South East
Boro Celebrates With Ex-Agitators In Enugu
The Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, retired Brig.-Gen. Paul Boro, has said that the scheme has transformed the lives of former Niger Delta agitators.
Boro, also Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, spoke at the graduation of 80 ex-agitators at Innoson KIARA Academy in Enugu recently.
He said that the Federal Government was impressed with the response of the participants.
The coordinator said that he decided to witness the graduation to underscore the importance the government attached to the scheme.
Boro said that government would ensure that none of the graduates missed their track, but driven to prosperity following their participation in the nine months course.
“I remember when I was signing the document for over 200 of you to come to Eastern Nigeria to study. I thought you will not come as you were only familiar with the Niger Delta area.
“Today, I have come to see you succeeding and that means the amnesty programme is on course and succeeding. I am ready for you anytime you need my support.
“We shall put our heads together to make sure that you follow through what you have learnt so that other people will see you as serious and try to be like you,” he said.
Boro said that elsewhere participants in the scheme had shown greater reliability and commitment to succeed in life.
“Two weeks ago I went to graduate some of our brothers and sisters in London. They surprised everybody in the world because four of them made first class degrees while 22 made second class upper division,” he said.
He appealed to them to make the country proud in their chosen fields of endeavour and be proud of their heritage.
He charged them to hold the Niger Delta region very dear and be good ambassadors of the area, adding that the whole of the region was a pride to the nation.
“The Niger Delta is Africa’s largest delta and the third largest in the world. It covers 70,000 square km and the home of 31 million people with over 39,300 settlements.
“Let us appreciate it and not destroy it,” Boro said.
Earlier, the Head, Vocational Training of the programme, Mrs Faith Omofuma, appealed to the graduates to dedicate the rest of their lives in making the best use of what they had learnt.
Omofuma said that the Federal Government painstakingly drew the programme to make them gainfully employed as well as employers of labour.
She appealed to them not to go back to the creeks, but to be ambassadors of the amnesty programme in order to make disciples.
Ezengwa said that with the positive attitudes exhibited by the trainees, he had no doubt that the society would feel the impact of the time they spent there as well as their desire to make Nigeria better.
“Innoson Group of Companies is offering employment to all our graduates who wish to work with us,” he said.
He appealed to the Federal Government and state in the region to establish model plastic industries in the Niger Delta since the raw materials were abundant in the zone, especially in Eleme.
“When established, clusters of our graduates will be part of these factories and we will support them to establish, manage and own them eventually,” Ezengwa said.
Our correspondent reports that the graduates were trained in plastic manufacturing processes under the empowerment and industry support initiative of the amnesty programme.
The police in Ebonyi State say they have discovered the body of a yet to be identified middle-aged woman in a hotel room in Abakaliki, the state capital. The spokesperson of the police in the state, Loveth Odah, stated this yesterday.
She said the body has deep cuts on the chest and neck and has been deposited in a mortuary. According to the spokesman, it was discovered at Crown Garden Hotel located along the ever-busy Afikpo road in the capital city.
Mrs Odah, who said that the victim was found in the pool of her own blood, said the suspect had been identified as one Uchenna Awoke.
She said the hotel manager, Emmanuel Eze, the supervisor, and other workers had been taken to the police station for questioning and accused the hotel management of negligence.
“The manager of the hotel, the supervisor and other staff of the hotel were taken to the station for questioning and I must confess to you that the whole thing is negligence on the part of the hotel management. How can a guest be murdered in a hotel room and days after, the management is not aware of the incident.”
“We will investigate the matter properly and I assure you, the perpetrator of the act must be arrested and prosecuted. All we are asking is for the members of the public to avail the police of useful information that will lead to the arrest of the suspect.”
The Senate yesterday passed the South East Development Commission (Establishment) Bill 2018.
The proposed commission aims at enhancing the infrastructural development of the South East zone, which is grappling with huge ecological challenges.
It also seeks to act as a catalyst for the development of the commercial potential of the zone.
