IMO BREAKING NEWS BLOG

Manchester United could let Cristiano Ronaldo leave Old Trafford during the current transfer window amid concerns about how the striker's mood is affecting morale in the camp.

Manager Erik ten Hag's public stance has been that Ronaldo, 37, is not for sale and is part of his plans. However, senior figures have been alarmed at how quickly the overwhelmingly positive feelings around the camp generated during a successful pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia have disappeared.

The Portuguese has a year left on the contract he signed when he returned to the club from Juventus less than 12 months ago but wants United to let him leave this summer. While successive Premier League defeats to Brighton and Brentford have clearly shaken United badly, part of the overall picture has been put down to Ronaldo.

The Portuguese is said to be a negative presence at the club, hardly communicates with his team-mates in the canteen and has made no secret of his desire to move away.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday launched the Nigeria End malaria Council at the State House in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The Council is expected to drive the Federal Government’s commitment to end malaria in the country.

In attendance at the launch is the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, and Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire among other ministers and top government officials.

"Unless we love the truth, we cannot know it"

Some have mounted firewall against the truth about Imo state Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. 

They may hear the fact, but go deaf. Like the biblical Prophet Daniel, when they read it, they don't understand. When they feel, they become like Apostle Paul's prophecy about this age and men whose consciences have been pierced with a hot iron.

As the 2023 electioneering draws near, particularly the Imo governorship that will be following shortly after, interests are already renting the air by some politicians jostling for the number one seat of power in the state.  The schemings and consultations are seemingly evident going by the activities of some individuals. What remains uncertain is the political platform with which some of them would contest the election.

Of a truth, the two major political parties in Imo state that are routed across the length and breadth of the state are the All Progressives Congress, APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, but recently the wave around Labour Party has come to upstage the position of APGA in the South East. However anyone may see or interpret the political situation in Imo, the only reliable Party to wrestle power from the pernicious ruling APC remains the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

What borders most people is the leadership style of the Engr Charles Ugwu led State Working Committee which appears to be operating under the dominant influence of one man. A Party established on the principle of democracy to offer equal opportunity to all members has suddenly been cowed under the dictates of one man who constitutes himself an umpire, superimposing his whims and caprices on the Party leadership like a slave master. This is the trend that may mar the prospect of PDP in rescuing Imo if it remains unabated. 

There is this popular quote in politics, " the more, the merrier". But in the case of Imo state PDP, the closed door leadership mentality may be her albatross.

Once anyone is discovered to be nursing same ambition with their presumed "owner of Imo PDP" the attack dogs will be unleashed on the person via various social media platforms in their desperate bid to vent their anger or dissuade the person from taking further steps in pursuit of his ambition. No one cares to know if you are a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP or possess the capacity to win the election, rather the mandate is to attack any aspirant wishing to contest for governorship against  the sealed choice of Charles UGWU led State Exco. Let the SWC not be unmindful of the consequences that will result from the agitations brewing around this attitudes.

In a recent discussion with a close associate though from the opposition political party, APC, we shared thoughts on the 2023 governorship contest in the state. In our conversation, he inquired to know interested aspirants who may likely contest the governorship primaries in PDP. While I was taking my time to list some names of likely party members who might indicate interest in the race, he interrupted me by saying " do you think anyone is ready to throw his money around in PDP that is controlled by one man". At this point I demanded a rebuttal of such derogatory remark against Imo state PDP.

Then it became dawn on me the kind of impression the opposition political parties has about Imo PDP. They view the party as a private business of an individual who determines who gets what and as at when due.

In another instance, In my further conversation with him, i unearthed my discussion with a top politician in the state who confided in me in 2021 about his governorship ambition and his fears of rejoining PDP to pursue his aspiration. When I insisted to know his challenge of rejoining PDP to pursue his ambition, he disclosed that most of the state exco members of the party were appointees in the seven (7) months administration of Chief Emeka Ihedioha and by extension will always do his bid since he is also re-contesting the governorship ticket under the platform of the party. 

To me, this revelation is a confirmation of the trending reports that Ihedioha singlehandedly influenced the composition of both the state working Committee of the party as well as most LGA excos. No wonder serious minded politicians who are nursing governorship ambition in the state distance themselves from Imo PDP.

Ofcos, nobody would like to invest his capital in a project that in return will not generate profit.

Methinks, there is nothing wrong in one aspiring for an elective position in a political party you belong as it is your civic responsibility but on the contrary and for purposes of clarity there is every need to ask some salient questions: Is Imo PDP Guber Ticket IHEDIOHA'S BIRTHRIGHT?

