News / politics

Obasanjo: How Nigeria can move from being a country to a Nation

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday said that the country must strive to enthrone justice, equity and fair play in order to build a strong, united nation.

Obasanjo, who is on a tour of the South East, said this when he made a brief stop at the Vision Africa Radio, Umuahia.

He was the Special Guest of Honour at the prize/award presentation to the winners of the 2021 Schools’ Debate, organized by the station, in conjunction with the Abia State Ministry of Education.

He said: “One of the things I believe we need in this country is nation building.  “We have not built a nation.

“We have a country but we need to weave, integrate that country into a nation.

“And you will not get that unless you have justice, fairness, equality and everybody having a stake in that project called Nigeria.

“If that is the situation that we need at the national and continental levels, it means you have to have it at other levels down to the family level.

“Any family where there is no justice, fair play and equity will not be stable.

“This applies to any country, community and state.

“If Nigeria needs these attributes, then any state in Nigeria needs it as much as Nigeria.”

Obasanjo said that this was one of the gospels he had been preaching since he celebrated his 85th birthday last week.

He congratulated the three schools that emerged winners at the debate and admonished them to learn to be good communicators, if they hope to become great achievers in future.

According to him, it takes a good communicator to marshal out his points convincingly, saying that bad communicators end up as poor achievers because of their inability to put their ideas across convincingly, notwithstanding how beautiful they might be.

He also commended the President of the station, Bishop Sunday Onuoha, for organizing the program designed to groom young ones and support the growth of education.

The topic of the debate was: “The development of a nation’s sound education system ensures …

Education / News / Transportation

Varsity students protest over poor state of road

Some Students of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike in Abia state on Monday embarked on a peaceful protest against the deplorable state of Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the students, numbering at least 100, carried placards with different inscriptions.

They included: Fix Umuahia-Ikot-Ekpene road; Enough is Enough; I want to graduate and be a corper not a corpse.

The marched through major streets of Umuahia, the Abia state capital.

They expressed their displeasure over the inability of the Federal Government to fix the road and blamed the state of the road for the road accidents that had claimed lives of road users, especially students of the school.

They called for immediate action to alleviate the sufferings of road users and stop the occurrence of road accidents.

Speaking at the Akanu Ibiam Road, Chukwuma Ugochukwu, President, Students’ Union Government of MOUAU, said the state of the road had plunged road users into untold hardship.

Ugochukwu said: “Yesterday, a student of MOUAU was killed in an auto crash that involved an SUV and a Truck, which occurred on the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road.

“We are no longer comfortable with that road.

“We are asking that this road should be looked into with immediate effect.

“This road has caused the school so much loss and we seek immediate government attention on the road.

“We are giving four days ultimatum to the state government to commence the palliative works on the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road.”

Also, James Daniel, a student of MOUAU, said the deplorable state of the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road had led to loss of many lives, especially those of students of MOUAU.

“In 2019, we were told that the road has been awarded, but the only work that we have seen is the construction of drainages, leaving the road undone,” Daniel added.

Somto Chukwu, another student of MOUAU, said the incessant occurrence of accidents on the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road was a call on the government to match its words with action.

Chukwu said it was …

Crime / News

Why we arrested ex-Abia Governor, son — EFCC

A former Governor of Abia State, Senator Theodore Orji, was on Thursday arrested by operatives of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The Spokesperson of EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the development in a statement on Thursday.

Uwujaren said the former governor, who had been on the commission’s watch list, was intercepted at the Nnamdi International Airport, Abuja on Thursday.

He said Orji was later taken to the commission’s headquarters for continuation of his interrogation. He said: “He is being quizzed alongside his son, Chinedu, the current Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, who turned himself in this afternoon upon learning of the arrest of his father.

“Orji and his sons, Chinedu and Ogbonna, are under investigation by EFCC for offences bordering on misappropriation of public funds and money laundering.

“The ex-governor is alleged to have collected N500 million monthly as security vote for eight years, as governor of Abia State between 2007 and 2015.

“Other issues relate to the alleged mismanagement of N2 billion ecological fund and conversion of Sure-P funds.”…

Crime / News

Suspects who attacked Abia CJ, killed, maim victims nabbed

The Abia State Police Command says it has arrested 10 armed robbery and kidnap suspects, allegedly terrorized residents of the state.

The Commissioner of Police, Janet Agbede, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing newsmen in Umuahia on the recent achievements by the command.

Agbede said two of the suspects confessed to have robbed a former Chief Judge of the state (name withheld).

She said the suspects dispossessed their victim of his ATM cards, “compelled him to release his Personal Identification Number, with which they allegedly withdraw N250,000 from his bank account”.  Also in police net were members of a gang that allegedly waylaid one Uzoma Ndubueze of 50, Ogwo Street, Ohanku in Aba on June 24, while he was driving into his house.

“The gang members abducted their victim, took his Lexus 330 car to Ntigha, shot and killed him and still collected N700,000 ransom from his family,” Agbede said.

She said the victim’s phone was recovered from the gang leader, Abia Daniel, who confessed that his gang members were nine in number.

She said the arrest was facilitated through intelligence and collaboration with the Inspector-General of Police’s Intelligence Response Team on “Operation Restore Peace” mission.

She said the team arrested the suspects at different locations in the state, including Aba.

The police chief said the suspects belonged to two gangs, adding that the smashing of the first gang paved the way for the arrest of the second gang members.

She said Daniel, 41, who was a member of the first gang, later pulled out to form his own gang, where he became the kingpin.

She said the command recovered one AK 47 rifle with 25 rounds of live ammunition, one pump action gun with 10 cartridges, one locally-made double-barrel cut-to-size gun, with 10 live cartridges, one Volkswagen Jetta car and one cellphone from the suspects.

Agbede said the first gang confessed to have kidnapped more than six persons.

She further said the IRT, acting on intelligence report, arrested one Emmanuel Paul, 22, of 40, Ugorji Street, Aba and Ifeanyi …

Military / News

Eight gunmen, two policemen killed in Abia State

The Abia State Police Command has confirmed the killing of two police officers in the attack on state CID in Umuagu, Umuahia on Saturday by gunmen.

The Public Relations Officer of the command, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, who made the confirmation, also said eight of the hoodlums were gunned down in the crossfire.

This was in addition to the commercial tricycle operator said to have been killed by a stray bullet during the gun duel police had with the criminals.

Briefing journalists in Umuahia, the PPRO expressed regret that two Inspectors lost their lives in the attack.

The police image maker said policemen on duty engaged the gunmen before reinforcement from the command headquarters, which added to the fierce engagement with men on ground that eventually saw eight of the hoodlums neutralised.

He added that some of the attackers escaped with gunshot wounds, while two vehicles were recovered.

The State CID, Ogbonna said, was razed following the detonation of an explosive through the back of the building.

While informing that suspects in detention were released and an exhibit car burnt, the PPRO, however, said no firearm was carted away.

Ogbonna urged medical facilities within and outside the state to report to security agencies anybody who comes for treatment with bullet wounds.…