The proposed legislation requires the concurrence of the House of Representatives to become a bill of the National Assembly, and the President’s assent to become a law.
Senators Stella Oduah (PDP-Anambra) and Samuel Anyanwu (PDP-Imo) jointly sponsored the bill read in the Senate on June 22, 2016.
Its passage in the Red Chamber followed the presentation of the report of the Committee on Establishment and Public Service by its former Chairman, Senator Emmanuel Paulker (PDP-Bayelsa), on the floor of the Senate.
The bill, after Paulker’s presentation, was considered clause by clause by the committee of the whole, and amendments made by the lawmakers were read for the third time and eventually passed.
In his remarks, presiding Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, commended his colleagues for a job well done.
In his words, “Every morning we pray that God should give us the grace to do only those things that will promote the peace and unity of this country.
“I believe that we have shown today that we are committed to the unity of this country, and it is this unity that will give us faith in this country.
“This faith will in turn help us to pursue peace and progress,” he said.
Briefing newsmen after plenary, members the South East caucus of the Senate, led by Sen. Enhinnaya Abaribe (PDP-Abia), thanked their colleagues and members of the committee for their efforts.
Abaribe, who spoke on behalf of the caucus, urged the President to sign the bill into law “as soon as we tidy it up and bring to him, in the interest of the unity and progress of Nigeria”.
“This will put to rest the long-drawn agitation in the South East, and the difficulties in the rehabilitation and reconciliation efforts that started at the end of the civil war.
“All things we see always will end up at the negotiating table, which is what we have done,” he said.
The lawmaker said he hoped the House of Representatives would give concurrence to the bill as it went in the Senate.
When established, the South East Development Commission would be the third zonal interventionist body in the country.
Bishop David Oyedepo, the Founder and Presideng Bishop, Living Faith Church Worldwide, on Saturday predicted that nothing would disturb the peace of Nigeria and its story would change for the better in the year 2019.
Oyedepo made the declaration at the just concluded annual prophetic gathering of the Winners’ family, christened the “Dominion”, in a satellite telecast of the church.
In the telecast monitored in Abuja, the cleric also declared that 2019 would be a year of “I have Dominion”.
“Nothing will tamper with the peace of Nigeria; the story will change for the better in the name of Jesus.
“Nigeria shall not see bloodshed, the Prince of Peace will continue to dominate in Nigeria, in Africa and Nigeria is declared blessed.
“Anywhere you step, accident is forbidden; death will not come near you and our nation.
“Anything that is of grace in my life, I freely release upon you today.
“God has opened the year 2019 to us, celebrate Him because its our year of “I have Dominion,” he said.
The Bishop added that the year 2019 would be a year of humbling testimonies for Nigeria and pace-setting testimonies.
He further declared that 2019 would be a colourful year for the nation.
According to the cleric, as long as Jesus has the final say on the issues of Nigeria, it will experience greatness.
Oyedepo said that there would be no more cause of alarm in any area of the nation and its citizens.
He advised Christians in Nigeria to delight themselves in the spirit of servant-hood, adding that the spirit of Christ is the spirit of servant-hood.
“The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of servant-hood. As you keep rising on the ladder of leadership, you must retain our spirit of servant-hood, constantly working to add value to others and be kingdom minded,” he said.
According to him, dedication is at the root of dominion, saying: “Sow yourself as a seed by being totally dedicated to God and His Kingdom’’.
He told his congregation that sacrificial giving guarantees the meeting of all their needs.
“When you engage in taking care of the well-being of others, God is also committed to your well-being,” he explained. The cleric admonished Christians would engage in meeting the needs of the needy, every barrier on their path of destiny would be crushed.
“Nobody tampers with your life, your career, your family and goes away with it because you are promoted to God’s kingdom.
“God will stand for your defence in the day of trouble. Every sacrificial giver has a defence around him in the day of trouble always have that in mind,” he said.
He reminded his congregation that the Church is not a building; the Church is a people and the Redeemed of the Lord.