DON’T BLAME LABOUR PARTY LEADERS FOR EDO CENTRAL FAILURE TO CLINCH LP GUBER TICKET

Call Abure and Esan Delegates to answer

Tony Akeni Le Moin,
Friday March 15, 2024

Esan nation’s delegates of Labour Party and the party’s National Chairman Julius Abure, an Esan man, critically helped Edo Central to lose the LP guber ticket in the party’s governorship primary which held in Benin city on January 23, 2024.

Julius Abure and the Esan delegates are the Esans’ political representatives in Labour Party and handed the ticket in a platter of gold to Barr. Olumide Akpata of Edo South who earned and won it in a clear, indisputable contest.

This brief piece and inner insight of the events before, around and leading to the LP primary is necessary to enlighten Esan nation of the presently exhausted LP Esan Agenda, and especially Nigerians outside Edo state who did not know or have the background facts beyond the surface of the final outcome of the keenly contested primary.

Towards the now consummated primary, Esan (Edo Central) Governorship aspirants turned out to be more than Benin (Edo South) aspirants and Edo North aspirants combined. At a time they were up to 12, while aspirants from Edo South and North combined were lesser.

By mid-2023, in pursuit of power-shift equity, deep concern and commitment to give Edo Central a bright chance and head wind to win the ticket, both Edo state’s local and national Labour Party leaders came together, made strenuous efforts and extended clearcut initiatives for Edo Central aspirants to put themselves in front of the race.

One of the initiatives we put to the Esan aspirants was an advisory for them to trim and align their number behind one or two most auspicious Esan aspirants in order not to fragment their votes at the Governorship primary. It took them almost eternity and nearly too late before they saw the sense to act on this. Finally, in the first week of February 2024 – yes, as late as that – several of them relinquished their aspirations and adopted a fine Edo Central aspirant. A highly reputable accountant of superlative federal experience, ICAN consultant, educationist and administrator, one Pastor Ernest Abegbe from Ewohimi, Esan South-East local government area of Edo state.

Furthermore, a caucus of LP national party leaders drawn from across all geopolitical zones of Nigeria delegated me to bring three of the most viable Esan aspirants to Abuja for a final consensus alignment before they would go for the Abure conducted primary. What followed that noble gesture and goodwill for the people of Edo Central is truly the height of shameful, self-betraying political espionage among themselves. The Esan stakeholders and delegates displayed and held love of profit far above love of their own Esan nation. Their hitherto deafeningly trumpeted “Esan Agenda” crusades for power-shift and political justice flew through the window under Julius Abure’s political cockpit and captainship.

You will recall that Esan (Edo Central) had 102 delegates at the governorship primary. At the primary which was designed, masterminded, architectured and superintended by an Esan man, Julius Abure the National Chairman of Labour Party, the Esan delegates cast only 7 votes apiece totaling 21 votes to the 3 frontline Esan Guber aspirants namely Pst Ernest Abegbe, Prof. Mudiame Eromosele and Barr. Ken Imasuagbon (aka Riceman). Our findings later showed that even the 7 votes Riceman obtained were not from his Esan Central delegates but from Edo South delegates of the Benin people of Ovia East and Southwest constituencies. What this means is that of the 102 Esan delegates, *88* of them voted against their own Esan governorship aspirants in favour of Akpata of Edo South, all in broad-day light. All of the 88 Esan delegates stood up to cheer Akpata when his landslide victory of 316 votes were announced against the highest Esan contender of 7 votes or 21 votes combined for 3 Esan guber aspirants. What this clearly means is that Akpata has some distinct and superceding quality of person and personality for the office of Edo governor which the Esan delegates see above their native senatorial district aspirants. Any other interpretation is subjective and unscientific guesswork.

Question: Should Akpata have slashed some of his votes as sympathy gift to the Esan aspirants? Even if he had doubled or tripled the Esan aspirants’ votes from gifting away his own votes to them, Akpata would still have won.

