NAFDAC to give North-Central, Abuja, laboratories

By Ijendu Iheaka

January 26, 2017

The National Agency For Food Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said it is planning to give the North-Central geopolitical zone and Abuja a laboratory.

NAFDAC’s Acting Director-General, Mrs Yetunde Oni, made the disclosure in an interview with our reporter on the sideline of the  ongoing MSME clinic in Aba on Friday.

Oni, however, ruled out the possibility of giving Aba a laboratory to cater for its volume of work.

According to him, NAFDAC’s initial plan is to give the six geopolitical zones a laboratory each but regretted that of all the six only the North-Central is yet to get a laboratory.

“At the onset what we proposed is to have a laboratory in each of the six geopolitical zones. That is the template for now. There is the presence of an area laboratory in Agulu that can serve the entire South-East.

“We have one in Kaduna for the North-West, Maiduguri for the North-East,  Port Harcourt to serve the South-South, and for South-West where the bulk of our activities are, we have three there.

“Now, we are seeking to put one laboratory in Abuja and one in Benue because North-Central is the only geopolitical zone that does not have laboratory but we will get there,” she said.

Oni told our reporter that she planned also to engage the Abia Government before leaving the state to give NAFDAC a befitting office accommodation in Aba to increase the productivity of its staff.

She said the current NAFDAC office in Aba was far from helping creative thinking needed to do the job.

On the MSME clinic, Oni said the agency was in Aba to support the government on the issue of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and to teach the entrepreneurs to do things right.

She said NAFDAC would ensure that at the end of the Aba clinic relevant stakeholder would not have issues, especially with those ones that had to do with NAFDAC when it comes to registration of their products.

“What they are promoting here is good for right attitude to work, knack for details and for the small players of today who will be the big players of tomorrow.”

VP calls on government agencies to assist local manufacturers grow

By Ijendu Iheaka

January 25, 2017

The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has called on  government agencies established to work with indigenous entrepreneurs to assist them grow.

Osinbajo made the call on Thursday in Aba, during the opening of the National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) clinic.

He said that a tour of production zones across Nigeria showed that local producers were faced with the challenge of accessing finance and getting help from government agencies established to assist them grow.

He said that the desire of government to address the challenges faced by local producers and the agencies assigned to guide and put them through resulted in the idea of the MSME clinic.

He noted that Aba manufacturers had the Nigerian attribute of creative ingenuity and innovativeness, adding that they had over the years produced good quality products like the Chinese.

Osinbajo pointed out that if Nigeria must diversify, government must pay attention and support local entrepreneurs.

He promised that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari  would encourage local manufacturers compete internationally.

Earlier in his welcome address, Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia thanked the Vice President for coming to Aba to open the MSME clinic.

“I told them (Aba manufacturers) that you came here today in realisation of one of your passions which is to ensure Nigeria stands on its feet based on what we can produce with our hands.

“The choice of Aba as the first place this national clinic is holding is apt; we merit it for the reason that there is nothing you ask an Aba man to produce for you that you get no for an answer.

“This is my way of underscoring the spirit of resilience of the average Aba person.

“The energy with which Aba people produce these products is infectious and electrifying”, the governor said.

Ikpeazu urged agencies established to assist local producers produce goods fit for consumption all over the world to give them a helping hand to make the dream of Nigerian products acceptable world wide a reality.

He also urged the agencies to improve their style of doing business to enable producers see them as partners, not barricades and policemen to ther businesses.

The governor promised to allocate land to any of such agencies wishing to set up their offices in Aba to enable them assist micro, small and medium scale industries.

Ikpeazu later escorted Osinbajo to the various stands mounted by Aba manufacturers to inspect different products on display and interact with them. 

Court dissolves 33-year-old marriage over denial of conjugal rights, irrational behaviour

By Ijendu Iheaka

January 23, 2017

An Aba-na-Ohazu Customary Court, near Aba, on Tuesday dissolved a 33 –year-old marriage between Eugene Okoli and his wife, Harrieth, on grounds of denial of conjugal rights and irrational behaviour.

The dissolution of the marriage, contracted in 1983, followed a suit filed by Okoli claiming that his wife had been behaving irrationally and had denied him sex for 8 years running.

“My wife is cantankerous and nagging, without justifiable cause. She has for over 8 years now denied me my conjugal rights.

“She now reacts to me in a despicable manner, which I think is intolerable. And all the efforts I have made to reconcile with her have failed because of her intransigence.

“From her ways of doing things now, it is clear that there is no more love existing between us,” he submitted.

He, therefore, prayed the court to dissolve the marriage having seen evidences that it had broken down irretrievably.