To be modest in my submission, the outcry over Ihedioha's  third term guber candidacy come 2023 is all about hypocrisy. What is the fairness or balancing by their estimation. Yes it is Ihedioha's right to offer himself to be elected as the party's flagbearer ahead of the 2023 general election.  

But he should also appreciate that the Imo PDP has been extremely generous to him. He served twelve years at the National Assembly ( House of Representatives). The party gave him support when he clinched the guber ticket in 2014. Also, in 2018, the party also threw their weight behind him when he emerged  as the candidate of the party.

PDP has been his solid platform. But he should understand that his personal ambition cannot consume the interest of the party. 

The party is Supreme. Ihedioha has emerged as the party's guber candidate  for two consecutive periods, demanding a third term ticket in 2023 is nothing but desperation and a confirmation of the speculation that Imo PDP is his private business.

The Imo PDP Guber Ticket as regards 2023 is not Ihedioha's Birthright, his bid to recontest the guber primaries for the third time and the sentiment that he is the party's sole candidate is demarketing the party.

 If he insists on re-contesting the party's guber primaries then he should proceed and get ready for a serious contest this time around.   He should also desist from using statutory organs of the party to convene meetings in his private residence. Elected party officers ranging from the state, zone, LGA and Wards should be allowed to excercise their constitutional rights enshrined in the party's constitution. At the moment, since Ihedioha is amongst the governorship aspirants under the platform of Imo PDP, no party elected officer should be afraid of any sanction should incase you decide to pitch your tent with your choice guber aspirant. Party officers are free to interface with any governorship aspirant on invitation.

The party is indeed Supreme.....

Sir Sunny Ndukwu, KSM, journalist, public affairs analyst and Director, Media & Strategy, Divine Mandate Movement, DMM

By Ogu Bundu Nwadike, M.A

The hue and cry, and indeed the hullabaloo about the Iriji Mbaise Festival 2022 has reached the highest parts of the heavens and hills.

Incidentally, it's been a sheer case of much ado about nothing. That's because the biggest story distilled from the verbal crossfire among Mbaise people and their interested friends and associates has been about the date of the celebration of the festival!

What's the big deal in a date chosen by a person or a group of people to celebrate the ritual of eating of the new yam? Will yam not be yam because the new yam festival wasn't celebrated? 

Evidently, the "Iriji Mbaise" of a thing has become so politicized that it's no longer just all about celebrating the eating of the new yam, but about furthering the political interests of Mbaise politicians and their external allies.

For instance, the Ezuruezu Mbaise, the Ezeji Cult, and the Traditional Rulers Council, et al have for sometime now been at crossroads in loggerheads over when the "Iriji Mbaise" of thing will hold and when it won't hold.

And interestingly, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, the ex-Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, has remained a recurrent decimal in the brouhaha over when and how Mbaise people will perform their ritual of Iriji!

Consequently, it appears Mbaise people have been tightly boxed into eating new yam only whenever Ihedioha, with his Ezuruezu Mbaise, decides to eat new yam.

That has raised questions of whether the new yam festival is "Iriji Mbaise" or "Iriji Ihedioha" or both of the above?

The burning argument has been that by consensus, the "Iriji Mbaise" of a thing secured a perpetual injunction that it must be held on the 15th day of the month of August in any given year.

But in the immediate past five years, it's not certain that the injunction has been sacrosanct and applicable to the celebration of the "Iriji Mbaise" of a thing.

One recurrent issue with the verbal hostilities over the "Iriji Mbaise" of a thing, which makes it appear to be "Iriji Ihedioha" of a thing is that the former national legislator, who without doubt or controversy nurses an eternal gubernatorial ambition, has repeatedly expressed aversion to the conferment of chieftaincy titles to non-Mbaise indigenes during Iriji Mbaise festivals.

That has always heated up the "Iriji Mbaise" of a thing to very febrile heights of the environmental atmospheric thermometer.

It gets most precarious when there's news of plans to confer chieftaincy titles to a sitting governor or allies of the sitting governor.

For instance, in 2018, when the 2019 governorship election was only months away, as the date of the "Iriji Mbaise" of a thing approached, _wahala_ and _katakata_ erupted, albeit clandestinely in Mbaise nation.

And, what for? The traditional rulers of Mbaise nation planned to confer a chieftaincy title upon Chief Uche Nwosu, who was a leading contender for the office of Governor as a potential successor to his-father-in-law and outgoing governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha in 2019!

Rife in the rumour mill at the time was that Ihedioha, who was also a top contender for the office of governor, wasn't pleased with the plan of the traditional rulers to honour Uche Nwosu with a chieftaincy title, and didn't approve of it!

