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Tag: Obiano

  • Suspension of traditional rulers: Obiano is a small fry, says Arthur Eze

    Suspension of traditional rulers: Obiano is a small fry, says Arthur Eze

    Billionaire businessman and oil magnate, Prince Arthur Eze, has described the Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, as a small fry.

    Eze, who said this on Sunday in his Ukpo home in Dunikofia Local Government Area of Anambra State, spoke against the backdrop of the suspension of 12 monarchs he led on a courtesy visit to President Muhammadu Buhari by the Anambra State Governor.

    He said: “I’m not afraid of anybody.

    “I have installed three African presidents.

    “One of them gave me oil blocks in his country.

    “I have assisted in enthroning many governors in Nigeria.

    “I have given a governorship candidate N10 billion to assist him prosecute his election.

    “I didn’t know the candidate from Adam.

    “He just approached me and told me about himself and his people.

    “I empathised with him and gave him the money.

    “Obiano is just a small fry.

    “Even this Obiano, I have given him financial assistance as a person and as a governor several times.

    “I have no personal problems with him.

    “My grouse with him is that he is not doing the right things as a governor.

    “Many people are suffering under his government.

    “He is not paying the traditional rulers in the state their five per cent entitlement from the Local Government allocation.”

  • VIDEO: One out of 12 suspended Anambra monarchs beg Obiano for forgiveness

    VIDEO: One out of 12 suspended Anambra monarchs beg Obiano for forgiveness

    Igwe MacAnthony Okonkwo, one of the 12 suspended traditional rulers in Anambra state has tendered an unreserved apology to Governor Willie Obiano.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that Greg Obi, the commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs in a statement said the monarchs were suspended for travelling out of the state, without “consultation or approval”from the government.

    Okonkwo, who is the ruler of Alor in Idemili South Council Area of the state tendered the apology in an interview with the state owned, Anambra Broadcasting Service.

    His appeasement move came after the 12 rulers held a conference in Abuja, expressing surprise that they were punished by Governor Obiano and the Anambra Traditional Council.

    The traditional rulers said at their conference on Thursday, that they went to Abuja to thank President Muhammadu Buhari, for all the good things his administration is doing in the South East.

    But Okonkwo also revealed why the council and Obiano flashed them a yellow card: the rulers visit to Abuja was at the instance of Sir Arthur Eze, who has some issues with Obiano.

    In the interview with Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS), Igwe Okonkwo regretted his actions for his failure to inform Obiano, as the Chief Security Officer of the state before embarking on the trip with others to Abuja.

    He tried to massage the ego of Obiano, by praising him for his achievements.

    He then appealed to the chairman of Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe to tamper justice with mercy to intervene in the matter.

    He also suggested that steps should be taken to reconcile Arthur Eze and Governor Obiano, both of them prominent citizens of the state.

    Watch video below:

  • Anambra traditional rulers visit Aso Rock after Obiano’s suspension

    Anambra traditional rulers visit Aso Rock after Obiano’s suspension

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari, on Thursday, received some Anambra traditional rulers at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

    Governor Willie Obiano had earlier handed a one-year suspension to the monarchs, for travelling out of the state without permission.

    The monarchs were led by billionaire businessman, Prince Arthur Eze, included HRM Eze Dr Nkeli Nzekwe, HRM Igwe Chuba Mbakwe, HRM Igwe Chijioke Nwankwo, HRH Igwe Anthony Onwekwelu and HRH Igwe Chukwuma Bobo Orji.

    In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to Buhari on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina, Gambari thanked the traditional rulers for coming, adding that the gesture would encourage the President to do even more for the region and the country as a whole.

    He said, “This is an incentive for the President to do more for the country, and also for the South East.”

    The royal fathers listed the projects embarked upon by President Buhari in their region to include “the Second Niger Bridge, that had been presented as an impossible task by previous administrations, but now becoming a reality under your keen watch, the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, among others.

