President of 9th Mile Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (9ccima) Ozo Leonard Ugwu (LCK fnis, fimc) has described the City Chamber as an industrial hub set to redefine the economy of the state,

Ugwu who stated this while briefing journalists in his office at 9th Mile Corner Enugu, said the Chamber would open up businesses in the State as 9th Mile is a gateway to the southeast geo-political zone.

According to him, “The 9th Mile will be an industrial park where there would be a pool of graduates that would be trained in anti-ICT crime, adding that they would partner with Enugu State Government with a view to adding value to the system.

Surveyor Ugwu further said, “The 9th Mile Chamber will partner with industrialists and entrepreneurs in Enugu West Senatorial Zone to bolster sustainable economic growth in the area.

His words: “The chamber cardinal objective is to promote entrepreneurs and businesses in the zone in particular, the state, and the country at large through support.”

“Today, we have three City Chambers in Enugu State namely; 9th Mile Chamber, Nsukka Chamber and just lately we have Awgu Chamber. But of all these, we believe that 9th Mile Chamber that is purposely serves what it takes to have it, just because by nature, 9th Mile is positioned to be Gateway to the entire Southeast Zone in terms of commerce and industry. And that takes us to why free trade zone was created within 9th Mile.

“It was commissioned in 2022, so 9th Mile Chamber of Commerce is blessed naturally and infrastructurally. Naturally, it is blessed by a water basin that cannot be equalled to any water in West Africa. This is why all the beverage industries are rushing to be at 9th Mile.

“You can name them: the Nigerian Breweries, the Coca Cola, just that they have closed their administrative blocks at 9th Mile but their factory is there. The 7up and all other water bottle water like the Mbaka and co, from Ugwu Onyeama down to 9th Mile, you cannot count the number of water industries that have come to be.

“You think of other infrastructure development, you think of access roads. It goes to the North, it goes to the East into Enugu. It goes to the South West and to the South-South and that is why it is called ‘Gateway’ to the Southeast.

“With the coming of 9th Mile Chamber, we have come to harness all these private sector-government inter-relationships to have ease of doing business.

“We ask for more infrastructure to open up other centres like Ezeagu local government, Udi North, Udi South areas that link to Oji River. When these places are opened up, we will know when 9th Mile envelopes every other communities around.

“We want to build up 9th Mile the way it should be. Like Lagos, you cannot know boundary of the City centres and the rural centres as they all came to be fused into one.

“Going by the budget which Enugu State has just formulated and legislated, if they come to be, by next two years they will not recognise 9th Mile because the current governor, Peter Mbah, under three months of his coming to office supplied a daily running water to Enugu and that came from 9th Mile.

…Victim’s husband hails state govt for taking over wife’s medical bills

Police Operatives of the Enugu State Command, acting on intelligence-guided discreet investigations, have arrested two male kidnapping suspects allegedly involved in the abduction of a heavily pregnant woman along Eke-Egede Road in Udi LGA, around 9:45 p.m., on April 22, 2024.

The Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, CP Kanayo Uzuegbu, has equally ordered the manhunt of other members of the kidnapping gang at large.

The arrest was confirmed in a statement issued on Saturday by DSP Daniel Ndukwe, Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Enugu State Command.

This is also as the victim’s husband, Mr Ekene Igwe, has hailed the Enugu State government for its quick intervention, which includes taking over the wife’s medical bills.

Ndukwe on his part said CP Uzuegbu swiftly led a crack team of police operatives, complemented by the Neigbourhood Watch Group and Forest Guards, to rescue the woman on April 23, 2024, around noon, barely 24 hours after her abduction.

According to him, “Providentially, the woman, later identified as Chinwendu Igwe and already in her expected period of delivery, delivered a male child and, upon her rescue, was taken to the hospital, where she and the baby were medically attended to and are in good condition courtesy of the Enugu State Government, which has undertaken to foot the medical bills of the mother and newborn.

“A preliminary investigation into the incident has revealed that the woman, unaided and for reasons yet-to-be ascertained, knowing that she was within her expected period of delivery, embarked on a journey by land with two of her children from Lagos to her paternal home in Egede, Udi LGA.

“She got to 9th Mile around 9 p.m. Lacking a convenient means of conveyance, she boarded a commercial motorcycle, with the motorcyclist electing to transport her and her two children due to her state of pregnancy.

“However, while on their way, the abductors attacked them, beat up the motorcyclist, and abducted the woman into the forest, leaving the rider and the children behind, before a team of Police Operatives from the Ezinze Police Division of the Command that responded upon intercepting information on the incident, could get to the scene.”

“The CP further describes as total misinformation the report by The Nation Newspaper of April 27, 2024 stating that ‘the woman was on her way to the hospital for delivery’ and that ‘the motorcyclist rescued the two children’.

“He, therefore, enjoins media houses to always maintain accuracy and objectivity when reporting security information of this nature to avoid misinforming the unsuspecting public and violating laws and ethics of media practices.

“The CP bemoans the fact that Mrs. Igwe the decided to embark on such long-distance travel by land and unaided, considering her heavy pregnancy and the time of movement to her final destination. Neither did she consider stopping by and having her husband, who resides in the Enugu metropolis, take her to the said paternal home at a later time. Hence, he urges all and sundry to exercise discretion and caution in such circumstances,” Ndukwe stated.

Meanwhile, the victim’s husband, Mr Igwe has commended Governor Peter Mbah highly for the state government’s prompt intervention upon learning about the development.

He said the Park Lane Hospital was taking care of the mother and child with the state government bearing full expenses and also supporting the family financially.