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FG to Investigate Cause of Landslide in Enugu
From PETRUS OBI, Enugu
The Federal Government has promised to carry out a detailed investigation into the landslide disaster that destroyed farmlands, cash crops and property worth millions of naira two years ago in Ugwuleshi community in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The Acting Director General of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Dr. Charles Agbo, noted that the government had earlier sent some experts to identify the actual disaster that affected the community which came out with the report that it was a landslide and not earthquake as speculated.
He, however, assured that the government would carry out further findings to determine the extent of damage and probability of future occurrence.
The NEMA director general urged the Enugu State government as well as the host, Awgu Local Government to fulfill their own part by providing the necessary counterpart fund that would enable the project to take-off.
Agbo who flagged-off the rehabilitation of the community's water scheme and reconstruction of broken culverts in the area described the incident which occurred on October 7, 2008, as quite unfortunate, acknowledging that the disaster brought untold hardship to the people. Said he: "The incident no doubt led to the loss of farmlands and cultivated crops, agony, fear, confusion, and tension, saying though, "we are glad that various government interventions brought succor to the victims of the ugly incident when it happened."
He recalled that the agency had earlier donated relief materials to victims of the disaster through the South East zonal office under the leadership of Dr. Abdulahi Onimode, as immediate relief measure, stressing that the projects were part of the recommendations made during the administration of the immediate past director general of the agency.
"The Federal Government is not disposed to paying compensation to victims of disaster but has decided to use this measure to bring succour to this community.
I, therefore, urge this community to be part of reconstruction work, be the good host and insist on the use of approved materials and ensure that the expected standards are maintained."
Agbo disclosed that the project which is expected to be completed within four weeks was under a tripartite arrangement involving the Awgu Local Government, state and NEMA, adding that arrangements were concluded by the agency for the mobilization of contractors to site.
He noted that disaster management was a business for all since nobody could determine when it would happen and urged the community not to misconstrue the disaster as being the hand work of an offended god.
He therefore called on the people to always be vigilant in observing early warning signs, and to also take local precautions to help mitigate disaster and to always call the attention of the government whenever it overwhelmed them. "I call on all of you to preserve the environment by planting tress, resolve quarrels through dialogue and make use of legal authorities where there is any breach."
In his remarks, Chairman of Awgu Council Area , Chief Uche Anioke, expressed appreciation to the Federal Government through NEMA , for coming to the aid of his people, recalling how the landslide threw the entire community into perpetual suffering . He praised NEMA for its quick intervention but stressed the need for the Federal Government to send down experts to conduct a detailed investigation in the affected area with a view to ascertaining the real cause of the disaster and put in place mechanism to prevent reoccurrence .
He, however, announced that his administration was set to pay the sum of N2 million counterpart fund needed for further investigation into the disaster.
Source: Sun, 5th July 2010.
Robbers Raid Adult Education Class in Enugu
Emmanuel Nzomiwu
Enugu — Daredevil armed robbers invaded an adult education class at St. Luke Primary School, Obiagu Enugu at the weekend and dispossessed students of their belongings and cash.
The robbers, who were said to be five in number, stormed the evening adult education class of over 400 students on Friday while lessons were going on and at gun point, forced everybody including the teachers to lie down on the floor.
One of the students, who pleaded anonymity, said the robbers moved from one row to another in the large class and dispossessed students and teachers of their mobile phones, other valuable belongings and cash.
Our source disclosed that the robbers, who were between the ages of 18 and 22, shut all the doors to the class to stop anybody from going out or coming in while the operation lasted.
It was gathered that the armed robbers, who operated in the class for about two hours, later carted away their loot from in three big travelling bags, leaving the students counting their losses.
Another student, who also pleaded anonymity, expressed shock over the robbery, saying that last weekend's robbery was the first he had witnessed since he enrolled in the Adult education class.
The source said that most of the students are now scared of continuing with the class, adding that "in as much as we consider education important, we would not pursue it at the risk of our lives.
"I decided to join adult education because my parents were not able to send me to school. Everyday I finish vulcanizer work around 5 pm and leave my work place for school. I have been doing this for five years now, but this is the first time I am experiencing such a thing," the student said.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Enugu, ASP Ebere Amaraizu, could not be reached on phone for official confirmation as of press time.
The latest incident added to the growing spate of armed robbery in Enugu, which in the last one month, has claimed the lives of a South Korean national, Yon Shon Lee, Chairman of the Butchers Association, Cyracus Onyemaechi and a police officer.
Source: Daily Independent, 23rd June 2010.
ENUGU: Opposition In Tatters
From Lawrence Njoku, Enugu
AT one of his functions at Okpara Square Enugu in 2008, Governor Sullivan Chime stunned the gathering when he declared that there was no credible opposition in the state, explaining that those fanning the embers of opposition were doing so purely in the media.
