IMO BREAKING NEWS BLOG

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has unanimously affirmed the judgment of the Justice Kwajafa led National Election Petition Tribunal for Imo north, which upheld the election of Distinguished Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the July 22 and 28 2016, Okigwe senate rerun elections. 

The five-man Appeal Court panelist dismissed all the 7 grounds of Appeal  sort by the petitioner, who challenged the earlier judgment of the lower tribunal.

The five-man Appellate Court panel led by Hon Justice  JCA Aboki, in their unanimous summary judgment delivered Thursday, April 6, 2017,  declared that all grands of appeal  against the election and return of Senator Uwajumogu as Senator representing Imo north,  lacked merit.

According to the tribunal, " it is bad faith for the petitioner to say supplementary elections in 22 polling units was void by reason of non-compliance with the provisions of the electoral act, when all the parties involved in the election, including the petitioner, did not complain before the conduct of the supplementary elections. 

"The petitioner was inconsistent. You  cannot ask the court to grant relief on unsubstantiated matters as the court does not rely on hearsay to dispense justice

"you cannot blow hot and could at the same time. The petition failed  in its entirety and it is hereby dismissed”. The Judge said.

Responding, Counsel to the candidate of the All progressive Congress(APC) and Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu said, ”Justice has been done to the parties and to the people of Imo north senatorial district.

In his reaction, Senator Uwajumogu described the Tribunal judgment as the total reaffirmation of the mandate given to him by the people of Okigwe zone during the last concluded Imo north senatorial re-run election.

While calling for true reconciliation to move the zone forward, he thanked the people of Imo north for their continued overwhelming support and prayers to him throughout the legal tussle and pledged his total commitment to superlative legislative performance

After all the lies by Okezie Ikpeazu, his wife and the Education Commissioner...

YOUNG LEADERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA

PRESS RELEASE

RE: Illegal demotion of Mrs. Ezichi Maryleen, Headmistress of Amaetiti Primary School, Asaga Ohafia by the Abia State Government*

The Young Leaders Association of Nigeria, also known as Nigerian Youths Forum, Abia State Chapter condemns in strong terms, the continuous victimization of the primary school headmistress whose only offence was to plead for her over five months unpaid salaries by the Governor Okezie Ikpeazu led administration. Mrs. Maryleen Ezichi was the Headmistress of Amaetiti Primary School, Asaga Ohafia until last month, March, when she was allegedly whisked away from her place of work to Umuahia, the state capital and thereafter handed to her, a transfer letter to another primary school in Ukwa-East Local Government Area to resume as a classroom teacher.

The news which was reported first by Punch Newspaper and yet to be refuted by the Abia state government indicate that the innocent woman’s ordeal came as a result of her “embarrassing” the wife of the governor Nkechi Ikpeazu who was in the school to kick-off her one free meal programme for primary school pupils. The 'embarrassment' was that Mrs. Maryleen Ezichi, a mother, pleaded with Nkechi Ikpeazu, a fellow mother, to intercede on behalf of the teachers to the state government for their over five months unpaid salaries to enable them buy foods for their children, pay house rents, take care of the medical need of their wards, pay debts, and other needs. But surprisingly, instead of taking pity on these starving teachers who are putting in their best to groom the primary school pupils for a greater society, the governor’s wife connived with her husband to demote the woman and transfer her to a remote area, about 140 kilometers away, with a stern instruction to resume immediately. This is in contrast to the fact that allocations from FG to the state have not dropped. We also recall that the state received  over 8bn naira in the last two months being part of the Paris Club funds from Federal Government. Yet, basic salaries are owed! This is the height of injustice and inhumanity to humanity. No other type of humiliation can be worse than this.

What baffles us is that the Abia State Government and its officials who are supposed to tell Abia people who elected them the truth of the matter, are busy denying being aware of the event which has been in the public domain for over a week now. We begin to wonder if the present government is turning Abia into a circus. Regrettably, another official of the government, Uche Olehi, who is a Personal Assistant to the Governor on Media was quoted to have said in an interview with an online medium that the headmistress was not redeployed because she complained of unpaid salaries, but because she “was running a beer parlour on the premises of the school”. We have tried so hard to find out that this does not even have iota of truth in it. How will somebody in her right senses run a beer parlour in a primary school? Who will patronize her? The primary school pupils or the unpaid teachers? Or even the farming households in Asaga?  This kind of tales can only come when the government is grasping for grounds to cover up its unfairness and injustice to the people it is meant to protect and advance their course.

We are also bewildered by the actions of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) Abia State chapters. They have maintained a dead silence over the matter. The NUT, Abia State Chapter Chairman who spoke to a news medium also claimed ignorance of the incident, taking the same stance of the government and using the same language of government officials. Their silence is not only suspect but runs foul of their slogan that 'injury to one is injury to all'.  We think that they are acting a script given to them by the state government. We fear that the umbrella bodies which are supposed to speak and protect the interests of their members including Mrs. Maryleen Ezichi may have been compromised. 

