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Tag: Abia State

  • Abia APC elects replacement for late Chairman-elect

    Abia APC elects replacement for late Chairman-elect

    The All Progressives Congress in Abia, led by Chief Ikechi Emenike, on Saturday elected Dr Kingsley Ononogbu, at a special delegates’ congress to replace its late Chairman-elect, Mr Enyinnaya Harbour.

    Harbour, who was elected unopposed in the Nov. 16, 2021 state congress of the party, died on Dec. 3, 2021.

    The congress, which took place at Chidiebere Park on Uzuakoli Road, Umuahia, was attended by 1085 delegates from the 17 local government areas of the state.

    Announcing the result of the exercise, the Leader of the Congress Committee, Kolawole Babatunde, said that 1080 delegates were accredited, while 1075 voted.

    Babatunde also said that there were eight void votes, leaving 1067 valid votes.

    He, therefore, declared Ononogbu winner of the exercise.

    In an acceptance speech, Ononogbu, a retired banker, commended the leadership of the party for not allowing the vacuum created by Harbour’s death to effect the fortunes of the party.

    He paid special tribute to the deceased, saying that he demonstrated rare commitment to ensure that APC triumphed in the 2023 poll.

    Ononogbu, who was returned unopposed, gave an assurance that he would run an inclusive administration, in addition to providing effective leadership that would translate to the party’s victory in 2023.

    “Achieving victory is a collective responsibility for every one of us,” he said.

    He also charged all hands to be on deck and urged aggrieved members to return and contribute their quota to the growth and electoral success of the party in the state.

    The exercise, which was held amid tight security, was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

    Party chieftains at the event included Emenike and the Deputy Whip of the House of Representatives, Rep. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency.

    Also in attendance was the lawmaker, representing Arochukwu State Constituency, Chief Emeka Okoroafor, amongst others.

  • Geometric Power secures $50m for reliable electricity in Southeastern Nigeria

    Geometric Power secures $50m for reliable electricity in Southeastern Nigeria

    Geometric Power Limited has secured a US$50 million Term Loan facility in connection with the Aba Integrated Power Project to provide reliable electricity in the Southeastern region of Nigeria.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the facility provided by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will finance the initial capital required to acquire rights to the Aba Ring Fenced Area for the project.

    It will also support the completion of remaining works, and the commissioning and commencement of operations of the Aba Integrated Power project in Southeastern Nigeria.

    TNG reports the Aba Integrated Power Project is a fully integrated generation and distribution utility located in Osisioma, Aba, Abia State.

    The utility comprises a gas-fired embedded power plant with General Electric Gas Turbines, with an initial capacity of 141MW, to be upgraded to its licensed 188MW capacity.

    The power plant will be owned and operated by the generation arm of the utility, Geometric Power Aba Limited. The distribution arm will be operated by APL Electric Company Limited and has state of the art infrastructure to curb any loss, including overhead lines and substations.

    Geometric Power Aba Limited also has a 27km dedicated gas pipeline and related facilities to provide reliable power at all times to its franchise area.

    The project has exclusive rights to supply power within a 4000km2 area, covering 9 out of the State’s 17 Local Government Areas.

    The deal was signed on 15 November 2021 in Durban during the second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2021).

  • Disregard IPOB stay-at-home order- Abia Govt. urges residents

    Disregard IPOB stay-at-home order- Abia Govt. urges residents

    The Abia Government has asked residents of the state to disregard the sit-at-home order by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

    The government’s directive is contained in a statement issued in Umuahia by the Commissioner for Information, Chief Okiyi Kalu.

    IPOB on July 30 ordered sit-at-home in the South-East every Monday, until its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is released from the custody of the Department of State Services.

    It threatened to shut down economic activities in the region, adding that violators of the order would be visited with violence.

    Reacting to the order, Abia government advised “law abiding citizens and visitors to go about their normal businesses without fear of molestation”.

    Kalu stated that adequate security had been provided to ensure the safety of lives and property in all parts of the state.

    He added that it made no economic sense to order traders to sit at home, while they are struggling to fend for their families under COVID-19 and the attendant harsh economy.

    He further warned that compelling the children to stay away from schools would be counterproductive and capable of retarding their progress academically.

