The people of Obimo/Ikwoka Ward in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, comprising prominent political leaders, traditional rulers and opinion molders have assured the state governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Enugu North Senatorial District in the forthcoming general election, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, of their maximum solidarity and support.
They described Gov. Ugwuanyi as a good man and jinx breaker who gave them a sense of belonging through political appointments and his administration’s rural development policy that enabled every community in the state to execute developmental projects of their choice.
They pointed out that the governor has delivered signature projects that will stand the test of time and outlive his administration for many decades. Some of the laudable projects according to them include the construction of the Opi-Nsukka dual carriageway, T-junction Flyover Bridge, Nike Lake Road, Enugu and the State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS) Igbo-Eno, Enugu State. They reassured the governor of their unalloyed support in making sure that he represents Enugu North Senatorial District in the National Assembly come 2023.
The people also declared their support for the PDP and all other candidates of the party in the state including the governorship candidate, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, his running mate, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, the party’s candidate for Nsukka/Igbo-Eze South Federal Constituency, Chief Engr. Vita Abba and the candidate for Nsukka West Constituency, Hon. Amos Amadi Agbo.
They thanked Gov. Ugwuanyi for the recent appointment of their illustrious son, Dr. Reuben Onyishi as his Special Adviser, stating that such political consideration had never happened since the creation of their community.
Led by their prominent leaders to the Government House, Enugu, on a solidarity visit to Gov. Ugwuanyi, yesterday, the people of Obimo/Ikwoka Ward disclosed unreservedly that the PDP is their ‘DNA’, stressing that they don’t know of any other party except the PDP.
The prominent leaders on the visit include the National Vice President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Dr. Selina Ugwoke Adibua, the Special Adviser to the Governor, Dr. Onyishi, former Chairman of Nsukka LGA, Hon. Joseph Ugwoke, the Traditional Ruler of Eziani Autonomous Community, HRH, Igwe Tony Ezenma, the State Treasurer of the PDP, Hon. Obiora Ugwuoke, the PDP Ward Chairman, Barr. Ozo Ejike Okpe, and Dr. Emeka Dike.
Others are the Provost Enugu State College of Education, Technical, Dr. Hyacinth Eze, the Programme Manager, ENADEP, Dr. Sam Ogbonna Onyeisi, Special Assistant to the Governor, Hon. Kenneth Ibuchukwu Nwodo, the PDP Ex-Officio, Nsukka LGA, Hon. Ugonna Ogbuanya, Mr. Godwin Ugwoke of Enugu State Housing Development Corporation (ESHDC), etc.
Presenting their position, the PDP Chairman of Obimo/Ikwoka Ward, Ozo Okpe told Gov. Ugwuanyi that “we have enjoyed the dividends of democracy under your administration,” adding: “Since you assumed office, you have been good to our people and we have never had an opportunity to say thank you.
“On that note, we are here to assure you that you are going to represent us in the Senate come 2023. Look at the number and quality of people here. The people here are our gate keepers, influencers and opinion molders.”
In his supporting speech, the Traditional Ruler of Eziani Autonomous Community, Igwe Ezenma, described Gov. Ugwuanyi as a good man, a prayerful Catholic and God fearing leader, maintaining that the governor has done well “based on my assessment.”
Continuing, the monarch said: “Anybody that has said that you have not done well in Enugu State is saying that on a personal envious and selfish interest. That is the simple truth.”
Igwe Ezenma commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for entrenching enduring peace and security in Enugu State and tolerating his detractors in the face of provocations.
According to him: “In the past (before your administration), I have been shot three good times on critical occasions and I survived them by God’s grace. So, if not for your personal efforts on security, nobody will ever come out by 9pm in the state.
“But I can tell you now that you can go out anytime you want without fear. This your regime gave us peace and security.
“Everywhere is calm because you tolerate people so much. Your Excellency, you have done well, let me make it very clear here.”
The monarch on behalf of the people of Obimo/Ikwoka Ward expressed gratitude to the governor for the emergence of Engr. Abba as PDP candidate for Nsukka/Igbo-Eze South Federal Constituency, saying: “You have made Nsukka proud by giving us Onwa (Abba). So, you have favoured us. It is time for us to favour you.
“Thank you, Your Excellency, you are a good man. I pray that your heart desires will be granted in the favour of we human beings in Jesus’ name, amen.”
Speaking in a delightful mood, the new Special Adviser to the Governor, Dr. Onyishi, spoke in the same vein, stressing that “it is only a blind person” that will not appreciate the good works of the governor in Enugu State in spite of the nation’s economic, security and public health challenges.
His words: “I laugh at those who question the leadership of Gov. Ugwuanyi because the Nsukka environment and beyond can attest to the good works the governor has done. We have up to three new universities brought to us by His Excellency.
“My question still remains, are those people blind? Has there been any stadium in Nsukka before now? I heard on the radio that Enugu State is next to Abuja when it comes to primary healthcare policy and implementation.
“Statistics have it that Enugu State is on top in the ease of doing business. Gov. Ugwuanyi created the environment.
“Your Excellency, Obimo belongs to the PDP. We have no other party. We have felt your impact and I am sure we will continue to enjoy your good works in Enugu when you must have left the office as the governor of our state.
“But for me and my people, we will follow you to anywhere you are going because right from the day of creation we have never been favoured in governance the way you favoured us.