The Young Leaders Association of Nigeria, Abia State Chapter therefore condemns this undue maltreatment of this worthy Abia citizen by the government. We demand that the governor Okezie Ikpeazu led government should not only reinstate Mrs. Maryleen Ezichi but also pay all the teachers' their entitlements . A worker deserves his or her full wage according to a Bible injunction and we know the governor is a practising christian.  She should be praised for being brave and standing up for her right. We also call on other well meaning civil society and human rights groups and other well meaning Nigerians to persuade the Abia State Government to do the right thing. The government should stop insulting our parents, they should stop intimidating and molesting our parents. We do not understand why the government has decided to play hide and seek games with the state’s funds while those who work for the upliftment of the state go to bed hungry and their children die of untreated illnesses.

Duke Imandu 

Press Secretary, Young Leaders Association of Nigeria, Abia State Chapter

Engr. Uchechi Adimoha 

State Rep

Governor Rochas Okorocha has handed over four, out of the 27 General Hospitals built by his administration in each of the twenty-seven local governments in the state, to the Army, Navy, Airforce and the Police.

Governor Okorocha explained the development when the Commander of the Nigeria Army Medical Corps, Major-General Abimbola Amosu came to meet with him on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff in connection with the donation of the General Hospital at Umuguma in Owerri West Local Government to the army which is now Army Hospital.

The governor also stated that the Navy had already taken over the hospital at Ngor-Okpala LGA, while the Airforce took over the hospital at Owerri North  and the Police Force had earlier taken over the one at Ideato South LGA, adding that the essence of all these, is to make the state the hub for medical services.

The Governor remarked “as you are aware, we have 200-bed hospitals constructed in every Local Government of the state. We are trying to make Imo state health tourist city for the federal Republic of Nigeria. For these hospitals, we have started giving them out. Airforce has taken the one at Owerri North, Army has taken the one at Umuguma in Owerri West, Nigeria  Police is taking the one  at Ideato South and the Navy has taken the one at Ngor-Okpala”.

He continued “today we are paying host to major-General Amosu who is incharge of the medical Department of the Nigeria Army. She came at the instance of the Chief of Army Staff to inspect one of the new hospitals built by the State Government and donated to the Nigeria Army. We will be building University of Medicine in the state to use most of the remaining hospitals as outreach centres. This is a bigger picture of what we intend to do”.

He stated, “I am very quite impressed in seeing a woman wearing the rank of a Major General. This is not common in our checked history. This is quite exemplary and this defines the reason, the army medical section is doing well”.

His words, “You are in the right place and we are ever ready to partner the army. Before now the army has taken possession of three command schools, one in Orlu, one Okigwe and one in Owerri which the rescue mission government built and donated to them. We are enjoying a good collaboration with the army, and we still think that NDA which is the Army University should be here. We will provide the resources and build it if need be. Imo people are already seeing the wisdom in partnering with the agencies to bring their facilities down here”.

In her speech, General Amosu said, “I am here at the instance of the Chief of Army Staff who got the letter and appreciated the offer of the state government to donate a 200 bed hospital to the Nigeria Army. One thing is clear, that even if the hospital is donated to the Nigeria Army, it will definitely serve not just the military personnel and their families, but the communities around where the facility is located because that is one thing we do with our facilities. The medical care, our schools etc are not just for the military, we use them also as a way of improving our civilian-military relations”.

According to her, “The army is passionate about medical care and that’s why we offer free medical outreach to the public. Just like the one we had in Imo during the Chief of Army Staff Conference hosted in the State. The donation of this hospital will now make it more permanent because the military medical outreach is of high quality. We are satisfied with the hospital having inspected it. We will make it world class and it will key into the plans of the government to make the state a hub for medical outreach in the country”.

Sam Onwuemeodo

Chief Press Secretary to the Governor.

COMMENDS HIM FOR STANDING UP FOR IGBO INTEREST

Imo state Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha Thursday met behind closed-doors with the former Governor of Anambra state, Chief Peter Obi at the Government House Owerri, with none of the two leaders willing to disclose the subject matter of the meeting.

The former Anambra Governor had arrived the Government House Owerri with few aides and after the Imo governor had received him, they went into a private meeting that lasted about one hour and when they came out, none was ready to volunteer any information with regard to the crux of the meeting.

But anxious journalists had mounted pressure on the august visitor, Chief Obi who told them that he came to see his brother and friend, and that what brothers discussed inside should not be for public consumption.

On the question of the agitation for Biafra, the former Anambra governor said, “all agitations could be solved by dialogue in a democratic dispensation. In a democracy, the issues consultation and dialogue remain the best approach to an agitation and that is where we stand. Every agitation including the one for Biafra can be solved by dialogue”.

He continued, “This could be one of the reasons I came, to thank the state governor for supporting that dialogue. It is important we dialogue in a democratic dispensation”.

Sam Onwuemeodo
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor.