Political Briefs
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GOVERNOR Emmanuel Uduaghan, on Thursday, April 9, commissioned a N3.5 billion 120 metre-long six span flyover bridge, the first ever constructed by the state government. At the colourful ceremony in Asaba, capital of the state, Uduaghan said that the project was part of his administration’s urban renewal programme meant to improve the social economic and political lives of the people and to make Asaba one of the best state capitals in the country. “A lot of things have happened in the state capital and it is assuming the status of a befitting state capital. At the beginning we started with the airport, the new government house then we did the schools and the health sectors, very soon an ultra-modern hospital will be completed, ” the governor said, adding: “We have done a lot in Asaba to make it a befitting state capital. This project started two years ago, not eight years ago and today, we are commissioning it.”
He observed that the flyover was very strategic as it would help to ease traffic on the road which connects Edo State and also reduce time of travelling from Asaba to Abuja and the northern parts of the country.
“The flyover is very strategic, it is on the road that leads to Abuja, with the completion of the Utor bridge at Ebu, which constitute an arterial road from the South-South and South –East States through Edo state to Abuja and other parts of Northern Nigeria, this flyover bridge is very timely,” Uduaghan added.
Uduaghan, who thanked those who contributed to making the project a success, including Deltans for their patience, added, “we envisioned that there will be a time when there will be heavy gridlock in this area, that is why we constructed the flyover.” He assured Deltans that his administration would continue to execute projects and called on the people to vote for Ifeanyi Okowa, gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the House of Assembly candidates of the party during the elections.
Funkekeme Solomon, commissioner for Works in the state, in his address, said the flyover bridge located at the intersection of Nnebisi, Okpanam, Anwai roads was awarded to “Messrs CCC Construction Company Nigeria Limited by the state government in 2013 at a contract sum of N3, 528, 939, 077.63. The scope of the works included a 120 metre-long six-span bridge, two ramps of about 140 meters each on either approach bringing it to a total of 400 metres long,” he said, noting, “the entire bridge/ramps structure is a four-lane dual carriage way, comprising of two in each travel direction demarcated with a New Jersey Barrier.”
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Abia Government Denies Cancellation of NAS Election Results
ABIA State government has debunked the rumours making the round that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had cancelled or reversed the results of the senatorial seats in the state. The state alleged that the opposition had gone ahead to instigate some of their members to be firing canon shots in order to deceive the public. “Government wishes to state categorically that the propaganda is absolutely untrue and baseless. INEC has announced results of election in Abia State and our party the Peoples Democratic, PDP, won the three senatorial seats and seven out of eight House of Representatives seats,” ACB Agbazuere, commissioner for Information and Strategy, said in a statement.
The statement said that those who were uncomfortable with their loss at the election should emulate the example of President Goodluck Jonathan or go to the the election petition tribunal in accordance with section 133(1) of the amended Electoral Act 2011 instead of engaging in cheap propaganda.
“Abians are enjoined to disregard the opposition and their propaganda which is completely fallacious.
Nobody should be deceived,” Agbazuere said further, while he also enjoined the state electorate to get out en masse and vote for the PDP on April 11.
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Ihedioha Tackles Okorocha for Imo Seat
IF the confidence of Emeka Ihedioha Campaign Organisation is anything to go by, the days of Governor Rochas Okorocha of the All Progressives Congress, APC, are numbered as number one citizen of Imo State. Chris Okewulonu, director general of the organisation, in an interaction with journalists in his office, said the organisation and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was ready to sack Governor Rochas and replace him with Emeka Ihedioha, deputy speaker, House of Representatives, at the governorship election on Saturday, April 11, 2015.
Okewulonu said the people of Imo State were poised to effect a change in the government of Imo State to stop the monumental fraud, deceit and lies of Okorocha. Okewulonu also described the government of Okorocha as darkness for the state. He reminded Imo people that the first public task of Governor Okorocha was his brief appointment as the chairman of the National Airspace Management Authority, NAMA, by former President Olusegun Obasanjo who also publicly and unceremoniously sacked him owning to a lot of irregularities that were linked to him. Okewulonu said it was unfortunate that Okorocha hoodwinked the people who believed he was sent from heaven and short-changed them by building mansions which he said were as big as the Buckingham palace all over the state in only three years of being governor.
However, Okewulonu urged the people of the state to vote for Ihedioha, whom he said, would rule the state with utmost respect for the rule of law and accountability, which he said was a deviation from the Okorocha’s style of leadership. He promised that every vote for Ihedioha would be for the rapid development of the state going by Ihedioha’s track record of competence and experience.
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IGP Redeploys Senior Police Officers for Elections
SIXTEEN inspectors-general and some commissioners of police have been deployed to coordinate activities of the Nigerian police men and officers during the governorship and state houses of assembly elections on Saturday, April 11. The redeployment, which was announced on Thursday, April 9, followed the police command’s dispatch of six deputy inspectors-general of Police, DIG, to coordinate police activities in the six geo-political zones during the polls.