In her defence, she alleged that her husband beats her at will, for which she had reported him to the Human Rights Commission at their zonal office which serves Abia in Enugu, Enugu State.

She stressed that she entrusted her husband with the gains of her trading, which gave the family three shops at Cemetery Market and 4 plots of land in Aba and had benefitted much from her efforts.

She said that her husband had sold out two plots of the land with only two remaining now, while occupying the four rooms bungalow built in one of them at Alaoji, Ugwunagbor LGA, Aba.

Harrieth, therefore, rejected the idea of dissolution of the marriage but opted for separation between her and her husband.

Magistrate Diamond Olewengwa, having heard the parties, noted that it was obvious that the parties were no longer compatible as love, which is a cardinal point of marriage, was now extinct.

“ Indeed, I am of the view that rather than continue to live in a union that may lead to either party losing his or her life, it is better to severe them for both to remain alive,” he ruled.

The magistrate, therefore, declared the marriage dissolved and asked Harrieth to return her N1, 100 bride price, hence both are now free to remarry anybody of their choice.

Olewengwa granted Harrieth continued ownership of two out of three shops she claimed and gave Eugene ownership of the remaining properties the family owned.

Ikpeazu flags off N4. 1 billion Osisioma Interchange

By Ijendu Iheaka

January 19, 2017

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, on Friday in Aba said that the Osisioma interchange would improve access to Aba markets for the small and medium scale industries in Abia and other traders from surrounding states.

Ikpeazu stated this while flagging-off the construction of the N4.1 billion interchange located at the Osisioma junction in Aba.

“The Osisioma interchange is a project we conceptualized out of the need to reduce traffic at this location because we are running on pillars which revolve around trade and commerce and the development of small and medium scale enterprises.

“So we try to leverage what we have to help our shoemakers, our garment makers and our traders, we decided to focus on road infrastructure because if you are unable to move personnel and goods from one location to the other with speed, then you are just paying lip service to whatever you want to do in terms of trade and commerce and development of small and medium scale enterprise.

“We want to reduce the time it takes for somebody from Enugu to access Port Harcourt and the hinterlands within Aba”, he said.

The governor promised to ensure standard materials were used to do standard work on the project and swore to change the contractor if he failed to do a standard job on the interchange.

He assured that nothing would stop the project unless it was completed adding that his determination to complete the project led to government’s provision of Advance Project Guarantee with fund in the bank for the contractor.

He also told Abians that having grown the state’s Internally Generated Revenue from N600 million to N1 billion, they would see more of such development projects across the three senatorial districts of Abia.

The Commissioner for Works, Mr Eziuche Ubani said this was the first interchange that was being done by the government noting that two more at Waterside and Alaoji were yet to begun.

“The idea is to make traffic seamless in and out of Aba. This place (Osisioma junction) does not look like the entrance into Aba.

“There are people who come from Bayelsa and Port Harcourt to buy goods. they get stuck here and because the people have started using here as a market, we want to stop all that so the impact of the project is more important to me than the time of completing the project.

“We have a first cost outlay of N4.1 billion. That will include taxes, VAT, administrative cost, security cost and all the levies inside the N4.1 billion”, he said.

The Zonal Manager for China Zhonghao Nigeria ltd, the construction company handling the project, Mr Zhuang Wei told our reporter that the work would be completed in about 2 years time

Wei said that his company would guarantee a lifespan of thirty years and more for the bridge stressing that if they could not handle the project satisfactorily they had no business remaining in Nigeria.

He said the road would be made passable for road users around the place adding that the construction would not disturb traffic on the Enugu – Port Harcourt Expressway.

The Chairman, Abia Traditional Rulers Council, Eze Eberechi Dick said that the project was the first of its kind in Abia and thanked God for making it happen in their time.

He thanked Ikpeazu on behalf of Abians and the royal fathers for making the project a reality ad prayed that he would complete the work. 

Court dissolves 22-yr-old marriage over denial of marital rights

By Ijendu Iheaka

January 18, 2017

A customary court sitting at Aba-na-Ohazu, near Aba, has dissolved the 22 –year-old marriage between Maduka Isaiah and his wife Nwaburu on  grounds of denial of conjugal rights and irresponsible behaviour.

The dissolution of the marriage contracted in 1994, followed a suit filed by Maduka claiming that his wife had become another woman to him and no longer gives him his matrimonial rights.

“She comes into the house when she likes and goes off when she feels. She has no respect for me any longer and has adopted keeping malice against me as a way of life.

“She now treats me in a despicable manner hence her attitude shows that there is no more love in her heart for me.

