Category: News

The Department of State Services has refuted claims in the media that her men arrested one of the leaders of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests in Abuja, Adaramoye Michael, Pacesetter reports.

According to the report, Adaramoye Michael was arrested in his Apo residence by 2am after being tortured before his family members.

But in a terse statement by the secret police on their X handle, they denied the report, confirming that they only arrested a tailor in Kano for making and distributing Russian flags to protesters.

The statement reads:

“The DSS can confirm that Adaramoye Michael (aka Michael Lenin) is not in its custody. Meanwhile, the Service has apprehended some tailors in Kano State responsible for making Russian flags being distributed in the area. Some of their sponsors have also been picked. Investigation is ongoing”.

More details later…

…As New Artisan bridges get October delivery date

…Minister reads the riot act to contractors

The Federal Government has commended the governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, for his administration’s strategic efforts and partnership with the President Bola Tinubu Administration to ramp up infrastructural development in the South East region.

The government also reaffirmed its commitment to completing the remaining sections of the Enugu-Onitsha and Enugu-Port Harcourts expressways as well as the dualisation of the Enugu-Abakaliki road, being undertaken by the Governor Mbah Administration, describing them as strategic to Ndigbo and Nigeria.

The commendation and commitment were given by the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, during the inspection tour of some key road projects of the Federal Government with Dr. Peter Mbah in Enugu, Sunday evening.

Briefing newsmen at the end of the inspection, Umahi said, “The Enugu-Onitsha, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Enugu to Abakaliki roads are three very key projects that are dear to the people of South East. And the president has given adequate attention and the governor of Enugu State has also complemented the efforts of the president in the development of these sections.

“We have inspected the flyover at Emene NNPC Depot attracted from Mr. President by the governor. That job is ongoing and I can say that it is about 40 per cent done.

“I am happy that we are doing that flyover because the governor, on his own, undertook to do the daulisation of the Enugu-Abakaliki road and work is ongoing. So, it is a challenge to the FG, hence you see the people doing the flyover component of that daulisation, day and night.”

The Minister frowned at the prolonged blockade of parts of the Enugu-Onitsha expressway from Abakpa Junction, Enugu by the contractor, thus causing road users untold hardship.

“We saw that in Abakpa sections, over 3km is being blocked by RCC, which is the sub-contractor of MTN. So, we have agreed and I have called the contractor, that by Tuesday, if they don’t start work, we are going to remove the barricade. The suffering is just too much.

“We also agreed on the flyover components of Enugu-Onitsha that the governor has already concluded with the subcontractor working for MTN. We got involved for him to go ahead and fund it,” he stated.

Umahi equally commended Governor Mbah for undertaking the dualisation of the Abakpa Nike-Ugwogo-Opi Nsukka road as well the completion of part of the Ninth Mile-Opi road.

“I also want to thank the governor very highly, as he is also willing to do that 3km up to Opi junction on the Enugu – Makurdi road. He is willing to put the wearing course and I will allow him to do that if by Tuesday, RCC does not remoblise to site, because people are really suffering everyday,” he said.

Umahi and Governor Mbah also inspected the ongoing construction of a twin-bridge at New Artisan, at the Enugu end of the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway where the Minister gave the contractors till October 2024 to complete the project.

“I have been here more than 10 times since the collapse of the bridge. The governor went to see Mr. President and Mr President directed immediately for this work to be done. This work is being done by CCECC. I must commend them very highly for the quality of work and speed. This is the speed that Enugu Governor desires and he is also very happy with this.

“I want to thank the governor that the moment we put a temporary bypass as he demanded of the president, he had to rebuild all the destroyed roads and I sympathise with him,” he said.

He said that owing to paucity of funds, the FG would allow the Enugu State Government to complete the remaining part of the 61km road starting from Naira Triangle based on FG’s Highway Development Management Initiative, HDMI, which is a PPP arrangement, unless the contractors, DGC Nigeria, were willing to continuously finish the project within the next one year and get paid on milestones basis.

Umahi commended Governor Mbah for placing governance above party differences, stressing that “after elections, we should stop deceiving the people about party and commit to the campaign promises instead.”

Speaking, Governor Mbah commended the FG’s commitment to addressing the challenge of road infrastructure in the region.

“We know that we are a common stock in the South East. But we also understand the importance of building a common market, and that common market cannot happen if we do not have good roads.

“So, we cannot thank Mr. President and also the Minister enough for the tireless efforts and commitment they have shown in having our roads all paved,” Mbah said.

…Russia disown flag-holders

The Nigerian government will not tolerate calls for coups and the hoisting of foreign flags by some protesters, defence chief Christopher Musa said after a meeting between security chiefs and President Bola Tinubu on Monday.

