AKSG Daily Brief

Gov. Akpabio and Wife Honored in Nnewi as Deputy Receives Excellence Award in Mkpat Enin. Governor Godswill Akpabio and wife were honored last Saturday by the people of Nnewi in Anambra State for their selfless service to humanity and contribution towards the advancement and a better society. At the event which had Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State in Attendance, Chief Akpabio was conferred with the Chieftaincy title of Omelu Ora meaning the People’s Chief while his wife Ekaette, Ada Ejeje Mba, meaning a good woman ambassador of Nnewi. Receiving the award from the Igwe of Nnewi Dr Kenneth Orizuo, Gov. Akpabio described Nnewi as the spiritual headquarter of the people, which has produced prominent people who have contributed immensely to the development of Nigeria. He gave kudos to the people for their spirit of love by embracing other Nigerians stressing that the honor conferred on him and his wife will go a long way in uniting the people of the South-East and South-South geo-political zones as well as enhancing socio economic integration in the area. Governor Akpabio promised that a cordial relationship between Akwa Ibom and Anambra State will never cease. He wished the Igwe of Nnewi long life and good health. And from Mkpat Enin Local Government came a similar report that all eyes were on the Deputy Governor Lady Valarie Ebe during the week as she mounted the podium to be conferred with an excellence award for community development, and philanthropy by the Ikot Adeghe Youth Association. Addressing the people, Lady Ebe called on the youths to always show respect to constituted authority as directed by God. Lady Ebe appealed for continued loyalty to the administration of Governor Akpabio’s administration.

Gov. Akpabio Warns Against Encroachment on Govt. Lands. Akwa Ibom State Governor, His Escellency Sir (Dr.) Godswill Akpabio (CON), has warned any community tampering with government land to be prepared for adequate sanction just as government would take responsibility of encroaching on communal land. Speaking during a meeting of stakeholders in Physical Development organized by Uyo Capital City Development Authority (UCCDA), in Uyo last weekend, Akpabio said that the state government had never taken over any land from her indigenes without paying compensation for such lands. Akpabio, who was represented by the state Commissioner for Lands, Obong Eno Akpan, said that Uyo was fast becoming a cosmopolitan city and as such land business should be done with pride and dignity for the sake of the coming generations. He said that UCCDA was a parastatal of the Ministry of Lands, thus, whatever policy and decisions it took had the backing of the government, adding that village heads who allowed their natives to take over government lands or even sell them will have their titles taken away from them. “Village heads are part of government and are paid by the government. The village heads who allow their people to take over government lands or sell them without stopping them will have their titles taken from them” he said. In his address, Chairman of UCCDA and former speaker, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Mr. Ignatius Edet, said the widespread of illegal development and distortion of the master plan of Uyo Capital City was due to the fact that UCCDA had been without a duly constituted board for a period of seven years. Edet said that in the last 11 months of the present board of UCCDA, much has been achieved which include the clearing of makeshift structures and shanties along major streets in the city, monitoring the recovered areas to avoid further illegal activities, routine marking of illegal structures, review of procedure of building plan approval to fast track the process, and removal of illegal parks to their designated places in partnership with the state Ministry of Transport. He said in spite of UCCDA’s efforts to keep to the master plan of Uyo Capital City, it still faced some challenges such as poor documentation in processing of building plans, abuse of government personnel and equipment by illegal developers and other related problems.

Akwa Ibom Presses For More Collaboration Between The South-South And The South-East For Better Political Bargaining. Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State and his Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Governor Godswill Akpabio, have described as a prime necessity the unity of South-south and South-East geo-political zones. They spoke at the Traditional Ruler of Nnewi, Igwe Kenneth Orizou’s thanksgiving to God on his reign in the past 50 years. Gov. Akpabio after receiving the chieftaincy title of Omelu Ora Nnewi along with his wife Ekaette who was given the title of Ada Ejeje Mba of Nnewi said it was imperative for the South-South and South-East to unite for better political bargaining in the country. He said that was the reason the 2 zones have formed Governor’s forum to stand as a formidable force. He said his personal relationship with the Igbo’s remains strong and will continue from strength to strength. Governor Akpabio said he felt honored by the chieftaincy title given to him by the Igwe of Nnewi adding that the memory of Igwe Orizou was known to many. Governor Obi said the 2 zones have made conscious efforts to come together for a better deal in Nigeria.