    “The people of the South East are, indeed, grateful, as we have never had it so good, and on their behalf, we say daalu (thank you).”

    Suspended traditional rulers reject Obi of Onitsha, label Obiano govt ‘draconian’

    Meanwhile, the embattled traditional rulers, under the aegis of concerned traditional rulers, have described their suspension by Governor Willie Obiano as charade and abuse of power.

    Speaking on behalf of the 12 suspended traditional rulers, HRH Igwe Chijioke Nwankwo, Igwe Nawfia, said: “We state categorically that we have not committed any act to warrant being suspended.

    “This is to say the least an abuse of power and high handedness by the Igwe in connivance with the state government that has become increasingly desperate as the Governor Willie Obiano administration winds to a close.”

    Igwe Nwankwo said there was nothing wrong in visiting President Muhammadu Buhari.
    He queried: “What was wrong about our commendational visit to President Mohammadu Buhari on the good things he has been doing for the South East Zone and the Igbos to be precise?

    “We also thanked him for the appointment of notable Igbo sons and daughters into important positions in government since he became President. Is this an offense?

    “The Second Niger bridge had been presented as an impossible task by previous administrations but it is now becoming a reality under his watch as it is almost nearing completion. And we also appreciated him for this.

    “We know that the project is very dear to our hearts because it is a key component of boosting business activities between the people of the South East and the entire country. Where did we go wrong here?

    “The Enugu- Onitsha expressway that the Buhari administration is rehabilitating is another magnificent reason we went to thank the president.”

    He said because of what the President has done, they felt that it was incumbent on them to express their appreciation to him on behalf of the entire people of the area and to urge him to do more for the zone.

    The traditional rulers said: “Where have we committed a crime in these laudable efforts? On what ground is the Igwe and the state government now witch hunting us?
    “All what we have done were in exercise of our fundamental human rights and we emphasis that no one can take that from us.

    “Freedom of speech, freedom of movements are all enshrined in our constitution and grand norm. Any attempt against these would amount to muzzling the traditional institutions and we cannot accept that.

    “The state government premised its action on the pretext that the traditional rulers did not obtain permission from the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.This lame reason shows how bereft of ideas and how draconian the state government has become. Is there anywhere in our laws where freedom of movements by anyone is restricted within or outside the country?”

    In their recommendations, the traditional rulers rejected the Obi of Onitsha as chairman of traditional rulers council, saying: “Following this high handedness and dictatorship, we the concerned traditional rulers of Anambra hereby suspend the chairman of the Anambra state traditional rulers Council, HRH Igwe Alfred Achebe.”

  • Gov Obiano suspends 12 traditional rulers for one year

    Gov Obiano suspends 12 traditional rulers for one year

    Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra state has suspended 12 traditional rulers in the state for one year each.

    The suspension came few weeks after Obiano suspended Igwe Peter Uyanwa, ruler of Ukwulu community of Dunukofia Council Area of the state.

    Uyanwa, is also Chairman of Anambra Central Traditional Rulers Council.

    According to a statement by Greg Obi, the commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, the monarchs were suspended for travelling out of the state, without “consultation or approval”from the government.

    Obi claimed the rulers were suspended by a meeting of Traditional Rulers Council of Anambra held on 11 August.

    According to the letter, the rulers affected by the suspension are: Igwe Alex Edozieuno, Igwe Mark Anthony Okonkwo, Igwe Chilwuma Bob Vincent Orji, Igwe Engr. G.B.C. Mbakwe, Igwe Udoji and Igwe S.O. Uche.

    Others are Igwe Chijioke Nwankwo, Igwe Nkeli Nelly, Igwe Anthony Onyekwere, Igwe A.N. Onwuneme, Igwe Simon Ikechukwu Chidubem and Igwe Emeka Iluono.