“In spite repeated complaints I have made to her people, she has continued in her repulsive ways, thereby prompting me to take this step to sever the marriage relationship existing between us”, he said.

Maduka, therefore, prayed the court to dissolve the marriage, give him custody of their two female children and to award him other consequential orders as the court may deem fit.

The respondent was not in court and she was not represented by anybody.

Ruling, Magistrate Diamond Olewengwa, said that the testimony of Josiah Onuoha, a witness to the marriage, who had made several efforts to settle the couple but had failed, showed the marriage could no longer stand.

“Love which is the key ingredient of a valid marriage, having been seen to be extinct, leaves no one in doubt that the marriage had broken down irretrievably.

“Consequently, it is hereby ordered as follows: that the marriage existing between Nwaburu James Isaiah and James Maduka Isaiah contracted in 1994 stand hereby dissolved.

“The respondent is hereby ordered to vacate the home abode of the petitioner, return the N30 bride price on her head and revert to her maiden or other name of her choice”, he ordered.

The court said they were free to remarry to any other person of their choice, while urging them to keep the peace and not to threaten each other’s lives.

Court dissolves 15-yr-old marriage over husband’s desertion

By Ijendu Iheaka

January 17, 2017

An Aba-na-Ohazu Customary Court in Aba, Abia has dissolved the 15 year-old marriage between Blessing and her husband Christian Amechi, following the man’s desertion from home.

Blessing, the petitioner, told the court that her husband, Amechi, abandoned her and their only child, Ifeoma, since December 2009 to an unknown destination.

She also alleged that Amechi, having absconded from home 8 years ago, failed to provide for her and their only child.

She said that every effort she made to locate him failed, saying that the development had left to bear ‘’his name without him caring for her and her daughter.’’

Blessing, therefore, prayed the court to dissolve the marriage and grant her continued custody of the only child of the marriage.

Neither Amechi nor his representative appeared in court throughout proceedings in the matter.

The President of the court, Mr Diamond Olewengwa, said that having heard the testimony of the petitioner, which he said was not controverter, there was evidence that the marriage had broken down irretrievably.

“As the respondent has been found to have deserted the petitioner, it is clear that the marriage has broken down irretrievably as a result of love being extinct as a result of irreconcilable differences.

“The marriage is hereby dissolved.

”The petitioner should return the N30,000 to the respondent paid as her bride price through their traditional ruler, the Eze of Amavo Umuokorocha in Osisioma Ngwa Local Government,” he said.

The court also granted Blessing the continued custody of the only child of the marriage.

Abia APC local government election candidate sends SOS to IGP

By Ijendu Iheaka

January 11, 2017

 Dr Christian Okoli, the All Progressives Congress Local government Chairmanship candidate for Aba South, has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police to save his life from threats from PDP members in Abia state.

The call was contained in letter dated 11 January, 2017 and signed on behalf of Okoli by his lawyer, Mr Chinedu Okechukwu of Amity Chambers, Owerri, Imo State.

In the petition, Okoli said his life had come under threats by some PDP members in Aba South.

He said that since they learnt he was preparing to challenge the outcome of the local government election of December 21, 2016 at the Local Government Election Tribunal, he had been getting death threats.

Okoli, who also spoke to newsmen from a hideout, handed copies of the petition to the media on Wednesday in Aba.

“My life as APC member in Aba South is in danger, we are calling on Mr President and the Inspector-General of Police and the National Chairman of APC to come and save us.

“Our lives are under serious threat. We are no longer sleeping in our houses. My crime is that I left PDP and joined APC and contested the election under APC and I won the election.

“But my opponent, Emmanuel Emeruwa was declared winner but the Chairman of Abia State Electoral Commission(ABSIEC) publicly announced that he will give all parties a level playing ground

“The chairman further said that after the election whosoever is not happy should go and ventilate his grievances at the election tribunal. As a law-abiding citizen, I started compiling my petition to file at the Local Government Elections Tribunal.

“Before I know it, I started having threats from here and there. One man who calls himself major from Nnetu called me and said if I go to court, they will kill me”, he narrated.

According to Okoli, some other persons who called themselves Bullet and members of the Vanguard for an Aba South PDP chieftain also called to tell him they would kill him if he went to Tribunal.

He said he had done business in Aba for over 40 years with no record of crime adding that it is worrisome for him to receive such threats of death for believing in the rule of law.

Okoli, therefore called on the Police, the security agencies, and the APC National Chairman to help save his life and those of his followers in Aba before it becomes too late.

ABSUTH workers suspend strike to undergo verification

By Ijendu Iheaka

Jannuary 9, 2017

Workers of the Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH) on Monday suspended their three-week- old strike which they had embarked upon since Dec.19, 2016,  to demand for their seven months unpaid salaries.