Gov’s Wife Identifies with Akwa Ibom Gospel Singers for Transforming Races in Songs. The wife of the state Governor, Mrs. Ekaette Unoma Akpabio, has praised a gospel singer from Akwa Ibom, Princess Pat Akpabio, for inspiring and restoring hope to people of various races across the world through her songs. Mrs. Akpabio spoke at the 2013 concert and album launch by Princess Pat Akpabio at the New Birth Bible Church Uyo. Mrs. Akpabio, who represented the State Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, said that apart from inspiring humanity, Princess Pat Akpabio has been a positive influence on the younger generation. She commended her husband Barr. Ibanga Akpabio for supporting the international song star to exhibit her “God given” talent, she called on the children to emulate her. Mrs. Akpabio maintained that it was obvious since Pat Akpabio was not ashamed to openly proclaim Jesus as her Lord and Savior in her songs, Jesus will not deny her before His Father in Heaven. Presenting the new album titled “You Can”, Bishop Josephine Egar of the New Birth Bible Church extoled the creative ingenuity of Princess Pat Akpabio, which saw her presenting new songs in quick succession. She described the new album as a master piece for all who love soul lifting gospel Music used with the trappings of modern day orchestra. The Chairman of the occasion and state commissioner for Finance Mr. Bassey Albert Akpan said he was thrilled by the quality of her presentation, describing the concert as of international standard. He commended members of the Princess Pat Akpabio Music Ministry for organizing the high profile soul lifting concert, and described the new album as spiritually rich and edifying. The chairman of the concert planning committee Mr. Godwin Udom commended the guests who came from far and near some of whom were members of the State House of Assembly, the State Executive Council, as well as friends and fans of Princess Pat Akpabio for gracing the event. Among other personalities to grace the occasion was the State Deputy Governor Lady Valerie Ebe, the speaker of the state House of Assembly Elder Sam Ikon, His Deputy, Sir Udo Kieran Akpan and other House of Assembly Members.

House Committee On Appropriation And Finance Holds Public Hearing on 2014 Budget Today. The 2014 budget presented by Chief Godswill Akpabio to the State House of Assembly has been referred to the House Committee on Appropriation and Finance for necessary action. To ensure effective consideration of the budget and to have participatory input from the people of the state, the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation and Finance Barr. Onofiok Luke has reminded the stakeholders and the entire people of the state to keep a date with the committee. They are requested to attend the budget briefing and a public hearing for a bill on the law to appropriate money to the consolidated revenue fund and capital development fund slated for today. Events which will hold at the conference hall of the State House of Assembly will be declared open by the speaker, Elder Sam Ikon. Those invited include; the Chief Judge, the Secretary to the State Government, Head of Service, Commissioners and Special Advisers, Permanent Secretaries and Accountant General, the State Chairman PDP, the chairmen of other Political Parties, Chairmen of Local Governments and heads of higher institutions as well as Chairmen and members of boards and parastatals. Also invited are traditional rulers, government and non- governmental organizations, women and youth groups, trade unions, association of physically challenged, media professionals and the entire people of the state are expected to be seated before 10am.

Commissioner Urges Ukanafun People to Remain Loyal to the Akpabio Administration. The State Commissioner for Lands and Town Planning, Obong Eno Akpan, has enjoined Ukanafun people to continue to remain loyal and resolute in their support for the Chief Godswill Akpabio administration. The Commissioner stated this during the celebration of Ikot Udo Mbang Annual day. Obong Akpan said current transformation, appointments and other goodies Ukanafun has enjoyed are born out of the area’s resolve to bid farewell to opposition politics. He said Governor Akpabio meant well for the area as seen in the construction of Abak-Nseghe-Ikot Akpankuk Road, ongoing general hospital project, massive renovation of schools, as well as youth and women empowerment programs. He added that by the next year, government will award contracts for the construction of Ukanafun-Ikot Ibiritam Road. At the event, the Commissioner gave Bursary worth N1million to 50 students of Ukanafun in tertiary institution, cooperative seed of 1Million Naira to northern Afaha women Association, 500,000 Naira for the Ukanafun People’s Forum, 500,000 Naira to the Mboho Iban Afaha. He also donated over 200 bags of rice, cash and cows to various groups. He thanked the people on the confidence reposed on him to lead them and promised to assist, direct and empower them. The chairman of the occasion and one time chairman of the estwhile Cross River State House of Assembly, Chief Ekpo Moses Okoko, described the commissioner as a humble, pragmatic, and selfless leader whose membership of the state executive council has given Ukanafun a pride of place in Government. The Commissioner’s elder Brother, Elder J. S. Akpan expressed the family’s gratitude to Governor Godswill Akpabio for what he has done for them. Highpoint of the event were the presentation of a ballad by Nsibiet Ime Ezekiel, Match Past and choral rendition by groups. It was also witnessed by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Lands and Towns Planning Mr. Offiong Eduongo, members of staff of the ministry and a host of others.

Nigerian Activist Insists Obasanjo Must Apologize to Jonathan. Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has been told to apologise to President Goodluck Jonathan for purportedly desecrating the office of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. National Coordinator of the Network of Progressive Activists (NPA), Timothy Ademola and National secretary, Simon Imobo-Tswam, made the disclosure in a statement they issued on the open letter that Obasanjo sent to Jonathan. According to the statement, the NPA in Nigeria felt deeply worried by the unending uproar generated by the Open Letter to President Jonathan by Chief Obasanjo and subsequent response by the President. The NPA, the statement said, was disturbed that if nothing was done, “the brewing diatribe, which is already over-heating the polity could boil over and lead to unimaginable consequences. “To end the exchange, the group having studied the contents of both letters and weighed the facts and fictions as presented, wishes to posit as follows: That former President Olusegun Obasanjo should apologize to President Jonathan and the people of Nigeria for peddling falsehood and desecrating the office of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria. “We note that despite General Obasanjo’s pretenses to infallibility, his records of service are replete with broken promises, missed opportunities, missteps and folly. Nigerians are tired of being trampled upon by revisionary historians whether they hail from the plain farm fields of Ota or from far flung corners of our beautiful Country. “Nigerians are tired of being played as fiddles by politicians’ hell bent on plunging us into the abyss for selfish, misguided and malevolent reasons. Truth be told, General Obasanjo’s anger with President Goodluck is based purely on his suspicion that President Goodluck might exercise his constitutional right and seek a second term in office. “Dr. Jonathan Goodluck, if he decides to run, should make his case to the Nigerian public and let the public pass the ultimate judgment. Politics should not be based on unsubstantiated back-room deals on who runs and for how long.

Crisis Rocks Anglican Church. Members of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, Nkpogu, in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area of Rivers State, were joyous on Sunday, as they received a new Priest, Reverend Canon Ifeanyichukwu Aniagbaso, to the church. Reverend Canon Aniagbaso replaced Venerable Chimela Samuel, who members of the church had vowed would not minister to them. The church members had, because of their rejection of Venerable Samuel, who had been the Rector in-charge of the church since October 2012, staged a walk-out, when he came on December 25, 2013, to perform the Christmas service. Even, the plea by the Dean of the Niger Delta North Diocese of Anglican Church, Archbishop Ignatius Kattey, who came in company of his wife, Beatrice and the Diocesan chaplain, to meet with the aggrieved members, shortly after the venerable had gone, yielded no positive result. Also, on Sunday, December 22, youths of the church had prevented the priest from gaining access into the church, by locking the gate, thereby forcing members to worship outside. The church members had accused Venerable Samuel among other things, of high handedness, arrogance and attempt to introduce doctrines not practiced by St. Matthew’s (Anglican) Church. The venerable, in a recent interview with Daily Sun, denied the allegations, but admitted that there was internal wrangling in the church, which was being investigated. Meanwhile, yesterday’s church service, which started at 7 am lasted till 10a.m, as the congregation danced and rejoiced at the arrival of the new priest.

Gov. Mimiko to Present 2014 Budget Tomorrow. Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, will present the 2014 budget to the State House of Assembly tomorrow. A statement by the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, in Akure yesterday said the event would take place by 1pm at the state House of Assembly complex on Igbatoro Road, Akure. It urged members of the state executive council, heads of ministries, department and agencies of government and other invited members of the public to attend punctually. The state government had last year presented to the legislature, a budget of N151 billion tagged: A caring heart budget IV, for the 2013 fiscal year. An assessment of the last year budget proposal showed that it was N5 billion less than the 2012 budget, which was N156 billion. Mimiko said at the presentation, which was attended by top government functionaries and traditional rulers that the budget was meant to consolidate the gains of the last four years. He said the 2013 budget had N73.35 billion as the recurrent expenditure while capital expenditure was estimated at N77.65 billion.

Task Force and Soldiers Clash in Kaduna Over Removal of Tyre Barricade. There was free-for-all in Kaduna yesterday between operatives of the state’s security outfit, Operation Yaki and soldiers when the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) commenced the removal of tyres used as barricades from major streets in the capital. The exercise followed a recent order by Governor Muktar Ramallah Yero that all tyres mounted at security check-points and other locations within the metropolis be evacuated. KEPA, in the early hours of yesterday sent out its men and trucks to carry out the directive. The men were accompanied by ‘Operation Yaki’ personnel. At the popular Ahmadu Bello Stadium (ABS) roundabout, the team removed about 30 trailer size tyres from the Total filling station but its Manager, Usman Bello, said he was not aware of the order and pleaded for more time to remove them. “We use these tyres to control movement and control the indiscriminate parking of vehicles in front of our station and I don’t think it posed any security threat to the state, but the governor is the Chief Security Officer in the state and he knows better. My only pain is that we spend a lot of money to purchase those tyres,” Bello said.