He had gone further to proscribe the former governor Chimaroke Nnamani?s ebeano political family, a subset of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), describing it as ?unconstitutional, illegal and doesn?t exist in the lexicon of the party,? even as he called on the leadership of the party to discipline all those carrying the banners of ebeano, instead of those of the PDP.
While he was reminded that he too emerged from the ebeano platform, Chime told the crowd of PDP supporters that ebeano was not a political platform, but ?deceit coined by few individuals to exercise political control.?
Turning to other opposition parties, he declared that the PDP was ready to accommodate those that are willing to join the party, stressing that, by the time the administration would have finished her first tenure, there would no longer be anybody left in other opposition parties.
Chime, stressed that the good work embarked upon by his administration, would not only speak for the party and his government, but would ensure that opposition of any kind was permanently rendered meaningless as there would be nothing left for them to talk about.
Like a prophetic utterance, that declaration of the governor is fast coming to reality in the state, as almost all the opposition political parties have become prostrate, with their members jumping into the PDP, leading to concern that Enugu is being turned into a one party state.
It started with the movement of members of different political parties; on a single day, for instance, the leadership of the PDP played host to over three thousand members of the Accord Party, who said they decided to join the PDP in view of the good work of the government of the state.
Members of the Action Congress, and the Labour Party soon joined them, to the extent that the entire executive of the parties moved over to the ruling party.
Soon, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), led by Adonys Igwe, which many felt could have provided the necessary checks and balance joined in the frenzy, singing the praises of the PDP government and scolded any body who criticized it.
Many who had blamed hunger for appointive or elective offices as responsible for the development, were however, stunned early this year, when two prominent members of opposition parties, who had in fact ran for governorship in 2007, but lost to Chime abandoned their parties and joined the PDP. It was a blow that left the opposition paralyzed.
They were Ugochukwu Agballah of the Accord party and Oscar Egwuonwu of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP).
Incidentally, the duo, who finished 3rd and 4thth in that election, according to results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), were among the candidates that took Chime to the tribunal, where after much legal battle, the tribunal voided his election and called for re-run.
It took an appeal by the Governor to the higher Court to have his mandate restored, but not without the tension it generated.
Sources told the Guardian that since wooing the two politicians to his side, an air of certainty appears to have been procured, as a major block to the governor?s re-election bid in 2011 might have been removed. This is being speculated following the length of experience garnered in the politics of the state by the two politicians.
Agballah was former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani?s Campaign Manager during the 1999 elections; he ran for the office of governor of the state in 2003 against Nnamani and Chime in 2007 and failed on each occasion.
His appetite for political power is also attributed to his movement from one political party to another, having worked with PDP in 1999; and in 2003 ran for governorship on the ticket of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and moved to Accord Party in 2007 when he was denied APGA?s ticket.
On the side of Egwuonwu, who became an archrival of Nnamani following a petition he lodged against the administration at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), he served as the Council Chairman of Udi local government under Nnamani. Perhaps, his rating by the society which was boosted by that singular action in challenging his boss at the EFCC, led to his dream of becoming governor of the state in 2007.
Although, he ran and lost, he remained a strong voice until the verdict of the Court of Appeal in 2008, which restored Chime's victory.
But beyond the roles the duo had played, perhaps to raise the political ante of the state, sources said that, the mass exodus of their supporters into the ruling party was responsible for current confidence of the ruling party.
However, while the opposition political parties, were recovering from the shock inflicted on them by the exit of Agballah and Egwuonwu, another dangerous blow, which may have driven a death nail permanently on the coffin of opposition in the state is the declaration for PDP last weekend of the governorship candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in 2007, Chief Fidel Ayogu.
Ayogu is seen as a strong opposition, who had variously contributed in the political development of Enugu State and his new posture is regarded as the last straw. In 2003, former governor Nnamani did the battle of his life to outwit him in the governorship election; likewise, incumbent governor Chime.
Ayogu declared for the PDP at a well attended rally at Enugu Ezike, in Igbo Eze North local government area, during which traditional rulers in the area also gave their backing for Governor Sullivan Chime?s second term bid.
The former ANPP Chieftain, who is now Nigerian Ambassador to Uganda said his decision to lead his followers to the PDP was borne out of a realistic assessment of the popularity of Governor Chime among the people and the need to unite all Enugu people especially those from his (Ayogu?s) Enugu North zone in pursuit of peace and rapid development.
He disclosed that he had been in touch with the Governor from the earliest days of his administration and was impressed with the remarkable changes he had brought to the state within a short period.
Ayogu said, ?I must say frankly that even though it has not been a pleasant experience to have contested the governorship of this state twice, I am very much impressed with what Governor Chime has done within the past three years. His performance is simply exceptional and that explains his astonishing popularity among the people. He is a good man, he has done well and it is only wise that we join hands with him to ensure that he completes the work he has set out to do?.