From the above factual narrative, you can see that Labour Party leaders and stakeholders, whether at state or national level, cannot be blamed as having denied Edo Central the opportunity to present Labour Party’s governorship candidate for the 2024 race. You can also see that Esan nation does not need a research grant to find out who should be asked what happened, how did it happen and at whose feet blame, if any, should be laid for failure of Esan Central to clinch the 2024 Guber ticket of Labour Party. When mundane values define a people’s choices, they cannot blame their failure to attain on a stranger or passerby who came to their midst and legitimately took away, in broad-day, not at gunpoint, the bargain of higher value among extant choices. Any Esan (Edo Central) persons crying at this belated hour for Esan Agenda is only striking the ground with the stick long after the snake has slithered into the forest.

The least that may be said in conclusion is that whenever another opportunity presented itself in the future, Esan nation must look inward for values adjustment and a better principled team from their land to pilot their political destiny.

LP must of necessity now wholeheartedly support Olumide Akpata to win the coming governorship election so that we may have an additional state to Abia to call our own. Winning Edo 2024 is a litmus step and critical rehearsal ropes for winning Ondo 2024 and Anambra 2025.

Tony Akeni Le Moin, Global Convener of Nigeria Cannot Continue Like This (NCC-LIT) and Sector Leader of Nigeria Demand Movement, was the Head of National Publicity, Contact & Mobilization Team of Obi-Datti Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council (LP-PCC) during the 2023 presidential election campaigns. He wrote from Abuja.

Peter Mbah: Enugu’s consolation in times of national crisis, by Josh Ejeh

We simply cannot feign ignorance about the multi-faceted crises haunting Nigeria on all fronts. Nigeria is facing economic, development, security, hunger, political and technology crises presently with no probable end in sight.

These results are accumulation of poor leadership and bad navigation of the country. Nigerians are dying of hunger brutality and the masses are the worst hit. The middle-class that could have served as a salvaging intervention and exchange point between what the Marxists referred to as bourgeois and proletariat, is almost annihilated from the country’s rung of economic equations.

Only a few hours ago, another disturbing headline hit the pages of the national dailies and social media. It is the inflation headline rate surging at a geometric progression, leaving a bleak trail of more people sinking deeper into the pit of poverty. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, headline inflation rate in January 2024 was 29.9%, and until hours ago, the February inflation rose contrastingly to 31.7%. Simply, inflation is an increase in the prices of goods and services over a period of time. There are variables responsible for this such as weak currency, increase in the price of raw materials, decline in productivity and over-reliance on import with little or no export.

Again, the low-income earners – usually called the masses, are at the receiving end of these hydra-headed challenges. Whether the type of inflation Nigeria is experiencing now is hyper-inflation or galloping inflation as the economists would tag it, one thing is definitely clear: the nation is unwell. There is hunger and poverty in the land. The curve is stretched such that the elasticity of what the people could contain before reacting is already exceeded. For example, Nairametrics indicated that food inflation – common to the human survival regardless of class – is at 37.92% in February. Yet things are rising astronomically.

Notwithstanding the above dark threshold, for the political economist, there is always a link between government’s decisions and the state of the economy, whether in a capitalist, socialist or mixed economic system. This is where policies are driven by decision-makers in government to define the curve of the economy. External factors, such as regulations, intervention, etc, are deliberately crafted for the wellbeing of the people.

During the 2023 campaigns, Dr. Peter Mbah, currently governor of Enugu State, forewarned of the impending economic crisis if no urgent intervention in the likeness of state of emergency was declared on the economy. He spoke about a shift from the incremental governance and fiscal management that had seen the country – federal and state governments – increasing marginally in growth and development through dependency on mono-cultured economy where oil revenue accounts for over 95% of government revenue, 95% of export revenue and 95% of foreign earnings. It is impertinent to underscore the genesis of this trouble. The late author, Chinua Achebe, puts it in his 1983 book, “The Trouble with Nigeria”, is the problem of leadership. Nigeria missed the track of greatness when it abandoned those sectors that once created wealth and defined its then vibrant and robust economy for oil as its mainstay.