    Read the suspension statement:

  • Unknown assassins kill Obiano’s aide on security, Azubuike Ekwegbalu

    Unknown assassins kill Obiano’s aide on security, Azubuike Ekwegbalu

    The Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Willie Obiano on Security, Azubuike Ekwegbalu, was on Sunday stabbed to death by unknown all assailants.

    He was said to have been stabbed to death with a kitchen knife.

    The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday at his residence at the Commissioners’ Quarters, Awka, a high brow area for government officials.

    Reacting to the incident, the state’s Commissioner for Information, Don Adinuba said the Anambra State Government is working with the security agencies to apprehend the culprits.

    Adina said “The Anambra State Government working with the security agencies will do everything in its power to apprehend those responsible for Mr. Ekwegbalu’s death, as we have successfully done over the years in similar deaths. The Government assures all Anambra people, once again, that it will stop at nothing to make the state remain the safest and most peaceful state in Nigeria.

    An eyewitness said the late Ekwegbalu, who hails from Ogbunike in Oyi Local Government Area of the state, was a close relation to the wife of the governor.

    “He was murdered by unknown men last night at the commissioners’ quarters, Awka. This is barbaric. May his soul rest in peace.

    “Security operatives must do all that is possible to bring the killers to justice,” the source said.

    Confirming the incident in a statement, the Spokesman of the Police Command in the state, SP Haruna Mohammed, said one suspect, who was seen in the premises had been arrested.

    “On Aug. 9, 2020 at about 1:30a.m., there was a report of alleged murder of one Azuibuike Ekwegbalu, aged 43 years, native of Ogbunike in Oyi LGA but resident at the Commissioners quarters Awka.

    “Following the report, Police detectives attached to ‘B’ Division Awka led by the DPO, CSP Emma Ogbuanya visited the scene and rushed victim who was found in a pool of blood to COOUTH Awka for medical attention.

    “He was certified dead by the medical doctor on arrival while his corpse was deposited at the hospital mortuary for autopsy,” he noted.

    Mohammed said a careful observation on the deceased body revealed stab wounds while a blood stained Kitchen knife was also recovered as exhibit at the scene.

    “Consequently, one suspect who allegedly was in the premises has been arrested and the case is under investigation to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident,” he stated.

  • Anambra Salutes Okigbo, Obi for Professional and Intellectual Excellence

    Anambra Salutes Okigbo, Obi for Professional and Intellectual Excellence

    The Anambra State government has congratulated two indigenes of the state on bringing international attention to Nigeria in the last three days for professional and academic excellence.

    In a statement in Awka today, the government praised Mr Patrick Okigbo III, founder of Nextier, a consulting firm in Abuja, who has just been named one of the 12 professionals selected worldwide to serve for one year as Senior Fellows at John Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and Dr Chidubem Obi, who has emerged the best overall student in Russia’s oldest and most prestigious medical school.

    “The people and government of Anambra State felicitate with these worthy ambassadors and their families, as their prodigious achievements align with the vision of the state administration to make Anambra State and its people synonymous with international competitiveness and excellence”, the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C. Don Adinuba, quoted Governor Willie Obiano as saying in a statement in Awka today.

    By winning the 2020 Harvard senior fellowship, according the statement, Okigbo, a member of the Anambra State Vision 2070 set up to develop a strategic plan to make the state a fully developed place within 50 years like Taiwan and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, “is clearly stepping into the shoes of transformational leaders like Lee Kuan Yew, who led Singapore’s legendary leapfrogging from the status of a typical Third World country in 1965 to a fully developed one in just 30 years”.

    Okigbo hails from Ojoto in Idemili South Local Government Area, and hails from the same family as Dr Pius Okigbo, Africa’s most decorated economist; Christopher Okigbo, regarded by top literary scholars like Professor Michael JC Echeruo as the “most verbally exciting African poet writing in English; Professor Bede Okigbo, a globally renowned plant pathologist and geneticist who led the famous Biafran Army during the Nigerian Civil war; Chief Lawrence Okigbo, an internationally reputable forestry researcher and author; Professor Charles Okigbo, a leading mass communication researcher in the United States; as well as Professor Raphael Okigbo of Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, who was last year declared the cited Nigerian science scholar, according to Google Scholar.

