callum Smith’s success over George Groves in the World Boxing Super Series final in September 2018.
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Acting Executive Director Projects, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh on Monday, directed all contractors handling NDDC projects to return to sites or be ready to face the consequences.
Ojougboh, who gave the directive while addressing newsmen, said this had become necessary following President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s avowed commitment to ensure that the Niger Delta Social Economic Development nerve centres were adequately connected by a network of quality and long-lasting sustainable projects.
He said the Federal Government’s policy drive was to ensure that all public funds channeled into infrastructural development, were judiciously accounted for, adding that as a result of this that President Buhari ordered a forensic audit of the NDDC and subsequent inauguration of Interim Management Committee to oversee the commission while the audit lasts.
According to him, the three-member Interim Management Committee would not fold its arms and watch its efforts being sabotaged by any contractor, who attempts to cut corners rather than stick to acceptable standards and specifications.
Ojougboh added: “The ongoing efforts to expand lasting projects in the region have been due largely to the deliberate efforts of Federal Government to aggressively tackle the rot and infrastructural deficiency across the Niger Delta region, with a view to ensuring that no part of it is left behind.”
He, however, assured the people of the region that all projects embarked upon by the Commission would be completed, even as he commended them for their unflinching support to the Interim Management Committee and in drawing government’s attention to the lapses witnessed by the commission in recent times.
This was as Ojougboh reiterated that the task of developing the region remained a collective responsibility of all the people.
Last week, precisely on Thursday, November 21, eleven (11) bonafide members of the All Progressives Congress in Akwa Ibom state who are stakeholders of the party in their own right, published a full page message of congratulations to Governor Udom Emmanuel. The message which was duly signed by the congratulators was in solidarity with Governor Udom Emmanuel’s Appeal Court victory.
The message particularly notes that “under the first four years of the Udom Emmanuel’s administration, Akwa Ibom State has experienced sufficient peace and tranquillity. The government and persons in charge of instruments of the State have not used same to hunt down the opposition or any person who disagreed with them politically. This has interestingly created a mutual and warm political relationship between members of different political parties across the state aside from fostering brotherliness and the spirit of sportsmanship.”
Earlier this month too, state chairmen of nine political parties under a group called “Forum of Uruan Political State Party Chairmen” were on a courtesy call to an appointee of Governor Udom Emmanuel, chairman of Akwa Ibom Roads and Other Infrastructure Maintenance Agency, (AKROIMA), Prince Godwin Ntuk Udeh, Ph.D. The forum went to reaffirm their support to Governor Udom Emmanuel, having earlier during the 2019 election declared support for Governor Udom Emmanuel’s second term. Chairman of AKROIMA (m) Prince Godwin Ntuk Udeh with Akwa Ibom state chairmen of political parties during a courtesy call on him.
Also, within the month, the big one came. Governor Udom Emmanuel announced the appointment of a state caucus member of the APC, Elder Enefiok Ekefre, as his honorary special adviser on grassroots development. These experiences and the mutual political relationship between the ruling party and members of opposition political parties are rare in the state’s political history. Members of opposition parties in state have seen Governor Udom Emmanuel as their own, a man they can work with, a man they trust beyond political differences and affinities.
Since the creation of Akwa Ibom State in 1987 and the return to democracy in 1999, the state has been blessed with governors whose political prism, angled beyond party lines. From the reign of the first civilian governor of the state, late Obong Akpan Isemin till date, there has always been a call to opposition political parties to join the ruling party in leadership. This perhaps made the late former Governor Isemin came up with the concept -Ubom Noah- which means Akwa Ibom State is like Noah’s Ark that can accommodate everybody. The Isemin’s political orientation generated deep emotional synergy among people of different ethnic groups across the state, irrespective of political affiliation.
Elder Enefiok Ekefre, an APC chieftain in Akwa Ibom State appointed honorary special adviser to Governor Udom Emmanuel. Ekefre has not resigned his membership of the APC.
In 1999, after the rigorous electioneering that saw Obong Victor Attah as Governor of the state, on 29th May, in his inaugural speech titled, “Come Let’s Build Together”, Attah extended the olive branch to members of the opposition party to join hands with him to build Akwa Ibom State. A call that moved no new feet to corridor of power.
Obong Attah’s successor, Chief Godswill Akpabio came into the Hilltop Mansion with no mercy or call for opposition to join him in power. Even though he made attempt to settle his political differences with the man who put up a tough battle with him during his party primary, Dr. Udoma Bob Ekarika, is not enough to convince anybody that Akpabio had intention of running an inclusive government.
Governor Udom Emmanuel came up with political inclusion as one of his five points agenda. Some people had merely dismissed him on this, describing it a pretentious cloak to make him and his administration look good before the wide majority of Akwa Ibom people. When he took over the saddle of leadership, during his first term, he had called on all political players to bury the hatchet and see the state as one. In his second term, Governor Emmanuel opened his arms wide when he declared in his inauguration speech, that the “fleeting passion of politics” should not be allowed to “break the cords of our brotherhood.”
“As I said in my victory speech, I extend again my hands of fellowship and bond of friendship to my brothers and sisters on the opposite side of the political divide. I call on them to join me in building a State that we all, irrespective of political affiliations will be proud to call our home. We went to the polls as brothers and sisters and as the 6th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, said in his second inaugural speech on March 4th 1865, ‘We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.”
This statement became signal for the unexpected and a watch word to his party.
On September 20, 2019 after Governorship Election Petition Tribunal’s ruling, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, urged the opposition parties to join hands with Governor Udom Emmanuel in developing both the human capacity and economic endowments of the state.
Obong Paul Ekpo who gave the reaction on behalf of his party said; “The PDP is not having problem with anyone as the state belongs to all. The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.”
Governor Emmanuel did not put out a blanket call for opposition to respond but made a move by appointing a caucus member of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Enefiok Ekefre as Honourary Special Adviser. This singular act has placed the Governor as a statesman that believes in Akwa Ibom State beyond party line. His action has communicated to the world that he is a governor for all, not for a segment.
In post-modern world, meaningful political inclusion is perhaps the key engagement factor in peace-building. It goes without saying that the political participation of opposition parties is indispensable to their recognition and dignity. It also helps to promote civic engagement and active citizenship, and offers institutionalised avenues for addressing grievances and conflict issues to prevent frustration and potential violence, which is the reason the state has enjoyed peaceful ambience since the governor took over.
Governor Emmanuel’s call for collective building and development of the state, perhaps, warranted the recent visit of Forum of Uruan Political State Party Chairmen to the Board Chairman Akwa Ibom State Roads Maintenance and Other Infrastructure Agency, AKROIMA, Dr. Godwin Ntuk Udeh, wherein they pledged support for Governor Udom Emmanuel. The governor’s sincerity and willingness to carry people along may not be unconnected with the withdrawal of over 20 Governorship candidates of different political parties from the 2019 governorship race for him.
Research carried out by National Democratic Institute, NDI, shows that democracy is more likely to develop and endure when all segments of a society are free to participate and influence political outcomes without suffering bias or reprisal. If previous leaders had integrated sound opposition members into governance, today party affiliation would not have been parameter for appointment and participation in governance. With this inclusion, Akwa Ibom State will grow above partisan political adventures.
The recently sworn in governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, has narrated the spiritual battle he faced to win the governorship election in September.
In...
One of the seized vehicles.[/caption]