Dr. Mbah believes it is only a paradigm shift and radical departure that could salvage the nation and put it back on track. He summarized his governance philosophy in a rather unusual and uncanny mantra of “disruptive innovation”. According to him, things must be done differently to leapfrog development. I have listened to him speak about his mission and vision a couple of times. I have felt the passion exuded by him to eradicate poverty, tackle the challenges of perennial water scarcity, consign underdevelopment to history, train and empower youths, women and the vulnerable, move the state gross domestic product from the $4.4 billion the administration met it to $30 billion through private-sector driven investment enabled by the government in terms of derisking investment flows, automating the public service system for efficiency, assuring a guaranteed security architecture through institutional building and the right environment.

While it was true that while others were still lamenting on the dwindling oil revenues from the centre due to what former Deputy President of the Senate, Prof. Ike Ekweremadu, described as feeding bottle federalism, Dr. Mbah looked inwards, baring his disruptive styles of leadership. In order to ameliorate the economic crunches, he gave priority to the public servants who are basically made up of civil servants from different ministries, agencies and departments. In addition to paying regular salaries, the governor announced the implementation of wage awards, almost the first in the country at the time. This cut across both the state and the local government system. It was a huge relief for the people of the state. It was a form of insulation from the biting inflation and cost of living.

Not done, Mbah vowed never to let the people down at a time he was most needed. He ordered that the pension’s backlogs his administration inherited be cleared. Effect was given to it. This is a form of recapitalization of the economy through increase purchasing power of the people. This was followed by a sequence of heartwarming events hours ago. Jubilation is coming from the camp of primary school teachers, a critical sector which, sadly, had been forgotten for long, as they received their minimum wage for the first time after many years of waiting. This is in addition to their wage award, which the state had been consistent with since last year, 2023.

In video clips circulated by the teachers from different schools, one could see the organic joy increasingly building, daily, from all these abandoned quarters that governor Mbah has courted with his magnanimity. The questions on the lips of these teachers, as they displayed their “intricate pattern” dance steps like the J.P Clark’s “Agbo Dancer”, is “Who else could have done it in this time of hardship?” But Mbah did it with the hope of doing more. Local government pensioners are also captured in that high hopes with their verification.

In a Nigeria of our time where gloom appears to be the rhetoric, Mbah is displaying the traits of a leader who leads other leaders to a new destination where they ought to be. As water was made available within the timeline given, multiple roads construction getting completed, smart schools of global standards springing up, healthcare sector receiving impactful attention, with Enugu adjudged the most peaceful, secured and safest state in Nigeria; what else, like the primary school teachers, are we to demand? All we can set forth to do now is to celebrate the leader, who has shown unusualness in leadership, restraint and moderation in governance, fiscal discipline in revenue generation and respect for the rule of law. Your Excellency, it is with this that I am wishing you a happy birthday and many happy returns. Congratulations.

Joshua Ejeh, a legal practitioner, writes from Enugu.

IPOB Lawyers To Move For Nnamdi Kanu’s Bail on Feb 26

Nnamdi Kanu in court

The legal team of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB has revealed plans to bail him.

The team said it will on February 26 move to secure his release on bail, pending the determination of his trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Kanu has been detained by the Department of State Services, DSS, on the orders of the Nigerian Government since June 2021 when he was subjected to extraordinary rendition from Kenya back to the country.

Upon his return, the Appeal Court discharged and acquitted Kanu of all charges bordering on terrorism but in December 2023, the Supreme Court upturned the ruling and returned the case to the Abuja Federal High Court for continuation of trial.

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has fixed February 26 for the resumption of Kanu’s terrorism trial.

According to reports, IPOB’s legal team is anchoring Kanu’s bail on his lack of privacy during visitations with his lawyers, which adversely impacts on his constitutional right to counsel and adequacy of facility for the preparation of his defense.

The legal team will also argue that he had already spent a cumulative period of 50 months or over four years in “pretrial detention”.

The bail will also be based on Kanu’s “life-threatening medical conditions, namely: the heart ailment, the hypertension and the potassium deficiency.”

In a court document sighted by DAILY POST correspondent with suit no: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, IPOB’s legal team said: “On the basis of the foregoing, we respectfully urge Your Lordship to admit him to bail on liberal and non-excessive terms.”

In the Motion on Notice brought in pursuant to sections 6(6), 35 and 36(5), and sections 158, 161 and 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the legal team will pray the court for “an order of this Honourable Court admitting the Applicant/Defendant to bail pending the determination of his trial.