President Bola Tinubu is currently presiding over a security council meeting as protests continue nationwide, defying his call over the weekend to suspend further actions and engage in dialogue.

The demonstrations have escalated into looting and destruction in some areas including Kaduna State.
In his speech on Sunday, President Tinubu underscored the government’s unwavering commitment to maintaining public order and safeguarding the lives and property of all citizens. He issued a stern warning that threats and ethnic bigotry will not be tolerated. Acknowledging the turmoil and loss of lives resulting from the violent protests, he called for an end to the protest.

Attendees of the meeting holding in the president’s office include the service chiefs, Chief of Defense Staff, the Inspector General of Police, and other key security officials.

Arise News

Authorities in Kano have apprehended a man promoting the Russian flag in Kano, North West Nigeria.

The recent nationwide hunger protests have led to significant disruptions in fuel supply, causing long queues at filling stations across many states in Nigeria. Oil marketers have explained that the cessation of petroleum product supplies is a precautionary measure to protect their assets during the ongoing unrest.

Following widespread clamour against hunger and hardship in the country, the Federal Government said it has released ₦570bn to the 36 states to expand livelihood support to their citizens.

Revealing this in his presidential broadcast, Bola Tinubu also disclosed plans to distribute one million CNG conversion kits, while noting that ₦9.1tn was accumulated as total fiscal revenue to the Federal Government’s coffers during the first half of 2024, marking a significant increase from what was earned by the previous administration.

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, and the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, have commended the South East zone for heeding the call not to join in the August nationwide protests.

Both leaders spoke on Sunday during an inspection tour of various road projects by the Federal Government and the Enugu State Government on the Enugu-Onitsha, Enugu-Abakaliki, and Enugu-Port Harcourt expressways.

Speaking to newsmen, Mbah and Umahi said the people of the region had by shunning the protests in the South East and beyond prevented needless loss of Igbo lives, businesses, and property, while also showing good faith to the President Bola Tinubu administration.

“I also want to take the opportunity to commend our people greatly for heeding our call to shun the protests and go about their business. We commend them highly because they understand the value of hard-work.

“Sometimes, you may not be able to appreciate the effect of government policies immediately, but I tell you that some of these policies are well-intentioned. With time, if we can just exercise a little more patience with the Federal Government, we are going to begin to see the values of these reforms.

“We want to continue to call on our people to go about their business and know that if they destroy our assets, we are still going to use the wealth of our common patrimony to fix those assets. So, we must remain focused and continue to do our work,” Mbah stated.

In the same vein, the Minister of Works said the people of South East and the Igbo community all over Nigeria had made a loud statement by not protesting.

“We are not going to protest. We want proper integration in the affairs of this country. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Mr President, started it by giving an Igbo man the Minister of Works, appointing an Igbo Man as a service chief, among others.

“We have been excluded from governance and development in the past. But now, you can see infrastructural developments in South-East. So, why should we protest against a man who has given to us what was never given to us before?

“I thank Governor Mbah very much for showing leadership not only in development strides, but also when it mattered most. I appreciate other governors and other states that did not protest,” he concluded.

Ebonyi State Government has spent 3.8 billion Naira in the procurement of farm inputs for genuine farmers in the 2024 farming season .

Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru disclosed this while speaking at the 2024 Ikwo Noyo New yam festival ( Nnefi oha)

The Governor encouraged the youths to leverage the opportunity to empower themselves economically.

“We must return to the era of dignity in labour and rethink agriculture as our mainstays. We must jettison the get-rich-quick syndrome and moral drift and reliance on white-collar jobs”.

“We have released over 3.8 billion Naira for empowerment of our people. Ensure you judiciously use your own inline with the purpose it is meant”, the Governor said

The Governor commended the Ikwo Nnoyo people for believing in his political leadership capacity evidenced in his electoral victory in the area.

“I am very happy that despite the campaign of calumny smeared against me during the last election especially in the wake of the skirmishes between both sister clans, you still went ahead and voted me overwhelmingly.

“Your votes assisted me in becoming the Governor today. During the election, you stood by us and insisted on equity. I cannot thank you enough. We will continue to develop this state together with your support.

“Today’s event reignites the flames of cultural heritage. And as government, we will support it”.

He informed the people of Ikwo that the rural infrastructural overhaul has begun as seen in the award of some nternal roads in the clan

“We have awarded the contract for the construction of the 13kilometer Odumowo Ikwo internal roads as part of our infrastructural interventions drive in rural communities”.

The Governor used the occasion to admonish Traditional Rulers to remain Non- partisan and carry everybody along to promote peace and unity in their respective domain.

Earlier, the former governor of the state, Chief Martin Elechi , Speaker, Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Ije Moses Odunwa, and chairman of the Council Sunday Basil Nwankwo , described Governor Nwifuru as an empowerment grandmaster, even as they expressed gratitude for the governor’s support to the political and socioeconomic development of Ikwo Nnoyo Clan.

Dr. Monday Uzor
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor

…To dualise Enugu-Opi-Nsukka Road, construct bridges, Abakpa junction flyover, others

…Approves funds for construction of 133 more smart schools

The Enugu State Government has approved the sum of N183bn for the construction of 141 roads across Enugu metropolis and 20 rural roads across the three senatorial zones of the state.

The government has also approved the award of 133 more smart schools in addition to the ongoing 127 smart schools to bring them to 260 or one smart school per political ward.

The approvals were disclosed at the end of the State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Peter Mbah at the Government House, Enugu, at the weekend.

Briefing newsmen at the end of the Exco meeting, the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said the projects were in furtherance of Governor Peter Mbah’s determination to grow the state’s economy from $4.4bn to $30bn, achieve a zero per cent poverty headcount index as well as position Enugu State as the premier destination for business, investment, tourism, and for living in four to eight years.

“Recall that before now, the state’s total budget hovered around N100bn and N120bn with capital expenditure of about N30bn or capital expenditure to budget ratio of about 25 to 35 per cent.

“However, in keeping with Governor Mbah’s promise to de-risk investments, boost production, and run a lean and prudent government, the governor proposed an unprecedented N521.5bn 2024 budget with a capital expenditure totaling over N400bn, which is an equivalent of capital expenditure to budget ratio of about 80 per cent and recurrent expenditure ratio of about 20 per cent.

“Accordingly, the theme that we took away from Exco today is doubling down. The government is doubling down on infrastructure. If you recall, we started with 71 urban roads and 10 rural roads last year. Now, the governor and the Executive Council have also approved 141 urban roads and 20 rural roads.

“It is noteworthy that although the rural roads are 20 in number, compared to 141 in Enugu metropolis, they are actually more, nearly three times those approved for Enugu urban in terms of kilometres.

“This is part of the strategies to improve the quality of life in the rural communities and importantly to de-risk investments in agriculture. Outside security, which we are effectively dealing with, the big elephant in the room is to scale up the production and movement of produce from farmlands to the market. We also understand the need for processing, hence the heavy investments in road infrastructure,” Prof. Onyia stated.

Giving a breakdown of the roads, the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Gerald Otiji, said the roads covered in this phase included the dualisation of the 41.3km Abakpa Nike-Opi-Nsukka Road with bridges, dualisation of Penocks Junction – Nike Lake Road to T-Junction Flyover, Nomeh-Mburubu-Nara Road with two bridges, Umabi-Ehuhe Achi with a spur to Agbudu-Ihe-Owelli-Ogugu by Enugu-Port Harcourt old road, Nomeh-Oduma Road, Mburubu-Nkereffi Road, and Amodu-Akpugo Road.

Also approved were Iheaka-Ibagwa Road, Ibagwa-Itchi-Unadu-Alor Agu-Ibeje Road, Amagunze-Ihuokpara-Ugbawka Road with a bridge, Obeleagu Umana (Nkwo Ezeagu)-Omughu Umana-Aguobu-Umumba Road, Nara-Nkerefi Road with a bridge, Amagunze-Akpawfu Raod, Amagu-Attakwu-Akegbe Ugwu-Akpasha Road, Obinagu Udi-Isu Awa Road, and Nsukka-Ibagwa-Ogurute-Ette Road.

Others included Obuofia-Obeagu-Akegbe Ugwu Road, Obinofia-Ndiagu-Ugwuoba Road by Enugu-Onitsha expressway, Orie Engine-Aguobu-Umumba-Ebenebe Road to Anambra State border, Ituku Roads, Ozalla Roads, among others.

Otiji further explained that in selecting the 141 roads for construction and reconstruction, the government was deliberate in ensuring that all the zones, namely, Emene, Thinkers Corner, Abakpa, Trans Ekulu/New GRA/Old GRA, Awkunanaw (Achara Layout/Uwani/Gariki), Independence Layout, Ogui/Asata, and Coal Camp were covered.

Also briefing Government House correspondents, the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Barr. Lloyd Ekweremadu and the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Aka Eze Aka, said the Executive Council was also briefed on the ongoing hi-tech security surveillance camera installations around the state and the planned turnaround and upgrade of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium.

Meanwhile, pursuant to its agriculture and agro-industrialisation drive, the Mbah administration said it had built nearly 200,000 hectares in its Land Bank for agricultural purposes across its Produce Cities in the 17 LGAs of the state, which would now be boosted by the construction of the rural roads.