Mr Samuel Kalu, the Secretary, Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Allied Institutions (SSAUTHRIAI), ABSUTH Chapter, told our reporter in Aba.

Kalu said that the decision followed the demand by the state government that ABSUTH staff should return to work for verification that would  enable it settle the workers’ seven months’ salaries.

He said that the decision was arrived at after the meeting of SSAUTHRIAI members, ABSUTH Chapter, at the weekend that was conveyed to look into the workers’ challenges and the state government’s solutions.

He said that the workers had 14-working days to attend the exercise, stressing that within the same period, no services would be rendered in the teaching hospital.

Kalu said that they expected the state government to start effecting payment of the workers’ salaries which would be confirmed through bank alerts before they could resume work fully.

“We have taken the decision based on the ongoing verification which the state government is carrying out throughout the state, for government to know that there are no ghost workers in ABSUTH.

“We also do not want the government to come up with any excuses as reasons it does not want to pay our salaries after the verification,’’ he said.

He said that the hospital’s staff had their last screening in May, 2016 and since then it had not employed any staff despite being grossly short-staffed.

Kalu called on the state government to do everything it could to ensure that ghost workers were flushed out of the hospital to avoid waste of man-hours arising from frequent staff audit.

He also advised the government to seek the services of the labour unions in government agencies where staff audit was to hold to discourage suspected ghost workers from showing up at such venues.

Kalu also urged the government to make public the final report of the exercise so as to help to checkmate incidence of ghost workers once and for all.

ABSUTH workers had embarked on strike since Dec. 19, 2016, to demand the payment of their seven months’ salary arrears and the three-year-pension arrears owed them and their pensioners.

Don calls on media houses to change business model to survive

By Ijendu Iheaka

January 3, 2017

A don, Dr David Dimoji, has urged media companies to consult with ICT experts to design means of getting paid for their publications on the internet to save them from collapsing.

Dimoji, the Dean, School of Science and Technology, Abia State Polytechnic, Aba Dimorji made the call in Aba on Tuesday in an interview with our reporter.

The computer engineering expert said that most media companies in the country were allowing readers access to all their contents without payment.

He noted that unless the media companies changed such business models, they might go bankrupt.

“I want to see a situation where access is given only to a person who pays a token to that media house to read their publications.

“We must give rights of protection to news publishing companies so that their news should be protected. That is how it is done all over the word.

“Even in the academic world, there are some journal articles you can only read the abstract but cannot access the full papers unless you pay a token. Media houses should give free access to headlines and editorials and make people pay a token for other news items.

“We cannot afford to let our media houses die. We need them seriously,” he said.

He said that media companies needed huge finances to run and pay salaries and adding that allowing every reader free access to all their contents would ruin their business unless they changed that method.

Dimorji expressed empathy with the media companies, saying they were now losing revenue because readers were allowed access to their products without payment.

He said that advertisements revenues which were the means of strengthening media incomes in the past and expressed regret that the harsh economic situations had changed the scenario.

According to him, media houses need to know how to raise money for their publications to stay afloat in the New Year.

Dimorji said that working to improve revenue in the new year was necessary if most media companies would survive to render their selfless service to the masses who needed them desperately.

Electricity company to provide customers with meters - Official

By Ijendu Iheaka

January 2, 2017

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), on Monday said it was committed to providing its customers in five states of the South-East with smart meters in 2017 to reduce complaints about high bills.

The Head, Communications Department, EEDC, Mr Emeka Eze, stated this in an interview with our reporter in Aba on Monday.

He said the company had started providing meters in Awkunanaw area of Enugu State, adding that other states will gradually be metered.

“Metering is one major thing we are taking very seriously in the New Year. Over N9 billion had been invested in metering project so far in the last one year.

“The metering gap is quite huge and we do not have the resources to provide meters for everybody at the same time.

“We have more than 700,000 unmetered customers in our network. So it is something that will take us a while. The 700,000 are the ones we have in our books.

“There are electricity consumers we do not have in our books and these are the people we are trying to bring into our books through the enumeration we are to start this January’’, he said.

Eze said part of EEDC’s plan in the new year would be to ensure that its services were improved to give customers value for their money.

He expressed hope that generating companies would improve their generation and so improve the volume of electricity distribution to customers.

He said EEDC was forced to manage the little electricity they were supplied, adding that the vandalism of oil pipes lately had contributed to the low level of supply being experienced.

Eze urged the customers of EEDC not to delay in bringing complaints about service problems to the customer service centres created newly to ease access to the managers for quick solutions.