“AND for such further order or orders as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances”.

Kanu’s brother, Prince Emmanuel, deposed an affidavit in support of the motion for the IPOB leader’s bail.

Parts of the affidavit read: “I, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, male, adult, a Christian and a Nigerian citizen, resident at Eze I. O Kanu Drive, Isiama Afaraukwu Ibeku, Umuahia North LGA, Abia State do hereby make this Oath and state as follows:

“That I am a relative of the Defendant/Applicant (hereafter: “Applicant”) who, being currently in detention, has given me his consent to depose to this Affidavit.

“That I was informed by the Applicant on the 18th of January, 2024 at about 4pm at the Headquarters of the State Security Services in Abuja, of the following facts of which I verily believe to be true.

“That in October 2015, Applicant was arrested in Lagos upon his return from the United Kingdom, detained in Abuja, charged and was arraigned for certain offenses.

“That in April 2017, Applicant was released on bail on the Order of this Honourable Court, whereupon Applicant returned to his ancestral home in Isiama Afaraukwu Ibeku, Umuahia North LGA, Abia State, and remained there awaiting his next trial date set for October 20, 2017.

“That between 10th September and 14th September 2017, while Applicant was resting at home with some family members and friends, the Nigerian Army assaulted the said Applicant’s ancestral home.

“That during the military assault, Applicant managed to escape and remained in hiding until October 2018 when Applicant was able to safely make his way to Israel from where he executed a detailed deposition addressed to this Honourable Court, stating the reason (i .e the said military assault) that had compelled him to escape and thus miss his trial in October 2017.

“That Applicant reasonably believed that his duty to appear in court to face trial does not include a suicidal obligation on his part not to flee and save himself from being extrajudicially killed.”

EDO 2024: Ex-NBA president, Akpata, emerges Labour Party candidate

Olumide Akpata

A former National President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Olumide Akpata, on Friday emerged as the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the forthcoming election in Edo State.

He was declared the winner of the party’s primary election held in Benin City, the state capital, having secured 316 votes to defeat other aspirants in a landslide victory.

Akpata was declared winner by Abia State Deputy Governor, Ikechukwu Emetu, who conducted the primary election in Benin City on Friday.

Akpata, a former Senior Partner and Head of the Corporate and Commercial Practice Group at Templars Law Firm based in Lagos, resigned his position on 31 August, 2023, after which he declared his intention to run for Edo State governorship position on the platform of the LP.

In October 2023, Akpata formally declare his interest in the race, citing his love for the people.

“My interest is for the people of Edo State. And what I find out about politics and governance in Nigeria today is that the people have been taken out of the equation. Nobody cares about the people,” Akpata told the mammoth crowd that welcomed him,” he said in his declaration speech.

“So, when I look around, the only party I find to be people-oriented and interested in lots of our people is the Labour Party. So I have come here to express my interest and to carry the people along,” he added.

Nigeria Has 14million Hard Drug Users As Substances Worsen Banditry, Kidnapping – NDLEA

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has claimed that the total number of hard drug users in the country is about 14.3 million.

This was stated by the Zonal Commander, Zone ‘F’ of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), ACGN Sule Momodu, who indicated that the increasing number of drug takers in the country was the primary source of banditry and other crimes.

Momodu made this revelation while speaking to pharmacists and officers of the military and other paramilitary agencies during a dialogue to stop the proliferation of controlled drugs in Kaduna State.

He stated that tackling insecurity was the bane to the success of Nigeria’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other development objectives, while drug usage remained the primary cause of rampant abductions and kidnappings in the country.

According to Daily Trust, the NDLEA boss said, “There are 14.3 million drug users in Nigeria. the prevalence rate in Kaduna State alone is 10 per cent, ranking fourth in the North-Western states of the country. The North West alone has about 3 million drug users.”

He recounted that when he was the NDLEA Commander in Katsina, the state governor advised him that once bandits used tramadol, nothing could stop them from carrying out their lethal operations.

Aliyu Jibrin, a community chemist who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, stated that pharmacists, as professionals, are aware of the regulations and ethics of drug dispensing and would not do anything that could jeopardise Nigeria’s security.

He said the number of pharmacists in Nigeria was limited, saying in the whole of Kaduna they were not up to 400; yet there are thousands of drug stores in the state.


Sahara Reporters

Senate passes bill to establish South-East Development Commission

The Nigerian Senate has passed a bill for an Act to establish the South-East Development Commission (SEDC).

The Bill was passed after it was read for the third time during the plenary of the upper chamber on Thursday and will be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.

The Bill was initially passed by the 8th Senate after years of agitation and attempts at the National Assembly but was not assented to by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Bill was reintroduced by Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, and other lawmakers from the South East, and passed by the House of Representatives in December 2023.

The long title of the bill is, “A Bill for an Act to establish the South East Development Commission charged with the responsibility among other things, to receive and manage funds from the allocation of the Federation account for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads, houses and other infrastructural damages suffered by the region as a result of the effects of the civil war, as well as tackle the ecological problems and any other related environmental or developmental challenges faced by the South Eastern states of Nigeria and for related matters, 2024”.

The Bill if signed into law, and the commission established, will act as a catalyst for the development of the commercial potential of the southeast geopolitical zone.

The passage of the Bill during Senate plenary yesterday followed the presentation of the bill by Senator Bamidele and consideration at the Committee of the Whole.

Certain amendments were made to the bill before its passage including: The removal of representatives of the Nigerian Army, The Nigerian Police, and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.

It was rather agreed that each of the six geopolitical zones have a representative on the board of the proposed Commission.

Senate President Godswill Akoabio then ruled that clause 2(c) should be adjusted to cater to the amendment.

Also, clause 2(h) was amended to give designations to the three Executive Directors as requested by both Senators Osita Izunaso and Osita Ugwu. This was supported by Senator Diket Plank (Plateau Central).

It was agreed that the Commission has; Executive Director, Finance and Account, Executive Director, Projects and Executive Director, Corporate Services.

Returning from the Committee of the Whole, the Senate President ruled on the clause by clause consideration and it was passed for a third reading and eventually passed.

The Senate President Godswill said the establishment of the commission would mean that the South-East is no longer marginalized, adding that it would also allay the fears of residents in the region.

He said that the expeditious action on the bill expresses the love the 10th Senate has for the southeastern states.

While congratulating lawmakers from the southeast, Akpabio enthused that the Commission will bring development, stop agitation, and bring peace to the region.

“This bill is very important. This bill addresses all the fears of our brothers and sisters, and my inlaws in the south-eastern states of Nigeria. I want to say congratulations to you all, and I pray that this commission will bring a lot of development and assist you in stopping any form of agitation and bringing peace to the region.

“I have just been reminded that with the passage of this bill today, the southeast is no longer marginalised. It shows the love this 10th Senate has for the South East. See the expeditious way the concurrence of this bill was handled, and I pray that when we harmonize everything, and it is assented into an Act of parliament, it will address all the fears and challenges of the region. Congratulations to the South East and to all the Senators for the support and contributions to this bill”, Akpabio said.

Meanwhile, there are some other Bills seeking the establishment of development commissions in other geopolitical zones that have made progress in the Senate.

On Wednesday, February 21, the Senate passed, for a second reading, three separate bills for an Act to establish development commissions for the South-East, South-West, and North-Central geopolitical zones.

On Thursday, February 22, a bill seeking the establishment of the South-south Development Commission was read for the first time.

The South-south Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2024 was sponsored by Asuquo Ekpenyong, the Senator representing Cross River South.

Ned Nwoko calls for total ban on use of dollars, other foreign currencies in Nigeria

Senator Ned Nwoko

Senator Ned Nwoko has urged the administration of President Bola Tinubu to immediately abolish the use of the American dollar and all other foreign currencies in Nigeria, as a means of tackling the current economic hardship faced by Nigerians.

The Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, who gave the charge while speaking with THISDAY, on the state of the nation, warned that until the naira was made the only legal tender in Nigeria, nothing much would be achieved from the country’s monetary policy.

While lamenting that Nigeria gained independence over 60 years ago and remain dependent economically on the West, Nwoko, also called for the return of Nigeria’s foreign reserve to the country; to be kept by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and disbursed to manufacturers to boost production.

