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Tag: Anambra

  • Anambra community protests against attempt to impose traditional ruler

    Anambra community protests against attempt to impose traditional ruler

    The people of Awa Town in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra has urged Gov. Willie Obiano to save the community from an impending crisis over an attempt to impose a traditional ruler on them.

    The people, on Wednesday at the Government House, Awka, cried out against the proposed traditional ruler election slated for Feb. 13.

    The protesters bore placards with varying inscriptions ‘Awa Is On Fire’, ‘Gov Obiano We Need Your Intervention In Awa Now’ and ‘Your Excellency Sack Vera Queen’.

    Others were ‘Awa Community Says No To Feb. 13 Election’, Your Excellency Awa Community Is Boiling’ and “Hon Emeka Aforka Should Leave Awa Alone“, among others.

    Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Chief Ambrose Egwuonwu, an elder in the community, said ascendancy to the traditional stool was hereditary and not open to the entire community or election.

    Egwuonwu said Awa was a small and peaceful community but wondered why some influential people would want to throw the community into a perpetual crisis.

    He said the government should intervene and stop the election from going on because it was not a decision of the majority in view of the fact that every issue surrounding the emergence of a new traditional ruler had yet to be addressed.

    Chief Paul Nwafor, a former President-General of the community, said they were told to prepare for an election on Feb. 13 based on a letter from government “a copy of which we have not seen.’’.

    Nwafor said the community needed a traditional ruler but it must follow due process.

    He said it was the duty of the community to elect a traditional ruler and not for the government to impose anyone, adding that there was unhealthy political undertone behind the desperate effort to conduct an election in Awa.

    Responding, Mr Henry Nwasike, the Public Relations Officer in the Ministry of Local Government and Town Union Affairs, said that the protesters grievances were well noted.

    Nwasike, who spoke on behalf of the commissioner, said the administration of Gov. Obiano would do all that was necessarily to ensure that there was peace in every community.

    He said government did not conduct traditional ruler election for community but supervised it, assuring that their grievances would be communicated to the appropriate authorities.

    Dr Ray Ofor, President-General of Awa, said the protesters had contradicted themselves by claiming they were not aware of the election notice but had gone ahead to protest against it.

    Ofor, however, said they were waiting for further directive based on government’s reaction to the protest on whether to proceed with the election.

  • Gunmen invade Anambra church; kill couple, daughter

    Gunmen invade Anambra church; kill couple, daughter

    A middle-aged man, identified as Ken Ekwesianya and his wife have been killed by gunmen in Azia, Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra state.

    The deceased were reportedly murdered inside a church in the area with their daughter around 7pm on Thursday.

    The Anambra State Police Command spokesperson, Haruna Mohammed confirmed the development.

    He said investigation had commenced.

    According to him: “Yes, investigation is ongoing to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident and effort is being intensified in order to arrest perpetrators of the dastardly act and bring them to justice.”

  • Anambra to work With Air Peace to bring Embraer Service Centre to State

    Anambra to work With Air Peace to bring Embraer Service Centre to State

     

     

    The Anambra State government has set in motion the machinery to work with West Africa’s leading airline, Air Peace, to get Embraer of Brazil, the world’s fourth largest civilian aircraft manufacturer, to locate a service centre for Africa in the state.

     

    Though the details of the state government’s move are not yet made public, it is understood that Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State has since last year been in talks with the Air Peace founder, Chief Allen Onyema, to get the Brazilians to cite the service centre at Anambra International Cargo Airport at Umueri which is still undergoing construction.

     

    At the delivery last week of Air Peace E195 –E2 in Lagos, Chief Onyema made a passionate appeal to the Brazilian embassy in Abuja to advise the Embraer Corporation in Sao Paulo to build a service centre in Nigeria to cater for the African region.

     

    The brand new plane, registered as 5N-BYF, is the first in 13 Embraer aircraft ordered by the airline for its African regional routes.

