Awka – The Governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP for the November 6 election in Anambra State, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, on Monday called on the Anambra electorate to turn out enmasse to support the PDP at the supplementary election scheduled in Ihiala Local Government Area on Tuesday, November 9. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), had on Sunday, announced suspension of collation of results for the governorship election, pending when the Ihiala polls will be concluded, in line with the extant laws. In the results announced so far for the 20 Local Government Areas, the PDP trails behind the…
Author: Kenechukwu Ofomah
Awka – The Candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Professor Chukwuma Soludo is presently leading after the results of the Governorship election held in 20 Council Areas last Saturday in Anambra State, have been announced. Official INEC results for 2021 Anambra gubernatorial election as monitored by TNC correspondent in Anambra, who was at the collation centre at INEC headquarters in Awka on Sunday, show that Soludo of APGA presently has 103,946 votes, having won in 18 out of the 20 LGA results already collated. The candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Valentine Ozigbo has won in only one…
Awka – The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC on Sunday, said the 2021 Anambra Governorship Election held on Saturday, 6th November, 2021, was inconclusive. This was because election could not hold in Ihiala Local Government Area of the state. The Commission has also fixed a Supplementary Election in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State on Tuesday this week, saying the election is inconclusive, until the supplementary election is conducted. Ihiala was the only Local Government Area, where it was adjudged that Saturday’s gubernatorial polls in the State did not hold. There was also the issue of the result of Orumba North…
Ihiala – A middle-aged man was Sunday killed in a fatal Road traffic crash at Okeohia by Ihialla-Owerri expressway, in Anambra State. The crash involved a 14-seater Nissan bus with registration number- NKK-314-VT and a trailer vehicle, whose registration number could not be ascertained. TNC investigation revealed that the incident occurred as a result of excessive speed, which led to loss of control. According to an eyewitness report, the bus driver was carrying illegal crude oil and was on speed, when it rammed into a stationary trailer. The trailer driver on seeing what has happened, immediately entered his vehicle and drove…
The 2021 Governorship election in Anambra State has been marred by late arrival of electoral materials and malfunctioning of the newly-introduced Bi-Modal Voter Accreditation System, B-VAS. Our correspondent who monitored the election in parts of the state, reports that the machines take up to 20 minutes to accredit one person while in some areas, it simply packed up after few activities. There was also the case of late arrival of the electoral materials which resulted in the elections starting hours late. When some polling stations in Aguata Council Area were visited at about 11am, materials were yet to arrive, as…
Awka – The hierarchy of the Nigeria Police Force has denied allegations by the Anambra State Government that it plans to arrest its officials on trumped-up charges. In a statement on Thursday, signed by the State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C-Don Adinuba, the State Government said it has received credible intelligence about moves by members of a certain political party to use the instrumentality of the state to arrest key officials of the State Government anytime on trumped-up charges. According to the government, the plan is to hijack the gubernatorial election holding on Saturday, November 6, 2021. “One of…
Awka – A joint emergency meeting of Pro-Biafran Groups on Thursday, resolved that the forthcoming Anambra State Governorship Election scheduled for November 6, 2021, will go on unhindered. Across Anambra State, the fear has been with the order of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, directing a 5-day sit-at-home, from the 5th of November to the 10th of November, 2021. However, in a communique issued after a joint emergency meeting that held today, the pro-Biafran groups, noted that the election must hold in the overall interest of Ndigbo and long term benefits of the Biafran struggle. The communique signed by Dr. Law Mefor…
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), on Tuesday, demonstrated its preparedness for victory in the 2021 Anambra governorship election, as it held the mother of all rallies to drum support for its standard-bearers, Valentine Ozigbo and Azuka Enemo. ‘The Grand Ka Anambra Chawapu Rally’, which was held at Ekwueme Square, Awka, attracted several PDP bigwigs and party leaders, including Mr Peter Obi, the immediate past Governor of Anambra State; Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State; Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, and Hon Philip Shuabu, the Deputy Governor of Edo State. Other dignitaries who graced…
The Independent National Electoral Commissioner, INEC on Wednesday, said all sensitive materials for the conduct of Saturday’s Governorship election in Anambra have been deposited to the vault at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Awka Branch. INEC Chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu disclosed this at an Election Stakeholders’ Meeting held at Professor Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre, Awka, yesterday. According to the INEC boss, the non-sensitive materials have been taken to the 21 Council Areas of the state. This was against an earlier rumour that the commission planned to store them in Owerri, Imo State, a rumour that had sparked condemnation. Yakubu who…
Over 30 lifeless bodies have been pulled out of the rubbles of the collapsed 21-storey building on Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos State. Lagos State acting coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, Ibrahim Farinloye gave the figure to our correspondent yesterday. Farinloye said the figure increased late Wednesday after search and rescue officials found more bodies. He said the rescue operation has been intensified to evacuate more bodies from the site. According to the Lagos NEMA coordinator, over five bags were recovered from underneath the collapsed building yesterday. He revealed that the bags which belongs to victims of the collapse…