“We keep talking about monetary policy, nothing is going to work until we stop using the dollar”, he said while pointing out that the biggest problem confronting Nigeria was the use of the dollar and other foreign currencies within the country.

“The president have to stand up and lead, he should not worry about the US and UK”, he said, “we should strive towards economic independence” to move the country forward and meet the aspiration of the people.

The legislator argued that when the use of foreign currencies was prohibited and payments for crude oil are done in naira, there would be demand for naira and its value would appreciate.

He described as an anomaly and insulting for Nigeria to keep her money in a foreign bank which in turn was being used for the development of that country and not in the interest of Nigeria.

Nwoko stated that if what the country have as foreign reserved was brought back to Nigeria, it would help resuscitate many dead and ailing industries as the central bank can then borrow to them at a very low rate of between three and four per cent.

“We just had a meeting with some European Union parliamentarians, I asked the one from Greece if they use the dollar, he said no, I also asked the one from Italy he said no. I asked them if they have foreign reserve, none of them have foreign reserve.

“So why should we?, he queried.

Other measures he urged President Bola Tinubu to deploy include the pegging of interest rate so as to make funds available for local businesses and the prohibition of medical tourism which puts another strain on the nation.

On the worsening insecurity in the country, Nwoko, who dismissed the capacity of the police to protect citizens called for the amendment of the firearm law, which he is currently pushing at the Senate.

He said part of the economic hardship was due to the fact that people could no longer go to the farm again because of the activities of herdsmen, bandits and kidnappers.

“Farmers in Delta State are not able to farm because their crops are being destroyed every day…..why can’t our people be armed to defend themselves as it is done in some other countries”.

He dismissed claims that Nigerians would kill themselves if allowed to carry arms, arguing that, “we are matured not to use knives against one another, then why are we not matured to use guns.”

He suggested a system where a citizen would be licenced to carry arms from his place of origin.

“The certificate would be done by traditional rulers through chiefs who have knowledge of the respective families in their domain. These rulers know family with criminal records as well as mental issues”, he said, adding that the kings would be held responsible if anything goes wrong.

In addition, he said before a licence would be issued, a person’s state of mind would also be assessed by two medical doctors and lastly that the Commissioner of Police and Director of Department of State Service DSS give their approval.

The Senator also called for the permission of local vigilantes to carry sophisticated arms if they must be able to tackle crimes in their communities.

Enugu govt. revokes fake land titles fraudulently acquired

Enugu state Government says it is committed to zero tolerance for fraudulent title document or wrong allocation of landed property in the state.

The Executive Chairman gave the warning at a news conference in Enugu, where he announced the revocation of land fraudulently acquired for building purpose.

Enugu state is the capital of South East Region, a place that is proudly considered as home to all Igbo people.

At the Inception of Governor Peter Mbah administration, he promised to drive the state economy through public and private sector development, with assurance of providing adequate security that will hamper investment.

The state government has announced the withdrawal of approved building plan permit issued to a property owner in Independence Layout, for constructing in total variance with what was approved.

The agency says the owner of the property contravened the state Municipal master plan, and alleged fraudulent submissions of wrong Certificates of Occupancy of property at Ekulu River Layout for building at Independence Layout.

It held that the state is intentional about titles and would stop at nothing to ensure right things are done to restore investors confidence.

The state government assures that land titles under the present administration are gotten under 72 hours, urging Would-be investors to ensure they conduct a simple search at the state ministry of lands to ascertain the land to acquire has appropriate titles .

NYSC lauds Gov Mbah over renovation, revamp of orientation camp

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has commended Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State over his intervention at the dilapidated NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp in Awgu local government area of the state, saying since the assumption of office by the governor, the camp had witnessed massive renovation and revamption of moribund facilities.

The governor, who also inspected both completed and ongoing projects in the camp, promised to do more in order to continue to improve on the welfare of both officials of the NYSC and the corps members posted to serve in the state.

Speaking yesterday at the NYSC Orientation Camp ground during the swearing-in ceremony of the 2024 Batch ‘A’ Stream 1 of 1,503 corps members, the NYSC Coordinator in Enugu State, Mrs. Christiana Salmwang expressed the gratitude of the corps for the various interventions by the state government.

