INSERT INTO `wp_posts` VALUES (5811,1,'2024-12-20 23:09:06','2024-12-20 23:09:06','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5812\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241220-WA00441-300x188.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"188\" />\r\n\r\nOne of the sensitization programmes in churches\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne of the sensitization billboards on Nanka-Ekwulobia Road\r\n\r\nAnambra State reviewed its Administration of Criminal Justice (2010) in 2022 to inject innovations into the document. The new seeks to promote efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of the society from crimes and protection of the rights and interest of the suspect, the defendant and victims in Nigeria.\r\n\r\nAs lofty as its objectives are, ACJL 2022 of Anambra State remains a privileged document with its contents best described as exclusive as a privilege of a few actors in the justice sector. The situation, majorly blamed on poor or low awareness of the law among the citizenry, was concerning to the Justice Development and Peace/Caritas (JDPC) Onitsha, hence the move to reverse the ugly trend.\r\n\r\nConsequently, the organization secured support from the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption (RoLAC) programme implemented in Nigeria by The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), an intergovernmental organization that supports democracy worldwide, and funded by European Union to mount the campaign entitled, Raising Awareness on the Provisions of ACJL 2022 For Improved Justice Delivery In Anambra State (RAPID) Project.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5813 alignright\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241220-WA0045-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne of the sensitization programmes in churches\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUnder the RAPID project featured awareness creation programmes for key actors in the justice sector such as the police, the judiciary, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Correctional Service, state-based law enforcement agents such as Operation Clean and Health Anambra, OCHA Brigade among others as well as non-state actor including civil society activists and media professionals with a view to popularizing the innovative provisions of the law.\r\n\r\nParticipants were educated on the abolition of arrest in lieu which had been in practice especially by the police for decades. This is the practice of arresting a close relation of an offender in his or her stead due to his disappearance after committing the offence.\r\n\r\nThe Chairman, Magistrates Association, Anambra State Chapter, Onome Nwankwo, during one of the capacity building workshops noted, “In section 9 (4), you can no longer arrest a person in lieu of another person suspected of an offence. At your expense, after arrest, you must inform the family of the suspect. You must also allow the suspect to make calls to the family to inform them about his situation,” she told the law enforcers.\r\n\r\n“No more adjourning sine dine. Every criminal proceeding must be completed within 12 months. Also, a suspect can be tried in absentia. I have done it in seven cases and four of the suspects have been rearrested. Before now if a defendant is not in the court, that case died naturally. But not again in Anambra State.\r\n\r\nA Chief Magistrate, Dr Mike Anyadiegwu, shed further light. “The law now permits police officers who are not lawyers to prosecute offenders in courts. It also gives vigilante operatives the power of arrest just like any other private citizen. “However, they don’t have power to detain anybody or accept them to bail. They are to hand over arrested persons to the police”.\r\n\r\n“ACJL 2022 also provides for a central criminal registry to track down serial offenders. Unfortunately, this is not yet in place. Under the law, victims of crime are now compensated while the offenders face the penalties.\r\n\r\n*One of the sensitization programmes in churches*\r\nRoLAC State Project Coordinator, Josephine Onah, stated that her organization’s commitment to bettering the justice system of Anambra remains unwavering. “In criminal justice, it commences from the police and gets to the prison. So, everybody including traditional rulers, presidents-general, lawyers, civil society activists, journalists and many others should be involved. We must all understand the law and comply with it.\r\n\r\n“We also want the CSOs to monitor implementation of this law. You are all very important change agents. So, let\'s all join hands together,” she pleaded.\r\n\r\nThe formal events immediately gave way to community legal clinic in two communities selected from the two senatorial districts of the state and sensitization across parish churches and markets. ACJL messages were posted on bill boards in five major locations in the state with awareness creation in bus stations, motor and tricycle parks. The goal is to keep the citizenry informed of the provisions of the law which are meant to protect them from violations they have suffered in the past.\r\n\r\nThe event availed the locales in Awkuzu, Oyi LGA, and Ekwulobia, Aguata LGA opportunity to seek clarifications on issues that have bothered them for long.\r\n\r\nThe Secretary of Anambra State Justice Sector Monitoring Committee, (ACJMC) Rose Okeke, charged the people to take advantage of the new law to seek redress for any wrong done to them by state actors or fellow citizens. “You do not need to pay for bail because ACJL and Police Act say that bail is free. So do not allow anyone to intimidate you into giving money to bail yourself or anyone”.\r\n\r\n*Secretary, ACJMC, Anambra State, Rose Okeke, During Legal Clinic*\r\n\r\n“The law also empowers you as a citizen to arrest offenders. You have the same power that is given to the vigilante operatives. You can arrest but do not go overboard to detain or accept suspects to bail. Hand them over straight to the police for investigation and prosecution.\r\n\r\nA member of the team, Chuks Ifiora, told the citizens to guard against arrest in lieu which ACJL 2022 has abolished. According to him, “the police or any other law enforcement agency has no right to arrest the father in the place of his son suspected of an offence. If it happens, call any of the numbers in the fliers we are giving you. The committee in charge will answer your calls.\r\n\r\nVisibly appreciative citizens laid their minds bare as they commended the move by JDPC Onitsha and RoLAC to sanitize the criminal justice system of the state. “I will paste this in my shop, one of the traders at Eke-Ekwulobia, Grace Nwobi, said in appreciation of the sensitization campaign”.\r\n\r\n*One of the sensitization campaign programmes at Eke Market Ekwulobia*\r\n\r\nAnother woman, who did not want her name in print, remarked, “What you people are doing is good. We appreciated it. This is why we say everybody should be educated to know and defend their right. I appreciate this law especially for forbidding arrest in lieu”.\r\n\r\nA septuagenarian, Iwuoku Nweke, in Awkuzu, equally extolled the move to keep the citizens abreast of the law. “Most often, government makes law and we the citizens are not aware of it. This sensitization is good for all of us. These fliers with contacts we can call when in need is highly appreciated,” he concluded.\r\n\r\n*JDPC Onitsha Popularizing ACJL 2022 Through Tricycle*\r\n\r\nDuring the awareness creation project, JDPC Onitsha embarked on intensive social campaign to further sensitize the populace on the provisions of the state ACJL 2022. Its Executive Director, Reverend Father Edwin Udoye, said the RAPID project, was the contribution of his organization towards effective and efficient implementation of ACJL. This is why we built the capacity of all the actors in the justice sector and other critical stakeholders within the civil society and media,” he explained.\r\n\r\nHe pledged sustained commitment of the organization towards the growth and development of the state. “This is a faith-based organization and we are committed to the good of the society. We will keep the zeal towards ensuring that the society gets better. It is a commitment we cannot shirk,” he assured.','JDPC Onitsha Sensitizes Anambra Citizens On ACJL 2022','','publish','open','open','','jdpc-onitshas-rapid-project-popularizes-anambras-acjl-through-intensive-campaign-in-strategic-locations','','','2024-12-20 23:23:33','2024-12-20 23:23:33','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5811',0,'post','',0),(5812,1,'2024-12-20 23:03:57','2024-12-20 23:03:57','','IMG-20241220-WA0044(1)','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20241220-wa00441','','','2024-12-20 23:03:57','2024-12-20 23:03:57','',5811,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241220-WA00441.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5813,1,'2024-12-20 23:07:26','2024-12-20 23:07:26','','IMG-20241220-WA0045','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20241220-wa0045','','','2024-12-20 23:07:26','2024-12-20 23:07:26','',5811,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241220-WA0045.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5814,1,'2024-12-20 23:08:56','2024-12-20 23:08:56','','IMG-20241220-WA0046','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20241220-wa0046','','','2024-12-20 23:08:56','2024-12-20 23:08:56','',5811,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241220-WA0046.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5815,1,'2024-12-20 23:09:06','2024-12-20 23:09:06','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5812\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241220-WA00441-300x188.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"188\" />\r\n\r\nOne of the sensitization programmes in churches\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne of the sensitization billboards on Nanka-Ekwulobia Road\r\n\r\nAnambra State reviewed its Administration of Criminal Justice (2010) in 2022 to inject innovations into the document. The new seeks to promote efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of the society from crimes and protection of the rights and interest of the suspect, the defendant and victims in Nigeria.\r\n\r\nAs lofty as its objectives are, ACJL 2022 of Anambra State remains a privileged document with its contents best described as exclusive as a privilege of a few actors in the justice sector. The situation, majorly blamed on poor or low awareness of the law among the citizenry, was concerning to the Justice Development and Peace/Caritas (JDPC) Onitsha, hence the move to reverse the ugly trend.\r\n\r\nConsequently, the organization secured support from the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption (RoLAC) programme implemented in Nigeria by The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), an intergovernmental organization that supports democracy worldwide, and funded by European Union to mount the campaign entitled, Raising Awareness on the Provisions of ACJL 2022 For Improved Justice Delivery In Anambra State (RAPID) Project.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5813 alignright\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241220-WA0045-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" />\r\n\r\n*One of the sensitization billboards on Nanka-Ekwulobia Road*\r\n\r\nUnder the RAPID project featured awareness creation programmes for key actors in the justice sector such as the police, the judiciary, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Correctional Service, state-based law enforcement agents such as Operation Clean and Health Anambra, OCHA Brigade among others as well as non-state actor including civil society activists and media professionals with a view to popularizing the innovative provisions of the law.\r\n\r\nParticipants were educated on the abolition of arrest in lieu which had been in practice especially by the police for decades. This is the practice of arresting a close relation of an offender in his or her stead due to his disappearance after committing the offence.\r\n\r\nThe Chairman, Magistrates Association, Anambra State Chapter, Onome Nwankwo, during one of the capacity building workshops noted, “In section 9 (4), you can no longer arrest a person in lieu of another person suspected of an offence. At your expense, after arrest, you must inform the family of the suspect. You must also allow the suspect to make calls to the family to inform them about his situation,” she told the law enforcers.\r\n\r\n“No more adjourning sine dine. Every criminal proceeding must be completed within 12 months. Also, a suspect can be tried in absentia. I have done it in seven cases and four of the suspects have been rearrested. Before now if a defendant is not in the court, that case died naturally. But not again in Anambra State.\r\n\r\nA Chief Magistrate, Dr Mike Anyadiegwu, shed further light. “The law now permits police officers who are not lawyers to prosecute offenders in courts. It also gives vigilante operatives the power of arrest just like any other private citizen. “However, they don’t have power to detain anybody or accept them to bail. They are to hand over arrested persons to the police”.\r\n\r\n“ACJL 2022 also provides for a central criminal registry to track down serial offenders. Unfortunately, this is not yet in place. Under the law, victims of crime are now compensated while the offenders face the penalties.\r\n\r\n*One of the sensitization programmes in churches*\r\nRoLAC State Project Coordinator, Josephine Onah, stated that her organization’s commitment to bettering the justice system of Anambra remains unwavering. “In criminal justice, it commences from the police and gets to the prison. So, everybody including traditional rulers, presidents-general, lawyers, civil society activists, journalists and many others should be involved. We must all understand the law and comply with it.\r\n\r\n“We also want the CSOs to monitor implementation of this law. You are all very important change agents. So, let\'s all join hands together,” she pleaded.\r\n\r\nThe formal events immediately gave way to community legal clinic in two communities selected from the two senatorial districts of the state and sensitization across parish churches and markets. ACJL messages were posted on bill boards in five major locations in the state with awareness creation in bus stations, motor and tricycle parks. The goal is to keep the citizenry informed of the provisions of the law which are meant to protect them from violations they have suffered in the past.\r\n\r\nThe event availed the locales in Awkuzu, Oyi LGA, and Ekwulobia, Aguata LGA opportunity to seek clarifications on issues that have bothered them for long.\r\n\r\nThe Secretary of Anambra State Justice Sector Monitoring Committee, (ACJMC) Rose Okeke, charged the people to take advantage of the new law to seek redress for any wrong done to them by state actors or fellow citizens. “You do not need to pay for bail because ACJL and Police Act say that bail is free. So do not allow anyone to intimidate you into giving money to bail yourself or anyone”.\r\n\r\n*Secretary, ACJMC, Anambra State, Rose Okeke, During Legal Clinic*\r\n\r\n“The law also empowers you as a citizen to arrest offenders. You have the same power that is given to the vigilante operatives. You can arrest but do not go overboard to detain or accept suspects to bail. Hand them over straight to the police for investigation and prosecution.\r\n\r\nA member of the team, Chuks Ifiora, told the citizens to guard against arrest in lieu which ACJL 2022 has abolished. According to him, “the police or any other law enforcement agency has no right to arrest the father in the place of his son suspected of an offence. If it happens, call any of the numbers in the fliers we are giving you. The committee in charge will answer your calls.\r\n\r\nVisibly appreciative citizens laid their minds bare as they commended the move by JDPC Onitsha and RoLAC to sanitize the criminal justice system of the state. “I will paste this in my shop, one of the traders at Eke-Ekwulobia, Grace Nwobi, said in appreciation of the sensitization campaign”.\r\n\r\n*One of the sensitization campaign programmes at Eke Market Ekwulobia*\r\n\r\nAnother woman, who did not want her name in print, remarked, “What you people are doing is good. We appreciated it. This is why we say everybody should be educated to know and defend their right. I appreciate this law especially for forbidding arrest in lieu”.\r\n\r\nA septuagenarian, Iwuoku Nweke, in Awkuzu, equally extolled the move to keep the citizens abreast of the law. “Most often, government makes law and we the citizens are not aware of it. This sensitization is good for all of us. These fliers with contacts we can call when in need is highly appreciated,” he concluded.\r\n\r\n*JDPC Onitsha Popularizing ACJL 2022 Through Tricycle*\r\n\r\nDuring the awareness creation project, JDPC Onitsha embarked on intensive social campaign to further sensitize the populace on the provisions of the state ACJL 2022. Its Executive Director, Reverend Father Edwin Udoye, said the RAPID project, was the contribution of his organization towards effective and efficient implementation of ACJL. This is why we built the capacity of all the actors in the justice sector and other critical stakeholders within the civil society and media,” he explained.\r\n\r\nHe pledged sustained commitment of the organization towards the growth and development of the state. “This is a faith-based organization and we are committed to the good of the society. We will keep the zeal towards ensuring that the society gets better. It is a commitment we cannot shirk,” he assured.','JDPC Onitsha’s RAPID Project Popularizes Anambra’s ACJL Through Intensive Campaign In Strategic Locations','','inherit','closed','closed','','5811-revision-v1','','','2024-12-20 23:09:06','2024-12-20 23:09:06','',5811,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5815',0,'revision','',0),(5816,1,'2024-12-20 23:17:50','2024-12-20 23:17:50','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5812\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241220-WA00441-300x188.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"188\" />\r\n\r\nOne of the sensitization programmes in churches\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne of the sensitization billboards on Nanka-Ekwulobia Road\r\n\r\nAnambra State reviewed its Administration of Criminal Justice (2010) in 2022 to inject innovations into the document. The new seeks to promote efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of the society from crimes and protection of the rights and interest of the suspect, the defendant and victims in Nigeria.\r\n\r\nAs lofty as its objectives are, ACJL 2022 of Anambra State remains a privileged document with its contents best described as exclusive as a privilege of a few actors in the justice sector. The situation, majorly blamed on poor or low awareness of the law among the citizenry, was concerning to the Justice Development and Peace/Caritas (JDPC) Onitsha, hence the move to reverse the ugly trend.\r\n\r\nConsequently, the organization secured support from the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption (RoLAC) programme implemented in Nigeria by The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), an intergovernmental organization that supports democracy worldwide, and funded by European Union to mount the campaign entitled, Raising Awareness on the Provisions of ACJL 2022 For Improved Justice Delivery In Anambra State (RAPID) Project.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5813 alignright\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241220-WA0045-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" />\r\n\r\n*One of the sensitization billboards on Nanka-Ekwulobia Road*\r\n\r\nUnder the RAPID project featured awareness creation programmes for key actors in the justice sector such as the police, the judiciary, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Correctional Service, state-based law enforcement agents such as Operation Clean and Health Anambra, OCHA Brigade among others as well as non-state actor including civil society activists and media professionals with a view to popularizing the innovative provisions of the law.\r\n\r\nParticipants were educated on the abolition of arrest in lieu which had been in practice especially by the police for decades. This is the practice of arresting a close relation of an offender in his or her stead due to his disappearance after committing the offence.\r\n\r\nThe Chairman, Magistrates Association, Anambra State Chapter, Onome Nwankwo, during one of the capacity building workshops noted, “In section 9 (4), you can no longer arrest a person in lieu of another person suspected of an offence. At your expense, after arrest, you must inform the family of the suspect. You must also allow the suspect to make calls to the family to inform them about his situation,” she told the law enforcers.\r\n\r\n“No more adjourning sine dine. Every criminal proceeding must be completed within 12 months. Also, a suspect can be tried in absentia. I have done it in seven cases and four of the suspects have been rearrested. Before now if a defendant is not in the court, that case died naturally. But not again in Anambra State.\r\n\r\nA Chief Magistrate, Dr Mike Anyadiegwu, shed further light. “The law now permits police officers who are not lawyers to prosecute offenders in courts. It also gives vigilante operatives the power of arrest just like any other private citizen. “However, they don’t have power to detain anybody or accept them to bail. They are to hand over arrested persons to the police”.\r\n\r\n“ACJL 2022 also provides for a central criminal registry to track down serial offenders. Unfortunately, this is not yet in place. Under the law, victims of crime are now compensated while the offenders face the penalties.\r\n\r\n*One of the sensitization programmes in churches*\r\nRoLAC State Project Coordinator, Josephine Onah, stated that her organization’s commitment to bettering the justice system of Anambra remains unwavering. “In criminal justice, it commences from the police and gets to the prison. So, everybody including traditional rulers, presidents-general, lawyers, civil society activists, journalists and many others should be involved. We must all understand the law and comply with it.\r\n\r\n“We also want the CSOs to monitor implementation of this law. You are all very important change agents. So, let\'s all join hands together,” she pleaded.\r\n\r\nThe formal events immediately gave way to community legal clinic in two communities selected from the two senatorial districts of the state and sensitization across parish churches and markets. ACJL messages were posted on bill boards in five major locations in the state with awareness creation in bus stations, motor and tricycle parks. The goal is to keep the citizenry informed of the provisions of the law which are meant to protect them from violations they have suffered in the past.\r\n\r\nThe event availed the locales in Awkuzu, Oyi LGA, and Ekwulobia, Aguata LGA opportunity to seek clarifications on issues that have bothered them for long.\r\n\r\nThe Secretary of Anambra State Justice Sector Monitoring Committee, (ACJMC) Rose Okeke, charged the people to take advantage of the new law to seek redress for any wrong done to them by state actors or fellow citizens. “You do not need to pay for bail because ACJL and Police Act say that bail is free. So do not allow anyone to intimidate you into giving money to bail yourself or anyone”.\r\n\r\n*Secretary, ACJMC, Anambra State, Rose Okeke, During Legal Clinic*\r\n\r\n“The law also empowers you as a citizen to arrest offenders. You have the same power that is given to the vigilante operatives. You can arrest but do not go overboard to detain or accept suspects to bail. Hand them over straight to the police for investigation and prosecution.\r\n\r\nA member of the team, Chuks Ifiora, told the citizens to guard against arrest in lieu which ACJL 2022 has abolished. According to him, “the police or any other law enforcement agency has no right to arrest the father in the place of his son suspected of an offence. If it happens, call any of the numbers in the fliers we are giving you. The committee in charge will answer your calls.\r\n\r\nVisibly appreciative citizens laid their minds bare as they commended the move by JDPC Onitsha and RoLAC to sanitize the criminal justice system of the state. “I will paste this in my shop, one of the traders at Eke-Ekwulobia, Grace Nwobi, said in appreciation of the sensitization campaign”.\r\n\r\n*One of the sensitization campaign programmes at Eke Market Ekwulobia*\r\n\r\nAnother woman, who did not want her name in print, remarked, “What you people are doing is good. We appreciated it. This is why we say everybody should be educated to know and defend their right. I appreciate this law especially for forbidding arrest in lieu”.\r\n\r\nA septuagenarian, Iwuoku Nweke, in Awkuzu, equally extolled the move to keep the citizens abreast of the law. “Most often, government makes law and we the citizens are not aware of it. This sensitization is good for all of us. These fliers with contacts we can call when in need is highly appreciated,” he concluded.\r\n\r\n*JDPC Onitsha Popularizing ACJL 2022 Through Tricycle*\r\n\r\nDuring the awareness creation project, JDPC Onitsha embarked on intensive social campaign to further sensitize the populace on the provisions of the state ACJL 2022. Its Executive Director, Reverend Father Edwin Udoye, said the RAPID project, was the contribution of his organization towards effective and efficient implementation of ACJL. This is why we built the capacity of all the actors in the justice sector and other critical stakeholders within the civil society and media,” he explained.\r\n\r\nHe pledged sustained commitment of the organization towards the growth and development of the state. “This is a faith-based organization and we are committed to the good of the society. We will keep the zeal towards ensuring that the society gets better. It is a commitment we cannot shirk,” he assured.','JDPC Onitsha Sensitizes Anambra Citizens On ACJL 2022','','inherit','closed','closed','','5811-revision-v1','','','2024-12-20 23:17:50','2024-12-20 23:17:50','',5811,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5816',0,'revision','',0),(5817,1,'2024-12-20 23:22:42','2024-12-20 23:22:42','&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5812\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241220-WA00441-300x188.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"188\" />\n\nOne of the sensitization billboards on Nanka-Ekwulobia Road\n\nAnambra State reviewed its Administration of Criminal Justice (2010) in 2022 to inject innovations into the document. The new seeks to promote efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of the society from crimes and protection of the rights and interest of the suspect, the defendant and victims in Nigeria.\n\nAs lofty as its objectives are, ACJL 2022 of Anambra State remains a privileged document with its contents best described as exclusive as a privilege of a few actors in the justice sector. The situation, majorly blamed on poor or low awareness of the law among the citizenry, was concerning to the Justice Development and Peace/Caritas (JDPC) Onitsha, hence the move to reverse the ugly trend.\n\nConsequently, the organization secured support from the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption (RoLAC) programme implemented in Nigeria by The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), an intergovernmental organization that supports democracy worldwide, and funded by European Union to mount the campaign entitled, Raising Awareness on the Provisions of ACJL 2022 For Improved Justice Delivery In Anambra State (RAPID) Project.\n\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5813 alignright\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241220-WA0045-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" />\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"></p>\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUnder the RAPID project featured awareness creation programmes for key actors in the justice sector such as the police, the judiciary, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Correctional Service, state-based law enforcement agents such as Operation Clean and Health Anambra, OCHA Brigade among others as well as non-state actor including civil society activists and media professionals with a view to popularizing the innovative provisions of the law.\n\nParticipants were educated on the abolition of arrest in lieu which had been in practice especially by the police for decades. This is the practice of arresting a close relation of an offender in his or her stead due to his disappearance after committing the offence.\n\nThe Chairman, Magistrates Association, Anambra State Chapter, Onome Nwankwo, during one of the capacity building workshops noted, “In section 9 (4), you can no longer arrest a person in lieu of another person suspected of an offence. At your expense, after arrest, you must inform the family of the suspect. You must also allow the suspect to make calls to the family to inform them about his situation,” she told the law enforcers.\n\n“No more adjourning sine dine. Every criminal proceeding must be completed within 12 months. Also, a suspect can be tried in absentia. I have done it in seven cases and four of the suspects have been rearrested. Before now if a defendant is not in the court, that case died naturally. But not again in Anambra State.\n\nA Chief Magistrate, Dr Mike Anyadiegwu, shed further light. “The law now permits police officers who are not lawyers to prosecute offenders in courts. It also gives vigilante operatives the power of arrest just like any other private citizen. “However, they don’t have power to detain anybody or accept them to bail. They are to hand over arrested persons to the police”.\n\n“ACJL 2022 also provides for a central criminal registry to track down serial offenders. Unfortunately, this is not yet in place. Under the law, victims of crime are now compensated while the offenders face the penalties.\n\n*One of the sensitization programmes in churches*\nRoLAC State Project Coordinator, Josephine Onah, stated that her organization’s commitment to bettering the justice system of Anambra remains unwavering. “In criminal justice, it commences from the police and gets to the prison. So, everybody including traditional rulers, presidents-general, lawyers, civil society activists, journalists and many others should be involved. We must all understand the law and comply with it.\n\n“We also want the CSOs to monitor implementation of this law. You are all very important change agents. So, let\'s all join hands together,” she pleaded.\n\nThe formal events immediately gave way to community legal clinic in two communities selected from the two senatorial districts of the state and sensitization across parish churches and markets. ACJL messages were posted on bill boards in five major locations in the state with awareness creation in bus stations, motor and tricycle parks. The goal is to keep the citizenry informed of the provisions of the law which are meant to protect them from violations they have suffered in the past.\n\nThe event availed the locales in Awkuzu, Oyi LGA, and Ekwulobia, Aguata LGA opportunity to seek clarifications on issues that have bothered them for long.\n\nThe Secretary of Anambra State Justice Sector Monitoring Committee, (ACJMC) Rose Okeke, charged the people to take advantage of the new law to seek redress for any wrong done to them by state actors or fellow citizens. “You do not need to pay for bail because ACJL and Police Act say that bail is free. So do not allow anyone to intimidate you into giving money to bail yourself or anyone”.\n\n*Secretary, ACJMC, Anambra State, Rose Okeke, During Legal Clinic*\n\n“The law also empowers you as a citizen to arrest offenders. You have the same power that is given to the vigilante operatives. You can arrest but do not go overboard to detain or accept suspects to bail. Hand them over straight to the police for investigation and prosecution.\n\nA member of the team, Chuks Ifiora, told the citizens to guard against arrest in lieu which ACJL 2022 has abolished. According to him, “the police or any other law enforcement agency has no right to arrest the father in the place of his son suspected of an offence. If it happens, call any of the numbers in the fliers we are giving you. The committee in charge will answer your calls.\n\nVisibly appreciative citizens laid their minds bare as they commended the move by JDPC Onitsha and RoLAC to sanitize the criminal justice system of the state. “I will paste this in my shop, one of the traders at Eke-Ekwulobia, Grace Nwobi, said in appreciation of the sensitization campaign”.\n\n*One of the sensitization campaign programmes at Eke Market Ekwulobia*\n\nAnother woman, who did not want her name in print, remarked, “What you people are doing is good. We appreciated it. This is why we say everybody should be educated to know and defend their right. I appreciate this law especially for forbidding arrest in lieu”.\n\nA septuagenarian, Iwuoku Nweke, in Awkuzu, equally extolled the move to keep the citizens abreast of the law. “Most often, government makes law and we the citizens are not aware of it. This sensitization is good for all of us. These fliers with contacts we can call when in need is highly appreciated,” he concluded.\n\n*JDPC Onitsha Popularizing ACJL 2022 Through Tricycle*\n\nDuring the awareness creation project, JDPC Onitsha embarked on intensive social campaign to further sensitize the populace on the provisions of the state ACJL 2022. Its Executive Director, Reverend Father Edwin Udoye, said the RAPID project, was the contribution of his organization towards effective and efficient implementation of ACJL. This is why we built the capacity of all the actors in the justice sector and other critical stakeholders within the civil society and media,” he explained.\n\nHe pledged sustained commitment of the organization towards the growth and development of the state. “This is a faith-based organization and we are committed to the good of the society. We will keep the zeal towards ensuring that the society gets better. It is a commitment we cannot shirk,” he assured.','JDPC Onitsha Sensitizes Anambra Citizens On ACJL 2022','','inherit','closed','closed','','5811-autosave-v1','','','2024-12-20 23:22:42','2024-12-20 23:22:42','',5811,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5817',0,'revision','',0),(5818,1,'2024-12-20 23:23:33','2024-12-20 23:23:33','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5812\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241220-WA00441-300x188.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"188\" />\r\n\r\nOne of the sensitization programmes in churches\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne of the sensitization billboards on Nanka-Ekwulobia Road\r\n\r\nAnambra State reviewed its Administration of Criminal Justice (2010) in 2022 to inject innovations into the document. The new seeks to promote efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of the society from crimes and protection of the rights and interest of the suspect, the defendant and victims in Nigeria.\r\n\r\nAs lofty as its objectives are, ACJL 2022 of Anambra State remains a privileged document with its contents best described as exclusive as a privilege of a few actors in the justice sector. The situation, majorly blamed on poor or low awareness of the law among the citizenry, was concerning to the Justice Development and Peace/Caritas (JDPC) Onitsha, hence the move to reverse the ugly trend.\r\n\r\nConsequently, the organization secured support from the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption (RoLAC) programme implemented in Nigeria by The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), an intergovernmental organization that supports democracy worldwide, and funded by European Union to mount the campaign entitled, Raising Awareness on the Provisions of ACJL 2022 For Improved Justice Delivery In Anambra State (RAPID) Project.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5813 alignright\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241220-WA0045-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne of the sensitization programmes in churches\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUnder the RAPID project featured awareness creation programmes for key actors in the justice sector such as the police, the judiciary, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Correctional Service, state-based law enforcement agents such as Operation Clean and Health Anambra, OCHA Brigade among others as well as non-state actor including civil society activists and media professionals with a view to popularizing the innovative provisions of the law.\r\n\r\nParticipants were educated on the abolition of arrest in lieu which had been in practice especially by the police for decades. This is the practice of arresting a close relation of an offender in his or her stead due to his disappearance after committing the offence.\r\n\r\nThe Chairman, Magistrates Association, Anambra State Chapter, Onome Nwankwo, during one of the capacity building workshops noted, “In section 9 (4), you can no longer arrest a person in lieu of another person suspected of an offence. At your expense, after arrest, you must inform the family of the suspect. You must also allow the suspect to make calls to the family to inform them about his situation,” she told the law enforcers.\r\n\r\n“No more adjourning sine dine. Every criminal proceeding must be completed within 12 months. Also, a suspect can be tried in absentia. I have done it in seven cases and four of the suspects have been rearrested. Before now if a defendant is not in the court, that case died naturally. But not again in Anambra State.\r\n\r\nA Chief Magistrate, Dr Mike Anyadiegwu, shed further light. “The law now permits police officers who are not lawyers to prosecute offenders in courts. It also gives vigilante operatives the power of arrest just like any other private citizen. “However, they don’t have power to detain anybody or accept them to bail. They are to hand over arrested persons to the police”.\r\n\r\n“ACJL 2022 also provides for a central criminal registry to track down serial offenders. Unfortunately, this is not yet in place. Under the law, victims of crime are now compensated while the offenders face the penalties.\r\n\r\n*One of the sensitization programmes in churches*\r\nRoLAC State Project Coordinator, Josephine Onah, stated that her organization’s commitment to bettering the justice system of Anambra remains unwavering. “In criminal justice, it commences from the police and gets to the prison. So, everybody including traditional rulers, presidents-general, lawyers, civil society activists, journalists and many others should be involved. We must all understand the law and comply with it.\r\n\r\n“We also want the CSOs to monitor implementation of this law. You are all very important change agents. So, let\'s all join hands together,” she pleaded.\r\n\r\nThe formal events immediately gave way to community legal clinic in two communities selected from the two senatorial districts of the state and sensitization across parish churches and markets. ACJL messages were posted on bill boards in five major locations in the state with awareness creation in bus stations, motor and tricycle parks. The goal is to keep the citizenry informed of the provisions of the law which are meant to protect them from violations they have suffered in the past.\r\n\r\nThe event availed the locales in Awkuzu, Oyi LGA, and Ekwulobia, Aguata LGA opportunity to seek clarifications on issues that have bothered them for long.\r\n\r\nThe Secretary of Anambra State Justice Sector Monitoring Committee, (ACJMC) Rose Okeke, charged the people to take advantage of the new law to seek redress for any wrong done to them by state actors or fellow citizens. “You do not need to pay for bail because ACJL and Police Act say that bail is free. So do not allow anyone to intimidate you into giving money to bail yourself or anyone”.\r\n\r\n*Secretary, ACJMC, Anambra State, Rose Okeke, During Legal Clinic*\r\n\r\n“The law also empowers you as a citizen to arrest offenders. You have the same power that is given to the vigilante operatives. You can arrest but do not go overboard to detain or accept suspects to bail. Hand them over straight to the police for investigation and prosecution.\r\n\r\nA member of the team, Chuks Ifiora, told the citizens to guard against arrest in lieu which ACJL 2022 has abolished. According to him, “the police or any other law enforcement agency has no right to arrest the father in the place of his son suspected of an offence. If it happens, call any of the numbers in the fliers we are giving you. The committee in charge will answer your calls.\r\n\r\nVisibly appreciative citizens laid their minds bare as they commended the move by JDPC Onitsha and RoLAC to sanitize the criminal justice system of the state. “I will paste this in my shop, one of the traders at Eke-Ekwulobia, Grace Nwobi, said in appreciation of the sensitization campaign”.\r\n\r\n*One of the sensitization campaign programmes at Eke Market Ekwulobia*\r\n\r\nAnother woman, who did not want her name in print, remarked, “What you people are doing is good. We appreciated it. This is why we say everybody should be educated to know and defend their right. I appreciate this law especially for forbidding arrest in lieu”.\r\n\r\nA septuagenarian, Iwuoku Nweke, in Awkuzu, equally extolled the move to keep the citizens abreast of the law. “Most often, government makes law and we the citizens are not aware of it. This sensitization is good for all of us. These fliers with contacts we can call when in need is highly appreciated,” he concluded.\r\n\r\n*JDPC Onitsha Popularizing ACJL 2022 Through Tricycle*\r\n\r\nDuring the awareness creation project, JDPC Onitsha embarked on intensive social campaign to further sensitize the populace on the provisions of the state ACJL 2022. Its Executive Director, Reverend Father Edwin Udoye, said the RAPID project, was the contribution of his organization towards effective and efficient implementation of ACJL. This is why we built the capacity of all the actors in the justice sector and other critical stakeholders within the civil society and media,” he explained.\r\n\r\nHe pledged sustained commitment of the organization towards the growth and development of the state. “This is a faith-based organization and we are committed to the good of the society. We will keep the zeal towards ensuring that the society gets better. It is a commitment we cannot shirk,” he assured.','JDPC Onitsha Sensitizes Anambra Citizens On ACJL 2022','','inherit','closed','closed','','5811-revision-v1','','','2024-12-20 23:23:33','2024-12-20 23:23:33','',5811,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5818',0,'revision','',0),(5820,1,'2024-12-26 15:43:13','2024-12-26 15:43:13','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5821\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241226-WA0013-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" />\r\n\r\nBusinessRAYMOND OZOJI reports\r\n\r\nMultimillion Naira King Paddy Hotels and Resort has officially opened for business and patronage from the general public. Situated at King Paddy Crescent Nneyi Umueri and very close to the popular Aguleri junction in Anambra-East Local Government Area of Anambra State, the 30 rooms exquisite hotel prides itself as a relaxation point from the Chinua Achebe International Airport Umueri.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nManaging Director and Chief Executive Officer of King Paddy Hotels and Resort Mr. Patrick Chukwuma told HEADLINE NEWS that the hotel was established to curtail capital flight from Umueri as visitors often left the community after attending programmes in the area to seek comfort and relaxation elsewhere over absence of good hotels to check-in.\r\n\r\nMr.Chukwuma who is also the MD/CEO of Soft-Net Limited Abuja, said he looked around the community and could not find a good hotel where guests could spend quality time in a very serene environment similar to what they see in the cities. As a result, he decided to establish the multimillion naira hotel in his village Nneyi Umueri so that people could come and experience the hospitality nature of the Omambala region.\r\n\r\nHe said he comes home most of the times for events and noticed that after the events, people would be rushing out of the community to go and look for where they can sleep because there are no good hotels around.\r\n\r\nAccording to him, King Paddy Hotels and Resort is a world class hotel with about 30 rooms; has water treatment plant, 24 hours electricity supply,, air-conditioned rooms, swimming pool, pool bar, club and WEMA Bank ATM Machine. Other facilities he mentioned were gym house, snooker game, table tennis and more to make life enjoyable and sweet.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5822\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241226-WA0014-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" />\r\n\r\nChukwuma who told HEADLINE NEWS that his decision to establish King Paddy Hotels and Resort in his village Nneyi Umueri was in line with Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo\'s think home philosophy, also appealed to government to look into issues of rural electrification, provision of electric transformers as well as construct rural access roads especially as there is an airport in Umueri community.\r\n\r\nThe Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of King Paddy Hotels and Resort however commended Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, saying that his government is open to development especially with the Flyover bridge he is constructing at Ekwulobia and other capital projects across the state even as he urged the governor to pay more attention to security, pointing out that a secured environment helps hospitality business to succeed.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile the President-General of Umueri community Chief John Metchie (Ife-Omambala) said the establishment of King Paddy Hotels and Resort in Umueri was a bold step taken in the right direction as he believes that it is also grassroots development.\r\n\r\nMetchie who was represented at the grand opening of the hotel by the Financial Secretary of Umueri General Assembly Mr. Wisdom Onuora, maintained that they would provide security for the hotel and ensure that people patronized King Paddy Hotels and Resort Nneyi Umueri.\r\n\r\nHigh point of the colourful grand opening of King Paddy Hotels and Resort Nneyi Umueri was the presentation of a big cow to Mr. Patrick Chukwuma by his in-laws coupled with other performances.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n##','Multimillion Naira King Paddy Hotels And Resort Umueri Opens For Business','','publish','open','open','','multimillion-naira-king-paddy-hotels-and-resort-umueri-opens-for-business','','','2024-12-26 15:43:13','2024-12-26 15:43:13','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5820',0,'post','',0),(5821,1,'2024-12-26 15:41:50','2024-12-26 15:41:50','','IMG-20241226-WA0013','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20241226-wa0013','','','2024-12-26 15:41:50','2024-12-26 15:41:50','',5820,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241226-WA0013.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5822,1,'2024-12-26 15:42:31','2024-12-26 15:42:31','','IMG-20241226-WA0014','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20241226-wa0014','','','2024-12-26 15:42:31','2024-12-26 15:42:31','',5820,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241226-WA0014.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5823,1,'2024-12-26 15:42:58','2024-12-26 15:42:58','','IMG-20241226-WA0012','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20241226-wa0012','','','2024-12-26 15:42:58','2024-12-26 15:42:58','',5820,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241226-WA0012.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5824,1,'2024-12-26 15:43:13','2024-12-26 15:43:13','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5821\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241226-WA0013-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" />\r\n\r\nBusinessRAYMOND OZOJI reports\r\n\r\nMultimillion Naira King Paddy Hotels and Resort has officially opened for business and patronage from the general public. Situated at King Paddy Crescent Nneyi Umueri and very close to the popular Aguleri junction in Anambra-East Local Government Area of Anambra State, the 30 rooms exquisite hotel prides itself as a relaxation point from the Chinua Achebe International Airport Umueri.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nManaging Director and Chief Executive Officer of King Paddy Hotels and Resort Mr. Patrick Chukwuma told HEADLINE NEWS that the hotel was established to curtail capital flight from Umueri as visitors often left the community after attending programmes in the area to seek comfort and relaxation elsewhere over absence of good hotels to check-in.\r\n\r\nMr.Chukwuma who is also the MD/CEO of Soft-Net Limited Abuja, said he looked around the community and could not find a good hotel where guests could spend quality time in a very serene environment similar to what they see in the cities. As a result, he decided to establish the multimillion naira hotel in his village Nneyi Umueri so that people could come and experience the hospitality nature of the Omambala region.\r\n\r\nHe said he comes home most of the times for events and noticed that after the events, people would be rushing out of the community to go and look for where they can sleep because there are no good hotels around.\r\n\r\nAccording to him, King Paddy Hotels and Resort is a world class hotel with about 30 rooms; has water treatment plant, 24 hours electricity supply,, air-conditioned rooms, swimming pool, pool bar, club and WEMA Bank ATM Machine. Other facilities he mentioned were gym house, snooker game, table tennis and more to make life enjoyable and sweet.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5822\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG-20241226-WA0014-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" />\r\n\r\nChukwuma who told HEADLINE NEWS that his decision to establish King Paddy Hotels and Resort in his village Nneyi Umueri was in line with Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo\'s think home philosophy, also appealed to government to look into issues of rural electrification, provision of electric transformers as well as construct rural access roads especially as there is an airport in Umueri community.\r\n\r\nThe Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of King Paddy Hotels and Resort however commended Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, saying that his government is open to development especially with the Flyover bridge he is constructing at Ekwulobia and other capital projects across the state even as he urged the governor to pay more attention to security, pointing out that a secured environment helps hospitality business to succeed.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile the President-General of Umueri community Chief John Metchie (Ife-Omambala) said the establishment of King Paddy Hotels and Resort in Umueri was a bold step taken in the right direction as he believes that it is also grassroots development.\r\n\r\nMetchie who was represented at the grand opening of the hotel by the Financial Secretary of Umueri General Assembly Mr. Wisdom Onuora, maintained that they would provide security for the hotel and ensure that people patronized King Paddy Hotels and Resort Nneyi Umueri.\r\n\r\nHigh point of the colourful grand opening of King Paddy Hotels and Resort Nneyi Umueri was the presentation of a big cow to Mr. Patrick Chukwuma by his in-laws coupled with other performances.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n##','Multimillion Naira King Paddy Hotels And Resort Umueri Opens For Business','','inherit','closed','closed','','5820-revision-v1','','','2024-12-26 15:43:13','2024-12-26 15:43:13','',5820,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5824',0,'revision','',0),(5828,1,'2025-01-01 18:07:29','2025-01-01 18:07:29','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5829\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250101-WA0033-298x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"298\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nWeeks after the kidnap of Anambra lawmaker coupled with the abduction of an Anglican clergy and the killing of a Catholic priest as well as the most recent brutal massacre of eight persons in Chigbonu village Umuike Ubahuekwem Ihiala on 30th December 2024 by daredevil gunmen alongside other heinous crimes being perpetrated across Ànambra, the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) has declared that it is ready to partner and collaborate with the government of Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo to comb all the forests in Anambra State where killers and kidnappers of innocent citizens have their camps and territories.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAnambra commander of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) Destiny Jonas who spoke to HEADLINE NEWS about the exploits of the organization, said that NFSS is ever willing and ready to offer its expertise in securing the forests and bushes both for economic reasons and security purposes, adding that their operations are mostly in the forests and bushes because they know the terrain very well.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe NFSS state commander noted that NFSS would be most obliged to join forces with other security agencies to ensure the success of the Operation Udo Ga Di Na Anambra Security Initiative of the state government intended to rid the hinterlands off criminal elements unleashing terror and mayhem on the people.\r\n\r\nHe said that NFSS can gather intelligence to demobilize any kind of force in the forest. That all that is needed is the collaboration of government agencies and government itself including recognition of the Nigerian Forest Security Service.\r\n\r\nThe security expert maintained that officers of the NFSS are ready to rescue Anambra forests from unknown gunmen and other criminal elements but the need for recognition and roundtable discussions are of paramount importance.\r\n\r\nHe was worried and concerned that investors are fleeing from Anambra to invest in other states because of insecurity In the land. Although he pointed out that officers and men of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) assisted the Police and other security agents to ensure safety of those who returned to Anambra State for the festive season but still emphasized that a lot more have to be done to redeem Anambra forests from the tutelage of daredevil gunmen and other criminal minds.\r\n\r\nJonas stated that impassible remote areas like Achala, Igbariam, Nsugbe and some others were hitch free because men of the NFSS were stationed in those places. He also disclosed that NFSS has identified some flashpoints (bushes) across Ànambra State where it will declare total war on criminal camps from January 2025.\r\n\r\nHe said all that is required now is permission from the authorities to enable them launch massive operations in the identified black spots even as he stated that some kidnapped victims were rescued by the operatives of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) this yuletide season.That the plan of NFSS is to make sure that Anambra forests are free from criminal activities like deforestation, kidnappings and all manner of criminalities.\r\n\r\nThe Anambra State NFSS commander however expressed gratitude profound to the Deputy Commander-General (Intelligence) of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) Amb. Dr. John Metchie for his monumental supports to the service describing him as an enigma.\r\n\r\nHe said that Dr. John Metchie is not only interested in the security and safety of Anambra citizens but also interested in the protection of lives and property of Nigerians across the federation, adding that if there are more John Metchies in Anambra, the state will definitely turn around for good.\r\n\r\nHe also extolled the efforts and giant strides of the Commander-General of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) Amb. Dr. Joshua Osatimehin for ensuring unity of purpose and cohesion in the service.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n##','Nigerian Forest Security Service To Partner Soludo Against Insecurity','','publish','open','open','','nigerian-forest-security-service-to-partner-soludo-against-insecurity','','','2025-01-01 18:07:29','2025-01-01 18:07:29','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5828',0,'post','',0),(5829,1,'2025-01-01 18:06:20','2025-01-01 18:06:20','','IMG-20250101-WA0033','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250101-wa0033','','','2025-01-01 18:06:20','2025-01-01 18:06:20','',5828,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250101-WA0033.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5830,1,'2025-01-01 18:07:15','2025-01-01 18:07:15','','IMG-20250101-WA0033','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250101-wa0033-2','','','2025-01-01 18:07:15','2025-01-01 18:07:15','',5828,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250101-WA0033-1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5831,1,'2025-01-01 18:07:29','2025-01-01 18:07:29','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5829\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250101-WA0033-298x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"298\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nWeeks after the kidnap of Anambra lawmaker coupled with the abduction of an Anglican clergy and the killing of a Catholic priest as well as the most recent brutal massacre of eight persons in Chigbonu village Umuike Ubahuekwem Ihiala on 30th December 2024 by daredevil gunmen alongside other heinous crimes being perpetrated across Ànambra, the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) has declared that it is ready to partner and collaborate with the government of Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo to comb all the forests in Anambra State where killers and kidnappers of innocent citizens have their camps and territories.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAnambra commander of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) Destiny Jonas who spoke to HEADLINE NEWS about the exploits of the organization, said that NFSS is ever willing and ready to offer its expertise in securing the forests and bushes both for economic reasons and security purposes, adding that their operations are mostly in the forests and bushes because they know the terrain very well.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe NFSS state commander noted that NFSS would be most obliged to join forces with other security agencies to ensure the success of the Operation Udo Ga Di Na Anambra Security Initiative of the state government intended to rid the hinterlands off criminal elements unleashing terror and mayhem on the people.\r\n\r\nHe said that NFSS can gather intelligence to demobilize any kind of force in the forest. That all that is needed is the collaboration of government agencies and government itself including recognition of the Nigerian Forest Security Service.\r\n\r\nThe security expert maintained that officers of the NFSS are ready to rescue Anambra forests from unknown gunmen and other criminal elements but the need for recognition and roundtable discussions are of paramount importance.\r\n\r\nHe was worried and concerned that investors are fleeing from Anambra to invest in other states because of insecurity In the land. Although he pointed out that officers and men of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) assisted the Police and other security agents to ensure safety of those who returned to Anambra State for the festive season but still emphasized that a lot more have to be done to redeem Anambra forests from the tutelage of daredevil gunmen and other criminal minds.\r\n\r\nJonas stated that impassible remote areas like Achala, Igbariam, Nsugbe and some others were hitch free because men of the NFSS were stationed in those places. He also disclosed that NFSS has identified some flashpoints (bushes) across Ànambra State where it will declare total war on criminal camps from January 2025.\r\n\r\nHe said all that is required now is permission from the authorities to enable them launch massive operations in the identified black spots even as he stated that some kidnapped victims were rescued by the operatives of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) this yuletide season.That the plan of NFSS is to make sure that Anambra forests are free from criminal activities like deforestation, kidnappings and all manner of criminalities.\r\n\r\nThe Anambra State NFSS commander however expressed gratitude profound to the Deputy Commander-General (Intelligence) of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) Amb. Dr. John Metchie for his monumental supports to the service describing him as an enigma.\r\n\r\nHe said that Dr. John Metchie is not only interested in the security and safety of Anambra citizens but also interested in the protection of lives and property of Nigerians across the federation, adding that if there are more John Metchies in Anambra, the state will definitely turn around for good.\r\n\r\nHe also extolled the efforts and giant strides of the Commander-General of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) Amb. Dr. Joshua Osatimehin for ensuring unity of purpose and cohesion in the service.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n##','Nigerian Forest Security Service To Partner Soludo Against Insecurity','','inherit','closed','closed','','5828-revision-v1','','','2025-01-01 18:07:29','2025-01-01 18:07:29','',5828,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5831',0,'revision','',0),(5832,1,'2025-01-07 19:52:09','2025-01-07 19:52:09','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5833 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250107-WA0012-209x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"209\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nRAYMOND OZOJI, Awka\r\n\r\nGovernor Chukwuma Charles Soludo of Anambra State is set to train forest guards for the Udo Ga Achi security operations that will be launched in the state this January.\r\n\r\nThe state commissioner for information Dr. Law Mefor who disclosed this in a press statement, said no stone will be left unturned this time because the government is coming up with a comprehensive approach to confront security concerns in the state.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nIt will be recalled that the tragic brutal Killings of eight persons and two security operatives in Ihiala recently and some other similar ugly episodes across the state by daredevil gunmen camping in the forests have prompted government to go the extra miles to guarantee safety and security of lives and property of the citizens.\r\n\r\nHence, the Information Commissioner noted that the forest guards will be trained and incorporated into the Udo Ga Achi security operations to enable them to collaborate with local vigilantes to comb the forests and rescue them from criminals.\r\n\r\nMefor\'s statement reads in part, \" To address the security concerns in the South East and particularly Anambra, Governor Soludo\'s administration is set to launch \"Operation Udo Ga-Achi\" (Operation Peace Shall Reign) this January.\r\n\r\nThis comprehensive security initiative will integrate advanced surveillance technology, deploy branded vehicles for stop-and-search activities, and train forest guards to work with vigilantes and local authorities.\r\n\r\nOperation Udo Ga-Achi is designed to restore peace and stability in the Southeast, and Governor Soludo is committed to ensuring its success.\r\n\r\nThe key components of Operation Udo Ga-Achi include: Advanced Surveillance Technology: The operation will utilise advanced surveillance technology, including drones and CCTV cameras, to monitor and track criminal activities.\r\n\r\nBranded Vehicles: Branded vehicles will be deployed for stop-and-search activities, ensuring that criminals are apprehended and brought to justice.\r\n\r\nForest Guards: Forest guards will be trained to work with vigilantes and local authorities, ensuring that criminal activities are prevented and responded to effectively.\"\r\n\r\nMeanwhile the Deputy Commander-General (Intelligence Unit) of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) DCG Amb. Dr. John Metchie has expressed profound gratitude to Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo for incorporating NFSS into the state security architecture.\r\n\r\nMetchie who stated that it is a welcome development, noted that the forest guards working in partnership with other security agents, Anambra forests and bushes will be rescued from unknown gunmen, stressing that criminals have no hiding place anymore.\r\n\r\nMetchie therefore commended Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo for initiating the Udo Ga Achi Security Operations in Anambra State, describing it as a right step taken in the right direction. He said that with such courageous move by the governor, Anambra is coming back to be the safest state in Nigeria.\r\n\r\nHe said those calling for the governor\'s resignation due to insecurity should take a chill pill because he believes that security is not politics and that Governor Soludo is working assiduously to improve the security situation in the state. That by involving forest guards in the mission to reclaim Anambra from criminal insurgents, people will definitely see a positive change in the polity, stressing that Soludo has no reason to resign from office.\r\n\r\nHe however admonished other Southeast governors to borrow a leaf from Governor Soludo\'s security strategy by involving forest guards in their security operations especially as it concerns securing the forests and bushes from malignant forces and criminal elements while urging the presidency to fast track assent on the bill establishing the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS).\r\n\r\nThe DCG Intelligence also extolled the efforts of the Commander-General of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) CG Amb. Dr. Joshua Osatimehim for his transformational leadership style that has brought monumental heights to the service.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n##','Soludo To Train Forest Guards For Udo Ga Achi Security Operations In Anambra','','publish','open','open','','soludo-to-train-forest-guards-for-udo-ga-achi-security-operations-in-anambra','','','2025-01-07 19:52:09','2025-01-07 19:52:09','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5832',0,'post','',0),(5833,1,'2025-01-07 19:51:23','2025-01-07 19:51:23','','IMG-20250107-WA0012','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250107-wa0012','','','2025-01-07 19:51:23','2025-01-07 19:51:23','',5832,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250107-WA0012.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5834,1,'2025-01-07 19:52:00','2025-01-07 19:52:00','','IMG-20250107-WA0012','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250107-wa0012-2','','','2025-01-07 19:52:00','2025-01-07 19:52:00','',5832,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250107-WA0012-1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5835,1,'2025-01-07 19:52:09','2025-01-07 19:52:09','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5833 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250107-WA0012-209x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"209\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nRAYMOND OZOJI, Awka\r\n\r\nGovernor Chukwuma Charles Soludo of Anambra State is set to train forest guards for the Udo Ga Achi security operations that will be launched in the state this January.\r\n\r\nThe state commissioner for information Dr. Law Mefor who disclosed this in a press statement, said no stone will be left unturned this time because the government is coming up with a comprehensive approach to confront security concerns in the state.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nIt will be recalled that the tragic brutal Killings of eight persons and two security operatives in Ihiala recently and some other similar ugly episodes across the state by daredevil gunmen camping in the forests have prompted government to go the extra miles to guarantee safety and security of lives and property of the citizens.\r\n\r\nHence, the Information Commissioner noted that the forest guards will be trained and incorporated into the Udo Ga Achi security operations to enable them to collaborate with local vigilantes to comb the forests and rescue them from criminals.\r\n\r\nMefor\'s statement reads in part, \" To address the security concerns in the South East and particularly Anambra, Governor Soludo\'s administration is set to launch \"Operation Udo Ga-Achi\" (Operation Peace Shall Reign) this January.\r\n\r\nThis comprehensive security initiative will integrate advanced surveillance technology, deploy branded vehicles for stop-and-search activities, and train forest guards to work with vigilantes and local authorities.\r\n\r\nOperation Udo Ga-Achi is designed to restore peace and stability in the Southeast, and Governor Soludo is committed to ensuring its success.\r\n\r\nThe key components of Operation Udo Ga-Achi include: Advanced Surveillance Technology: The operation will utilise advanced surveillance technology, including drones and CCTV cameras, to monitor and track criminal activities.\r\n\r\nBranded Vehicles: Branded vehicles will be deployed for stop-and-search activities, ensuring that criminals are apprehended and brought to justice.\r\n\r\nForest Guards: Forest guards will be trained to work with vigilantes and local authorities, ensuring that criminal activities are prevented and responded to effectively.\"\r\n\r\nMeanwhile the Deputy Commander-General (Intelligence Unit) of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) DCG Amb. Dr. John Metchie has expressed profound gratitude to Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo for incorporating NFSS into the state security architecture.\r\n\r\nMetchie who stated that it is a welcome development, noted that the forest guards working in partnership with other security agents, Anambra forests and bushes will be rescued from unknown gunmen, stressing that criminals have no hiding place anymore.\r\n\r\nMetchie therefore commended Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo for initiating the Udo Ga Achi Security Operations in Anambra State, describing it as a right step taken in the right direction. He said that with such courageous move by the governor, Anambra is coming back to be the safest state in Nigeria.\r\n\r\nHe said those calling for the governor\'s resignation due to insecurity should take a chill pill because he believes that security is not politics and that Governor Soludo is working assiduously to improve the security situation in the state. That by involving forest guards in the mission to reclaim Anambra from criminal insurgents, people will definitely see a positive change in the polity, stressing that Soludo has no reason to resign from office.\r\n\r\nHe however admonished other Southeast governors to borrow a leaf from Governor Soludo\'s security strategy by involving forest guards in their security operations especially as it concerns securing the forests and bushes from malignant forces and criminal elements while urging the presidency to fast track assent on the bill establishing the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS).\r\n\r\nThe DCG Intelligence also extolled the efforts of the Commander-General of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) CG Amb. Dr. Joshua Osatimehim for his transformational leadership style that has brought monumental heights to the service.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n##','Soludo To Train Forest Guards For Udo Ga Achi Security Operations In Anambra','','inherit','closed','closed','','5832-revision-v1','','','2025-01-07 19:52:09','2025-01-07 19:52:09','',5832,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5835',0,'revision','',0),(5838,1,'2025-01-14 14:48:50','2025-01-14 14:48:50','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5839\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/images-19-300x168.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" />\r\n\r\nFormer Inspector General of Police, Sir Mike Okiro has withdrawn from the race to occupy the position of President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.\r\n\r\nAvailable reports has it that Okiro made the announcement during a press briefing in Enugu on Thursday.\r\n\r\nHe hinged his decision on the order of an Enugu State High Court barring him from contesting in the election.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nRecalls that the court had given an injunction barring the former Police Chief based on a suit before it which claimed that he (Okiro) is from Imo State and not Rivers where the position was zoned to.\r\n\r\nIn adherence to the order, Okiro has now announced his withdrawal from the race.\r\n\r\nThe full text of his press briefing below:\r\n\r\n“My dear brothers and sisters, I, Sir Mike Okiro CFR, President General Candidate for Ohanaeze Ndigbo Election slated for 10th January, 2025 address you today with unwavering resolve.\r\n\r\n“I have been made aware of the Enugu State High Court’s interim order, which regrettably restrains me from contesting the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide Presidency General Election tomorrow.\r\n\r\n“The court order, based on alleged non-indigene status, contradicts verifiable facts. It is unfortunate that the court did not invite me or heard from me before giving that obnoxious order which I got from the media. The facts are (a) That I hail from Egbema in Rivers State as shown by my National Population Commission Attestation of Birth. (b) My Traditional Ruler, the Nzeobi of Egbema, has also confirmed my indigene status of Rivers State. (c) I have written many books where my indigeneship of Rivers State is shown in the author’s column. A good example is my best seller, titled: “Nigeria: The Restructuring ‘Controversy”. (d) Page 6 of my biography written by Mr. Dozie Okebalama also shows my indigeneship of Rivers. (e) I have attended many Imeobi meetings where I represented Rivers State in the attendance list compiled by the Secretary-General. (f) As a student in the University of Ibadan, I was a member of the Rivers State Students’ Association, where I was elected as Treasurer, and another Great UIte, now Distinguished Senator Andrew Uchendu was elected as Secretary. (g) I was representing Rivers State during the meetings of the South-South People’s Assembly under our respected leader, Chief Edwin Clark, where Prof. Pat. Utomi, another Great Nigerian, represented Delta State. My records and credentials speak for themselves.\r\n\r\n“As an Igbo man and elder statesman of Rivers State Extraction which said position has been zoned to by the electoral committee, I believe in the rule of law and shall respect the court’s order.\r\n\r\n“My Obedience to court orders, no matter how unfavorable, demonstrates our commitment to democracy. I believe in the principles of rule of law as the rule of law ensures our collective progress.\r\n\r\n“The rule of law safeguards our society; its principles must be upheld, our democratic values are non-negotiable, together we will emerge stronger. Our stance for justice, due process and rule of law shall vindicate us.\r\n\r\n“I will not participate in any election pending the final determination of the matter pending before Hon Justice N.R Oji of Enugu State High Court which court gave the restraining order.\r\n\r\n“Although I’ve not been formally served with the suit/processes or order, my commitment to law and order remains unwavering, despite the fact that the reliefs granted in the order against me appears to undermine my fundamental right guaranteed in Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).\r\n\r\n“My distinguished career as Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police underscores my dedication to justice and what is noble.\r\n\r\n“I have instructed the Chambers of Eze Okafor &amp; Co, my lawyers to pursue the case to its logical conclusion to ensure that the purveyors of hate and lawlessness are brought to book in line with our enabling laws.\r\n\r\n“As provided by our constitution, I demand to be heard, and I am sure that the court will ensure that the twin pillars of natural justice will be observed to the later in handling the case. We have not lost hope in our judicial system.\r\n\r\n“I urge my immediate community Egbema, the entire Igbo speaking people of Rivers state who are solidly behind me and all my supporters across Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, Anambra, and Delta to stand by the rule of law throughout the period of this contest.\r\n\r\n“Our resolve strengthens Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s unity and progress. Together, we’ll navigate this challenge.\r\n\r\n“My Governor, His Excellency, Siminialayi Fubara GSSRS unwavering support is most highly appreciated and same cannot be taken for granted. Your Excellency’s leadership indeed inspires me.\r\n\r\n“Ohanaeze Ndigbo embodies Igbo unity, progress, and peaceful coexistence. Our organization promotes harmony among Igbos worldwide. Let’s prioritize peace and unity.\r\n\r\n“I reaffirm my commitment to Ohanaeze Ndigbo Ideals; unity, progress and peace in Igbo land.\r\n\r\n“Justice shall prevail; Igbo unity and progress remain our guiding principles.\r\n\r\n“I assure all of you that we shall overcome this minor setback as our democratic values are non-negotiable.”','Ex-IGP Okiro withdraws from Ohanaeze President General contest','','publish','open','open','','ex-igp-okiro-withdraws-from-ohanaeze-president-general-contest','','','2025-01-14 14:48:50','2025-01-14 14:48:50','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5838',0,'post','',0),(5839,1,'2025-01-14 14:48:16','2025-01-14 14:48:16','','images (19)','','inherit','open','closed','','images-19-4','','','2025-01-14 14:48:16','2025-01-14 14:48:16','',5838,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/images-19.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5840,1,'2025-01-14 14:48:39','2025-01-14 14:48:39','','images (20)','','inherit','open','closed','','images-20-2','','','2025-01-14 14:48:39','2025-01-14 14:48:39','',5838,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/images-20.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5841,1,'2025-01-14 14:48:50','2025-01-14 14:48:50','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5839\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/images-19-300x168.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" />\r\n\r\nFormer Inspector General of Police, Sir Mike Okiro has withdrawn from the race to occupy the position of President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.\r\n\r\nAvailable reports has it that Okiro made the announcement during a press briefing in Enugu on Thursday.\r\n\r\nHe hinged his decision on the order of an Enugu State High Court barring him from contesting in the election.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nRecalls that the court had given an injunction barring the former Police Chief based on a suit before it which claimed that he (Okiro) is from Imo State and not Rivers where the position was zoned to.\r\n\r\nIn adherence to the order, Okiro has now announced his withdrawal from the race.\r\n\r\nThe full text of his press briefing below:\r\n\r\n“My dear brothers and sisters, I, Sir Mike Okiro CFR, President General Candidate for Ohanaeze Ndigbo Election slated for 10th January, 2025 address you today with unwavering resolve.\r\n\r\n“I have been made aware of the Enugu State High Court’s interim order, which regrettably restrains me from contesting the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide Presidency General Election tomorrow.\r\n\r\n“The court order, based on alleged non-indigene status, contradicts verifiable facts. It is unfortunate that the court did not invite me or heard from me before giving that obnoxious order which I got from the media. The facts are (a) That I hail from Egbema in Rivers State as shown by my National Population Commission Attestation of Birth. (b) My Traditional Ruler, the Nzeobi of Egbema, has also confirmed my indigene status of Rivers State. (c) I have written many books where my indigeneship of Rivers State is shown in the author’s column. A good example is my best seller, titled: “Nigeria: The Restructuring ‘Controversy”. (d) Page 6 of my biography written by Mr. Dozie Okebalama also shows my indigeneship of Rivers. (e) I have attended many Imeobi meetings where I represented Rivers State in the attendance list compiled by the Secretary-General. (f) As a student in the University of Ibadan, I was a member of the Rivers State Students’ Association, where I was elected as Treasurer, and another Great UIte, now Distinguished Senator Andrew Uchendu was elected as Secretary. (g) I was representing Rivers State during the meetings of the South-South People’s Assembly under our respected leader, Chief Edwin Clark, where Prof. Pat. Utomi, another Great Nigerian, represented Delta State. My records and credentials speak for themselves.\r\n\r\n“As an Igbo man and elder statesman of Rivers State Extraction which said position has been zoned to by the electoral committee, I believe in the rule of law and shall respect the court’s order.\r\n\r\n“My Obedience to court orders, no matter how unfavorable, demonstrates our commitment to democracy. I believe in the principles of rule of law as the rule of law ensures our collective progress.\r\n\r\n“The rule of law safeguards our society; its principles must be upheld, our democratic values are non-negotiable, together we will emerge stronger. Our stance for justice, due process and rule of law shall vindicate us.\r\n\r\n“I will not participate in any election pending the final determination of the matter pending before Hon Justice N.R Oji of Enugu State High Court which court gave the restraining order.\r\n\r\n“Although I’ve not been formally served with the suit/processes or order, my commitment to law and order remains unwavering, despite the fact that the reliefs granted in the order against me appears to undermine my fundamental right guaranteed in Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).\r\n\r\n“My distinguished career as Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police underscores my dedication to justice and what is noble.\r\n\r\n“I have instructed the Chambers of Eze Okafor &amp; Co, my lawyers to pursue the case to its logical conclusion to ensure that the purveyors of hate and lawlessness are brought to book in line with our enabling laws.\r\n\r\n“As provided by our constitution, I demand to be heard, and I am sure that the court will ensure that the twin pillars of natural justice will be observed to the later in handling the case. We have not lost hope in our judicial system.\r\n\r\n“I urge my immediate community Egbema, the entire Igbo speaking people of Rivers state who are solidly behind me and all my supporters across Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, Anambra, and Delta to stand by the rule of law throughout the period of this contest.\r\n\r\n“Our resolve strengthens Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s unity and progress. Together, we’ll navigate this challenge.\r\n\r\n“My Governor, His Excellency, Siminialayi Fubara GSSRS unwavering support is most highly appreciated and same cannot be taken for granted. Your Excellency’s leadership indeed inspires me.\r\n\r\n“Ohanaeze Ndigbo embodies Igbo unity, progress, and peaceful coexistence. Our organization promotes harmony among Igbos worldwide. Let’s prioritize peace and unity.\r\n\r\n“I reaffirm my commitment to Ohanaeze Ndigbo Ideals; unity, progress and peace in Igbo land.\r\n\r\n“Justice shall prevail; Igbo unity and progress remain our guiding principles.\r\n\r\n“I assure all of you that we shall overcome this minor setback as our democratic values are non-negotiable.”','Ex-IGP Okiro withdraws from Ohanaeze President General contest','','inherit','closed','closed','','5838-revision-v1','','','2025-01-14 14:48:50','2025-01-14 14:48:50','',5838,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5841',0,'revision','',0),(5842,1,'2025-01-21 06:00:48','2025-01-21 06:00:48','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5843\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250121-WA0006-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nAn Abuja-based energy consultant, Engineer Dikedinigbo Ejike, has advised the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to review and approve the tariffs of all 12 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) simultaneously to continue to enjoy the confidence of all Nigerians as a transparent and impartial regulator.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nEngineer Ejike appealed today in Abuja while speaking to newsmen on the new tariff structure NERC approved for Aba Power, Nigeria’s 12 DisCo, on December 30, 2024, but to take effect from January 2, 2025.\r\n\r\nNERC, according to the energy consultant, last April 3 approved a 300% tariff increase for Band A customers in the other 11 DisCos who receive a minimum of 22 hours of electricity daily from N66 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to N225 kWh, however, it was later slashed to N209kWh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHowever, “approval to Aba Power to adjust its tariff from N117kWh by 50% for Band A customers only eight months later.\r\n\r\n“No reason has been given officially for the two disparities in time and tariff”, observed Dike, a mechanical engineer who consults on both traditional and alternative sources of energy.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n“NERC has been run professionally for most of its years of existence, and so should not give the impression that it favours some electricity companies more than others”.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHe said that since Aba Power and the other DisCos operate in the same economic environment and under the same “law, rules and regulations, it should have been treated the same way as others for reasons of transparency, probity, and justice.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n“Aba Power, which faced acute injustice under a previous government for two decades, must have lost a fortune by having its tariff approved almost a year later than those of its competitors who interestingly have been receiving subsidies worth trillions of naira since the privatization of the country’s 11 DisCos inherited from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in 2013)”.\r\n\r\nEjike argued that if NERC had approved the Aba Power new tariff alongside those of the other Discos last April 3, “communities, businesses, and individuals in the nine local government areas (LGAs) in Abia State covered by the country’s newest DisCo would not have spent so much money during Christmas and New Year without a provision for the new tariff, though it remains far the cheapest in Nigeria”.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe engineer noted that the late approval of the new tariff for Aba Power DisCo almost on the last day of 2024 made it very difficult for the company to sensitize its customers on the increase.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n“Aba Power had only two or three days to inform and enlighten its customers regarding the change”, he lamented. “And this was during the New Year holidays!”\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nEjike, however, lauded Aba Power for becoming the first DisCo in Nigeria to provide uninterrupted power since last month.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n“This firm, commissioned only last February 26”, he continued, “has demonstrated not just promise but also strength, despite the excruciating gas supply shortages it has experienced since commissioning”.','Energy Consultant Advises NERC To Approve Electricity Tariffs at the Same Time','','publish','open','open','','energy-consultant-advises-nerc-to-approve-electricity-tariffs-at-the-same-time','','','2025-01-21 06:00:48','2025-01-21 06:00:48','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5842',0,'post','',0),(5843,1,'2025-01-21 06:00:23','2025-01-21 06:00:23','','IMG-20250121-WA0006','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250121-wa0006','','','2025-01-21 06:00:23','2025-01-21 06:00:23','',5842,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250121-WA0006.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5844,1,'2025-01-21 06:00:48','2025-01-21 06:00:48','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5843\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250121-WA0006-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nAn Abuja-based energy consultant, Engineer Dikedinigbo Ejike, has advised the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to review and approve the tariffs of all 12 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) simultaneously to continue to enjoy the confidence of all Nigerians as a transparent and impartial regulator.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nEngineer Ejike appealed today in Abuja while speaking to newsmen on the new tariff structure NERC approved for Aba Power, Nigeria’s 12 DisCo, on December 30, 2024, but to take effect from January 2, 2025.\r\n\r\nNERC, according to the energy consultant, last April 3 approved a 300% tariff increase for Band A customers in the other 11 DisCos who receive a minimum of 22 hours of electricity daily from N66 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to N225 kWh, however, it was later slashed to N209kWh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHowever, “approval to Aba Power to adjust its tariff from N117kWh by 50% for Band A customers only eight months later.\r\n\r\n“No reason has been given officially for the two disparities in time and tariff”, observed Dike, a mechanical engineer who consults on both traditional and alternative sources of energy.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n“NERC has been run professionally for most of its years of existence, and so should not give the impression that it favours some electricity companies more than others”.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHe said that since Aba Power and the other DisCos operate in the same economic environment and under the same “law, rules and regulations, it should have been treated the same way as others for reasons of transparency, probity, and justice.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n“Aba Power, which faced acute injustice under a previous government for two decades, must have lost a fortune by having its tariff approved almost a year later than those of its competitors who interestingly have been receiving subsidies worth trillions of naira since the privatization of the country’s 11 DisCos inherited from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in 2013)”.\r\n\r\nEjike argued that if NERC had approved the Aba Power new tariff alongside those of the other Discos last April 3, “communities, businesses, and individuals in the nine local government areas (LGAs) in Abia State covered by the country’s newest DisCo would not have spent so much money during Christmas and New Year without a provision for the new tariff, though it remains far the cheapest in Nigeria”.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe engineer noted that the late approval of the new tariff for Aba Power DisCo almost on the last day of 2024 made it very difficult for the company to sensitize its customers on the increase.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n“Aba Power had only two or three days to inform and enlighten its customers regarding the change”, he lamented. “And this was during the New Year holidays!”\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nEjike, however, lauded Aba Power for becoming the first DisCo in Nigeria to provide uninterrupted power since last month.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n“This firm, commissioned only last February 26”, he continued, “has demonstrated not just promise but also strength, despite the excruciating gas supply shortages it has experienced since commissioning”.','Energy Consultant Advises NERC To Approve Electricity Tariffs at the Same Time','','inherit','closed','closed','','5842-revision-v1','','','2025-01-21 06:00:48','2025-01-21 06:00:48','',5842,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5844',0,'revision','',0),(5847,1,'2025-01-22 09:34:14','2025-01-22 09:34:14','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5848\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250122-WA0015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\nThe frontline aspirant of the All Progressives Congress in the upcoming Anambra 2025 Governorship Election, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu has vowed to develop a homegrown solution towards addressing the rising insecurity in Anambra State, if elected governor.\r\nUkachukwu, a renowned philanthropist and business mogul, made the vow in a chat with newsmen in Osumenyi, in Nnewi South Council Area of the state, while reacting to the numerous cases of kidnapping, killings, and other heinous crimes in the state.\r\nHe believes the situation has gone out of hand because the current leadership in the state is not in tune with the details of how things work especially at the local levels, and as such, has only proffered solutions alien to the problems.<!--more-->\r\nHe said with the gift of emotional intelligence and street credibility that God has blessed him, and harnessing the collaborating efforts of security institutions and agencies, he will be able to provide workable solutions that will permanently reduce incidences of crime in the state.\r\nUkachukwu, who noted that matters of security are very sensitive and require a high level of secrecy, however, noted that the non-kinetic approaches will constitute the bulk of the comprehensive package he will roll out if elected to arrest the insecurity situation.\r\nAccording to him, provision of myriads of avenues for positive engagement of youths which his administration will focus on, will significantly reduce the number of errant youths who will insist on criminality.\r\n“It is important that Ndi Anambra understand what we are faced with, and which I attribute to the sustained neglect of the young people by successive governments.\r\n“Now, many youths have found vocations in all kinds of crimes, making huge amounts of money.\r\n“This, we must discourage by not just being decisive in dealing with criminals when caught to reduce the appeal of crime, but also by opening vistas of gainful opportunities for the young people,” he noted.\r\nUkachukwu, who prides himself as a street general, expressed confidence that he understands how to grow wealth and deploy it to impact lives, adding that with his expertise in various kinds of businesses and his widespread contacts, he will now leverage the powers of the state, to attract investments that will create jobs and wealth opportunities for the people.\r\nThe astute politicians promised to harness the collaborating efforts of security institutions and agencies, locally and nationally to fight insecurity on the kinetic aspect.\r\nHe also vowed to entrench a mentorship and adoption model in growing businesses owned by young entrepreneurs across the state.\r\n“Under this initiative, we will see accomplished business leaders, mentor and adopt young entrepreneurs, who are starting up, providing them support and other needed assistance.\r\n“This will be similar to the Apprenticeship Business Model, but will be unique, in that the processes are duly streamlined,” he said.\r\nThe business mogul noted that as Igbos, “Our people must return to the communal system of living where everyone supports each other’s growth.”\r\nAccording to him, the widening gap between the rich and the poor remains a driving motive for the perpetration of all kinds of crimes in the region.\r\n“If you look, you will notice that those being kidnapped are people who are thought to be wealthy. And the reason is that the criminal feels he needs to steal from you to grow to measure up to your standard.\r\n“What if we begin to create a system where the wealthy supports the growth of the poor, financially, education-wise or through any other means?\r\n“As a street general, I understand the language of the street and will definitely answer, if elected governor,” Ukachukwu enthused.','I possess Street Intelligence required to address Anambra\'s Insecurity- Frontline APC Gov\'ship Aspirant, Ukachukwu','','publish','open','open','','i-possess-street-intelligence-required-to-address-anambras-insecurity-frontline-apc-govship-aspirant-ukachukwu','','','2025-01-22 09:34:14','2025-01-22 09:34:14','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5847',0,'post','',0),(5848,1,'2025-01-22 09:33:16','2025-01-22 09:33:16','','IMG-20250122-WA0015','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250122-wa0015','','','2025-01-22 09:33:16','2025-01-22 09:33:16','',5847,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250122-WA0015.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5849,1,'2025-01-22 09:34:03','2025-01-22 09:34:03','','IMG-20250122-WA0014','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250122-wa0014','','','2025-01-22 09:34:03','2025-01-22 09:34:03','',5847,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250122-WA0014.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5850,1,'2025-01-22 09:34:14','2025-01-22 09:34:14','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5848\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250122-WA0015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\nThe frontline aspirant of the All Progressives Congress in the upcoming Anambra 2025 Governorship Election, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu has vowed to develop a homegrown solution towards addressing the rising insecurity in Anambra State, if elected governor.\r\nUkachukwu, a renowned philanthropist and business mogul, made the vow in a chat with newsmen in Osumenyi, in Nnewi South Council Area of the state, while reacting to the numerous cases of kidnapping, killings, and other heinous crimes in the state.\r\nHe believes the situation has gone out of hand because the current leadership in the state is not in tune with the details of how things work especially at the local levels, and as such, has only proffered solutions alien to the problems.<!--more-->\r\nHe said with the gift of emotional intelligence and street credibility that God has blessed him, and harnessing the collaborating efforts of security institutions and agencies, he will be able to provide workable solutions that will permanently reduce incidences of crime in the state.\r\nUkachukwu, who noted that matters of security are very sensitive and require a high level of secrecy, however, noted that the non-kinetic approaches will constitute the bulk of the comprehensive package he will roll out if elected to arrest the insecurity situation.\r\nAccording to him, provision of myriads of avenues for positive engagement of youths which his administration will focus on, will significantly reduce the number of errant youths who will insist on criminality.\r\n“It is important that Ndi Anambra understand what we are faced with, and which I attribute to the sustained neglect of the young people by successive governments.\r\n“Now, many youths have found vocations in all kinds of crimes, making huge amounts of money.\r\n“This, we must discourage by not just being decisive in dealing with criminals when caught to reduce the appeal of crime, but also by opening vistas of gainful opportunities for the young people,” he noted.\r\nUkachukwu, who prides himself as a street general, expressed confidence that he understands how to grow wealth and deploy it to impact lives, adding that with his expertise in various kinds of businesses and his widespread contacts, he will now leverage the powers of the state, to attract investments that will create jobs and wealth opportunities for the people.\r\nThe astute politicians promised to harness the collaborating efforts of security institutions and agencies, locally and nationally to fight insecurity on the kinetic aspect.\r\nHe also vowed to entrench a mentorship and adoption model in growing businesses owned by young entrepreneurs across the state.\r\n“Under this initiative, we will see accomplished business leaders, mentor and adopt young entrepreneurs, who are starting up, providing them support and other needed assistance.\r\n“This will be similar to the Apprenticeship Business Model, but will be unique, in that the processes are duly streamlined,” he said.\r\nThe business mogul noted that as Igbos, “Our people must return to the communal system of living where everyone supports each other’s growth.”\r\nAccording to him, the widening gap between the rich and the poor remains a driving motive for the perpetration of all kinds of crimes in the region.\r\n“If you look, you will notice that those being kidnapped are people who are thought to be wealthy. And the reason is that the criminal feels he needs to steal from you to grow to measure up to your standard.\r\n“What if we begin to create a system where the wealthy supports the growth of the poor, financially, education-wise or through any other means?\r\n“As a street general, I understand the language of the street and will definitely answer, if elected governor,” Ukachukwu enthused.','I possess Street Intelligence required to address Anambra\'s Insecurity- Frontline APC Gov\'ship Aspirant, Ukachukwu','','inherit','closed','closed','','5847-revision-v1','','','2025-01-22 09:34:14','2025-01-22 09:34:14','',5847,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5850',0,'revision','',0),(5851,1,'2025-01-22 12:11:09','2025-01-22 12:11:09','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5852\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/download-6.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"290\" height=\"174\" />\r\n\r\n<i>C</i>hief Mrs Beatrice Ekweremadu, wife of former Deputy President of the Senate Senator Ike Ekweremadu is back in Nigeria.\r\n\r\nA reliable source disclosed the development to Ashiwaju Media on Wednesday.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAccording to the source, Mrs Ekweremadu returned to Nigeria on Tuesday Evening\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt would be recalled that Senator Ekweremadu, the wife and one Dr Obinna Obeta were sentenced to prison by a UK court for their alleged involvement in organ harvesting.\r\n\r\nThe former deputy president of the Senate was sentenced to 10 years, while his wife was sentenced to six years.\r\n\r\nASHIWAJU MEDIA reports that the return of Mrs Ekweremadu is being celebrated across Enugu State, with many praying for Speedy return of former Deputy Senate President, (IKE OHA) back to the country in the shortest period of time','Just in: Ekweremadu’s wife freed from UK prison, returns to Nigeria','','publish','open','open','','just-in-ekweremadus-wife-freed-from-uk-prison-returns-to-nigeria','','','2025-01-22 12:11:09','2025-01-22 12:11:09','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5851',0,'post','',0),(5852,1,'2025-01-22 12:10:19','2025-01-22 12:10:19','','download (6)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-6-2','','','2025-01-22 12:10:19','2025-01-22 12:10:19','',5851,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/download-6.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5853,1,'2025-01-22 12:11:00','2025-01-22 12:11:00','','images (22)','','inherit','open','closed','','images-22-4','','','2025-01-22 12:11:00','2025-01-22 12:11:00','',5851,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/images-22.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5854,1,'2025-01-22 12:11:09','2025-01-22 12:11:09','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5852\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/download-6.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"290\" height=\"174\" />\r\n\r\n<i>C</i>hief Mrs Beatrice Ekweremadu, wife of former Deputy President of the Senate Senator Ike Ekweremadu is back in Nigeria.\r\n\r\nA reliable source disclosed the development to Ashiwaju Media on Wednesday.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAccording to the source, Mrs Ekweremadu returned to Nigeria on Tuesday Evening\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt would be recalled that Senator Ekweremadu, the wife and one Dr Obinna Obeta were sentenced to prison by a UK court for their alleged involvement in organ harvesting.\r\n\r\nThe former deputy president of the Senate was sentenced to 10 years, while his wife was sentenced to six years.\r\n\r\nASHIWAJU MEDIA reports that the return of Mrs Ekweremadu is being celebrated across Enugu State, with many praying for Speedy return of former Deputy Senate President, (IKE OHA) back to the country in the shortest period of time','Just in: Ekweremadu’s wife freed from UK prison, returns to Nigeria','','inherit','closed','closed','','5851-revision-v1','','','2025-01-22 12:11:09','2025-01-22 12:11:09','',5851,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5854',0,'revision','',0),(5855,1,'2025-01-25 22:17:22','2025-01-25 22:17:22','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5856 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/download-7.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\nBy Ejike AnyadubaI\r\n\r\nt was close to mid-night on January 20th, 2025, when a car, snaking dangerously and beaming its headlights behind, overtook me at Nawfia and slowed down abruptly.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nPanicky, I tugged at the pigeonhole of my car to pull out a stun gun almost at the same time my friend was fiddling with his bag for a tear gas canister. In the confused state we did not reckon that both items have no sufficient impact on target and would quicken our journey to death if identified.\r\n\r\nMy friend had advised against over speeding, insisting I pull over a gas station by the road side in order to confirm if we were being tailed. I declined the advice with the benefit of hindsight and pedaled to the metal. But it was not long before the car closed up on us.\r\n\r\nCraning his neck out of the window, the driver muttered some insane words, cocked us a snook and sped off.\r\n\r\nThey were no kidnappers, but mere road-hogs, indulging the excesses of the New Year.\r\n\r\nWe offered a quick prayer of thanksgiving and drove on.\r\n\r\nEjike Anyaduba\r\nAbatete, ANAMBRA State','GENUINE FEAR OR ......?','','publish','open','open','','genuine-fear-or','','','2025-01-25 22:18:02','2025-01-25 22:18:02','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5855',0,'post','',0),(5856,1,'2025-01-25 22:16:41','2025-01-25 22:16:41','','download (7)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-7-3','','','2025-01-25 22:16:41','2025-01-25 22:16:41','',5855,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/download-7.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5857,1,'2025-01-25 22:17:11','2025-01-25 22:17:11','','images (25)','','inherit','open','closed','','images-25-3','','','2025-01-25 22:17:11','2025-01-25 22:17:11','',5855,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/images-25.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5858,1,'2025-01-25 22:17:22','2025-01-25 22:17:22','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5856 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/download-7.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\nBy Ejike Anyaduba\r\n\r\nIt was close to mid-night on January 20th, 2025, when a car, snaking dangerously and beaming its headlights behind, overtook me at Nawfia and slowed down abruptly.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nPanicky, I tugged at the pigeonhole of my car to pull out a stun gun almost at the same time my friend was fiddling with his bag for a tear gas canister. In the confused state we did not reckon that both items have no sufficient impact on target and would quicken our journey to death if identified.\r\n\r\nMy friend had advised against over speeding, insisting I pull over a gas station by the road side in order to confirm if we were being tailed. I declined the advice with the benefit of hindsight and pedaled to the metal. But it was not long before the car closed up on us.\r\n\r\nCraning his neck out of the window, the driver muttered some insane words, cocked us a snook and sped off.\r\n\r\nThey were no kidnappers, but mere road-hogs, indulging the excesses of the New Year.\r\n\r\nWe offered a quick prayer of thanksgiving and drove on.\r\n\r\nEjike Anyaduba\r\nAbatete','GENUINE FEAR OR ......?','','inherit','closed','closed','','5855-revision-v1','','','2025-01-25 22:17:22','2025-01-25 22:17:22','',5855,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5858',0,'revision','',0),(5859,1,'2025-01-25 22:18:02','2025-01-25 22:18:02','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5856 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/download-7.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\nBy Ejike AnyadubaI\r\n\r\nt was close to mid-night on January 20th, 2025, when a car, snaking dangerously and beaming its headlights behind, overtook me at Nawfia and slowed down abruptly.