That made many pundits wonder aloud whether or not it's "Iriji Mbaise" or "Iriji Ihedioha" that was being annually celebrated since at least the past half a decade! 

That question was partially answered in the 2019 "Iriji Mbaise" of a thing, when it was celebrated with Ihedioha in his brief occupation of Douglas House. It was simply "Iriji Ihedioha"!

In the 2020 edition of new yam festival, the celebration wasn't celebrated on excusable excuse of the Covid-19 pandemic that posed enough threats to lives of the people. 

Yet, the 2020 "Iriji Ihedioha", however, took place in his palatial country home at Aronta Mbutu, in Aboh Mbaise LGA.

In 2021, the "Iriji Mbaise" wasn't really celebrated as it was held in low key in individual homes and houses. But "Iriji Ihedioha" was unfailingly held in the home of the ex-Speaker.

Now in 2022, the characteristic heat from the roasting kitchen of the "Iriji Mbaise" festival again raged across the land! And why?

The traditional rulers of Mbaise nation agreed to confer a chieftaincy title upon the Executive Governor of Imo State, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma on Tuesday, August 16, 2022.

Apparently, Ihedioha again didn't approve of it. Hence, the making of a storm in a teacup and building mountain out of a molehill by his camp that also hold sway as the helmsmen of the pan-Mbaise socio-cultural group called Ezuruezu Mbaise.

The end of discussion was that while "Iriji Ihedioha" was held on Monday, August 15, 2022 by Mbaise people, the "Iriji Mbaise" proper was held by Mbaise people on Tuesday, August 16, 2022.

An enterprising commentator on the brouhaha, Izuchukwu AiC Akwarandu, who as a "true son of the soil" knew what he was talking about, properly guided reasoning on the faceoffs and fallouts on the 2022 "Iriji Mbaise" of a thing!

Commenting on a Facebook post explaining on the double dates for the celebration of the 2022 "Iriji Mbaise" of a thing, he said in the following paraphrase:

"The celebration of the Iriji Mbaise has been an agelong practice that holds on the 15th of August each year. 

But anybody may decided to celebrate it on any other date he wishes from 15th August to December. But the actual date of the celebration is 15th of August each year"! Good!

Now, if, as AiC guided, anybody can decide to celebrate the "Iriji Mbaise" of a thing on any date of his choice from August 15 to December 31 in each year, why then the hullabaloo about celebrating the 2022 "Iriji Mbaise" of thing on August 16?

The trouble, this time around, mustn't be unconnected with the decision by the traditional rulers of Mbaise nation to confer a chieftaincy title upon Governor Uzodimma!

Why Ihedioha and his camp are perennially troubled by the traditional rulers' decisions to confer chieftaincy titles upon deserving people of Imo State, as is the custom of Mbaise nation during each "Iriji Mbaise" festival, is a subject for research by interested people!

Except, the speculation is true that Ihedioha wants Mbaise people, with their friends and associates, to be celebrating "Iriji Ihedioha" instead of "Iriji Mbaise", otherwise, why the noise?

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has again met with the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.

Also at the meeting which was held on Monday night at Wike’s private residence in Port Harcourt is the former governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko. It was gathered that the Rivers leader also met with ex- Cross River Governor, Donald Duke; Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom; Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, and Gombe State ex-governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo among others.

Although the purpose of the meeting could not be ascertained, it may however not be unconnected with the 2023 general elections. Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, Mimiko shared a photo with the politicians, saying that it was nice to spend some time with them.

“Nice to share some time last night with @GovWike @Donald_Duke @PeterObi @HEDankwambo @GovSamuelOrtom, @GovernorIkpeazu, Mohammed Adoke SAN and many other friends,” he tweeted. 

Barring any change, President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to present the 2023 appropriation to the National Assembly in September. The Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja at training on budget preparation using the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System.

A two-day nationwide training on budget preparation is organised for over four thousand budget officers drawn from about nine hundred ministries, departments and agencies of the government. 

Akabueze who was represented by the Director, Expenditure (Socials) in the Budget Office, Mr Fabian Ogbu, said the federal government under Buhari is determined to ensure consistent and timely preparation, submission and approval of annual budgets as part of its Public Financial Management (PFM) reforms.

Akabueze, however, lamented that MDAs do not study the Budget Call Circular in detail and as such make mistakes that should ordinarily be avoided if they had complied with the relevant sections of the Budget Circular. “The main goal of this training is to provide continuous learning to equip budget personnel with the requisite knowledge, skills and the tools they require to prepare and submit the 2023 budget,” he said.