    The commissioner, however, noted that it would not compel anyone wishing to sit at home for any reason whatsoever not to do so.

    Kalu pointed out that “as citizens have freedom of movement under the extant Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we wish to strongly advice that nobody should also compel or enforce any sit at home order from any non-state actor”.

    He said that “doing so will does not serve any known interests of the people of the state”.

    The commissioner stated that government was “actively monitoring the situation with Kanu, who is an indigene of the state, currently undergoing trial at a Federal High Court in Abuja”.

    “We remain in touch with his family members, other relevant persons and institutions, and receive regular updates through them on the situation.

    “The Abia Government is confident that the judiciary will ensure a free and manifestly fair trial for him and others,” the commissioner further stated.

    He admonished residents and visitors “to continue to be law-abiding and avoid any acts that might lead to a breakdown of law and order”.

    He further charged parents and guardians to monitor the activities of their children and wards to ensure they did not engage in unlawful activities that would put them in harm’s way.

  • APC chairman denies crises in Abia

    APC chairman denies crises in Abia

    The Abia chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday denied any form of crisis in the party, saying “it is fully intact and focused”.

    Chief Donatus Nwankpa, the Chairman, APC Caretaker Committee in the state disclosed this to newsmen at the party’s state secretariat in Umuahia.

    He said the party was focused in its single mission beyond individual trivialities to salvage Abia in 2023

    “There is no cause for alarm in Abia APC. We must all come together. The rebellious conduct of one person cannot mean factionalisation,” he said.

    The party had on July 31, held parallel ward congresses in the 184 wards pf the state.

    The congresses came barely two days after the party reaffirmed the suspension of its chieftain, Chief Ikechi Emenike.

    Emenike is the leader of a faction of the party, challenging the Donatus Nwankpa-led Executive Committee (EXCO).

    The development, however, did not deter Emenike’s camp, as it went ahead to conduct its congresses, supervised by the National Ward Congresses Committee.

    Nwankpa-led APC had condemned the action of the seven-member committee, saying that it failed to report to the party secretariat, where the electoral documents were kept.

    Briefing newsmen about the development on Thursday, Nwankpa said that the matter was being resolved at the party national office.

    “From all our investigations we know that a mischief happened somewhere, a conspiracy between the people that were sent and the people who were here to manipulate them.

    “It is unfortunate, but the national office is resolving it and we know that justice must prevail,” he said.

    Nwankpa cautioned the media to avoid sensationalisation of the issue, saying “we cannot celebrate mediocrity and irresponsibility.”

    He said that the party would have inaugurated its congress chairmen on Thursday, but had decided to wait for directives following a court order restraining it.

    Some aggrieved members of the party who were protesting the outcome of the July 31 ward congress, had on Wednesday obtained the order from the Abia State High Court in Ukwa.

  • Abia APC holds parallel congresses

    Abia APC holds parallel congresses

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday organised parallel ward congresses in Abia, as leadership crisis continues to rock the party.

    The congresses came barely two days after the party re-affirmed the suspension of its chieftain, Chief Ikechi Emenike.

    Emenike is the leader of a faction of the party, challenging the Donatus Nwankpa-led Executive Committee (EXCO).

    The EXCO at its expanded caucus meeting on Thursday announced Emenike’s suspension for alleged party misconduct.

    The development, however, did not deter Emenike’s camp, as it went ahead to conduct its congresses, supervised by the National Ward Congresses Committee.

    Briefing newsmen on the situation at the state Secretariat of the party in Umuahia, the Chairman, APC Caretaker Committee in the state, Chief Donatus Nwankpa, said the party declared the committee members wanted.

    He said the committee members failed to report to the party secretariat in Umuahia upon their arrival in the state.
    Nwankpa said the party set up screening and appeal committees for the congress, in line with the party Constitution.

    He said that his EXCO had also taken delivery of all congress documents from its national secretariat.

    “The party duly took custody of them, signed them and members, who paid to the national account, not state account, were given forms.

    “And by the party regulation, after the sale of forms, the state party chairman is to set up a screening and appeal committee on screening.

    “Those forms were duly handed over to the two committees at various locations.

    “They have come back and we have screened candidates for the congresses.
    “Unfortunately for us, the people who are supposed to receive the document from the screening committee did not appear.

    “We are not unaware of some clandestine meetings going on among those claiming to be stakeholders,” Nwankpa said.

    A chieftain of the party, Sen. Chris Adighije, who expressed disappointment over the development, described the committee members as “impostors”.

    “If they had come from our national office in Abuja, I’m sure they would have come to the secretariat of the party in Abia.

    “Our communication with the Independent National Electoral Commission is through the same address in Umuahia.

    “And the communication with the national headquarters is with the state chairman of the party,” Adighije said.

    He said the party followed due process to suspend Emenike, adding that “he stands suspended”.

    He expressed happiness over the peaceful conduct of the congress in his ward at Olokoro, Umuahia South Local Government Area (LGA).

    Also, a former lawmaker in the state, Chief Chidi Nwosu, said the exercise went peacefully in his Amakama Ward also in Umuahia south.

    Nwosu said that candidates emerged through consensus in his ward, adding that offices were distributed to accommodate the interest of all the various segments that make up the ward.

    A similar consensus apprroach was adopted in the selection of candidates in most of the wards visited.
    In a related development, the APC ward congresses in Nsukka LGA of Enugu were quite peaceful.

    It was learnt that materials for the exercise arrived in various wards in time, adding that those presiding over the congresses also followed due process and laid down rules.

    At Ihe Ward, a party chieftain and former Supervisor of Youths and Sports in the area, Mr Anthony Ozioko, said the exercise was smooth and hitch-free.

    Ozioko said that party faithful conducted themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner, adding that only accredited party members were allowed to vote.

    “I commend party stakeholders in Nsukka for the arrangement put in place that made the ward congresses peaceful.

    The situation was the same at Opi, Obukpa, Aloruno and Edem wards.
    At Obimo Ward, the party’s Caretaker Chairman in Nsukka LGA, Chief Joseph Ugwuoke, described the exercise as volence-free.

    Ugwuoke attributed the development to good arrangement put in place by stakeholders, which gave all the party chieftains a sense of belonging.

    He advised ward executives that would emerge to ensure they carried all party members along in all the party’s programmes and activities.

  • BREAKING: Gunmen strike in Abia, abduct ABSU students

    BREAKING: Gunmen strike in Abia, abduct ABSU students

    An unspecified number of students of Abia State University Uturu (ABSU) have been kidnapped by yet to be identified gunmen.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the State Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu made this known in a statement on Thursday.

    He assured that the state government was collaborating with the neighbouring Imo State to rescue the students.

    The statement reads: “Abia State Government is currently monitoring an incident that happened in Okigwe, Imo State, yesterday which led to the suspected abduction of yet to be determined number of students of the Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU), who apparently ran into a yet to be identified gang of hoodlums operating along the Okigwe-Uturu Road.

    “Preliminary information available to us indicates that the students were moving in a mini van from Okigwe to Uturu between 7pm – 8pm when they ran into the armed gang who marched them into the nearby forest along with other yet to be identified travelers. Two of the students managed to escape from the hoodlums while others are still being held at a yet to be identified location.

    “We are working with the government of Imo State and relevant security agencies in both states to ensure the rescue of the abducted students and others.

    “Members of the public and ABSU community are advised to remain calm as we will spare no resource in ensuring the safety of the victims.

    “No criminal operating within our environment will be allowed to escape justice as we take the job of protecting lives and property of Abians and visitors to the State very seriously.”

  • Be vigilant; we’ve uncovered plans to attack Abia, Gov Ikpeazu tells residents

    Be vigilant; we’ve uncovered plans to attack Abia, Gov Ikpeazu tells residents

    The Abia State Government said it had uncovered a plot by some unidentified hoodlums to carry out an attack in the state.

    Information Commissioner John Okiyi-Kalu said in a statement that the hoodlums’ targets were key locations.

    Okiyi-Kalu said security agencies in the state have been fully mobilised and placed on high alert to thwart the planned attack and bring those concerned to justice swiftly.

    He advised members of the public to be vigilant and ensure that they keep indoors between 6pm and 8am.

    He said: “We wish to advise members of the public to be extra vigilant, ensure they are at home before the curfew hours of 8pm to 6am as well as monitor the activities of their neighbours.

    “Parents and guardians are also strongly advised to ensure that their children and wards are securely at home and not in any way associated with the hoodlums some of whom are said to be coming from outside the state.

    “Law abiding citizens are encouraged to go about their normal duties but ensure they return home before 6pm to avoid the rush associated with movement before the onset of curfew time.

    “While we remain confident that the security architecture within the state is robust enough to prevent the planned attack and/or bring those involved in the plot swiftly to justice, the state government led by Dr Okezie Ikpeazu will not spare any resource in ensuring the protection of law abiding citizens.”

  • Insecurity: Gov Ikpeazu imposes curfew in Aba, Umuahia

    Insecurity: Gov Ikpeazu imposes curfew in Aba, Umuahia

    …says security reports from multiple sources connote danger

    The Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has directed the imposition of curfew in Aba and Umuahia metropolis between 10pm and 6am daily from today, Monday, 5th April, 2021 till further notice.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the security situation in the south east geo-political izone n the last week took an alarming shape.

    Abia state is one of the key states in the region and a commercial haven to the zone.

    In a statement signed by the commissioner for Information, Chief John Kalu, the Governor said:

    “This is sequel to security reports received from multiple sources, and informed by the need to continue to protect innocent citizens and residents of the state.

    Security agencies in the state have been directed to ensure strict enforcement and compliance with the directive. Only those on essential services with proper identification are exempted from the curfew.

    We urge traditional rulers, men of the State Homeland Security Team and Community Vigilante Services in the state to monitor movement of persons within their respective domains and take necessary measures to protect the people and their property.

    All law abiding citizens are advised to go about their normal duties, outside the curfew period, without fear of molestation as the security architecture of the state is robust enough to guarantee their safety.

  • Abia: PDP rejoices over its landslide in House of Reps bye-election

    Abia: PDP rejoices over its landslide in House of Reps bye-election

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed joy over its landslide victory in Saturday’s Aba North/South Federal Constituency be-election.

    In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, the party stated that the victory had far-reaching implications.

    According to Ologbondiyan, the victory establishes the acceptance of the party not only in Abia and the South-East zone but across the nation.

    He stated that the PDP’s massive 10,322 votes against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate’s paltry 3,674 votes were “a direct confirmation that APC has no foothold in the South-East.

    “Indeed, our party’s resounding defeat of the APC in Aba, a major commercial nerve center of the southeast, has further established the southeast as an undisputed stronghold of PDP,” he added.

    He added that the party’s sweeping victory further showed that the people of the South-East and Nigerians generally were waiting for the return of PDP in Nigeria.

    Ologbondiyan congratulated PDP leaders in Abia, particularly Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu and the people of the constituency for asserting themselves in the election.

    He urged them to remain united and steadfast for the task ahead.

    “The PDP also congratulates the member-elect, Chimaobi Ebisike, and urge him to hit the ground running immediately after his inauguration.

    “This is to enable him to give his people the required representation, in line with the PDP manifesto,” he stated.

  • INEC gives update on Aba North/South bye-election

    INEC gives update on Aba North/South bye-election

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it is fully prepared for the March 27 Aba North/South Federal Constituency by-election in Abia.

    Mr Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee said this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.

    Okoye said the commission met on Tuesday and deliberated on some issues including preparations for the by-election.

    He said that INEC had firmed up its preparations for the election by deploying over 2,970 officials for its conduct.

    “All non-sensitive materials required for the conduct of the election at the two Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the constituency have been delivered and batched according to the Registration Areas.

    “All ad hoc staff required for the conduct of the election has been trained awaiting deployment.

    “All sensitive materials have been delivered to the Central Bank in Umuahia, Abia and will be inspected on Thursday, March 25 for dispatch to the two LGA offices of the commission,” he said.

    Okoye urged all registered voters in the constituency to come out en masse to exercise their franchise during the by-election.

    “Violent and unwholesome acts undermine the sovereign rights of the people to clean elections and deprive the constituency of quality representation.

    “The commission is committed to the safety and welfare of its election duty staff and the voters and will strengthen its collaboration with the Inter- Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security in this regard,” he said.

    About 498,390 voters were expected to cast their ballots in 609 polling units spread across 24 Registration Areas (RAs) in the two LGAs of the constituency during the election.