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nPanicky, I tugged at the pigeonhole of my car to pull out a stun gun almost at the same time my friend was fiddling with his bag for a tear gas canister. In the confused state we did not reckon that both items have no sufficient impact on target and would quicken our journey to death if identified.\r\n\r\nMy friend had advised against over speeding, insisting I pull over a gas station by the road side in order to confirm if we were being tailed. I declined the advice with the benefit of hindsight and pedaled to the metal. But it was not long before the car closed up on us.\r\n\r\nCraning his neck out of the window, the driver muttered some insane words, cocked us a snook and sped off.\r\n\r\nThey were no kidnappers, but mere road-hogs, indulging the excesses of the New Year.\r\n\r\nWe offered a quick prayer of thanksgiving and drove on.\r\n\r\nEjike Anyaduba\r\nAbatete, ANAMBRA State','GENUINE FEAR OR ......?','','inherit','closed','closed','','5855-revision-v1','','','2025-01-25 22:18:02','2025-01-25 22:18:02','',5855,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5859',0,'revision','',0),(5860,1,'2025-01-27 18:48:49','2025-01-27 18:48:49','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5861\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250127-WA0041-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\nMaj.-Gen. Oluyemi Olatoye has taken over as the 39th General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 82 Division of the Nigerian Army and Force Commander, Joint Task Force South-East code-named \'Operation UDO KA\'.\r\n\r\nOlatoye took over from the outgone GOC of the Division, Maj.-Gen. Hassan Dada, who have been deployed to Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\nTaking over on Monday in the Division\'s Headquarters in Enugu, the new GOC charged officers and troops to brace-up, redouble all efforts and surpass all known operational successes.\r\n\r\nOlatoye said that his job in the Division was to take the standard higher.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5862\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250127-WA0039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\nHe called on all principal officers and commanders within component formations in the Division to ensure hard work, commitment and dedication of officers and soldiers under them.\r\n\r\n\"I appreciate the outgoing GOC for his strides in curbing crime and criminality within the Division\'s Area of Responsibility (AoR), which is the South-East and Cross River State.\r\n\r\n\"I noticed that the Division have effectively stopped the Monday Sit-at-Home in the South-East; as I clearly witnessed various businesses and human activities ongoing while i entered Enugu today.\r\n\r\n\"I laud the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, for my deployment here and various support given to the Division leading to it current operational successes,\" he said.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5863\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250127-WA0034-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\nEarlier, Maj.-Gen. Dada appreciated God, officers and soldiers of the Division for bringing solution to the security challenges as well as choatic and problematic environment he met on ground as he took over about two years ago.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHe noted that he led and supervised various special operations to check terrorists and criminal elements in communities, forests and major hide-out of notorious armed groups and criminal elements in the region.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Division\'s AoR witnessed several special operations and the people within the past two years witnessed peaceful yuletide celebrations and mass return especially the 2024 Christmas unprecedented mass return.\r\n\r\n\"I thank God that the Division witnessed few number of soldiers paying the ultimate sacrifice as they serve their fatherland and few personnel being hospitalised due to operational injuries.\r\n\r\n\"During my stay, I carried out lot of welfare projects, which included: building accommodations for both officers and soldiers; construction and reconstruction of schools; building training and recreational facilities and building health facilities within the barracks among others.\r\n\r\n\"I thank the COAS and Nigerian Army Headquarters for the support given to the Division and Operation UDO KA to achieve resounding successes these years,\" he said.\r\n\r\nDada called on officers and soldiers to continue in their stride and commitment to rid the South-East of all criminal elements, adding: \"I charge you to give full cooperation to the new GOC and Force Commander to excel as well.\"\r\n\r\nHigh points of the event were signing of the handing over and taking over notes by the outgone GOC, Dada, and new GOC, Olatoye, as well as handing over of the Division\'s flag to Olatoye among others.','Maj.-Gen. Olatoye takes over as 39th GOC of 82 Division','','publish','open','open','','maj-gen-olatoye-takes-over-as-39th-goc-of-82-division','','','2025-01-27 18:48:49','2025-01-27 18:48:49','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5860',0,'post','',0),(5861,1,'2025-01-27 18:47:17','2025-01-27 18:47:17','','IMG-20250127-WA0041','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250127-wa0041','','','2025-01-27 18:47:17','2025-01-27 18:47:17','',5860,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250127-WA0041.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5862,1,'2025-01-27 18:47:46','2025-01-27 18:47:46','','IMG-20250127-WA0039','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250127-wa0039','','','2025-01-27 18:47:46','2025-01-27 18:47:46','',5860,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250127-WA0039.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5863,1,'2025-01-27 18:48:12','2025-01-27 18:48:12','','IMG-20250127-WA0034','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250127-wa0034','','','2025-01-27 18:48:12','2025-01-27 18:48:12','',5860,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250127-WA0034.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5864,1,'2025-01-27 18:48:36','2025-01-27 18:48:36','','IMG-20250127-WA0038','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250127-wa0038','','','2025-01-27 18:48:36','2025-01-27 18:48:36','',5860,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250127-WA0038.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5865,1,'2025-01-27 18:48:49','2025-01-27 18:48:49','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5861\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250127-WA0041-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\nMaj.-Gen. Oluyemi Olatoye has taken over as the 39th General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 82 Division of the Nigerian Army and Force Commander, Joint Task Force South-East code-named \'Operation UDO KA\'.\r\n\r\nOlatoye took over from the outgone GOC of the Division, Maj.-Gen. Hassan Dada, who have been deployed to Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\nTaking over on Monday in the Division\'s Headquarters in Enugu, the new GOC charged officers and troops to brace-up, redouble all efforts and surpass all known operational successes.\r\n\r\nOlatoye said that his job in the Division was to take the standard higher.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5862\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250127-WA0039-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\nHe called on all principal officers and commanders within component formations in the Division to ensure hard work, commitment and dedication of officers and soldiers under them.\r\n\r\n\"I appreciate the outgoing GOC for his strides in curbing crime and criminality within the Division\'s Area of Responsibility (AoR), which is the South-East and Cross River State.\r\n\r\n\"I noticed that the Division have effectively stopped the Monday Sit-at-Home in the South-East; as I clearly witnessed various businesses and human activities ongoing while i entered Enugu today.\r\n\r\n\"I laud the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, for my deployment here and various support given to the Division leading to it current operational successes,\" he said.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5863\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG-20250127-WA0034-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\nEarlier, Maj.-Gen. Dada appreciated God, officers and soldiers of the Division for bringing solution to the security challenges as well as choatic and problematic environment he met on ground as he took over about two years ago.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHe noted that he led and supervised various special operations to check terrorists and criminal elements in communities, forests and major hide-out of notorious armed groups and criminal elements in the region.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Division\'s AoR witnessed several special operations and the people within the past two years witnessed peaceful yuletide celebrations and mass return especially the 2024 Christmas unprecedented mass return.\r\n\r\n\"I thank God that the Division witnessed few number of soldiers paying the ultimate sacrifice as they serve their fatherland and few personnel being hospitalised due to operational injuries.\r\n\r\n\"During my stay, I carried out lot of welfare projects, which included: building accommodations for both officers and soldiers; construction and reconstruction of schools; building training and recreational facilities and building health facilities within the barracks among others.\r\n\r\n\"I thank the COAS and Nigerian Army Headquarters for the support given to the Division and Operation UDO KA to achieve resounding successes these years,\" he said.\r\n\r\nDada called on officers and soldiers to continue in their stride and commitment to rid the South-East of all criminal elements, adding: \"I charge you to give full cooperation to the new GOC and Force Commander to excel as well.\"\r\n\r\nHigh points of the event were signing of the handing over and taking over notes by the outgone GOC, Dada, and new GOC, Olatoye, as well as handing over of the Division\'s flag to Olatoye among others.','Maj.-Gen. Olatoye takes over as 39th GOC of 82 Division','','inherit','closed','closed','','5860-revision-v1','','','2025-01-27 18:48:49','2025-01-27 18:48:49','',5860,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5865',0,'revision','',0),(5867,1,'2025-02-06 06:34:39','2025-02-06 06:34:39','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5868\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250206-WA0000-300x278.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"278\" />\r\n\r\nBy\r\n\r\nRaymond Oziji\r\n\r\nAwka\r\n\r\nThe Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) has stated that collaborations with the government of Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo will go a long way to ensuring that the Operation Udo Ga Achi special intervention force records monumental achievements in the safety and security of lives and property in Anambra State.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe Deputy Commander-General (Intelligence Department) of the organisation Amb. Dr. John Metchie who spoke to HEADLINE NEWS on Wednesday, said that such collaboration was necessary because the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) according to him, know as well as understands the terrain of the forests.\r\n\r\nMetchie stated that the Udo Ga Achi security framework was a noble idea as it is already restoring peace and calmness in most troubled areas in the state especially with the discovery and demolition of kidnappers\' camps across Ànambra by men of the Agunechemba squad.\r\n\r\nThe NFSS DCG Intelligence who is also the President-General of Umueri community in Anambra-East Local Government Area noted that one of the ways in which the Anambra State Government could partner and collaborate with the organization was through Intelligence and Information gathering. He explained that intelligence gathering was a very pivotal means of winning the war against criminal insurgents.\r\n\r\nAccording to him, the nomenclature of the Nigerian Forest Security Service(NFSS)suggested that their security operations are basically in the forests and they have been properly and adequately trained for the purposes of fighting crimes and criminals camping in the forests and bushes.\r\n\r\nMetchie who is a security consultant was confident that partnership with the Anambra State Government would facilitate the success stories of the Udo Ga Achi Security Outfit as he believes that officers and men of the NFSS would be readily available to make their jobs easier especially in the hinterlands.\r\n\r\nHe was of the strong opinion that operatives of the NFSS would assist personnel of the Udo Ga Achi squad with intelligence from the forests to aid their onslaught on criminal elements.\r\n\r\nHe therefore noted that criminal activities were more pronounced in the villages and forests but according to him, the men of the Nigerian Forest Security Service have been trained to identify criminals and criminal hideouts in the forests, stressing that it is another way the NFSS can assist Operation Udo Ga Achi succeed in Anambra State.\r\n\r\nThe DCG Intelligence also pointed out that the organization can equally provide more training for personnel of the Udo Ga Achi Security Squad especially on how to identify criminals in the forests and also arm them with the requisite know-how on intelligence gathering and recovery of the forests from hoodlums.\r\n\r\nMetchie however thanked Governor Soludo for the launch of Operation Udo Ga Achi Security Network, noting that it is what the grassroots have been clamouring for. He added that there was need to go to the grassroots and flush criminals out because studies, according to him, have shown that criminality is more rampant in the rural areas than in the urban centres.\r\n\r\nHe observed that villages were less secured and Operation Udo Ga Achi was needed in the villages and communities to help flush criminals out while suggesting also that the Operation Udo Ga Achi special security framework should be maintained and sustained, stressing that Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo is really doing well for Ndi-Anambra.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n##','Nigerian Forest Security Service Seeks Collaboration With Soludo To Help Operation Udo Ga Achi Succeed In Anambra','','publish','open','open','','nigerian-forest-security-service-seeks-collaboration-with-soludo-to-help-operation-udo-ga-achi-succeed-in-anambra','','','2025-02-06 06:34:39','2025-02-06 06:34:39','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5867',0,'post','',0),(5868,1,'2025-02-06 06:34:15','2025-02-06 06:34:15','','IMG-20250206-WA0000','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250206-wa0000','','','2025-02-06 06:34:15','2025-02-06 06:34:15','',5867,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250206-WA0000.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5869,1,'2025-02-06 06:34:39','2025-02-06 06:34:39','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5868\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250206-WA0000-300x278.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"278\" />\r\n\r\nBy\r\n\r\nRaymond Oziji\r\n\r\nAwka\r\n\r\nThe Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) has stated that collaborations with the government of Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo will go a long way to ensuring that the Operation Udo Ga Achi special intervention force records monumental achievements in the safety and security of lives and property in Anambra State.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe Deputy Commander-General (Intelligence Department) of the organisation Amb. Dr. John Metchie who spoke to HEADLINE NEWS on Wednesday, said that such collaboration was necessary because the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS) according to him, know as well as understands the terrain of the forests.\r\n\r\nMetchie stated that the Udo Ga Achi security framework was a noble idea as it is already restoring peace and calmness in most troubled areas in the state especially with the discovery and demolition of kidnappers\' camps across Ànambra by men of the Agunechemba squad.\r\n\r\nThe NFSS DCG Intelligence who is also the President-General of Umueri community in Anambra-East Local Government Area noted that one of the ways in which the Anambra State Government could partner and collaborate with the organization was through Intelligence and Information gathering. He explained that intelligence gathering was a very pivotal means of winning the war against criminal insurgents.\r\n\r\nAccording to him, the nomenclature of the Nigerian Forest Security Service(NFSS)suggested that their security operations are basically in the forests and they have been properly and adequately trained for the purposes of fighting crimes and criminals camping in the forests and bushes.\r\n\r\nMetchie who is a security consultant was confident that partnership with the Anambra State Government would facilitate the success stories of the Udo Ga Achi Security Outfit as he believes that officers and men of the NFSS would be readily available to make their jobs easier especially in the hinterlands.\r\n\r\nHe was of the strong opinion that operatives of the NFSS would assist personnel of the Udo Ga Achi squad with intelligence from the forests to aid their onslaught on criminal elements.\r\n\r\nHe therefore noted that criminal activities were more pronounced in the villages and forests but according to him, the men of the Nigerian Forest Security Service have been trained to identify criminals and criminal hideouts in the forests, stressing that it is another way the NFSS can assist Operation Udo Ga Achi succeed in Anambra State.\r\n\r\nThe DCG Intelligence also pointed out that the organization can equally provide more training for personnel of the Udo Ga Achi Security Squad especially on how to identify criminals in the forests and also arm them with the requisite know-how on intelligence gathering and recovery of the forests from hoodlums.\r\n\r\nMetchie however thanked Governor Soludo for the launch of Operation Udo Ga Achi Security Network, noting that it is what the grassroots have been clamouring for. He added that there was need to go to the grassroots and flush criminals out because studies, according to him, have shown that criminality is more rampant in the rural areas than in the urban centres.\r\n\r\nHe observed that villages were less secured and Operation Udo Ga Achi was needed in the villages and communities to help flush criminals out while suggesting also that the Operation Udo Ga Achi special security framework should be maintained and sustained, stressing that Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo is really doing well for Ndi-Anambra.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n##','Nigerian Forest Security Service Seeks Collaboration With Soludo To Help Operation Udo Ga Achi Succeed In Anambra','','inherit','closed','closed','','5867-revision-v1','','','2025-02-06 06:34:39','2025-02-06 06:34:39','',5867,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5869',0,'revision','',0),(5870,1,'2025-02-06 06:41:37','2025-02-06 06:41:37','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5871 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250206-WA0002-183x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"183\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nBy Christian ABURIME\r\n\r\nNational unity is a constant refrain in Nigeria, where ethnic divisions and sectional interests often dominate common political discourse. Yet, Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, of Anambra State continues to garner accolades as an exemplar for true national integration. His actions since becoming Governor of Anambra State, particularly in political and civil service appointments, demonstrate a refreshing departure from the parochial politics that has plagued our nation for far too long.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAs highlighted by veteran journalist and university don, Tunde Olusunle, in his insightful analysis, revisited Governor Soludo\'s appointment of Joachim Achor from Abia State and Adebayo Ojeyinka from Osun State as Permanent Secretaries in Anambra\'s Civil Service speaks volumes about his commitment to merit-based leadership. These appointments were not mere tokenism; they emerged from a rigorous selection process that included computer-based examinations, thorough security verification, and personal interviews with the governor himself.\r\n\r\nGovernor Soludo\'s merit-based approach represents more than just administrative decisions; it embodies a philosophical shift in governance.\r\n\r\nJust recently, too, the governor appointed Mr Chris Molokwu, who hails from Delta State as MD of the State-owned Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS). This is aside several other appointments of individuals who are actually not from Anambra State, this writer inclusive.\r\n\r\nBy looking beyond state boundaries and ethnic considerations, he demonstrates that competence and merit should be the primary criteria for public service. This approach aligns perfectly with global best practices, where talent and capability trump geographical origins.\r\n\r\nThe governor\'s actions remind us of an essential truth: Nigeria\'s strength lies in its diversity. When we tap into our vast pool of human resources without prejudice to ethnic or religious backgrounds, we position ourselves for exponential growth and development. This is particularly relevant in today\'s global context, where Nigerian talents are making remarkable strides internationally, as evidenced by the recent recognition of six Nigerian professionals by the U.S. President for their exceptional contributions to science and engineering.\r\n\r\nWhat makes Governor Soludo\'s leadership style particularly noteworthy is its timing. In a period when some political leaders still cling to divisive rhetoric and ethnic considerations, his inclusive governance model offers a practical template for national integration. His administration proves that state boundaries need not be barriers to talent acquisition and deployment in public service.\r\n\r\nThe ripple effects of such leadership extend far beyond Anambra State. By creating an environment where competence is valued over connections, where merit trumps mediocrity, Governor Soludo is setting a precedent that is worthy of emulation. His actions demonstrate that true federalism is not just about resource control or political autonomy; it is about creating systems that allow the best talents to serve wherever their skills are needed most.\r\n\r\nWhile Nigeria continues to grapple with the challenges of unity and national integration, leaders like Governor Soludo have continued to show us that these challenges are not insurmountable. Through deliberate policies and actions that promote inclusion and merit, we can build a nation where every qualified citizen has an opportunity to serve and contribute to national development, regardless of their state of origin.\r\n\r\nLet the message continue to resonate in our ears: Nigeria\'s path to greatness lies not in ethnic considerations or geographical divisions but in our ability to harness the diverse talents and capabilities of all our citizens Governor Soludo\'s exemplary leadership in Anambra State serves as a practical demonstration of how this can be achieved. It is a model that deserves not just recognition but replication across the nation. Looking ahead, one can only hope that more Nigerian leaders will embrace this progressive approach to governance. For in doing so, we move closer to realizing the dream of a truly united and prosperous Nigeria, where merit and competence are the primary currencies of public service.','SOLUDO’S PAN-NIGERIAN DISPOSITION AS AN ACCLAIMED LEADERSHIP MODEL*','','publish','open','open','','soludos-pan-nigerian-disposition-as-an-acclaimed-leadership-model','','','2025-02-06 06:41:37','2025-02-06 06:41:37','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5870',0,'post','',0),(5871,1,'2025-02-06 06:41:02','2025-02-06 06:41:02','','IMG-20250206-WA0002','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250206-wa0002','','','2025-02-06 06:41:02','2025-02-06 06:41:02','',5870,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250206-WA0002.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5872,1,'2025-02-06 06:41:30','2025-02-06 06:41:30','','IMG-20250206-WA0001','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250206-wa0001','','','2025-02-06 06:41:30','2025-02-06 06:41:30','',5870,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250206-WA0001.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5873,1,'2025-02-06 06:41:37','2025-02-06 06:41:37','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5871 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250206-WA0002-183x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"183\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nBy Christian ABURIME\r\n\r\nNational unity is a constant refrain in Nigeria, where ethnic divisions and sectional interests often dominate common political discourse. Yet, Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, of Anambra State continues to garner accolades as an exemplar for true national integration. His actions since becoming Governor of Anambra State, particularly in political and civil service appointments, demonstrate a refreshing departure from the parochial politics that has plagued our nation for far too long.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAs highlighted by veteran journalist and university don, Tunde Olusunle, in his insightful analysis, revisited Governor Soludo\'s appointment of Joachim Achor from Abia State and Adebayo Ojeyinka from Osun State as Permanent Secretaries in Anambra\'s Civil Service speaks volumes about his commitment to merit-based leadership. These appointments were not mere tokenism; they emerged from a rigorous selection process that included computer-based examinations, thorough security verification, and personal interviews with the governor himself.\r\n\r\nGovernor Soludo\'s merit-based approach represents more than just administrative decisions; it embodies a philosophical shift in governance.\r\n\r\nJust recently, too, the governor appointed Mr Chris Molokwu, who hails from Delta State as MD of the State-owned Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS). This is aside several other appointments of individuals who are actually not from Anambra State, this writer inclusive.\r\n\r\nBy looking beyond state boundaries and ethnic considerations, he demonstrates that competence and merit should be the primary criteria for public service. This approach aligns perfectly with global best practices, where talent and capability trump geographical origins.\r\n\r\nThe governor\'s actions remind us of an essential truth: Nigeria\'s strength lies in its diversity. When we tap into our vast pool of human resources without prejudice to ethnic or religious backgrounds, we position ourselves for exponential growth and development. This is particularly relevant in today\'s global context, where Nigerian talents are making remarkable strides internationally, as evidenced by the recent recognition of six Nigerian professionals by the U.S. President for their exceptional contributions to science and engineering.