    Patrick Okigbo III attended the University of Nigeria at Nsukka, Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States and the London School of Economics.

    “As for Dr Obi, who is from Ifitedunu in Dunukofia Local Government Area”, said Commissioner Adinuba, “we are delighted that he did not just emerge the best medical student in a university established since 1758, but also scored a grade point of 5.0, the first time an African has earned the highest point possible in the school.

    “Truly, the Anambra brand of excellence in all ramifications is emerging faster than some people may realize”.

  • Ihiala LGA Leaders Congratulate Obiano on Anambra’s Examination Performance

    The leaders and people of Ihiala Local Government Area have congratulated Governor Willie Obiano on the outstanding performance of Anambra indigenes in the latest Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

    According to the figures published by JAMB, Anambra State indigenes won both the first and second overall results in the 2020 JAMB examination for admission into Nigerian higher institutions.

    The best performance was posted by Miss Agnes Maduafokwa who scored 365 out of a maximum of 400 marks while the second best result was by David Nwobi who scored 363 marks.

    In a statement issued in Ihiala today the “leaders and people of Ihiala Local Government Area are pleased to announce that Miss Maduafokwa is our dear daughter who has made the whole state proud by her prodigious achievement”.

    The statement was signed by Barrister Chidi Udemmadu, the member representing Ihiala 1 in the Anambra State House of Assembly; Igwe Emmnuel Nnabuife, chairman of both the Ihiala Local Government Area Traditional Rulers Council and of the Anambra South Senatorial Traditional Rulers Council; and Chief Okey Chukwu, President General of the Ihiala Progress Union (IPU).

    “The exceedingly impressive performance of our daughter is consistent in the brilliant account of Anambra people in all academic endeavours”, declared the people, citing the golden prize won by students of Regina Pacis Model Secondary School in Onitsha which two years ago in California, United States, in the global competition in the use of the Internet to solve social problems.

    The Regina Pacis students won the first prize with their development of an application to detect fake drugs, a global scourge.

    “In the same vein, we recall that St John’s Technical Secondary School at Alor clinched the third prize in the World Festival of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) held in Tunis, Tunisia, between February 21 and 27, last year.

    “We also note with pride how schools and teachers in Anambra State last October won four out of the 24 prizes during the World Teachers Day marked in Abuja, becoming the only state in the whole country to win more than one prize.

    “Anambra State also went home with two of the four vehicles donated by President Muhammadu Buhari for their academic excellence.

    “We remember with pride and gratitude that Governor Obiano sponsored another proud daughter of Ihiala Local Government Area, Miss Tochukwu Anyigbo, to participate in the World Robotics Competition in Mexico in 2018, and her group won the third prize”.

    The Ihiala people urged Gov Obiano to award a scholarship to Miss Agnes Maduafokwa for “her excellent result in the examination organized by JAMB, in line with the governor’s most commendable gestures of rewarding Anambra indigenes who bring glory to the state through academic brilliance”.

  • COVID-19: Anambra Shows the Light Again

    1. The Anambra State administration has become exemplary in formulating a policy to fight the coronavirus by combining the best elements from the major two schools of thought which have emerged in the global campaign against COVID-19. The state has integrated the best elements from what may be termed the public health school which is in favour of a total lockdown comparable to 24-hour curfew everywhere until the disease is defeated completely and the second which may be called the economics/business school that believes a total lockdown will result in economic depression and, of course, the death of an unimaginable number of persons.

