I’ll Recover All Senate Seats in Imo, Okorocha Boasts

Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has boasted that he would recover all the senatorial seats in the state on behalf of his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, currently held by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, according to a report by the nigerianpilot.com.

The governor made the chest-beating while reacting to the ruling by the Appeal Court, Owerri division, ordering the return of the hearing of the petition challenging the election of Senator Hope Uzodimma, representing Imo West, at the March 2015 general elections.
Okorocha told the party members who came to the Government House, Owerri, on a solidarity visit after the ruling that he had concluded arrangements with the judiciary hierarchy in the country to make the tribunals rule in favour of the APC candidates in the ongoing trials.
The Imo State governorship and national assembly election tribunal had on August 2015 struck out the petition by the APC candidate, Senator Osita Izunaso, on the grounds that the latter

BPE Orders Enugu Disco to Hands Off Aba, Ariaria Assets

The Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, has ordered Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, to hand over the disputed Ring Fenced Islands at Aba and Ariaria, in Abia State, to Afrigem Integrated Utilities Limited, according to a Vanguard newspaper report.

The assets were recently sold to Afrigem by Geometric Power Limited and Aba Power Limited, which hitherto owned majority stakes in them.

However, in a quick reaction, the EEDC terminated the lease agreement, citing breaches by Geometric and Aba Power. It has also gone ahead to explore other means to assert its right.

Aba Power and Geometric Power have, in trying to excise the ring-fenced islands at Aba and Ariaria from EEDC, argued that an existing agreement with the Federal Government gives it ownership of those portions of the South-East electricity distribution market.

Enugu Disco, on the other hand, has continuously affirmed its rightful ownership of the Aba distribution, noting that the Aba area, Owerri-Nta, Osisi Oma, Ogbor Hill, Factory Road, and Port Harcourt Road in Aba, Abia State, with its assets, are all integral part of the Enugu Disco

Buhari’s Appointments, The Constitution And Worries of Igbo Leaders of Thought (1)

Photo credit: omojuwa.com

By Prof. Ben Nwabueze

The executive power of the Federal Government vested in the President of Nigeria by section 5 of the Constitution is a frightfully enormous power. In terms of its extent, it embraces all the eight functions set out in my earlier write-up.

They are worth repeating here again for easy understanding, viz taking actions involving execution, including appointment and disciplinary control of executive functionaries of government; execution of the laws – the law of the Constitution and other laws; maintenance of law and order; the determination and conduct of policy; direction and control of the departments of state and their activities; protection or preservation of the properties and instrumentalities of government; co-ordination of the activities of government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAS); and lastly pure administration.

In view of the awesome enormousness of the power, it is not unnatural that Gen. Muhammadu Buhari should passionately covet the office, as attested by the fact that he contested for it in four successive presidential elections in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015. But what is disquieting is that, while intensely coveting the office because of its enormous powers, he should arrogantly disregard the commands of the Constitution imposing restraints on the way and manner the powers are to be exercised. In fairness to him, the question may be asked whether he knows of the constitutional commands

Obiano’s Wife Trains Additional 160 Women in Various Skills

Wife of the governor of Anambra State, Chief (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano has trained an additional 160 indigent widows and women in various skills acquisition programmes initiated by her pet project, Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFÉ).

The latest development is In furtherance of her avowed commitment to empowerment of the indigent and less privileged members of the society,

Already, a total of 160 beneficiaries selected for the Second Batch Skills Acquisition programme across the 21 Local Government Areas of the State are currently undergoing training in four areas across different centres in the state.

40 persons were selected in each of the training areas, namely Tailoring, Hair dressing and Beauty Therapy, Confectionaries and Bakery as well as Soap Making.

The venues of the Second Batch training programme which started on August 17 this

Ikpeazu Commiserates With Aba Fire Victims

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has commiserated with the victims of the fire incident that happened along Aba-Owerri Road, Aba yesterday and which claimed the life of a woman with many people injured and property worth millions of naira destroyed.

The accident occurred yesterday morning when a tanker conveying premium motor spirit, PMS, along Aba-Owerri Road hit the road median and exploded in fire, causing heavy pandemonium in the area.

A release signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Godwin Adindu quoted the governor as describing the incident as unfortunate and pathetic and expressed his heartfelt sympathy to the victims and particularly to the family of the woman who died in the inferno.

He assured them of government support and intervention to ameliorate their suffering in this crisis period and cushion the effect of this tragedy.

The governor also used the occasion to reprimand tanker drivers and those conveying inflammable products along major roads to do so with precaution, warning that government will no longer tolerate the damage they cause to life and property.

He directed all security agencies and regulatory bodies to conduct adequate and constant check on the road worthiness of the tankers and trailers that ply the highways and ensure that all offending drivers are brought to book.

The governor further called on the Aba people to cooperate with traffic officials in restoring order in the affected areas.

Weep not, Ndigbo

By Clement Udegbe

“You are not so blind with patriotism, that you can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it”---Malcom X

I am one of those , who never wished that APC, with President Muhammadu Buhari, PMB, would lead this country. It was not because we supported the ways of the ruling PDP at that time, but because we had our fears, about that change slogan, some of which are now manifesting in PMB’s government.

Our fears included first, that as  Christians, the killings and burning of churches will continue under PMB, but will be seriously suppressed from the public. Today, we hear less of the wickedness against Christians in the north. We do not understand why this is so, while Boko Haram has continued to kill in the North East. Over three months of APC government, Chibok Girls are yet to be recovered, for example, confirming our fear that the whole noise about Chibok Girls was to push GEJ, out of