\r\n\r\nWhat makes Governor Soludo\'s leadership style particularly noteworthy is its timing. In a period when some political leaders still cling to divisive rhetoric and ethnic considerations, his inclusive governance model offers a practical template for national integration. His administration proves that state boundaries need not be barriers to talent acquisition and deployment in public service.\r\n\r\nThe ripple effects of such leadership extend far beyond Anambra State. By creating an environment where competence is valued over connections, where merit trumps mediocrity, Governor Soludo is setting a precedent that is worthy of emulation. His actions demonstrate that true federalism is not just about resource control or political autonomy; it is about creating systems that allow the best talents to serve wherever their skills are needed most.\r\n\r\nWhile Nigeria continues to grapple with the challenges of unity and national integration, leaders like Governor Soludo have continued to show us that these challenges are not insurmountable. Through deliberate policies and actions that promote inclusion and merit, we can build a nation where every qualified citizen has an opportunity to serve and contribute to national development, regardless of their state of origin.\r\n\r\nLet the message continue to resonate in our ears: Nigeria\'s path to greatness lies not in ethnic considerations or geographical divisions but in our ability to harness the diverse talents and capabilities of all our citizens Governor Soludo\'s exemplary leadership in Anambra State serves as a practical demonstration of how this can be achieved. It is a model that deserves not just recognition but replication across the nation. Looking ahead, one can only hope that more Nigerian leaders will embrace this progressive approach to governance. For in doing so, we move closer to realizing the dream of a truly united and prosperous Nigeria, where merit and competence are the primary currencies of public service.','SOLUDO’S PAN-NIGERIAN DISPOSITION AS AN ACCLAIMED LEADERSHIP MODEL*','','inherit','closed','closed','','5870-revision-v1','','','2025-02-06 06:41:37','2025-02-06 06:41:37','',5870,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5873',0,'revision','',0),(5874,1,'2025-02-07 12:26:31','2025-02-07 12:26:31','&nbsp;\r\n\r\nA pro-<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5875\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250207-WA0017.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"224\" />APC grassroots group, the Concerned members of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Onitsha South Local Government Area of Anambra State, have asked the party\'s national leadership to reject plans by the People\'s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in 2021, Chief Val. Ozigbo to join the party to contest the 2025 governorship election in the state.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe group was reacting to information it gathered, revealing that Ozigbo, a loyalist of Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party Presidential candidate in 2023 general elections has concluded plans to join APC to contest for the party\'s primary on April 5, 2025, since it has become clear to him that he would not fly with Labour Party.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAddressing newsmen in Onitsha, Chief Festus Ezeako, the chairman of the Concerned APC group warned the party not to open its doors to Ozigbo, as he would be coming into the party \"with his well-known Church politics of denominational division which was introduced into Anambra State politics by his political godfather, Mr. Peter Obi\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHe alleged that Ozigbo made a u-turn from Labour Party and is now on his way to join the APC, \"a party he has began to whip up religious and denominational sentiments already even before fully joining the party\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe chairman of the concerned group remarked that the Catholic/Anglican/Pentecostal politics which was used in destroying the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) , and which was also used to destroy Labour Party, is the only value the former president and CEO of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, Transcorp, is coming to introduce into APC.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChief Ezeako accused Ozigbo of hinging his desire to join APC on religious and denominational background, which he said the party must reject instantly.\r\n\r\nRegrettably, he said, Anambra State governorship election has never been based on the strength and character of the candidate and the party the candidate is running on its platform, rather on religion and denomination.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe chairman accused Obi, who he alleged that Ozigbo is his mole, of mobilizing all the Catholic Bishops during the 2021 Anambra State governorship election, to endorse him, adding that he however, still lost the election because critical stakeholders in the state did not support religious sentiment being canvassed by Ozigbo and Obi.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nEzeako said: \"All of them put together did not support him and he failed. He will fail again as Catholic/Anglican/Pentecostal sentiment has become a vexed issue in Anambra State governorship election.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHe noted that Ozigbo\'s entry into APC is a distraction, as he is neither coming in with any political structure nor strong political influence.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAccording to him, the Obedient Movement which Ozigbo banked on for joining LP, has since fizzled out, querying what value his entry into APC will bring, if not to cause religious and denominational rift in a party that does not accept religious and denominational division.','We don’t want Obi’s Divisive Church Politics, Concerned Party members warn over plans by Ozigbo to join APC','','publish','open','open','','we-dont-want-obis-divisive-church-politics-concerned-party-members-warn-over-plans-by-ozigbo-to-join-apc','','','2025-02-07 12:26:31','2025-02-07 12:26:31','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5874',0,'post','',0),(5875,1,'2025-02-07 12:26:00','2025-02-07 12:26:00','','IMG-20250207-WA0017','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250207-wa0017','','','2025-02-07 12:26:00','2025-02-07 12:26:00','',5874,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250207-WA0017.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5876,1,'2025-02-07 12:26:21','2025-02-07 12:26:21','','IMG-20250207-WA0019','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250207-wa0019','','','2025-02-07 12:26:21','2025-02-07 12:26:21','',5874,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250207-WA0019.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5877,1,'2025-02-07 12:26:31','2025-02-07 12:26:31','&nbsp;\r\n\r\nA pro-<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5875\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250207-WA0017.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"224\" />APC grassroots group, the Concerned members of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Onitsha South Local Government Area of Anambra State, have asked the party\'s national leadership to reject plans by the People\'s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in 2021, Chief Val. Ozigbo to join the party to contest the 2025 governorship election in the state.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe group was reacting to information it gathered, revealing that Ozigbo, a loyalist of Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party Presidential candidate in 2023 general elections has concluded plans to join APC to contest for the party\'s primary on April 5, 2025, since it has become clear to him that he would not fly with Labour Party.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAddressing newsmen in Onitsha, Chief Festus Ezeako, the chairman of the Concerned APC group warned the party not to open its doors to Ozigbo, as he would be coming into the party \"with his well-known Church politics of denominational division which was introduced into Anambra State politics by his political godfather, Mr. Peter Obi\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHe alleged that Ozigbo made a u-turn from Labour Party and is now on his way to join the APC, \"a party he has began to whip up religious and denominational sentiments already even before fully joining the party\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe chairman of the concerned group remarked that the Catholic/Anglican/Pentecostal politics which was used in destroying the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) , and which was also used to destroy Labour Party, is the only value the former president and CEO of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, Transcorp, is coming to introduce into APC.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nChief Ezeako accused Ozigbo of hinging his desire to join APC on religious and denominational background, which he said the party must reject instantly.\r\n\r\nRegrettably, he said, Anambra State governorship election has never been based on the strength and character of the candidate and the party the candidate is running on its platform, rather on religion and denomination.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe chairman accused Obi, who he alleged that Ozigbo is his mole, of mobilizing all the Catholic Bishops during the 2021 Anambra State governorship election, to endorse him, adding that he however, still lost the election because critical stakeholders in the state did not support religious sentiment being canvassed by Ozigbo and Obi.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nEzeako said: \"All of them put together did not support him and he failed. He will fail again as Catholic/Anglican/Pentecostal sentiment has become a vexed issue in Anambra State governorship election.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHe noted that Ozigbo\'s entry into APC is a distraction, as he is neither coming in with any political structure nor strong political influence.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAccording to him, the Obedient Movement which Ozigbo banked on for joining LP, has since fizzled out, querying what value his entry into APC will bring, if not to cause religious and denominational rift in a party that does not accept religious and denominational division.','We don’t want Obi’s Divisive Church Politics, Concerned Party members warn over plans by Ozigbo to join APC','','inherit','closed','closed','','5874-revision-v1','','','2025-02-07 12:26:31','2025-02-07 12:26:31','',5874,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5877',0,'revision','',0),(5878,1,'2025-02-07 12:34:05','2025-02-07 12:34:05','Guber Poll: APC Anambra Leading Aspirant, Obiora Okonkwo Fulfils Promises Made To Party, Redeems 20 Milliion Pledge, Donates SP 15 Mikano Generator\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5879\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250207-WA0009-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" />\r\n\r\nBy Mmaduabuchi Onwumelu\r\n\r\nIn fulfillment to his promises to the State\'s executive of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the leading aspirant in the forthcoming All Progressive Congress APC gubernatorial primary for the November 8th, governorship election in Anambra State, Prof Obiora Okonkwo (Dikeora) on Thursday, 7th February 2025, donated an SP 15 Mikano Generator, 6 pieces of Polystar Air Conditioner Inverter, 4 Industrial Standing Fans, Gigantic Public Address System and also redeemed his 20 million naira pledge to the party.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nPresenting the valuable office appliances to the party\'s leadership in Anambra State at APC\'s Secretariat, opposite Anambra Government House Awka, a member of Professor Obiora Okonkwo (Dikeora) Political Family, Chief Obiora Williams (Ichie Ajilija Mgbakwu) who spoke on before of the Chairman/CEO of United Nigeria Airline, said the gesture was in fulfillment to the pledge made by their benefactor to equip the party’s new state secretariat in Awka with the office items, comprises SP I5 Mikano generating set, 6 Polystar Air Conditioner, a public address system and 4 industrial fans ahead of the guber election.\r\n\r\nAccording to him, during a recent facility tour of the secretariat, Prof. Okonkwo, accompanied by APC State Chairman, Sir Basil Ejidike, and members of the State Working Committee, assessed the infrastructural needs of the party’s headquarters Upon noting urgent requirements, he pledged to provide essential facilities to boost efficiency.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5880\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250207-WA0008-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" />\r\n\r\n\'Today, that promise has been fulfilled.\r\n\r\n\'In addition, Prof. Okonkwo has also redeemed his ₦20 million (twenty million Naira). He pledged to fund party projects and operational costs, it will further strengthen the APC’s capacity in Anambra State.\r\n\r\n\'This is a demonstration of Prof Okonkwo\'s commitment and loyalty to the All Progressives Congress Party (APC) in Nigeria and should be allowed to fly the party ticket in the guber contest, Williams pledged.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5881\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250207-WA0010-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" />\r\n\r\nIn his brief acceptance speech, the State Chairman of the party, Chief Basil Ejidike, commended Obiora Okonkwo for keeping to his words by redeeming the pledges he made to the party, even as he urged other well-to-do party faithful to emulate Okonkwo\'s kindheartedness in order to move the party in the state to the next level.','Guber Poll: APC Anambra Leading Aspirant, Obiora Okonkwo Fulfils Promises Made To Party, Redeems 20 Milliion Pledge, Donates SP 15 Mikano Generator, 6Polystar Air Conditioner Inverter, 4 Industrial Standing Fans, Gigantic Public Address System','','publish','open','open','','guber-poll-apc-anambra-leading-aspirant-obiora-okonkwo-fulfils-promises-made-to-party-redeems-20-milliion-pledge-donates-sp-15-mikano-generator-6polystar-air-conditioner-inverter-4-industrial-st','','','2025-02-07 12:34:05','2025-02-07 12:34:05','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5878',0,'post','',0),(5879,1,'2025-02-07 12:32:21','2025-02-07 12:32:21','','IMG-20250207-WA0009','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250207-wa0009','','','2025-02-07 12:32:21','2025-02-07 12:32:21','',5878,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250207-WA0009.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5880,1,'2025-02-07 12:32:52','2025-02-07 12:32:52','','IMG-20250207-WA0008','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250207-wa0008','','','2025-02-07 12:32:52','2025-02-07 12:32:52','',5878,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250207-WA0008.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5881,1,'2025-02-07 12:33:15','2025-02-07 12:33:15','','IMG-20250207-WA0010','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250207-wa0010','','','2025-02-07 12:33:15','2025-02-07 12:33:15','',5878,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250207-WA0010.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5882,1,'2025-02-07 12:33:46','2025-02-07 12:33:46','','IMG-20250207-WA0008','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250207-wa0008-2','','','2025-02-07 12:33:46','2025-02-07 12:33:46','',5878,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250207-WA0008-1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5883,1,'2025-02-07 12:34:05','2025-02-07 12:34:05','Guber Poll: APC Anambra Leading Aspirant, Obiora Okonkwo Fulfils Promises Made To Party, Redeems 20 Milliion Pledge, Donates SP 15 Mikano Generator\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5879\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250207-WA0009-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" />\r\n\r\nBy Mmaduabuchi Onwumelu\r\n\r\nIn fulfillment to his promises to the State\'s executive of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the leading aspirant in the forthcoming All Progressive Congress APC gubernatorial primary for the November 8th, governorship election in Anambra State, Prof Obiora Okonkwo (Dikeora) on Thursday, 7th February 2025, donated an SP 15 Mikano Generator, 6 pieces of Polystar Air Conditioner Inverter, 4 Industrial Standing Fans, Gigantic Public Address System and also redeemed his 20 million naira pledge to the party.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nPresenting the valuable office appliances to the party\'s leadership in Anambra State at APC\'s Secretariat, opposite Anambra Government House Awka, a member of Professor Obiora Okonkwo (Dikeora) Political Family, Chief Obiora Williams (Ichie Ajilija Mgbakwu) who spoke on before of the Chairman/CEO of United Nigeria Airline, said the gesture was in fulfillment to the pledge made by their benefactor to equip the party’s new state secretariat in Awka with the office items, comprises SP I5 Mikano generating set, 6 Polystar Air Conditioner, a public address system and 4 industrial fans ahead of the guber election.\r\n\r\nAccording to him, during a recent facility tour of the secretariat, Prof. Okonkwo, accompanied by APC State Chairman, Sir Basil Ejidike, and members of the State Working Committee, assessed the infrastructural needs of the party’s headquarters Upon noting urgent requirements, he pledged to provide essential facilities to boost efficiency.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5880\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250207-WA0008-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" />\r\n\r\n\'Today, that promise has been fulfilled.\r\n\r\n\'In addition, Prof. Okonkwo has also redeemed his ₦20 million (twenty million Naira). He pledged to fund party projects and operational costs, it will further strengthen the APC’s capacity in Anambra State.\r\n\r\n\'This is a demonstration of Prof Okonkwo\'s commitment and loyalty to the All Progressives Congress Party (APC) in Nigeria and should be allowed to fly the party ticket in the guber contest, Williams pledged.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5881\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250207-WA0010-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" />\r\n\r\nIn his brief acceptance speech, the State Chairman of the party, Chief Basil Ejidike, commended Obiora Okonkwo for keeping to his words by redeeming the pledges he made to the party, even as he urged other well-to-do party faithful to emulate Okonkwo\'s kindheartedness in order to move the party in the state to the next level.','Guber Poll: APC Anambra Leading Aspirant, Obiora Okonkwo Fulfils Promises Made To Party, Redeems 20 Milliion Pledge, Donates SP 15 Mikano Generator, 6Polystar Air Conditioner Inverter, 4 Industrial Standing Fans, Gigantic Public Address System','','inherit','closed','closed','','5878-revision-v1','','','2025-02-07 12:34:05','2025-02-07 12:34:05','',5878,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5883',0,'revision','',0),(5884,1,'2025-02-08 07:24:23','2025-02-08 07:24:23','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5885\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250208-WA0002-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" />\r\n\r\nDe Gamechanger FC, Awka on Friday, defeated St Nwadinso Football Academy in the opening match of the 2025 Neros Pharmaceuticals/ Anambra State Football Association, FA Cup tournament.\r\n\r\nDe Gamechanger FC defeated St Nwadinso 7-6 on penalties to face NNL side, Solution FC in the Quarter-finals of the tournament.\r\nThe match, which was played at the Awka Township Stadium, kickstarting the 2025 edition of the tournament, ended in a goalless draw, before proceeding to penalty shootouts.<!--more-->\r\nThe prestigious competition saw a total of 11 football clubs competing alongside defending champions and Nigeria National League (NNL) side, Solution FC and last year’s runners up, Edel FC.\r\nA total of three venues will be used for the year’s matches namely the Awka City Stadium, Neros Stadium Nanka and Rojenny Stadium Oba.\r\nDe Gamechanger FC will now trade tackles with Solution FC on Tuesday, 11th February, 2025, at Rojenny Stadium, Oba in Idemili South Council Area.\r\nReacting to the victory, the President of De Game Changer Football Club, Comrade Obi Emeka Chukwudi expressed satisfaction with the level of organization at the tournament.\r\nHe called for more of such tournaments to provide exposure and experience for young grassroots football talents, insisting that more needs to be done to develop grassroots sports in Anambra State.\r\n“It’s a pleasure participating at this level and competing with highly-rated teams. The exposure for our young players cannot be quantified.\r\n“We are hopeful that we can spring an upset in this tournament because we have the talents to do so,” Obi enthused.\r\nThe captain of De Gamechanger FC, Kingsley Ngutor while expressing delight at the win, said they are fired up to do exploits in the tournament.','De Gamechanger FC defeats St Nwadinso, to face NNL side, Solution FC in Neros/ Anambra FA Cup Quarter-Final','','publish','open','open','','de-gamechanger-fc-defeats-st-nwadinso-to-face-nnl-side-solution-fc-in-neros-anambra-fa-cup-quarter-final','','','2025-02-08 07:24:23','2025-02-08 07:24:23','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5884',0,'post','',0),(5885,1,'2025-02-08 07:23:57','2025-02-08 07:23:57','','IMG-20250208-WA0002','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250208-wa0002','','','2025-02-08 07:23:57','2025-02-08 07:23:57','',5884,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250208-WA0002.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5886,1,'2025-02-08 07:24:23','2025-02-08 07:24:23','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5885\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250208-WA0002-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" />\r\n\r\nDe Gamechanger FC, Awka on Friday, defeated St Nwadinso Football Academy in the opening match of the 2025 Neros Pharmaceuticals/ Anambra State Football Association, FA Cup tournament.\r\n\r\nDe Gamechanger FC defeated St Nwadinso 7-6 on penalties to face NNL side, Solution FC in the Quarter-finals of the tournament.\r\nThe match, which was played at the Awka Township Stadium, kickstarting the 2025 edition of the tournament, ended in a goalless draw, before proceeding to penalty shootouts.<!--more-->\r\nThe prestigious competition saw a total of 11 football clubs competing alongside defending champions and Nigeria National League (NNL) side, Solution FC and last year’s runners up, Edel FC.\r\nA total of three venues will be used for the year’s matches namely the Awka City Stadium, Neros Stadium Nanka and Rojenny Stadium Oba.\r\nDe Gamechanger FC will now trade tackles with Solution FC on Tuesday, 11th February, 2025, at Rojenny Stadium, Oba in Idemili South Council Area.\r\nReacting to the victory, the President of De Game Changer Football Club, Comrade Obi Emeka Chukwudi expressed satisfaction with the level of organization at the tournament.\r\nHe called for more of such tournaments to provide exposure and experience for young grassroots football talents, insisting that more needs to be done to develop grassroots sports in Anambra State.\r\n“It’s a pleasure participating at this level and competing with highly-rated teams. The exposure for our young players cannot be quantified.\r\n“We are hopeful that we can spring an upset in this tournament because we have the talents to do so,” Obi enthused.\r\nThe captain of De Gamechanger FC, Kingsley Ngutor while expressing delight at the win, said they are fired up to do exploits in the tournament.','De Gamechanger FC defeats St Nwadinso, to face NNL side, Solution FC in Neros/ Anambra FA Cup Quarter-Final','','inherit','closed','closed','','5884-revision-v1','','','2025-02-08 07:24:23','2025-02-08 07:24:23','',5884,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5886',0,'revision','',0),(5891,1,'2025-02-21 18:45:42','2025-02-21 18:45:42','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5892\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\nFrontline aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the forthcoming Anambra 2025 Governorship Election, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu has expressed confidence in his ability to lead the APC to victory in the upcoming election, asking party delegates to trust him.\r\nUkachukwu made the vow on Thursday, when he met with the 21 Local Government Executives of the party at the Party Secretariat in Awka.<!--more-->\r\nDuring the visit, the politician splashed a total of forty million naira on the party members, with the LGA Executives getting N27 million and the State Excos N12.5 million.\r\nAddressing the party faithful, Ukachukwu acknowledged that the reason why party members appear to be sidelined was because of the kind of politics that had pervaded the state in the past, where politicians paid off the party faithful during the elections and abandoned them afterward.\r\nHe further noted that the APC in the state has not made a breakthrough in the state governorship election, because those handpicked in the past to fly the party’s flag are not grassroots-oriented and do not have what it takes to win elections.\r\nUkachukwu popularly known as Ikukuoma, urged the party delegates to de-emphasize nepotism and emphasis on money, and for the first time, put the interest of the party first.\r\n“The task ahead for us, which is to unseat a sitting Governor, is a Herculean one, and to accomplish that, we must field our best.\r\n“I understand that prosecuting the campaigns for this great party requires resources and I came prepared,” he assured.\r\nThe business mogul also harped on the need for the party to adhere to the unwritten zoning arrangement in the state, adding that the party cannot afford to go against the wish of the people.\r\nDescribing the November election as the party’s best chance at wrestling power in the state, Ukachukwu warned that the party cannot afford to lose the opportunity.\r\nAnnouncing the commencement of his LGA tour next week, Ukachukwu assured party faithful that he would rain the wind of glory then.\r\nAlso speaking, Dozie Ikedife, the Southeast Organizing Secretary of the APC, emphasized the need for the party to give the ticket to a candidate from Anambra South to complete the remaining four years for the zone before it leaves for Anambra Central Senatorial zone.\r\nHe urged the Local Government party chairmen and executives to critically analyze the candidates to find out the best candidate to fly the party’s flag, advising them that Ikukuoma stands tall as a true general that can win the election for the party.\r\nFor his part, the Right Hon Tim Ifedioranma, a former member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, revealed that he decided to join the Ukachukwu campaign train because he had x-rayed the candidates and found Ukachukwu most appropriate to lead the party to victory come November.\r\nHe said the state does not need technocrats who will theoritize the problems of the state, but someone who will proffer practical solutions to the problems.\r\n“Now is not the time to continue in our old ways that have led us nowhere. Our party must unite around a candidate like Ukachukwu to unseat a government that has been in power for many years.\r\n“He has the capacity, the connection, the contact to achieve this for the APC. God has endowed him with immense wealth too and he is the kind of person we need to get it right for the party this and secure us the seat of the governor in November,” Ifedioranma posited.','Ukachukwu splashes N40m on Anambra APC LGA Party Leaders, promises robust Party Engagement','','publish','open','open','','ukachukwu-splashes-n40m-on-anambra-apc-lga-party-leaders-promises-robust-party-engagement','','','2025-02-21 18:50:23','2025-02-21 18:50:23','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5891',0,'post','',0),(5892,1,'2025-02-21 18:42:48','2025-02-21 18:42:48','','IMG-20250221-WA0007','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250221-wa0007','','','2025-02-21 18:42:48','2025-02-21 18:42:48','',5891,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0007.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5893,1,'2025-02-21 18:45:12','2025-02-21 18:45:12','','IMG-20250221-WA0006','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250221-wa0006','','','2025-02-21 18:45:12','2025-02-21 18:45:12','',5891,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0006.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5894,1,'2025-02-21 18:45:42','2025-02-21 18:45:42','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5892\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\nFrontline aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the forthcoming Anambra 2025 Governorship Election, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu has expressed confidence in his ability to lead the APC to victory in the upcoming election, asking party delegates to trust him.\r\nUkachukwu made the vow on Thursday, when he met with the 21 Local Government Executives of the party at the Party Secretariat in Awka.<!--more-->\r\nDuring the visit, the politician splashed a total of forty million naira on the party members, with the LGA Executives getting N27 million and the State Excos N12.5 million.\r\nAddressing the party faithful, Ukachukwu acknowledged that the reason why party members appear to be sidelined was because of the kind of politics that had pervaded the state in the past, where politicians paid off the party faithful during the elections and abandoned them afterward.\r\nHe further noted that the APC in the state has not made a breakthrough in the state governorship election, because those handpicked in the past to fly the party’s flag are not grassroots-oriented and do not have what it takes to win elections.\r\nUkachukwu popularly known as Ikukuoma, urged the party delegates to de-emphasize nepotism and emphasis on money, and for the first time, put the interest of the party first.\r\n“The task ahead for us, which is to unseat a sitting Governor, is a Herculean one, and to accomplish that, we must field our best.\r\n“I understand that prosecuting the campaigns for this great party requires resources and I came prepared,” he assured.\r\nThe business mogul also harped on the need for the party to adhere to the unwritten zoning arrangement in the state, adding that the party cannot afford to go against the wish of the people.\r\nDescribing the November election as the party’s best chance at wrestling power in the state, Ukachukwu warned that the party cannot afford to lose the opportunity.\r\nAnnouncing the commencement of his LGA tour next week, Ukachukwu assured party faithful that he would rain the wind of glory then.\r\nAlso speaking, Dozie Ikedife, the Southeast Organizing Secretary of the APC, emphasized the need for the party to give the ticket to a candidate from Anambra South to complete the remaining four years for the zone before it leaves for Anambra Central Senatorial zone.\r\nHe urged the Local Government party chairmen and executives to critically analyze the candidates to find out the best candidate to fly the party’s flag, advising them that Ikukuoma stands tall as a true general that can win the election for the party.\r\nFor his part, the Right Hon Tim Ifedioranma, a former member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, revealed that he decided to join the Ukachukwu campaign train because he had x-rayed the candidates and found Ukachukwu most appropriate to lead the party to victory come November.\r\nHe said the state does not need technocrats who will theoritize the problems of the state, but someone who will proffer practical solutions to the problems.\r\n“Now is not the time to continue in our old ways that have led us nowhere. Our party must unite around a candidate like Ukachukwu to unseat a government that has been in power for many years.\r\n“He has the capacity, the connection, the contact to achieve this for the APC. God has endowed him with immense wealth too and he is the kind of person we need to get it right for the party this and secure us the seat of the governor in November,” Ifedioranma posited.','Ukachukwu splashes N40m on Anambra APC LGA Party Leaders, promises robust Party Engagement','','inherit','closed','closed','','5891-revision-v1','','','2025-02-21 18:45:42','2025-02-21 18:45:42','',5891,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5894',0,'revision','',0),(5897,1,'2025-02-21 20:16:19','2025-02-21 20:16:19','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5898\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0029-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" />\r\n\r\nThe Media Unit of the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Uke, Anambra State, has said that the Spiritual Director of the Ministry, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Chibuzor Obimma (Fr. Ebube Muonso), was misrepresented in a malicious write-up circulated on the social media by enemies of Anambra State, wherein it was wrote that the Catholic priest said that killing of Anambra lawmaker, Hon. Justice Azuka, as well as escape of two principal suspects held for allegedly killing the lawmaker were perfected because the said lawmaker belonged to Labour Party (LP) and not the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) where Governor Soludo belongs.\r\n\r\nA statement issued by the Media Assistant to Fr. Ebube Muonso, Mokwugwo Solomon, on Friday, said that the said write-up was maliciously curled from a comment made by Fr. Ebube Muonso during his routine prayer march, where he condemned the escape of the two principal suspects held by the police over the lawmaker\'s demise.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe statement insisted that Fr. Ebube Muonso did not, at any time, said that the lawmaker was killed, or his killers allowed to escape because the late House member belonged to LP, and not APGA; adding that those behind the malicious misrepresentation were mere purveyors of falsehood, whose aim is to score cheap political points.\r\n\r\nThe statement captioned, \"Fr. Ebube Muonso\'s Comments on Escaped Killers of Anambra Lawmaker: Setting the Records Straight\" reads in part: \"Fr. Ebube Muonso has millions of people as members of his congregation all over the world, who belong to different political groups, and who represent different political interests; therefore, he cannot promote or intend to showcase any political party or politician at the expense of any other.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5899\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0028-300x182.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"182\" />\r\n\r\n\"Fr. Ebube Muonso said, without apology, that killing of the lawmaker has political undertones, and that the escape of the killers of Hon. Justice Azuka was calculatedly carried out; because, according to him, it is difficult to believe that suspects handcuffed in both hands and feet would escape from well armed security operatives without any trace.\r\n\r\n\"As a concerned citizen, and as a shepherd, Fr. Ebube Muonso told the Anambra State government under Governor Charles Soludo; the Anambra State Police Command, as well as the operatives of the newly formed Operation Udo Ga-Achi, to save their faces by ensuring that they re-arest the fleeing killers of Hon. Justice Azuka.\r\n\r\n\"He condemned, and will continue to condemn cases of insecurity such as kidnapping, armed robbery, and killings in Anambra State and beyond; because, whatever affects millions of members of his congregation also affects him directly and indirectly.\"\r\n\r\nThe statement maintained that the fiery and charismatic priest has been commenting on public issues, not because he wants to extract money from politicians, (as political jobbers would suggest), but to foster better society, where everybody will live happily, irrespective of class, belief, political or religious leaning.\r\n\r\nDescribing Fr. Obimma as a \"fearless and lone voice\" the Media Unit insisted that it was the Catholic priest\'s relentless yearnings that forced the Anambra State government to take proactive action against insecurity in the state, by creating enabling laws (the Anambra State Homeland Security Law, 2025), as well as formation of Operation Udo Ga-Achi and Agunechemba security outfits.\r\n\r\n\"Like Elijah, Daniel, Gideon, Moses, Esther, Jonah, Peter, and David, Fr. Ebube Muonso remains a fearless advocate, who will stop at nothing in telling the truth to the authority - condemning societal ills. He has been talking, he will continue to talk, and he will not stop talking, irrespective of criticisms and intimidation from those who have no interest of the society at heart,\" the statement added.\r\n\r\nThe Media Unit further criticized Gov. Soludo for reportedly instructing his media aides led by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Ejiomofor Opara, to blackmail Fr. Ebube Muonso, because the priest told Onitsha stakeholders to ask the governor questions about the death of Hon. Justice Azuka.\r\n\"Gov Soludo sees truth as an opposition. Mr Mazi Ejimofor Opara, who is also a Knight of Saint John\'s International in the Catholic church, has been accusing Fr. Ebube Muonso of working for opposition parties; forgetting that Ebube Muonso needs nothing from any politician.\r\n\r\n\"Anambra State government, and well meaning individuals should encourage citizens like Fr. Ebube Muonso, who can always stand tall in telling the truth and advocating for an egalitarian society, instead of scandalizing him,\" the statement concluded.','Enemies of truth misinterpreting Fr. Ebube Muonso\'s message on escape of lawmaker\'s killers - Media aide','','publish','open','open','','enemies-of-truth-misinterpreting-fr-ebube-muonsos-message-on-escape-of-lawmakers-killers-media-aide','','','2025-02-21 20:16:19','2025-02-21 20:16:19','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5897',0,'post','',0),(5898,1,'2025-02-21 20:15:15','2025-02-21 20:15:15','','IMG-20250221-WA0029','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250221-wa0029','','','2025-02-21 20:15:15','2025-02-21 20:15:15','',5897,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0029.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5899,1,'2025-02-21 20:15:42','2025-02-21 20:15:42','','IMG-20250221-WA0028','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250221-wa0028','','','2025-02-21 20:15:42','2025-02-21 20:15:42','',5897,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0028.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5900,1,'2025-02-21 20:16:08','2025-02-21 20:16:08','','IMG-20250221-WA0027','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250221-wa0027','','','2025-02-21 20:16:08','2025-02-21 20:16:08','',5897,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0027.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5901,1,'2025-02-21 20:16:19','2025-02-21 20:16:19','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5898\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0029-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" />\r\n\r\nThe Media Unit of the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Uke, Anambra State, has said that the Spiritual Director of the Ministry, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Chibuzor Obimma (Fr. Ebube Muonso), was misrepresented in a malicious write-up circulated on the social media by enemies of Anambra State, wherein it was wrote that the Catholic priest said that killing of Anambra lawmaker, Hon. Justice Azuka, as well as escape of two principal suspects held for allegedly killing the lawmaker were perfected because the said lawmaker belonged to Labour Party (LP) and not the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) where Governor Soludo belongs.\r\n\r\nA statement issued by the Media Assistant to Fr. Ebube Muonso, Mokwugwo Solomon, on Friday, said that the said write-up was maliciously curled from a comment made by Fr. Ebube Muonso during his routine prayer march, where he condemned the escape of the two principal suspects held by the police over the lawmaker\'s demise.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe statement insisted that Fr. Ebube Muonso did not, at any time, said that the lawmaker was killed, or his killers allowed to escape because the late House member belonged to LP, and not APGA; adding that those behind the malicious misrepresentation were mere purveyors of falsehood, whose aim is to score cheap political points.\r\n\r\nThe statement captioned, \"Fr. Ebube Muonso\'s Comments on Escaped Killers of Anambra Lawmaker: Setting the Records Straight\" reads in part: \"Fr. Ebube Muonso has millions of people as members of his congregation all over the world, who belong to different political groups, and who represent different political interests; therefore, he cannot promote or intend to showcase any political party or politician at the expense of any other.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5899\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0028-300x182.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"182\" />\r\n\r\n\"Fr. Ebube Muonso said, without apology, that killing of the lawmaker has political undertones, and that the escape of the killers of Hon. Justice Azuka was calculatedly carried out; because, according to him, it is difficult to believe that suspects handcuffed in both hands and feet would escape from well armed security operatives without any trace.\r\n\r\n\"As a concerned citizen, and as a shepherd, Fr. Ebube Muonso told the Anambra State government under Governor Charles Soludo; the Anambra State Police Command, as well as the operatives of the newly formed Operation Udo Ga-Achi, to save their faces by ensuring that they re-arest the fleeing killers of Hon. Justice Azuka.\r\n\r\n\"He condemned, and will continue to condemn cases of insecurity such as kidnapping, armed robbery, and killings in Anambra State and beyond; because, whatever affects millions of members of his congregation also affects him directly and indirectly.\"\r\n\r\nThe statement maintained that the fiery and charismatic priest has been commenting on public issues, not because he wants to extract money from politicians, (as political jobbers would suggest), but to foster better society, where everybody will live happily, irrespective of class, belief, political or religious leaning.\r\n\r\nDescribing Fr. Obimma as a \"fearless and lone voice\" the Media Unit insisted that it was the Catholic priest\'s relentless yearnings that forced the Anambra State government to take proactive action against insecurity in the state, by creating enabling laws (the Anambra State Homeland Security Law, 2025), as well as formation of Operation Udo Ga-Achi and Agunechemba security outfits.\r\n\r\n\"Like Elijah, Daniel, Gideon, Moses, Esther, Jonah, Peter, and David, Fr. Ebube Muonso remains a fearless advocate, who will stop at nothing in telling the truth to the authority - condemning societal ills. He has been talking, he will continue to talk, and he will not stop talking, irrespective of criticisms and intimidation from those who have no interest of the society at heart,\" the statement added.\r\n\r\nThe Media Unit further criticized Gov. Soludo for reportedly instructing his media aides led by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Ejiomofor Opara, to blackmail Fr. Ebube Muonso, because the priest told Onitsha stakeholders to ask the governor questions about the death of Hon. Justice Azuka.\r\n\"Gov Soludo sees truth as an opposition. Mr Mazi Ejimofor Opara, who is also a Knight of Saint John\'s International in the Catholic church, has been accusing Fr. Ebube Muonso of working for opposition parties; forgetting that Ebube Muonso needs nothing from any politician.\r\n\r\n\"Anambra State government, and well meaning individuals should encourage citizens like Fr. Ebube Muonso, who can always stand tall in telling the truth and advocating for an egalitarian society, instead of scandalizing him,\" the statement concluded.','Enemies of truth misinterpreting Fr. Ebube Muonso\'s message on escape of lawmaker\'s killers - Media aide','','inherit','closed','closed','','5897-revision-v1','','','2025-02-21 20:16:19','2025-02-21 20:16:19','',5897,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5901',0,'revision','',0),(5902,1,'2025-02-22 23:08:30','2025-02-22 23:08:30','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5903\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA00291-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" />\r\n\r\nBy Raymond Chukwunachi Okoye\r\n\r\nRev Father Emmanuel Chibuzo Obimma (Fr. Ebube Muonso) just like Saint Thomas Aquinas, worked out the standard interpretation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.\r\n\r\nWisdom, knowledge and truth are bestowed on individuals by the Holy spirit. Whenever the Holy Spirit speaks to a prophet, he must deliver the message; failure to do so, he will face heavy punishments.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nFada Ebube Muonso cannot say no to the message of the Holy Spirit being releavealed under the prophetic anointing.\r\n\r\nFada Ebube Muonso is the Elijah and Moses that is here with us to librate the people of God - the masses, from bondage of the modern day Herods and Pharaohs.\r\n\r\nWhen Late Hon Justice Azuka was kidnapped on the eve of Christmas, Gov Soludo led administration did nothing to rescue him from captivity. It was the family of late Hon Justice Azuka together with well-wishers that mobilized police from Abuja.\r\n\r\nWhen the police personnel came into Anambra State, they were able to apprehend the kidnappers and handed them over to the police in Anambra.\r\n\r\nNdi Anambra were patiently waiting for justice to be metted on the suspects, who allegedly killed Hon Justice Azuka, only to wake up to hear that the two kidnappers have escaped.\r\n\r\nThe Holy Spirit compelled Fr. Emmanuel Obimma (Ebube Muonso) to speak out, in the face of this anormally; and instead of Gov Soludo\'s administration to give vivid account of how it happened, the Anambra government mobilized APGA e-rats to blackmail Fada Ebube Muonso, and insult God\'s ordained minister.\r\n\r\nTruth is bitter. Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo\'s administration hates truth. It is regretacle that Soludo is ever ready to spend billions of Naira belonging to Anambra people in fighting the apostle of truth.\r\n\r\n*Raymond Chukwunachi Okoye,\r\nDirector, Ayamelum TV, Writes from Anaku, Anambra State.*','FADA EBUBE MUONSO, THE ONLY APOSTLE OF TRUTH IN ANAMBRA','','publish','open','open','','fada-ebube-muonso-the-only-apostle-of-truth-in-anambra','','','2025-02-22 23:08:30','2025-02-22 23:08:30','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5902',0,'post','',0),(5903,1,'2025-02-22 23:07:54','2025-02-22 23:07:54','','IMG-20250221-WA0029(1)','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250221-wa00291','','','2025-02-22 23:07:54','2025-02-22 23:07:54','',5902,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA00291.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5904,1,'2025-02-22 23:08:30','2025-02-22 23:08:30','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5903\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA00291-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" />\r\n\r\nBy Raymond Chukwunachi Okoye\r\n\r\nRev Father Emmanuel Chibuzo Obimma (Fr. Ebube Muonso) just like Saint Thomas Aquinas, worked out the standard interpretation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.\r\n\r\nWisdom, knowledge and truth are bestowed on individuals by the Holy spirit. Whenever the Holy Spirit speaks to a prophet, he must deliver the message; failure to do so, he will face heavy punishments.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nFada Ebube Muonso cannot say no to the message of the Holy Spirit being releavealed under the prophetic anointing.\r\n\r\nFada Ebube Muonso is the Elijah and Moses that is here with us to librate the people of God - the masses, from bondage of the modern day Herods and Pharaohs.\r\n\r\nWhen Late Hon Justice Azuka was kidnapped on the eve of Christmas, Gov Soludo led administration did nothing to rescue him from captivity. It was the family of late Hon Justice Azuka together with well-wishers that mobilized police from Abuja.\r\n\r\nWhen the police personnel came into Anambra State, they were able to apprehend the kidnappers and handed them over to the police in Anambra.\r\n\r\nNdi Anambra were patiently waiting for justice to be metted on the suspects, who allegedly killed Hon Justice Azuka, only to wake up to hear that the two kidnappers have escaped.\r\n\r\nThe Holy Spirit compelled Fr. Emmanuel Obimma (Ebube Muonso) to speak out, in the face of this anormally; and instead of Gov Soludo\'s administration to give vivid account of how it happened, the Anambra government mobilized APGA e-rats to blackmail Fada Ebube Muonso, and insult God\'s ordained minister.\r\n\r\nTruth is bitter. Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo\'s administration hates truth. It is regretacle that Soludo is ever ready to spend billions of Naira belonging to Anambra people in fighting the apostle of truth.\r\n\r\n*Raymond Chukwunachi Okoye,\r\nDirector, Ayamelum TV, Writes from Anaku, Anambra State.*','FADA EBUBE MUONSO, THE ONLY APOSTLE OF TRUTH IN ANAMBRA','','inherit','closed','closed','','5902-revision-v1','','','2025-02-22 23:08:30','2025-02-22 23:08:30','',5902,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5904',0,'revision','',0),(5905,1,'2025-02-26 20:26:09','2025-02-26 20:26:09','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5872\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250206-WA0001-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" />\r\n\r\nUbaka Okwusogu\r\n\r\nDear Governor,\r\n\r\nI write to convey my worries which are not totally different from the concerns of the silent majority who are shy of communicating same to you. You may never get to know your public rating because of your brand of politics that forbids feedback and encourages echo chamber. You have since assumption of office fought every real and imaginary enemy and seem determined to carry on with the offensive as long as you remain the governor of Anambra state. It does appear there is no restraining you.  <!--more--><!--more-->\r\n\r\nMembers of your Exco who should stand in the gap are not doing so. Peopled by men and women too young and too inexperienced to make even a whimper they watch helplessly as you carry on with unbridled arrogance. In retrospect, you outsmarted ndi Anambra when at the inception of your administration you insisted that appointment into your government must be on merit and through application. That offered your overbearing attitude the chance to engage more yes-nodding lackeys than confident performers. Those who are not pliable enough to submit to your weekly monologue at the Exco chambers you either threw out or caused to operate on the margins.\r\n\r\nSadly your level of intolerance to opposing views kept growing by leaps and bounds. You quarreled, and still quarrel, with anybody you consider a threat to your greed for power. You fought ex- Governor Willie Obiano who defied wise counsel and risked the peace of his home to pick you instead of Chukwuma Umeoji. You levied unprovoked war against Peter Obi’s presidential campaign which you are now exploiting to advantage in the presidency. You nearly ended Victor Umeh’s political career because he advised against your governorship ambition in 2013, in order that you don’t violate the zonal arrangement in the state. But today you are working hard to maximize the gains of the zonal arrangement for a second tenure in office. What can be more deceptive?\r\n\r\nYou have, with the passage of time, become more aggressive and less emollient. You have battled the traditional rulers in the state and wrestled with the church of God. The esteemed Obi of Onitsha came within firing range of your ill-bred media rats for questioning your meddlesomeness in his leadership of the Anambra State Traditional Council. The revered Archbishop of Onitsha became your enemy for asking you to curb your overbearing influence on church matters. You are currently up in arms against Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Obimma (Ebube Muonso) the charismatic Priest of the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Uke and Parish Priest of the Blessed Iwene Tansi Parish, Umudioka, for expressing outrage over the escape of two suspects arrested in the kidnap and murder of Hon. Justice Azuka. Your response to Ebube Muonso’s admonition over the sloppy handling of the kidnap suspects was unmistaken of a provincial leader. You unleashed a barrage of internet rats on the priest to drown his voice. But you will soon realize you are fighting a man with immense grace.\r\n\r\nYou seem to have become a god that any stakeholder, clergy man, traditional ruler, etc who opposes does so at their own peril. It can be speculated that you are already making good your threat to deal with the church and reduce its relevance in the state. Otherwise why the unrestrained attack on the church for holding you to account? You have become increasingly contemptuous of opposing views with every speech you utter, and every action you take, pointing to an unbridled arrogance.\r\n\r\nI saw your arrogance first hand when, during our retreat, at All Saints Cathedral, Onitsha, you spoke about the ravaging insecurity in the state. You were your old self, talking down on everybody present, including Bishop Okpala who was just released by his abductors after 25 days in captivity. You reminded everybody present that high profile kidnap has been rampant in the state before you became governor. For emphasis, you mentioned the kidnap of your father Chief Simon Soludo, Chief Tony Enukeme (Tonimas), Chief Paul Okonkwo (Pokobros) Chief Ubaka Okeke (GUO). I was scandalized by your submission and wanted very much to heckle you. You forgot that it was your prohibition of the Monday-sit-at home order in Anambra, without adequate security arrangement, that escalated insecurity in the state. When you realized the folly of your statement and hurried to confer with Nnamdi Kanu in Kuje prison it was late. The horse had left the stable and more violent crime ensued with criminal elements cashing in on your unpreparedness.\r\nFirst, was the heinous murder and severing of the head of Okechukwu Okoye who represented Aguata 1 in the State House of Assembly. The death still haunts the good people of the state. Second was the killing of another law maker Justice Azuka who represented Onitsha North 1 constituency in the State House of Assembly after collecting millions of Naira as ransom. In between these two deaths many more souls were violently dispatched.