    2. The option before any thoughtful public officer is not to take sides with any of the schools but to critically look at the situation before him or her and decide on a policy in the light of reason and experience. Ideological extremists or puritans have to be avoided. Dr Pius Okigbo, Africa’s most decorated economist, warned economists in General Ibrahim Babangida’s military government who were taking an extremist position on economic efficiency in the implementation of the structural adjustment programme (SAP): “Any government which pursues any policy under the guise of economic efficiency without regard to the social and political implications”, remarked Okigbo in Essays in the Public Philosophy of Development,“will only have itself to blame”.

    3. Like every other government, the Anambra State administration is bound to protect its people from the ravages of COVID-19, but it cannot afford to do so by unwittingly allowing millions of its people to die of hunger and starvation or by causing their businesses to collapse through an unmitigated lockdown. The 28 days of lockdown, when all markets were shut down, vehicular and human movements restricted, schools closed, traditional religious services suspended, funerals, wedding and title taking ceremonies practically stopped, have already taken enormous toll on the people’s well being.

    4. Social unrest must be avoided. If people in developed nations could not accept more than three weeks of lockdown, despite the immense social safety nets for the poor and the huge amounts paid by governments directly to the citizens who lost their jobs in the wake of COVID-19, we can imagine what the most vulnerable in our society and elsewhere in Africa have been going through.

    5. Governor Willie Obiano did the right thing by announcing on Saturday, April 25, some policy fine tuning. He announced, for instance, the lifting of the restriction on intrastate vehicular movement, but not interstate movement because COVID-19 could be brought into Anambra State again from another part of the country. He directed that the foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals markets could now open daily, instead of only twice a week. Churches, he added, could resume normal services, but as directed by their leaders who have displayed a great appreciation of the severe COVID-19 dangers. The nonessential markets, he announced, would be reopened once a meeting is held on Monday, April 27, with their leaders and they agree to such protocols as observing social distancing, compulsory wearing of face masks by sellers, buyers and suppliers, and the availability of a big container of water with soaps in every line in each of the open markets which people will use regularly to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds on each occasion.

    6. The easing of the restrictions came on the heels of the spectacular treatment of the state’s sole confirmed COVID-19 case. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced the index case on Good Friday, April 10, and the state government began managing the case within hours. After four days of solid treatment, the NCDC declared that the status of the index case had been reversed from positive to negative. This was a brilliant performance. What is more, all the tests conducted on 68 other persons in the state read negative.

    7. There was, therefore, no justification for the lockdown to remain without any adjustment, just as it will be defensible for a state like Wyoming in the United States, which has no COVID-19 case, to be locked down like New York, the American coronavirus epicentre. In any case, relaxation of restrictions is the trend worldwide. The United States, now the world’s epicenter of the coronavirus, has seen the lifting of restrictions in places like Georgia. Even Spain, the country worst by COVID-19 in Europe after Italy, will no longer observe strict lockdown from this week. And next week Italy, of all places, will start to ease restrictions. From Ghana to South Africa to India, the story is the same. No wonder, in Nigeria states like Oyo and Edo are following in the Anambra footsteps.

    8. Still, sight should not be lost on the fact that appropriate restrictions remain in the state. Schools are not yet open. Most civil servants still work from home. Burials, funerals, title taking and award ceremonies and marriages are still not taking place because they are likely to attract more than 30 persons in each instance, thereby enhancing the risk of violating the social distance rule. Needless to repeat, vehicles are not yet allowed from other states for fear of bringing COVID-19 into Anambra State; the index case came from Lagos on March 28. Anambra State’s boundaries are now policed with greater vigour.

    9. Public policy is not cast in marble unless by a government run by ideologues, hawks, hardliners, puritans and extremists who, by their very nature, are allergic to facts, evidence and rational thinking. By formulating its COVID-19 policy with the best elements from the two main opposing schools of thought in the campaign to contain the coronavirus and allowing the implementation of the policy to be guided by facts and the interests of the majority of the people, Anambra State has, once again, demonstrated that it is truly the Light of the Nation. As the Great Zik of Africa used to state in the masthead of his eminently influential West African Pilot newspaper, “show the light and the people will find the way”. Anambra State is on the right trajectory.