At the Union Bank office along the very busy Ahmadu Bello Way, private security guards attached to the bank hurriedly removed the tyres into the bank’s premises before the arrival of KEPA team. A vulcanizer at the NNPC Mega station along Ali Akilu Road whose tyres were forcefully removed said they were fairly used and displayed for sale not to barricade as all his plea was ignored. The exercise, however, turned violent when the team attempted to remove tyres used as barricades in front of a building opposite Abakpa Junction, but a man stopped them. The security agents attached to the team did not take this lightly and voices were raised which led to the exchange of blows between the young man and the security men who are from the Civil Defense Corps. The young man, whom it was later discovered to be a soldier, ran into the compound for re-enforcement and three of his colleagues in uniform came out and it became a free-for-all, creating a scenario where civilians had to run for their safety. The situation was controlled by a military officer who was passing by as he stopped to intervene, asking the two sides to sheath their swords while assuring the task force that the tyres will be evacuated. Governor Yero gave the order after the state Security Council meeting held in Kaduna last week. He said the exercise was to clean up the city and remove unnecessary barricade to ensure free flow of traffic. The governor said that any tyre used by the military or police should be painted in their colors.

Army Warns Christians To Regulate End Of Year Service. The 23 Brigade of Nigerian Army in Yola has advised the Christian community in Adamawa to round off their end of year church services on Tuesday by 10 p.m. The advice was contained in a statement signed by the Brigade’s Public Relations Officer, Capt. Ja’aafaru Nuhu. He said the early completion of church services by the time was because of the existing 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew still in force in the state. “The Headquarters of 23 Brigade wishes to bring to the notice of the general populace of Adamawa state that the imposition of curfew from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily is still in force. While we all know the importance of night prayers, especially at the last day of the year, we need to consider the best interest of the general public”, the statement said. It pledged the commitment of security agencies in the state to the safety of life and property and urged the public to sustain its support and cooperation towards the goal. The curfew has been in force in the state since the declaration of state of emergency in May.

President Jonathan Blames Nigeria’s Security Challenges on Disunity. President Goodluck Jonathan has identified lack of love and disunity as the greatest problem facing the country. He was speaking in Abuja at the Apostolic Faith Church, Jabi during the Sunday Church service. The President likened the nation's challenges to those of the Israelites in the Old Testament when they were leaving Egypt for the Promised Land. President Jonathan who said he rose from the smallest community in Bayelsa State to become Nigerian's President by the grace of God, and people's support. He promised to bequeath a better Nigeria to the coming generation.

CJN Opposes 100% SAN Application Fee Increase. The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukhtar, has objected to a 100 per cent application fee increase for lawyers wishing to become Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). She, instead agreed to a slight increase that would bring the new application fee, announced by the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), to N300,000, instead of the N250,000 paid by applicants last year. The new fee is contained in the new guideline for the conferment of SAN released by the LPPC. It was learnt that a sub-committee, set up to review the old guidelines, recommended N500,000 as the application fee. The sub-committee justified the N500,000 fees on the grounds that it was expensive conducting chambers inspection and other verification exercise across the country. Justice Mukhtar, who is the Chairman of the LPPC, reportedly rejected the new fee because it was too high.

Lagos Tackles Graduate Unemployment. The Lagos State Government yesterday said it had spent N1billion to support about 400 graduate farmers to set up their own farms. Commissioner for Agriculture and Co-operatives Mr. Gbolaham Lawal, told reporters that the beneficiaries were those trained under the state's Agricultural Youths Empowerment Scheme. The supports are to give them a head-start in their farming businesses. He said that the state Government is currently operating a modern farm settlement scheme in Araga, Epe area of Lagos State, where graduates are trained in different areas of agriculture under our AGRIC-YES program. The Commissioner said no fewer than 400 graduates, divided into four groups, are being exposed to practical and sustainable ways of practicing aquaculture, poultry and crop cultivation, among others using modern, and fully automated equipment.

Gov. Chime Gets NSE Award. Enugu State Governor, Sullivan Chime, has won the 2013 Special Presidential Merit Award of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE). The award, a plaque, was received on his behalf by the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Goddy Madueke, an engineer, in Abuja during the Society's Annual General Meeting. According to NSE, ''the 2013 Special Presidential Merit Award is presented to Governor Chime for the confidence reposed in engineers and commitment to infrastructural development in the state. Madueke attributed the award to hard work and vision by the Governor, who knows what he wants to achieve for the state with his four point agenda and how to pursue them with vigor. He said NSE does not give out awards anyhow, but only to those who deserve it. The 2013 award was given to only Governor Chime and Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Reps Condemn Poor Air Conditioning At Lagos Airport. The House of Representatives’ Committee on Aviation criticized the poor air conditioning system at the Murtala Muhammad Airport in Lagos. Chairperson of the committee Nkiruka Onyejeocha said the committee would in the New Year do better in its oversight function. She said there were many complaints from Nigerians about the Aviation sector in 2013 to be addressed by the committee in 2014. She commended the remodeling of airports across the country but said a lot needs to be done at the international wing of the Lagos Airport.