“Your Excellency, you are our comforter and our panacea. You have tried for us but you know that human wants are insatiable. Note that our DNA and the blood that flows in our body is PDP and Gburugburu (Ugwuanyi).”
Other speakers at the event, namely, the PDP State Treasurer, Hon. Ugwuoke, Dr. Emeka Dike and the Executive Secretary, Enugu State Privatisation and Commercialisation, Hon. Barr. Foster Aniebonam Ugwoke, expressed gratitude to Gov. Ugwuanyi for changing the political narrative of their area by entrenching peace, good governance and empowerment, reiterating the commitment of their people to work in unison to deliver the governor and other candidates of the PDP in 2023.
The PDP candidate for Nsukka/Igbo-Eze South Federal Constituency, Chief Engr. Abba, the Chairman, Nsukka LGA, Barr. Walter Ozioko, the PDP Chairman, Nsukka LGA, Rt. Hon. Fabian Onah and the party’s candidate for Nsukka West Constituency, Hon. Agbo witnessed the event.
The Supreme Court, on Thursday, adjourned an appeal filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi against the judgments of the lower courts, on the Kogi APC Governorship primary election, to October 23, 2023, for judgment.
Adeyemi had filed a suit at the Federal High Court seeking to nullify the primary election of the All Progressive Congress, which produced Usman Ododo as the party’s flagbearer for the state’s governorship election slated for November 11.The case was dismissed by both the High Court and the Court of Appeal for lacking in merit.
The apex court, while hearing his appeal, on Thursday, told his lawyer, Musibau Adetumbi, SAN, that his client was appealing against concurrent findings of the High Court and the Court of Appeal, which stated that primary elections were held in Kogi State but that he had failed to challenge these concurrent findings.
However, the appellant’s counsel said he would go ahead to argue the appeal.
The Supreme Court therefore adjourned the appeal to October 23, 2023, for judgment.The representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission, All Progressives Congress and Usman Ododo include Chief Anthony Adeniyi (SAN) Abdulwahab Mohammed (SAN) and M.Y. Abdullahi, SAN; respectively.
The Court of Appeal had, on August 18, 2023, held that the appeal argued by Adekunle Otitoju on behalf of Adeyemi was completely bereft of merit.
In a unanimous judgment of a 3-man panel of Justices of the Court, Adeyemi was said to have failed to establish all grievous criminal allegations made against the conduct of the primary election by APC and its leaders.
No fewer than 50 people were poisoned at a wedding in Iraq’s northern province of Kirkuk due to spoiled food, local media reported.
According to the report, the incident occurred in the town of Hawija, west of Kirkuk, the capital city of the cognominal province.
The provincial health chief, Ziyad Khalaf, said some of the cases were mild while some were serious.
He added that all the patients have received the necessary medical treatment in the hospital.
The incident came a day after a deadly fire ripped through a wedding hall in a predominantly Christian town in Iraq’s northern province of Nineveh, killing 114 people and injuring more than 200. (Xinhua/NAN)
The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, has enjoined the newly promoted Directors of the Commission to make a difference in the discharge of their duties and take the Commission to greater heights.
Ogbuku, who gave the charge at the closing session of a two-week course on Leadership and Performance Management for directing staff of the NDDC in Abuja, said that the provision of quality services to the people of the Niger Delta was a collective responsibility and should be given priority.
According to him, the reason for sending the new Directors for training was to ensure they took the administrative knowledge acquired back to the Commission in order to make a difference for the overall benefit of the region.
He said: “We are supposed to be training and retraining our staff. This is just the beginning. I want the directors to take back the knowledge they have gained to others in the NDDC to better appreciate their roles and understand the expectations from them.
“We want to do things differently. We want to improve on our services. We want to take up challenges. We want to start with the staff first to ensure that all the staff are properly trained and they understand their roles.”
Ogbuku urged the directors to ensure they utilised the experiences gathered from the training to improve the administrative processes in NDDC to ensure that things were done differently.
He said further: “As new directors, you need to understand your roles and understand your boundaries. You also need to understand your strengths and understand when to use them and when not to.
“You need to understand that you are public servants and not civil servants. So, these are some of the things we thought you ought to be equipped with.”
“Over the years we have seen a situation where the staff of the NDDC seem to act as politicians, but as directors who have been inducted into Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), I believe that you are not only going to be ambassadors of NDDC, you are also going to be worthy ambassadors of ASCON,” he said.
He stressed that his expectation was to work with directors who understood that they were career civil servants, and aspiring to get to their peak as professionals, not those who want to be nepotic or tribalistic.
Ogbuku noted that directors should be wary of their actions, adding that some of their actions could mislead their subordinates who are looking up to them as role models.
In her address, the Director General of ASCON, Mrs. Cecilia Gayya noted that training was essentially an activity that was designed to make an employee more efficient and productive in the performance of their functions.
She said that the focus of training was to ensure efficient and effective application of knowledge, skills and attitude for improved performance, noting: “The programme was carefully designed and implemented to provide the needed knowledge, skills and capacity to adequately and promptly discharge their responsibilities and thus, make meaningful contributions towards the attainment of the mission and vision of the NDDC.
“The conscientiousness with which you participated in this programme for the past two weeks is a testimony to your preparedness for the challenges ahead and thus gives us hope that this training will impact positively on your performance, especially as you rise higher in the strategic realm of the management of the Commission.