     

    “As the first carrier in Africa to purchase Embraer’s E series, which is the latest, Air Peace, with our support, is in a strong position to lobby the manufacturer to bring such a centre to our state”, Governor Obiano said today in a virtual discussion with some members of his administration working quietly on the project.

     

    Anambra International Cargo Airport, the second biggest airport in the country, is designed to accommodate at least one hanger to service different kinds of aircraft, according to Air Vice Marshall Ben Chiobi (retired), Special Adviser to Governor Obiano on Creative Security and a former Nigerian Air Force pilot who also used to be the military attaché at the Nigerian Embassy in Paris, France.

     

    When he visited the airport last August, an impressed Chief Onyema pledged to build a hanger there.

     

    “If Air Peace builds a hanger there and Embraer follows suit with an African service centre, the vision of building this modern and large airport on a very large swath of land will have been realized”, stated Chief Obiano.

     

    “We didn’t set out to build just any airport, but a strategic one which will help boost traditional commerce in our state and beyond, but, quiet importantly, result in technology transfer and in the transformation of our economic landscape”.

     

    Meanwhile, the state government has described Chief Onyema as the greatest current promoter of private diplomacy in Nigeria.

     

    “Onyema”, said Governor Obiano in a message to the Air Peace chairman following the acquisition of the new plane from Brazil, “has shown that you need not be in government or hold any public office to effectively promote the interests of your country.

     

    “It is not just in Brazil that he has boosted our reputation far better than any person but also in such places as South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates where Air Peace flies into regularly, with plans to start flying into the United States, India, Israel and the United Kingdom shortly.

     

    “What is more, the excellent safety record of the carrier and the efficient ground and onboard services it provides, coupled with its schedule integrity, have all combined to make it compete effectively with the best airlines in the world.

     

    “We are proud that Chief Onyema, a worthy son of Anambra State, is championing African economic integration, a Nigerian foreign policy plank, through tireless opening of regional routes.

     

    “This is to say nothing about his promotion of national integration and unity by flying every hour to all parts of Nigeria.

     

    “Air travel in Nigeria would have been extremely difficult if not for Chief Onyema who is not driven by the profit motive but service to humanity, starting with fellow Nigerians”.

     

    Air Peace, which commenced commercial operations in 2013, has 30 aircraft in its fleet, with 23 more expected from both Embraer and Boeing Corporation of the United States, the world’s biggest aircraft manufacturer.

  • Anambra Mourns Prince Momoh, Hon Okpalaeke

    Anambra Mourns Prince Momoh, Hon Okpalaeke

    The Anambra State Government has noted with sadness the passage of the erstwhile Minister of Information and Culture, Prince Tony Momoh, and a former member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, The Honorable Simon Uzama Okpalaeke.

     

    Prince Momoh was not just a former minister and one of Nigeria’s greatest journalists as well as a leading lawyer, but also a true lover of the people of Anambra State.

     

    When in the late 1980s he set up a committee to fashion out Nigeria’s first information and communication policy, he promptly made a worthy son of our state, Dr Tony Nnaemeka, then the Director of the Institute of Journalism in Lagos, the co-chairman of the committee to lead the work.

     

    There were on the committee such other eminent scholars from Anambra State as Professor Ikechukwu Nwosu, one of the most prolific mass communication writers in Africa. At the end of the day, the committee did a splendid job, further consolidating Dr Nnaemeka’s reputation as arguably Africa’s most rigorous mass communication researcher.

     

    On the two occasions former Vice President Alex Ekwueme made brave attempts at becoming Nigeria’s leader, Prince Momoh was with him every inch of the way. He held the position of Director of Publicity at the Alex Ekwueme Campaign in 1998/9 and 2002/3. He was genuinely convinced, like millions of other Nigerians, that Dr Ekwueme was far more qualified and prepared to take Nigeria in a different and better direction than any other presidential aspirant in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

     

    When the PDP betrayed Dr Ekwueme who sacrificed so much to found the party and give it a veneer of national purpose and credibility, Prince Momoh left the party on principle. He joined hands with other prominent Nigerians to establish the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) which was to merge with others to form the All Progressives Congress, (APC) today Nigeria’s national ruling party.

