News
Elder statesman urges Nigerians to stop ‘demonizing governors’ over LG autonomy
Elder statesman and former Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nduka Eya, has urged Nigerians to stop ‘demonising governors’ over Local Government Area administrative and financial autonomy.
Eya made the call while speaking with newsmen in Enugu on Sunday on various issues bordering the nation and her people.
He said that the current negative perception of Nigerians looking at the governors as the cause of problem rocking the council areas; which is not, as the problem stems from the military’s unitary system of rule as well as the constitution.
According to him, “I was once a permanent secretary to council areas in old Anambra and I know how the council areas administration and financial system work.”
Eya, a two-time INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, said: “To be fair to the governors, especially present governors, the present conditions of council areas are not their making.
“It started with the military unitary system of government which made council areas of no consequence and no value for decades.
“The military stopped the smooth running of council areas and dissolved it whereas the regional government of the 1960s made active use of the council or municipal area authorities to drive development to the grassroots.
“The constitution is not also helping matters. The constitution fully recognized and apportioned clear powers and responsibility to the Federal (Central); regional government (where available) and state components.
“Nowhere did the constitution make clear cut power and responsibility for the council areas. This means that the constitution leaves room for the council areas to be used at the mercy of the state or federal governments.”
On the upcoming secession plan of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Eya called on Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, to follow a laid-down process in its constitution to rotate its leadership as spelt out.
He cautioned the present Ohanaeze leadership, led by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, to ensure a smooth transition of power to Rivers State candidate, which is the state to produce the next Ohanaeze President-General.
“As there is remaining about six months to the end of the current leadership of Ohanaeze tenure; we urge the leadership to ensure a seamless and smooth handover following Ohanaeze’s laid-down constitution and not to plunge the respected body into any session of secession crisis,” he said.
The elder statesman explained that Ohanaeze Ndigbo is made up of seven Igbo speaking states, namely: Abia, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo and Rivers States.
He said that the leadership rotation turn is taken according to the alphabetic mentioning of the Igbo speaking states and now Imo State is currently occupying the President-General position.
On the lingering controversies in the ongoing reconciliatory talks/moves by Ohanaeze and the North due to the 1966 military coup, Eya said that the move was real and those denying its reality are not telling the truth.
Eya, a Commissioner for Education in the old Anambra State, said that for some years now, the move for true reconciliation between Ndi Igbo and the North had been in the open; adding that “it has been around for some time now”.
“However, we are concerned on how leadership of Ohanaeze should concern itself and concentrate on settling the misunderstanding with Ndi Igbo internally in the Igbo speaking states as well as the ones within Ohanaeze as an organisation.
“To me, I am not opposed to reconciliation and ways to build bridges and peace across the Niger with other parts of Nigeria; just as most of our leaders have continued to work towards,” he said.
The traditional ruler of Akumarun Okoloke town, in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi state, Oba J.D. Ogunyanda, has been abducted by gunmen.
Okoloke, a peaceful town situated along the Egbe-Patigi road in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State, is an active food production community renowned for its rich cultural heritage.
The Monarch, who is a second class traditional ruler was said to have been kidnapped in his Palace, in the early hours of Thursday by the gunmen, who are believed to be Fulani herders.
Sources, who confirmed the development to BusinessDay, disclosed that the ruler was taken away by the gunmen numbering about 30 to an unknown destination.
As of the time of filing this report, his abductors have yet to make contact with the community or demand for ransom.
“The state of things in our land is dire, with fear hindering entry and progress despite its potential. We cry out to God for deliverance, believing that heaven helps those who help themselves.
“The sons and daughters of Okoloke and Yagba West are demanding security, justice and the safe return of our beloved monarch”, Moses Ayodele, a resident of the community, told our correspondent.
It would be recalled that there has been an escalation in the activities of terrorists and bandits in the Western Area of Kogi State in recent times.
Many people in the area have been forced to abandon their farms and houses, and are relocating out of the locality.
Youth wing of apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has described as unacceptable the decision by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, to fix a fresh examination for those affected by what it called errors in the recently released results.
JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, had on Wednesday admitted that errors led to the low score of candidates in the five South-East states and Lagos State.
The Board then said arrangement had commenced to reschedule the exam for the affected candidates.
But, in a statement made available to journalists on Thursday, the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike said the arrangement was totally unacceptable.
Okwu said it was a disservice for JAMB to subject the candidates to “another round of mental torture, stress and risk” for no fault of theirs.
“We want to state unequivocally that our people will not accept any fresh examination, having already been subjected to mental torture by JAMB.
“The candidates are not in the right frame of mind to undergo another examination, having been subjected to mental torture ever since the fake results were announced.
“Besides, who is going to bear the cost? The same parents who are facing severe financial challenges?
“What of the risk of moving to the examination locations, in a country ravaged by insecurity?” Okwu queried.
He declared that, “having said this, we demand that JAMB should allocate 300 score to all the South-East candidates affected by its own error not that of the candidates. Igbos are very brilliant people and could have made 300 and above.
“It was a deliberate design to punish the people of the South-East, clearly to deny them education opportunities.
“Should JAMB fail to heed to our request, we shall not hesitate to drag them to court, no form of crocodile tears by the Registrar will save the Board.”
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported a slight decline in Nigeria’s headline inflation rate, which eased to 23.71 percent in April 2025 from 24.23 percent recorded in March.
The Bureau released the latest figures in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) update on Thursday.
According to the agency, the movement for April 2025 “headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 0.52% compared to the March 2025 Headline inflation rate”.
“On a month-on-month basis, the Headline inflation rate in April 2025 was 1.86%, which was 2.04% lower than the rate recorded in March 2025 (3.90%),” NBS said.
“This means that in April 2025, the rate of increase in the average price level is lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in March 2025.”
-
News2 days ago19-year-old UTME candidate commits suicide over ‘low score’
-
News2 days ago
REVEALED: Professor convicted for rigging election for Akpabio not in jail
-
News2 days ago
Natasha wins as Court dismisses Bello’s suit
-
News1 day ago
JAMB Registrar weeps over UTME mass failure as Board okays 379,997 affected candidates to retake exams
-
News1 day ago
Herdsmen sack 4 Benue LGAs, kill 23
-
News18 hours ago
DSS sues Pat Utomi over shadow government
-
News2 days ago
Police deny claim helicopter delivered food to bandits in Kogi
-
Politics15 hours ago
We’ll quit PDP if Udeh-Okoye is not returned National Secretary – PDP South-East Caucus threatens