“Distinguished guests, please join me to express our profound gratitude to His Excellency, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, for his keen interest in the overall revamping of facilities in the orientation camp. It might interest you to know that since assumption of office, the governor commenced massive renovation of the camp.

“The drilling of a second borehole which will greatly cushion the effect of water scarcity is ongoing. We have been assured that before long the orientation camp will be transformed to a modern camp,” she added.

She further lauded the Chairman of the NYSC Governing Board in the state who also doubles as the state’s Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Barr. Lloyd Ekweremadu, for the keen interest and support he has shown over the training and development of the corps members at the orientation camp.

The State Coordinator noted that the 1,503 corps members comprising 764 males and 739 females were undergoing leadership training, para-military drills and self-defense training in addition to the various vocational and entrepreneurship instructions such as the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) to help them attain self-development and economic independence.

In his address, the Chairman NYSC State Governing Board, Barr Ekweremadu charged the corps members to be good ambassadors of their alma mater and see the opportunities afforded them by the NYSC as a call to serve the nation with dedication and selflessness.

He urged them to avail themselves the platform that NYSC creates to improve themselves by learning the unique skills and training that the scheme has for them throughout the duration of their service year.

While swearing-in the corps members, the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Raymond Ozoemena, who was represented by Justice Okechukwu Onovo, admonished the Batch A corps members to be of good behavior, show patriotism and commit to the service of the country.

On his part, Governor Mbah, who welcomed the corps members to the state, assured of their welfare and safety throughout the duration of their service, stressing that the call to serve their fatherland was a positive response by them.

Represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Professor Chidibere Onyia, the governor stated that NYSC has become a veritable tool in the country’s quest to build a united nation, exposing the youths to the country’s diverse cultures and traditions which would shape their experiences, skills and complement the knowledge they acquired from their academic programmes.

He enjoined the corps members to key into the state government’s transformative agenda of continuity, collaboration, transparency, accessibility and accountability. “You should position yourselves as dependable agents of change, national integration and rapid socio-economic development. You must strive to build bridges across your cultural and religious backgrounds and live peacefully with your fellow compatriots while working with one purpose to lift our present dwindling economy.”

The governor, who inspected the projects executed in the camp, commended the management of the NYSC for the innovations introduced to achieve the objectives of the scheme, saying that his administration has supported the scheme with a number of interventions in addition to ensuring a peaceful atmosphere for optimal performance of corps members in the state.

“My administration has also provided a number of interventions here ranging from the construction of 79 modern toilet facilities with tiles, reroofing of 5 buildings, access road rehabilitation, overhead water tanks and stanchions, new boreholes, renovation of 13 hostel buildings among other ongoing projects,” he noted.

APC Finally Produces Gov Candidate For Edo Guber 2024

Sen Monday Okpebholo

The Lawmaker representing Edo Central, Senator Monday Okpebholo has emerged as the winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship direct primary election in Edo State.

The declaration was made by the Cross River Governor, Bassey Otu, who served as the Chairman of the Edo APC shadow poll, following the comprehensive collation of results from the 18 local government areas.

The announcement took place at the Lushville Hotel and Suites, located in the Government Reservation Area (GRA), Benin.

According to the Governor, Senator Okpebholo secured a total of 12,433 votes, surpassing his closest rival, Dennis Idahosa, the representative of Ovia constituency in the House of Representatives, who garnered 6,541 votes.

This victory marks a pivotal moment for Okpebholo, positioning him as the APC’s gubernatorial candidate for the upcoming electoral contest in Edo State.

This primary election comes in the wake of a controversial and inconclusive primary held last week, overseen by Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State.

The APC National Working Committee intervened, declaring the initial primary inconclusive after disputes arose over the premature declaration of Dennis Idahosa as the winner.

According to Uzodimma’s claims, Idahosa had led the gubernatorial race with 40,483 votes, a figure that was contested by party members. The rerun of the primary election not only addresses the contentious issues that marred the previous attempt but also reaffirms the APC’s commitment to a transparent and democratic selection process for its candidates.