     

    It is a measure of his love for the people of Anambra State that though Prince Momoh attended both the University of Nigeria at Nsukka and the University of Lagos at Akoka where he studied mass communication and law, respectively, he identified more with the UNN, which was founded by the Great Zik of Africa, the man who led Nigeria to independence in 1960.

     

    With the death on February 1 of Prince Tony Momoh, the country has lost one of its finest journalists, a philosopher, a highly principled citizen, a most unassuming public officer, a detribalized Nigerian and, of course, a lover of the people of Anambra State.

     

    The Anambra State Government feels no less sense of loss in the death three days ago of The Honorable Simon Uzama Okpalaeke, who represented Ihiala Two in the Anambra State legislature from 2007 to 2011.

     

    Though he was in the House of Assembly for only one term, he made a huge impact on his constituency, especially in the provision of infrastructure.

     

    Even when he ceased to hold a public officer, Chief Okpalaeke, a lawyer, industrialist and knight of the church, continued to play a pivotal role in the affairs of not just in his Azia or Ebonesi community but the whole of Ihiala Local Government Area, one of the largest local government areas in the country. His commitment to peace and harmonious social relations is well recognized. He remains an example that a person need not hold a position to be considered a leader anywhere. Indeed, his death at 64 years of a heart attack is tragic.

     

    The Anambra State Government condoles with the Okpalaeke family of Azia and the people of Ihiala LGA on the passage of this important son. As in the case of Prince Momoh, we pray for the repose of his noble soul.

  • Hunter commits suicide after killing wife, son in Anambra

    Hunter commits suicide after killing wife, son in Anambra

    A hunter, Mr Uchechukwu Nweke, 65, who allegedly killed his wife, Patricia, 55 and his 29 year-old son, Obinna in Anambra, has committed suicide.

    The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), CSP Haruna Mohammed, confirmed the incident in a statement on Thursday in Awka.

    Mohammed said the incident occurred at the early hours of Thursday at Amanuke community in Awka North Local Government Area.

    He said the late hunter shot the wife with a single-barrel gun and burnt his house along with his son, before shooting himself with the same gun.

    He stated that the Chairman of the Amunike community vigilante who reported the incident on Thursday said the it happened at about 3 a.m.

    “The chairman also reported that the deceased hunter burnt his house along with his son named Obinna Nweke, 29, in a circumstances yet to be ascertained, before shooting himself using the same gun,” he stated.

    Mohammed said detectives from Achalla Police Station visited the scene and rushed the man, his wife and the son to Uche Hospital, Isuanocha, where they were certified dead.

    According to him, the bodies were deposited at the hospital’s morgue for autopsy.

    The spokesman said the command had launched full investigation into the incident

  • “Prophet” in viral men and women naked bath for money ritual videos to be arrested

    “Prophet” in viral men and women naked bath for money ritual videos to be arrested

    The prophet seen in the viral videos of naked men and women performing money rituals in an Anambra state river is to be arrested and prosecuted if the threat, yesterday, by Anambra State Government is carried out. The state government has threatened to arrest the “prophet” popular known as ‘Onyeze Jesus’ over indecent practices and for desecrating the Naira.

    The said prophet is based in the Idemili Local Government Area of the state.

    The state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C-Don Adinuba, disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Awka, the state capital.

    He accused the prophet of “criminal and indecent conduct in the name of religion.”

    Adinuba said the prophet’s conduct had portrayed Anambra State in bad light to right thinking people.

    The statement read in part, “The Anambra State Government is in possession of some videos produced by one person, who goes by the name of Onyeze Jesus, based in Nkpor, Idemili North Local Government Area of the state.

