South East
Ebonyi Speaker Denies EFCC Arrest
Representative of Acting Director General of Nafdac, Dr Bukar Usman (left) and National Vice President Fisheries Society of Nigeria, Dr Agbabiaka Adegoke during Nafdac Veterinary and Allied Products Sensitization Workshop in Enugu on Thursday
The Speaker of Ebonyi
State House of Assembly, Mr Francis Nwifuru, has denied being arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.
Addressing newsmen in Abakaliki recently, Nwifuru said that he only honoured an invitation from the anti-graft agency at its South East zonal office in Enugu.
“I arrived in Enugu from Abuja after attending an agricultural conference in China and decided to honour the invitation which came to my office in my absence.
“I decided to honour the invitation to avoid the inconvenience of traveling to Abakaliki and back to Enugu.
“I decided to visit Hon. Edward Ubosi, the Speaker of Enugu Assembly before going to the EFCC office.
“He accompanied me to the EFCC office as I didn’t know the location,’’ he said.
The speaker said that while there, he was asked to explain what transpired with the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 constituency project funds as a member representing Izzi West constituency.
“I explained all I knew about the projects within a period of thirty minutes. It is clear that I was neither arrested nor molested by the EFCC,” he said.
Nwifuru noted that he informed the EFCC that he was not the speaker within those periods but was aware that some funds were released for the projects by the former state governor.
“The then speaker awarded contracts for the constituency projects through bidding processes. A member’s duty is to monitor the project execution.
“The projects for my constituency were duly constituted and executed. The only uncompleted one was a structure meant for the police which, however, attained 80 per cent completion.
“The funds for the 2014 constituency projects for instance, were only released 23 per cent so there was no way a contractor could complete the project.
“The system of constituency project execution in Ebonyi is such that a succeeding tenure would not complete uncompleted projects, as the projects stop with the period of award,” he said.
He noted that the EFCC officials were shocked at his revelations, as he promised to sponsor their trip to Ebonyi to assess the projects to ascertain the truth.
“The petition was politically motivated. It only involved nine members of the previous assembly who were re-elected and who did not support the immediate past administration toward its end.
“I also informed them that the Department for Planning, Research and Statistics in the assembly should be held accountable because it raised the certificates of completion to the contractors involved.
“When I finished my explanations, I was told to leave as they could have stipulated bail conditions if actually I was arrested,” he said.
Nwifuru noted that the anti-graft agency revealed to him that the Assembly was porous with some agents divulging information of its activities.
“The petition in my own view emanated from aggrieved staff of the Assembly who felt they were unduly transferred, that their duties were given to other departments or not carried along in the projects’ execution.
“It also does not concern the recent invitation by the present state governor to the EFFC to investigate past and present administrations as it was dated March 2015 while actual invitation was in August.
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.