He further declared that the Enugu North (Nsukka) zone would stoutly resist attempts by an undisclosed politician to sponsor a candidate from the zone against Chime, saying that the zone has unanimously decided to wait its turn to produce governor after Chime might have completed his second term in 2015.
State Chairman of the Citizen Popular Party, Prince Uzochukwu said the defection of opposition party members was as a result of the style of administration of the governor.
He said, ?How do you expect opposition to thrive with the level of poverty ravaging everywhere in the state and the political parties are not being patronized by the ruling party? The outcome will be a one party state and this is what is happening now in Enugu.?
But Okey Ezea, who is the leader of Peoples Progressive Alliance (PPA) in the state, told the Guardian that though it is the ?inalienable right of people to join any political party of their choice,? the fact that the level of decampment had reached a feverish pitch would not dim the spirit of true opposition party members.
?I don?t see these discouraging true opposition party members; we have lost nothing as far as I am concerned because, so many factors could contribute to their movement. It is now that the stage is defined, people now know the true opposition in the state and those who have been pretending to be part of it. For me, I will remain opposed to what is happening in Enugu and there are so many people in Enugu who are not satisfied with what is happening in this state,? Ezea said.
He noted that the level of movement in the PDP now does not mean that the party was formidable enough to win the 2011 election, stressing that, most of those joining the party had done so for want of what to eat.
Presently, there are no party offices in the state other than the PDP and it has even become difficult to pin down a politician that has refused to join the PDP. Most of the political parties cease to exist after the 2007 election and have remained like that till date.
On the surface, the opposition in the state seem no more, but though the PDP has remained the most glamorous, its success may also be its undoing.
This is going by the fact that, though the governor had claimed that his work would campaign for him, he had already set out to do the campaign himself with the mobilization he is doing at the moment.
The development within the party at the national level has not also helped matters for the state chapter, as the fear is that a change in the movement of the pendulum might spell doom for its present arrangement. Although many are jostling to get the ticket of the party towards 2011 and nobody so far has indicated interest in flying the flags of the other parties, the state PDP does not feel too secure, as the way it handles the issue would determine the position of the party in the election.
Again, the seeming silence of Senator Chimaroke Nnamani and his group in PDP has become another major worry that cannot be over looked. This group, as being alleged could work with remnants of opposition parties in the state to cause upset in the election.
For instance, recently when the PPA inaugurated her state chapter, a chieftain of the party had told the press that the mammoth crowd at the event was drawn from various wards of the party, explaining that, none was hired to grace the event.
The deduction is that should such crowd still exist in the opposition and perhaps remain intact till 2011, then opposition might still pull a surprise in the coming election.
Source: The Guardian, 2nd May 2010.
Nsukka residents endorse Chime's
second term bid
ENUGU—TRADITIONAL Rulers and leaders of thought in Nsukka senatorial zone of Enugu State have endorsed Governor Sullivan Chime for a second term in office with a request to the Governor to handover power to somebody from the zone in 2015.
The Nsukka people advised governorship aspirants from the area not to challenge Chime in the next year's election as anybody who does so will not be supported.
They made this known when the former gubernatorial candidate of the All Nigeria People's Party, ANPP, Ambassador Fidel Ayogu decamped to the ruling People's Democratic Party, PDP, at Enugu-Ezike, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area.
Source: Vanguard, 28th April 2010.
Enugu Assembly okays Health Insurance Bill
Enugu—The Enugu State House of Assembly has passed the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, Bill into law.
This followed the presentation of the report of the Joint Committees on Health and Judiciary at the third reading during a plenary of the House, yesterday.
Mr David Atigwe, Chairman of the Joint Committee, said the bill was referred to the committee on 4 February and that a public hearing was held in March.
Atigwe noted that with the passage of the bill, affordable healthcare services would be provided for all levels of income earners in the state's civil service.
Ruling on the motion to pass the bill, the Speaker, Mr Eugene Odoh, commended members for their useful contributions since the inception of the bill.
He apologised for the delay in the passage of the bill, which he attributed to other official engagements, urging the implementing agencies to put necessary arrangements for its immediate implementation.
"With the passage of this bill, the contributions of Enugu State civil servants will not be in vain as it will enable them to access healthcare services at minimal costs," he said.
In another development, the Enugu State Road Maintenance Agency Bill was introduced to the House by the Deputy Leader, Chief Mike Onyeze.
The executive bill which was not referred to any committee was to enable members to debate its merits and demerits before committing it to any committee.
Meanwhile, Odoh emphasised the need for the House Committee on Works to arrange for legislators to visit the rehabilitation sites at the Onitsha-Enugu and Enugu-Port Harcourt highways.
Source: Vanguard, 28th April 2010.
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