    “He not only claims to change the economic status of his adherents by magical means, but also throws a lot of Nigeria’s currency notes into the river and compels his adult followers, both male and female to bath naked in the river and records them on video which he distributes gleefully to all manner of people through the Internet and other means.

    “The state government is appalled by the conduct of this man. Anambra people are famous throughout the world for their industry, knowledge, ingenuity, perseverance, a high savings rate and an infectious business drive, all combined to enable them to achieve tremendous success in various fields. Their success is not overnight nor through magic.

    “Onyeze Jesus promotes superstition and strife in society. By telling his gullible and brainwashed followers that their misfortune is caused by family members, relatives, friends and business associates through magical powers, he is fomenting serious troubles and instigating eternal enmity in various places and businesses. Some of these troubles can lead to physical fights, bodily injuries and even deaths.

    “By throwing naira notes into the river regularly as part of sacrifice to the river goddess and filming it and distributing the film to the whole world, he has brought Anambra State into global ridicule and, worse, gregariously committed a criminal offence.

    “Burning or destroying the naira through any means is an offence criminalised by the Central Bank of Nigeria Act of 2007, and the offender is liable to imprisonment.”

  • Anambra Mourns Oscar Onwudiwe, Aka Ikenga President

    Anambra Mourns Oscar Onwudiwe, Aka Ikenga President

    The Anambra State Government has expressed sadness at death of Oscar Mbanefo Onwudiwe, President of Aka Ikenga, the influential think tank of Igbo professionals and scholars in Lagos.

    Onwudiwe, 68, died after a brief illness in Lagos, perhaps of the coronavirus pandemic.

    A statement signed by C. Don Adinuba, commissioner of information and public enlightenmnet, sais that “His death is shocking to the Igbo world, coming days after the death, of coronavirus, of the well regarded former military governor of both Lagos State and the old Imo State, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu.

    “The deaths underscore the ravaging nature of the virus in its second phase in Nigeria and the need to always comply with the precautions to check the scourge like proper wearing of the face mask, keeping of social distance of two metres and constant washing of hands with running water and soap for at least 20 seconds.”

    Onwudiwe was a senior lawyer with keen interest in public affairs and consequently developed a powerful sense of social justice. Of both Igbo and Itsekiri parentage, he was born and raised in Lagos, and had close friends across Nigeria.

    He observed early in life the systematic injustice which the Igbo people have been suffering since the end of the Nigerian Civil War in January, 1970, and so devoted much of his adult life to chart a new course for his people even at the expense of his professional and personal development.

    He was the founding secretary general of Aka Ikenga, but also played a significant role in the establishment of Ndigbo Lagos, which articulates, espouses and proactively defends interests of Igbo people in Lagos. There are more Igbo in Lagos than elsewhere outside Igboland. Therefore, it is imperative to have a powerful association of the Igbo in Lagos like Ndigbo Lagos, led by some of the most successful and brightest Igbo sons and daughters, to protect their interests in Nigeria’s commercial capital.

    Onwudiwe was, in addition, instrumental to the founding of the League of Anambra Professionals, one of the most influential pressure groups of well-educated and successful Anambra indigenes. LAP began in Lagos, and has since spread to different parts of the country and beyond.

    A man imbued with uncanny ideas, Onwudiwe, urbane and sophisticated, was convinced that the Igbo could regain their pride of place in Nigeria without being militant. He, therefore, worked hard to ensure that such groups as LAP, Ndigbo Lagos and Aka Ikenga were guided by strategic thinking, farsightedness, cohesion and commitment to the common good. He was never in doubt of the need for these groups to work in conjunction and harmony with like-minded organizations and individuals across the Nigerian nation.

    In recognition of his rare qualities, Governor Willie Obiano in November, 2019, appointed Onwudiwe to the Anambra Vision 2070 Committee, the group of experts charged with developing a strategic plan to make Anambra State attain the status of a developed place within 50 years, as places like Dubai and Taiwan have done within a generation. The Anambra State Vision 2020 Committee is headed by the former Central Bank of Nigeria, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, a highly respected economist.

    Meanwhile, Governor Obiano and some members of his administration have spoken to members of the Onwudiwe family of Ifite, Ogbunike, in Oyi Local Government Area to commiserate them on the death of their illustrious son, Mr Oscar Onwudiwe, who left behind a wife, Mrs Maureen Onwudiwe, four children and four grandchildren.

  • [VIDEO] Gas explosion rocks Anambra, petrol station, shops, others razed

    [VIDEO] Gas explosion rocks Anambra, petrol station, shops, others razed

    Dispensing meters of a petrol station, tanker and shops were gutted by fire on Friday following a gas explosion along Nnewi-Nnobi Road, Nnewi, Anambra state.

    The fire incident, which occurred around 8am, was said to have also razed a motorcycle, generator, deep freezers and other items along the road.

    According to reports, while no life was lost, there was pandemonium in the area as residents and shop owners scampered for safety while men of fire service and youths in the area battled the fire.

    An eyewitness said the inferno was caused by a diesel laden tanker attempting to transfer its contents to another smaller tanker at the filling station.

    “While the truck was transferring diesel to a smaller truck at the station, the generator hose being used for the transfer pulled out and the diesel suddenly spread on the generator which ignited the fire,” he said.

    He said attempts to put out the fire with the available fire extinguisher were futile as the fire became increasingly high, adding that the diesel flew along the drain, consuming all items along the way.

    The fire was later extinguished by fire fighters from the area, adding that the tanker drivers escaped by whiskers.

  • Amazing! Visually impaired couple weds in Anambra

    Amazing! Visually impaired couple weds in Anambra

    A visually impaired couple Clementina Nwamaka Obidike and Christopher Nnamdi Mbogu got married at a modest wedding in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra state at the weekend.

     

    Clementina works with the Anambra State Ministry of Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship while her new husband, Christopher is a staff of the Ministry of Basic Education.

     

    The couple were joined in a Holy Matrimony at Christ Holy Church International in Enugwu-Ukwu on Saturday, January 2, 2021.

    Traditional marriage ceremony later took place at the bride’s hometown in Agu-Ukwu Nri, Anambra.

     

  • COVID-19 kills 5 in Oyo, 2 in Kano, 1 in Anambra

    Eight persons died Saturday from COVID-19 complications in three states, with Oyo recording five of the deaths.

    Oyo, the fifth most affected state by the virus in Nigeria, with 3,994 cases now has a death toll of 51.

    Kano also recorded two deaths, taking its death toll to 68.

    South eastern state of Anambra recorded its 20th COVID-19 death, with one death, also on Saturday.

    Overall, Nigeria’s death toll is now 1,302, from 1,294 on Friday.

    The figures were the latest statistics released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC Saturday night.

    There were fewer confirmed cases, plunging from 1,074 on 1 January to 576 a day after.

    Lagos led with 277 new cases, making its cumulative cases 31,107.

    FCT Abuja registered 90 cases, Oyo 51 and Nasarawa 49.

    Kaduna was missing on the list Saturday. NCDC did not explain why.

    As at Saturday, Nigeria has 89,163 confirmed cases, with 74,789 discharged.

    Among the 416 discharged were 287 community recoveries in Lagos State and 60 community recoveries in Plateau State.

    Cases being treated also shot up to 13,072.

    Here now is the breakdown for the 576 cases Saturday:

    Lagos-277
    FCT-90
    Oyo-51
    Nasarawa-49
    Sokoto-23
    Anambra-14
    Bauchi-11
    Imo-11
    Kano-11
    Edo-10
    Plateau-10
    Ogun-9
    Osun-5
    Jigawa-3
    Rivers-2

    89,163 confirmed
    74,789 discharged
    1,302 deaths