Veteran Nollywood actor, Chiwetalu Agu, has lashed out at the governors of the five Southeast states for pursuing their personal interests so far in the duration they had lasted in office instead of addressing key socio-economic issues affecting the region and her people. With the exception of Willie Obiano of Anambra State, whose tenure ends March 17, 2022, other four governors of the region have less than two years to complete the tenure. According to the veteran actor, Agu who spoke with TNC correspondent in Anambra, there are no visible evidence to the fact that the governors fought the…
The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, says the Nigerian Army is winning the fight against drug abuse in barracks and theatres through deploying international best practices. At the inauguration of a three-day Capacity Building Seminar on Evidence-based Drug Prevention, Treatment and Control on Tuesday, Lagbaja, who was represented by the Chief of Staff of the Division, Brig.-Gen. Greg Omoregbe, said in recent times, the Nigerian Army had deployed international best practices in dealing with issues of drug abuse, spending resources and manpower to treat and rehabilitate drug abuse ill personnel and relations…
Awka – The Anambra State Police Command has told vehicle owners in Anambra State and those either coming in or leaving the shores of the state to ensure that their vehicles have up-to-date plate numbers. The directive is coming as insecurity in Anambra heightens ahead of the Governorship election scheduled to take place in the state on Saturday. Addressing newsmen in Awka on Monday, the Public Relations Officer of the 13th Zonal Command of the Nigeria Police Force and Head Police Media Team for Election Duty, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Nkiru Nwode quotes the State Commissioner of Police, CP Echeng Echeng as…
Awka – A coalition of civil society organizations in the southeast zone have said that only a timely reversal of sit-at-home protest by agitators or shift of the election for one month by INEC, remains the two acceptable options going forward in the upcoming Anambra governorship election already slated for November 6, 2021. The Coalition comprising International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), the Southeast Zone of the Civil Liberties Organization (Southeast CLO) and the Southeast Based Coalition of Democracy and Human Rights Organization (SBCHROs) said in a statement on Monday, that the threat by agitators to embark on sit-at-home protest at the time…
The Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Dr Nkem Okeke has spoken up for the first time since defecting to the All Progressives Congress, APC, saying he decided to leave the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, because the state was moving on a fast lane towards decline. The Anambra second has last month, in what many perceived as the mother of all defections, dumped his principal, Governor Willie Obiano of the APGA and joined the APC. Governor Obiano had at public events, disclosed that the defections to APC were because the party was doling out huge amounts of money to…
What many had thought would be an ecstatic moment for the Anambra government and the people, turned out to be a mere ceremony as the flag-off of commercial flights at the Anambra International Cargo and Passenger Airport, Umueri, happened without a single flight in sight. The airport project which is a major legacy project of the administration of the State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, was on Saturday, inaugurated by the governor, without any official of Federal Ministry of Aviation, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and other relevant authorities. On Friday, the state government,…
Awka – The Nigerian Army says it has neutralized one of the Biafran National Guard, BNG gunmen who attacked troops’ location at Amaekpu, Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State on Thursday, 28 October 2021. On Thursday, videos surfaced online showing armed BNG men in army regalia, claiming to be on a mission to release alleged ‘prisoners of conscience’. The armed men were videoed at a petrol station where they packed items at the Super market and filled the petrol tanks of the vehicles they were using, without making any payment. The alleged commander of the gang who identified himself as…
Awka – Anambra State government has raised alarm over alleged plan to suspend the proposed commissioning ceremony of the Anambra International Airport, scheduled to hold this Saturday, 30th October, 2021. Informal reports reveal that the suspension of the commissioning of the airport, was as a result of security reasons. The Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. C-Don Adinuba who spoke with TNC in Awka, who confirmed that the suspension was due to security reasons, however noted that the government was not told what constituted security threats in the context. According to him, the people and government of the state are…
Awka – A rights group, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, RULAAC, has applauded the new Commissioner of Police in Imo state, Rabiu Hussaini for his recent dispositions, which it noted were aimed at sanitizing the Police Force in the state. The Imo State Police Command had recently commenced investigations into a report making rounds online where its personnel were reportedly alleged to have extorted the sum of sixty thousand naira from one Victor Aguwah, travelling from the Sam Mbakwe Airport to his home town in Mbaise. The Imo Police Commissioner of Police, while condemning the incident, had confirmed…
Awka – Anambra State Police Command says it will on Friday commence heavy deployment of its personnel to the streets to reassure the people that the state is secure for the smooth conduct of the November 6 governorship elections. The Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, CP Echeng Echeng disclosed this in a chat with newsmen on Thursday in Awka on the preparations ahead of the upcoming governorship election. Eight days to the election, threats by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB on election boycott has been rife, resulting in fear among residents. But the Anambra CP has said the command…
Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano on Thursday presented a fire truck to the leaders of Nkwo Ogbe market, Ihiala which was gutted by fire earlier this month. The donation was in fulfilment of a promise he made to the market, to donate a permanent fire truck and maintain a fire service station in Ihiala community, Ihiala Local Government Area. On the 17th of October, 2021, goods and property worth millions of naira were destroyed by fire at the market. Governor Obiano had during a visit to the scene, a day after, also set up a panel to look into the…
A Civil Society organization, Civil Society Committee for Anti-fraud election security has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to rescind their threats on a 5-day lockdown of the South East. The group also called on former President, Abdulsalami Abubakar and Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Rev. Fr. Kukar to reach out to the President soliciting his cooperation in addressing the threats. Addressing newsmen on Wednesday, the founder, Comrade Kennedy Iyere said treating the threats with levity by ignoring the group rather than calming the agitators would further escalate the situation. He said, “We’re…
Contrary to the rumours making the rounds that 95 percent of the ad-hoc staff for the November 6 Anambra Governorship election has resigned, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in Anambra on Tuesday, said training of ad-hoc workers for the election is on course. Earlier this week, news emerged that 95 percent of the Adhoc staff to be used by INEC for the exercise have tendered their resignation. TNC correspondent in Anambra who spoke to some of them in Awka, reports that they confirmed that they are pulling out of the process. One of the workers who agreed to speak,…
Awka – The Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, on Tuesday ordered a major overhauling of the security landscape in Anambra State ahead of the 6th November, 2021 Gubernatorial Elections in the state. With the governorship election less than 12 days away, the security situation has worsened in the state, with a directive coming from the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, for sit-at-home from Friday 5th to 10th of November, 2021. A statement today by the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba said the overhauling includes the deployment of selected seasoned Strategic Commanders from the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police…
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC on Monday said it has successfully accomplished 12 out of the 14 activities listed in the timetable and schedule of activities for the November 6 Anambra Governorship election released in January this year. The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this today at a special meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee On Election Security (ICCES) on the Anambra Governorship election held at the INEC conference room, Abuja. The meeting was attended by the National Security Adviser who is a Co-Chair of ICCES, representatives of various security agencies, National Commissioners and Senior Officials of…
Anambra state government says it has laid the foundation for sustainable and progressive growth in the health sector, through its health financing system. Governor Willie Obiano stated this over the weekend in Awka during a 3-day training for 40 enumerators on Health Account Study themed, “Strengthening Anambra State Health System for Primary Health Care Delivery.” The Health Account Study which was started in 2018 showed that out-of-pocket of Anambra residents was at 91.9 percent, an alarming development that spelt low indices for the state health sector. The 2021 activity will be a 30-day exercise- three days of training and…
Awka – Two-time Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi has taken a swipe at Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano for allegedly abandoning most of the projects handed over to him to complete for the benefit of people of the state. In 2013, Obi who was the then Anambra Governor, ran a campaign of continuity for his successor, Obiano on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. Obiano had pledged to continue, complete and commission all the projects his predecessor handed over to him and also commence new ones. However, Obi believes the incumbent Anambra Governor has failed…
Awka – The member representing Anambra Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Uche Ekwunife, over the weekend, visited the proposed site for the construction of solar and high energy Cosmic Ray Laboratory at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra state. TNC gathered that the project donor, is the National Space Research and Development Agency, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Abuja, while the project is facilitated by Sen. Ekwunife. Speaking at the project site, Sen. Ekwunife, noted that the project, when completed, would be the biggest research laboratory in the South East, adding that it would further attract scholars…
Awka – Anambra State Government has approved Saturdays as school days in place of Mondays. The approval is expected to take effect from Saturday this week, 30th of October, 2021. The development, TNC gathered, was in response to the Monday sit-at-home directive by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, which had affected academic activities in all Southeast states of Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo and Abia. It was also gathered that the Saturday school day was to ensure that the school children in Anambra cover the academic curriculum of the schools. An internal memo to all heads of public primary schools in…
Awka – Anambra State on Friday joined the comity of southern states that have legislation against open grazing of cattle, as the State Governor Willie Obiano today signed Anti-Open Grazing Bill into law. The legislation is law to prohibit and abolish open and nomadic cattle and other livestock grazing and rearing in the state. It among other things, also provides for cattle and other livestock ranching and has a penalty for anybody grazing cattle openly. Governor Obiano while signing the bill at the governor’s lodge Amawbia, said the move became imperative in order to protect all critical stakeholders and their businesses…