Suleiman Abba, inspector-general of police, approved the deployment according to a statement signed by Emmanuel Ojukwu, Police Force public relations officer. According to the statement, Usman Gwary would supervise operations in Abia State; Olufemi Adenaike is now in charge of Kwara, while Joseph Mbu will be in Ogun State. Others are Patrick Dokumor, Tambari Muhammed, Muhammed Abubakar and Ikemefuna Okoye who will oversee Kaduna, Jigawa, Gombe and Oyo State respectively.
In the same vein, Tunde Ogunsakin has been mandated to take charge in Rivers State, while Jubril Adeniji, Yerima Irimiya, Baba Adisa Bolanta and Lawal Tanko will be in Bauchi, Imo, Akwa Ibom and Lagos States respectively.
The rest include Ballah Nasarawa who has been moved to Benue, Musa Abdulsalam Daura is now in charge of Edo, Aderele Shinaba in Plateau, while Bala Hassan operates from Sokoto.
Similarly, Abba also deployed four commissioners of Police, namely Sam Okuala, E. J Ibine, Adamu Mohammed and Valentine Ntomchukwu to Anambra, Ekiti, Enugu and Osun states, respectively.
Besides, a commissioner of police has been deployed to command each of the Senatorial Zones of Gombe, Bauchi, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Benue, Edo, Plateau and Sokoto.
Because of the volatility of Rivers State, the four special units of the Nigeria Police Force have been deployed to address security concerns there.
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Jega Sues for Peace in Benue
ATTAHIRU Jega, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, wants all political parties participating in the Saturday, April 11, governorship election to play by the rule and give peace a chance.
Addressing a stakeholders’ forum for free, fair, peaceful and credible elections in Makurdi, Benue State capital, on Thursday, April 9, Jega said the state ranked highest in violence at the last elections and called for restraint on the part of stakeholders in the state.
According to the INEC boss, the level of disruption of electoral process witnessed in the state was incomparable to any other seen in the election. “We witnessed the highest incidences of violence and burning of INEC offices in Benue State at the last elections. That is why I felt the need to come here in Makurdi to appeal to stakeholders for peace. Close to 200 card readers were destroyed in one local government alone but I have come with more card readers.”
Jega encouraged the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressive Congress, APC, supporters and their leaders in the state to partner the commission to enable it conduct a peaceful and credible election in the state on Saturday. Earlier, Istifanus Dafwang, resident electoral commissioner, REC in the state, expressed uncertainty about the security of lives and properties in the coming elections, saying, “We don’t know what will happen this Saturday.” He claimed that armed thugs were everywhere and that their number would far outweigh security personnel deployed for the polls, noting that the situation would be worst in the North-east senatorial district of the state where Governor Gabriel Suswam and Barnabas Gemade, former national chairman of the PDP and serving senator, hail from.
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Returning Officers in Calabar Threaten Boycott of Saturday Elections
LECTURERS at the University of Calabar, UNICAL, who served as returning officers in the March 28, elections, on Thursday, April 9, stormed the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, office in Calabar, to protest non-payment of their allowances. They threatened to boycott the gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly election if their demands were not met.
One of the protesters told reporters that they embarked on the action to protest the ill-treatment meted to them by the commission. He said what they received in previous elections was higher than what the commission offered them this year, though he declined to disclose the figure. He charged: “They (INEC) slashed our honorarium without explanations and could not even pay what they claim they were going to pay us.”
But Sylvester Ezeani, resident electoral commissioner, REC, condemned the protest, describing the action as ‘unfortunate.’ He said such action was expected of students and not academic staff, adding that efforts would be made to pay them on Friday, April 10.
— Apr. 20, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT
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Tags: Adamu Mohammed Aderele Shinaba All Progressives Congress APC Asaba Attahiru Jega Baba Adisa Bolanta Bala Hassan Chris Okewulonu E. J Ibine Emeka Ihedioha Campaign Organisation Emmanuel Ojukwu Emmanuel Uduaghan flyover Funkekeme Solomon Goodluck Jonathan House of Representatives Ikemefuna Okoye Independent National Electoral Commission INEC Joseph Mbu Jubril Adeniji Lawal Tanko Messrs CCC Construction Company Nigeria Limited Muhammed Abubakar Musa Abdulsalam Daura NAMA National Airspace Management Authority New Jersey Barrier Olufemi Adenaike Olusegun Obasanjo Patrick Dokumor PDP Peoples Democratic Police Force Rochas Okorocha Sam Okuala Sylvester Ezeani Tambari Muhammed Tunde Ogunsakin Usman Gwary Utor bridge Valentine Ntomchukwu Yerima Irimiya