     

    C. Don Adinuba

    Commissioner for Information & Public Enlightenment.

  • JUST IN: Obiano orders total lockdown of Anambra hours after COVID-19 index case surfaces

    Anambra Governor Willie Obiano has ordered total lockdown of the state, which recorded its index case of COVID-19 on Friday.

    He directed security operatives to arrest violators of the new order where necessary

    The Governor gave the directives on Saturday during a broadcast to the state on the new development

    According to him: “Ndi Anambra, I regret to announce that despite our proactive measures to insulate our dear state from this pandemic, we recorded the first case of Coronavirus in the state Friday.

    ” The index case came in from Lagos. He has been placed in one of our Protective Care Centres.

    “At the same time, we have commenced aggressive Contact Tracing to ensure that everyone he came in contact with is brought into the net for a professional handling that will save lives.”

    He added: “Ndi Anambra, I urge you not to panic over this. It did not take us by surprise. We are adequately prepared to handle the situation”

    “We have trained enough manpower on how to handle Covid-19 cases and our Protective Care Centers are among the best in the country at the moment”

    Obiano, further announced new measures to be taken to contain the spread of the virus.

    Such measures, he said, included restriction on movement which had been extended by two weeks.

    He said: “This time, we are placing a comprehensive lock down on Anambra State. We shall not tolerate any movement across the state by individuals and groups”

    “Only people on essential services are permitted to move around in the delivery of those services to the people”

    “Ndi Anambra are advised to stay indoors to avoid getting contaminated by this virus.

    “The security agencies will enforce the restriction on movement this time and they have my authorization to make arrests where necessary to keep our dear state safe”

    “All boundaries with neighbouring states remain closed. There will be no vehicular or human traffic across all the boundaries of Anambra State.”

  • Anambra law makers reject Obiano’s Prado Jeeps, give reasons

    Anambra law makers reject Obiano’s Prado Jeeps, give reasons

    Members of Anambra State House of Assembly are up in gloves in Governor Willie Obiano over alleged proposed gifts of Prado jeep vehicles to the 30 lawmakers from the government believed to be over N1billion.

    The lawmakers accused the Governor of wasting funds, insisting that the state should patronize Innoson motors being manufactured by their own son.

    The state government had proposed the gifts to the lawmakers to help them in discharge of their oversight functions in the state.

    The proposal was sequel to complaints by some lawmakers over the delay in provision of statutory allowances and other entitlements by the state government.

    They contended the purchase of Toyota Prado Jeeps to the tune of almost N1billion was an unnecessary waste of funds when a similar vehicle produced by INNOSON Motors Limited would cost less.

    The lawmakers noted that other governors of the South East and South south had been patronising the local car manufacturing company ,adding that Obiano had ignored his own son.

    But in swift reaction, Chief Press secretary to Speaker Emma Madu said he was not aware of any car gift to the lawmakers .

    However, the Deputy Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Emeka Ozumba, told the public to discountenance such allegation.

    He said thE House of Assembly and the Executive had enjoyed good working relationship, adding that there was no cause for alarm.

    Chairman, southeast conference of 2019 APC House of Assembly candidates, Hon. Afam Ezenwafor, told reporters the Governor should drop such idea and patronise the local manufacturer.

    According to him: “Obi procured Innoson motors for AVS, schools and local govt councils in the state, it is worthy of emulation.”

    “I commend Gov Ugwuanyi of Enugu state who purchased over 100 hilux pickups from Innoson motors for the security agencies in the state.Other southeast governors must do same”

    “We can only grow our local economy and encourage think home investment when our leaders patronize local contents, govs of Imo, Abia and Ebonyi are not patronising Innoson motors and that’s sad, that attitude must change”.