It has so far leased 15,000 hectares of land at Ikem Nkwo to Ugwu Anama Farms Enugu SPV Limited for the cultivation of crops; 2,000 hectares at Eha-Amufu to Atlantico Farms and Agro Concepts Limited for crops production and another 100 hectares for the establishment of an ultra-modern feed mill and poultry farm; 20,000 hectares to Sujimoto Group for cultivation of rice and development of agro-industrial processing park at Odenigbo, Eha-Amufu; and 7,221 hectares to Fungtai Company Limited for planting of economic trees, crop farming and establishment of agro-allied industrial parks at Ugwujoro, Nimbo, Uzo-Uwani LGA.

The administration has also concluded arrangements for the takeover of the management and development of the long moribund Songhai Farms Heneke in Ezeagu LGA by Britednuel Agro Limited and partners.

In 2023, the state government cultivated 1,000 hectares in Aninri, Nkanu East, and Uzo-Uwani LGAs to support the cassava to bioethanol value chain development initiative of the Federal Government, while the Biotechnology Industrial Park led by Federal Government/Enugu State and Biosource Technologies Ltd, a private partner, is under construction at Egede/Affa in Udi LGA.

Abia State Governor Dr. Alex Otti, OFR has thanked Abians for heeding to his plea not to join the hardship protests going on in some parts of the country which has resulted to the loss of lives and destruction of properties.

Governor Otti expressed his gratitude to Abians on Saturday, 3rd August while observing the Sabbath worship at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, No 1 School Road, in Aba South Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Recall that Governor Otti had on two occasions within the week appealed to Abians not to join the protest. First was when he received Mr. Peter Obi, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 Presidential Election where they spoke to the Press after a private breakfast meeting. The second was through a State broadcast he made a day before the protest. On both occasions, he acknowledged the people’s right to peaceful protest to air their grievances and at the same time expressed worry that the protest may be hijacked by hoodlums and enemies of the progress the State is making under his administration.

Addressing the congregation Governor Otti said, “I want to use this opportunity to thank you and Abia people who listened to my plea not to come out, pour into the roads and disrupt services and activities and probably visit mayhem on the people.

“The reason is not because things are not difficult, far from it. I recognize how difficult things are today, but at the same time, there is a saying that two wrongs cannot make a right. I also do know that a lot of our people live by the day, some are traders, some are Keke riders, some are barbers, and some are taxi drivers. These people put food on the table on the bases of what they earn that particular day”.

Governor Otti noted that disrupting the activities of those whose delay bread depends on going out daily in the name of protest will end up worsening the problem the protesters are trying to solve.

“My Plea was that we can always seat down to discuss. And, I want to thank Abia people for heeding that call. It does not mean that we don’t have rights to protest but there are different ways of protesting. And, I think that the authorities had even listened to you and heard what you did not say. You know, it is easy to hear what you are saying but I can assure you that our Government has heard what you did not say”, Governor Otti Stated.

The Governor also announced to the delight of the already excited congregants that School Road will soon be fixed.

“As I was coming, I saw that this road (School Road) is in a very bad condition. Very soon, the road will be fixed”, Governor Otti declared.

He encourage the church members to always count their blessings and focus more on the positive things God has done for them.

Governor Otti thanked the Church for their support since 2015 that he stepped out to contest election and for the support they are giving his administration. He urged them to continue to remember him and the Government in their prayers daily.

In a Sermon titled “Living out the Christian Slogan”, the Resident Pastor, Pastor Ifeanyichukwu Nwaoguikpe said that God brought everyone to this earth for a particular purpose or mission. He emphasized that Christians are called to preach the gospel of everlasting life and the second coming of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Bible book of Mat. 28, warning the World against the impending doom and encouraging people to extend helping hands to those in need, saying that those in need are our neigbours while using the story of the Good Samaritan as recorded in the Bible to illustrate the sermon.

The officiating ministers of the Church prayed for the Governor, his entourage and the State.

Governor Otti was joined in the worship service by the Lawmaker representing Aba Central State Constituency in the Abia State House of Assembly, Hon. Ucheonye Stephen, Special Assistant to the Governor on Religious Affairs – Apostle K.C Wiper, the Mayor of Aba South – Hon. Uche Nwogu, the Abia State Acting Chairman of the Labour Party, Sir Emmanuel Nwaeze Otti and others.

Ctz. Ukoha Njoku Ukoha
Chief Press Secretary to the Executive Governor of Abia State.

The Kano State Government has relaxed the curfew imposed on the state following the violence that trailed the #EndBadGovernance protests.