\r\n\r\nIt may interest you that the people are not happy. But they are angered more by the sloppy handling of two of the suspected murderers of Azuka who escaped after arrest. Many of ndi Anambra are wondering what the attack on Fr. Ebube Muonso was for. As far as they are concerned, the man of God is speaking the mind of many of them. If it is not intolerance, I wonder why your attack dogs would descend on the charismatic priest. Your peevish response to criticisms each time there is a breach in governance exposes you as insecure. The last time your government demolished a hotel in Oba which it claimed was used as kidnapper’s den and its topmost floor, a grave yard, when queried by ndi Anambra, was dismissed as mindless opposition.\r\n\r\nThe overbearing attitude of your government manifests in almost all aspects of your administration. If your internet goons are not attacking a presumed enemy, your army of occupation ARTMA, SASA, ASWAMA are unleashing mayhem on the people. The worst of them all is Anambra State Anti-Touting Squad (SASA) which has no reason to exist in a state governed by law. Since setting up this rogue Squad (ndi Aka Odu) many have either died from being rough handled or rendered invalid through the same violent method. The case of Okechukwu Akaneme, former Chairman of Onitsha Chamber of Commerce stands out. The man has been in a vegetative state after men of the Anambra State Waste Management Authority (ASWAMA) allegedly broke his spine. Many more are suffering the same fate daily. Writing about how your men use pestle to deform victims in the name of revenue generation, Sunny Igboanugo said: “How Soludo’s men discovered this as their own tool of enforcement, particularly for revenue generation, has remained quite baffling. It is even more so that this intellectual giant- the most visibly educated governor in the South East if not Nigeria- instead of being scandalized by this stone-age model, seems quite comfortable with it”.\r\n\r\nIt is obvious that you are not going to change your tactics of attacking imaginary enemies no matter how you are corrected. You seem to have this impression of your role in the state as messianic. But the people know better. Maybe if you had ended your career at the apex bank the people will be full of expectations, but your governorship has removed all doubts.\r\n\r\nUbaka Okwusogu\r\n\r\nOnitsha','OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR SOLUDO','','publish','open','open','','open-letter-to-governor-soludo','','','2025-02-26 20:26:09','2025-02-26 20:26:09','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5905',0,'post','',0),(5906,1,'2025-02-26 20:26:09','2025-02-26 20:26:09','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5872\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250206-WA0001-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" />\r\n\r\nUbaka Okwusogu\r\n\r\nDear Governor,\r\n\r\nI write to convey my worries which are not totally different from the concerns of the silent majority who are shy of communicating same to you. You may never get to know your public rating because of your brand of politics that forbids feedback and encourages echo chamber. You have since assumption of office fought every real and imaginary enemy and seem determined to carry on with the offensive as long as you remain the governor of Anambra state. It does appear there is no restraining you.  <!--more--><!--more-->\r\n\r\nMembers of your Exco who should stand in the gap are not doing so. Peopled by men and women too young and too inexperienced to make even a whimper they watch helplessly as you carry on with unbridled arrogance. In retrospect, you outsmarted ndi Anambra when at the inception of your administration you insisted that appointment into your government must be on merit and through application. That offered your overbearing attitude the chance to engage more yes-nodding lackeys than confident performers. Those who are not pliable enough to submit to your weekly monologue at the Exco chambers you either threw out or caused to operate on the margins.\r\n\r\nSadly your level of intolerance to opposing views kept growing by leaps and bounds. You quarreled, and still quarrel, with anybody you consider a threat to your greed for power. You fought ex- Governor Willie Obiano who defied wise counsel and risked the peace of his home to pick you instead of Chukwuma Umeoji. You levied unprovoked war against Peter Obi’s presidential campaign which you are now exploiting to advantage in the presidency. You nearly ended Victor Umeh’s political career because he advised against your governorship ambition in 2013, in order that you don’t violate the zonal arrangement in the state. But today you are working hard to maximize the gains of the zonal arrangement for a second tenure in office. What can be more deceptive?\r\n\r\nYou have, with the passage of time, become more aggressive and less emollient. You have battled the traditional rulers in the state and wrestled with the church of God. The esteemed Obi of Onitsha came within firing range of your ill-bred media rats for questioning your meddlesomeness in his leadership of the Anambra State Traditional Council. The revered Archbishop of Onitsha became your enemy for asking you to curb your overbearing influence on church matters. You are currently up in arms against Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Obimma (Ebube Muonso) the charismatic Priest of the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Uke and Parish Priest of the Blessed Iwene Tansi Parish, Umudioka, for expressing outrage over the escape of two suspects arrested in the kidnap and murder of Hon. Justice Azuka. Your response to Ebube Muonso’s admonition over the sloppy handling of the kidnap suspects was unmistaken of a provincial leader. You unleashed a barrage of internet rats on the priest to drown his voice. But you will soon realize you are fighting a man with immense grace.\r\n\r\nYou seem to have become a god that any stakeholder, clergy man, traditional ruler, etc who opposes does so at their own peril. It can be speculated that you are already making good your threat to deal with the church and reduce its relevance in the state. Otherwise why the unrestrained attack on the church for holding you to account? You have become increasingly contemptuous of opposing views with every speech you utter, and every action you take, pointing to an unbridled arrogance.\r\n\r\nI saw your arrogance first hand when, during our retreat, at All Saints Cathedral, Onitsha, you spoke about the ravaging insecurity in the state. You were your old self, talking down on everybody present, including Bishop Okpala who was just released by his abductors after 25 days in captivity. You reminded everybody present that high profile kidnap has been rampant in the state before you became governor. For emphasis, you mentioned the kidnap of your father Chief Simon Soludo, Chief Tony Enukeme (Tonimas), Chief Paul Okonkwo (Pokobros) Chief Ubaka Okeke (GUO). I was scandalized by your submission and wanted very much to heckle you. You forgot that it was your prohibition of the Monday-sit-at home order in Anambra, without adequate security arrangement, that escalated insecurity in the state. When you realized the folly of your statement and hurried to confer with Nnamdi Kanu in Kuje prison it was late. The horse had left the stable and more violent crime ensued with criminal elements cashing in on your unpreparedness.\r\nFirst, was the heinous murder and severing of the head of Okechukwu Okoye who represented Aguata 1 in the State House of Assembly. The death still haunts the good people of the state. Second was the killing of another law maker Justice Azuka who represented Onitsha North 1 constituency in the State House of Assembly after collecting millions of Naira as ransom. In between these two deaths many more souls were violently dispatched.\r\n\r\nIt may interest you that the people are not happy. But they are angered more by the sloppy handling of two of the suspected murderers of Azuka who escaped after arrest. Many of ndi Anambra are wondering what the attack on Fr. Ebube Muonso was for. As far as they are concerned, the man of God is speaking the mind of many of them. If it is not intolerance, I wonder why your attack dogs would descend on the charismatic priest. Your peevish response to criticisms each time there is a breach in governance exposes you as insecure. The last time your government demolished a hotel in Oba which it claimed was used as kidnapper’s den and its topmost floor, a grave yard, when queried by ndi Anambra, was dismissed as mindless opposition.\r\n\r\nThe overbearing attitude of your government manifests in almost all aspects of your administration. If your internet goons are not attacking a presumed enemy, your army of occupation ARTMA, SASA, ASWAMA are unleashing mayhem on the people. The worst of them all is Anambra State Anti-Touting Squad (SASA) which has no reason to exist in a state governed by law. Since setting up this rogue Squad (ndi Aka Odu) many have either died from being rough handled or rendered invalid through the same violent method. The case of Okechukwu Akaneme, former Chairman of Onitsha Chamber of Commerce stands out. The man has been in a vegetative state after men of the Anambra State Waste Management Authority (ASWAMA) allegedly broke his spine. Many more are suffering the same fate daily. Writing about how your men use pestle to deform victims in the name of revenue generation, Sunny Igboanugo said: “How Soludo’s men discovered this as their own tool of enforcement, particularly for revenue generation, has remained quite baffling. It is even more so that this intellectual giant- the most visibly educated governor in the South East if not Nigeria- instead of being scandalized by this stone-age model, seems quite comfortable with it”.\r\n\r\nIt is obvious that you are not going to change your tactics of attacking imaginary enemies no matter how you are corrected. You seem to have this impression of your role in the state as messianic. But the people know better. Maybe if you had ended your career at the apex bank the people will be full of expectations, but your governorship has removed all doubts.\r\n\r\nUbaka Okwusogu\r\n\r\nOnitsha','OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR SOLUDO','','inherit','closed','closed','','5905-revision-v1','','','2025-02-26 20:26:09','2025-02-26 20:26:09','',5905,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5906',0,'revision','',0),(5909,1,'2025-03-04 22:54:01','2025-03-04 22:54:01','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5910 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IMG-20250304-WA0038-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nProminent Cleric Challenges Traditionalist To Supremacy Battle In AnambraProminent Pentecostal cleric, Dr. Jerry Nwachukwu, has challenged one Mathias Ezeaku, a native doctor, to supremacy contest in Anambra state.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nDr. Nwachukwu, Senior Pastor of the Bible Base Miracle Assembly, Nkpor-Agu, said he was upset that Mathias Ezeaku, a native doctor, took to the social media to say that Jesus Christ has no power to heal the sick, make the lame walk or make the barren to conceive, among other claims.\r\n\r\nIn his message during a Sunday Service in his church, at No.19 Ezendu Street, off Mercedes Avenue, Nkpor-Agu, Nwachukwu berated the native doctor, while challenging him to choose a venue where he (Nwachukwu) will demonstrate to him that there is a supreme God above all other gods.\r\n\r\nHe said, \"Right from the Old Testament, the scripture has shown and demonstrated the power of the Almighty God above all other gods. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ demonstrated in many episodes that what could be done and achieved in His name is limitless.\r\n\r\n\"Therefore, I challenge Mathias Ezeaku, who has claimed in several fora, including on the social media, that no pastor can heal, unbound or restore in the name of Jesus Christ, to choose a venue and date, so that it will be demonstrated to him that all powers belong to God, and His son, Jesus Christ.\r\n\r\n\"If Mathias Ezeaku has no venue, I challenge him to come to United Primary School field, Nkpor-Agu, between March 23 and March 30. Let\'s organize a crusade there. I want Mathias Ezeaku with all the native doctors he knows, to come over there with hundreds of blind people, the lame, the cripple, and people possessed by unclean spirit and witness how they will be restored in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.\r\n\r\n\"In the New Testament, Jesus demonstrated his supernatural powers through healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead, controlling nature (like calming storms), and miraculously feeding large crowds; these acts are documented across all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).\r\n\r\n\"Jesus is the same today, tomorrow and forever. The same thing He did in the scriptures, He still does them today, and will not stop doing same.\r\n\r\n\"In 2 Chronicles 20:6, the Bible says \'God rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. In His hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand Him.\r\n\r\n\"Mathias Ezeaku will certainly witness this power of God, and His son, Jesus Christ. If he honoured this challenge, and come to this crusade, he will encounter the experience of Paul when he going to persecute Christians. In that crusade, he shall renounce peganism and accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and personal savior.\"','Prominent Cleric Challenges Traditionalist To Supremacy Battle In Anambra','','publish','open','open','','prominent-cleric-challenges-traditionalist-to-supremacy-battle-in-anambra','','','2025-03-04 22:54:01','2025-03-04 22:54:01','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5909',0,'post','',0),(5910,1,'2025-03-04 22:52:34','2025-03-04 22:52:34','','IMG-20250304-WA0038','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250304-wa0038','','','2025-03-04 22:52:34','2025-03-04 22:52:34','',5909,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IMG-20250304-WA0038.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5911,1,'2025-03-04 22:53:29','2025-03-04 22:53:29','','IMG-20250304-WA0040','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250304-wa0040','','','2025-03-04 22:53:29','2025-03-04 22:53:29','',5909,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IMG-20250304-WA0040.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5912,1,'2025-03-04 22:54:01','2025-03-04 22:54:01','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5910 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IMG-20250304-WA0038-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nProminent Cleric Challenges Traditionalist To Supremacy Battle In AnambraProminent Pentecostal cleric, Dr. Jerry Nwachukwu, has challenged one Mathias Ezeaku, a native doctor, to supremacy contest in Anambra state.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nDr. Nwachukwu, Senior Pastor of the Bible Base Miracle Assembly, Nkpor-Agu, said he was upset that Mathias Ezeaku, a native doctor, took to the social media to say that Jesus Christ has no power to heal the sick, make the lame walk or make the barren to conceive, among other claims.\r\n\r\nIn his message during a Sunday Service in his church, at No.19 Ezendu Street, off Mercedes Avenue, Nkpor-Agu, Nwachukwu berated the native doctor, while challenging him to choose a venue where he (Nwachukwu) will demonstrate to him that there is a supreme God above all other gods.\r\n\r\nHe said, \"Right from the Old Testament, the scripture has shown and demonstrated the power of the Almighty God above all other gods. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ demonstrated in many episodes that what could be done and achieved in His name is limitless.\r\n\r\n\"Therefore, I challenge Mathias Ezeaku, who has claimed in several fora, including on the social media, that no pastor can heal, unbound or restore in the name of Jesus Christ, to choose a venue and date, so that it will be demonstrated to him that all powers belong to God, and His son, Jesus Christ.\r\n\r\n\"If Mathias Ezeaku has no venue, I challenge him to come to United Primary School field, Nkpor-Agu, between March 23 and March 30. Let\'s organize a crusade there. I want Mathias Ezeaku with all the native doctors he knows, to come over there with hundreds of blind people, the lame, the cripple, and people possessed by unclean spirit and witness how they will be restored in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.\r\n\r\n\"In the New Testament, Jesus demonstrated his supernatural powers through healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead, controlling nature (like calming storms), and miraculously feeding large crowds; these acts are documented across all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).\r\n\r\n\"Jesus is the same today, tomorrow and forever. The same thing He did in the scriptures, He still does them today, and will not stop doing same.\r\n\r\n\"In 2 Chronicles 20:6, the Bible says \'God rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. In His hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand Him.\r\n\r\n\"Mathias Ezeaku will certainly witness this power of God, and His son, Jesus Christ. If he honoured this challenge, and come to this crusade, he will encounter the experience of Paul when he going to persecute Christians. In that crusade, he shall renounce peganism and accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and personal savior.\"','Prominent Cleric Challenges Traditionalist To Supremacy Battle In Anambra','','inherit','closed','closed','','5909-revision-v1','','','2025-03-04 22:54:01','2025-03-04 22:54:01','',5909,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5912',0,'revision','',0),(5913,1,'2025-03-07 19:17:47','2025-03-07 19:17:47','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5898\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0029-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" />\r\n\r\nUbaka Okwusogu\r\n\r\nWhile scanning through the internet I chanced upon an article titled: Ebube Muonso and the tragedy of ego written by a certain Henry Chigozie Duru of the Mass Communication Department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. It was an overly presumptuous piece.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe writer took liberties with facts in his effort to admonish the charismatic priest of the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Uke, Anambra state, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Obimma (aka Ebube Muonso) on the obligations of priesthood. With near avuncular disposition, he proceeded to counsel an end to the recriminations between the Priest and Governor Soludo’s aides because according to him there has been improved security with the launch of the new security initiative, Udo ga-achi by the government. Perhaps so.\r\n\r\nBut he admitted the mutual blame between the priest and the state would not have happened if Rev. Fr. Nonso Okoye who, by the way, is the vicar at Blessed Iwene Tansi Parish, Umudioka, where Fr. Ebube Muonso himself is the parish priest, was not abducted and Hon. Justice Azuka, representing Onitsha North 1 in the State House of Assembly, not kidnapped and murdered after payment of ransom. Claiming knowledge of the genesis of the strained relationship between the two men, he said it all started with the prophecy made by Fr. Ebube Muonso about invasion of the Government House by persons suspected to be Fulani herdsmen which left Soludo bloodied. Unimpressed, the Governor, he claimed, treated the purported prophecy with slight disdain based on leaked personal message he sent the priest. He would have done better here if he had applied more diligence in search of the truth.\r\n\r\nHowever, he went on to point out as a Catholic imbued with knowledge of Catholicism and its tenets, the unpleasant development whereby priests who claim manifestation of charismatic flair and operate adoration ministries become, in his words, “unpriestly, egoistic, arrogant, recalcitrant, and tend to abuse the privilege of the pulpit in total negation of the calling of the clerical office as understood in the catholic church”. I must admit that I have yet to read a more “fantastic” qualification of such priests.\r\n\r\nRegardless, I was patient enough to read through, and with every fiber of concentration, but did not see where the writer claimed to be a priest himself. I also know, and it is public knowledge, that the Catholic Church is perhaps one of the few churches, if not the only one, which do not tolerate abuse of its processes without punishment that may be as grave as defrocking an errant priest. It does not seem, and has yet to be established, that the Onitsha metropolitan see under the bishopric control of the courageous and strict moral theologian, Archbishop Valerian Okeke would sit by or had sat still and allowed violation of the Church’s age-long tradition. I will like to be contradicted.\r\n\r\nEager to profess deep knowledge of the Catholic Church perhaps more than the Church leadership itself, he delved into the issue of curse and how alien it is to the Catholic liturgy. He alleged megalomania and arrogance against Fr. Ebube Muonso who, until the failed security situation in Anambra, was hardly in evidence. He was quick to reel out cases where men of God and or Catholic Priests were publicly abused, even defamed without them placing curses on the aggressor. To cap his point, he cited the case of Ali Mehmet Agca, the Turkish assailant, who made attempt on the life of Pope John Paul 11, on St. Peter’s Square in Rome sometime in 1981, and how the Catholic Pontiff, on recovery, visited him in prison and forgave him. With this and other allusions to abuse and forgiveness he tried very much to portray Fr. Ebube Muonso as being of vindictive cast of mind. But before he succeeds in this self-imposed task, it is important to know what a curse is, if indeed it is alien to the Church and whether it can light if uttered in vain, and by a man he claims is unpriestly, and in whose adoration ground, God neither assumes another nature nor greater power.\r\n\r\nCurse or imprecation is a swearword or solemn utterance that is designed to invoke supernatural power in order to exact harm. Though not easily advocated except on extreme situation, it can only light on the ground of justification and cannot be placed in vain. It is not alien to the Church and there are evidences where imprecation was placed on willful and infernal offenders. St Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, uttered a curse on malevolent pagans of his time. Up against King Ceretic Guletic who sold Christian Irish Converts into slavery and ridiculed him, and against the pagan community that frustrated his effort at proselytization, the Holy Patrick took umbrage at them. In uttering the solemn words he said: “Mudebroth, in spite of all your labour you shall achieve nothing”. It was reported that the following night a heavy storm stirred up the sea and rendered waste all that the pagans had done as the man of God had said.\r\n\r\nElsewhere in the Holy book there are instances of curse. In Genesis 4: 11-6, Cain was cursed by God after he murdered his brother Abel and lied about it. In Mark 11: 12-24, Christ cursed a fig tree to wither for not bearing fruits. “The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again”. And it came to pass.\r\n\r\nAlthough there is nothing to be said in defense of a curse if it can be avoided, but let no rat knowingly incur the wrath of a diviner (dibia) so that the latter does not deliberately curse it. It is easy to defame anybody particularly in this age of the internet and pretend that all is well. What Fr. Ebube Muonso has said to the government in the state and will still say once there is noticeable breach, which elicited attack on his person by a few whippersnappers, is still within the ambit of the law, while his reaction to the defamation of his person does not contravene his obligation as a priest. He is alive to his duty to the church and the people. He might not have got everything right because he is human, but neither has the state. In fact, the state is the worst offender and was in deep slumber until the charismatic priest roused it to action. Going forward let the state appreciate that security is the first line charge of any government and work towards maintaining it. Ebube Muonso is speaking the mind of the silent majority cowed by the intimidating presence of the state.\r\n\r\nUbaka Okwusogu\r\n\r\nOnitsha','Re-Fr. Ebube Muonso and the tragedy of ego','','publish','open','open','','re-fr-ebube-muonso-and-the-tragedy-of-ego','','','2025-03-07 19:17:47','2025-03-07 19:17:47','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5913',0,'post','',0),(5914,1,'2025-03-07 19:17:47','2025-03-07 19:17:47','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5898\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0029-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" />\r\n\r\nUbaka Okwusogu\r\n\r\nWhile scanning through the internet I chanced upon an article titled: Ebube Muonso and the tragedy of ego written by a certain Henry Chigozie Duru of the Mass Communication Department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. It was an overly presumptuous piece.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe writer took liberties with facts in his effort to admonish the charismatic priest of the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Uke, Anambra state, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Obimma (aka Ebube Muonso) on the obligations of priesthood. With near avuncular disposition, he proceeded to counsel an end to the recriminations between the Priest and Governor Soludo’s aides because according to him there has been improved security with the launch of the new security initiative, Udo ga-achi by the government. Perhaps so.\r\n\r\nBut he admitted the mutual blame between the priest and the state would not have happened if Rev. Fr. Nonso Okoye who, by the way, is the vicar at Blessed Iwene Tansi Parish, Umudioka, where Fr. Ebube Muonso himself is the parish priest, was not abducted and Hon. Justice Azuka, representing Onitsha North 1 in the State House of Assembly, not kidnapped and murdered after payment of ransom. Claiming knowledge of the genesis of the strained relationship between the two men, he said it all started with the prophecy made by Fr. Ebube Muonso about invasion of the Government House by persons suspected to be Fulani herdsmen which left Soludo bloodied. Unimpressed, the Governor, he claimed, treated the purported prophecy with slight disdain based on leaked personal message he sent the priest. He would have done better here if he had applied more diligence in search of the truth.\r\n\r\nHowever, he went on to point out as a Catholic imbued with knowledge of Catholicism and its tenets, the unpleasant development whereby priests who claim manifestation of charismatic flair and operate adoration ministries become, in his words, “unpriestly, egoistic, arrogant, recalcitrant, and tend to abuse the privilege of the pulpit in total negation of the calling of the clerical office as understood in the catholic church”. I must admit that I have yet to read a more “fantastic” qualification of such priests.\r\n\r\nRegardless, I was patient enough to read through, and with every fiber of concentration, but did not see where the writer claimed to be a priest himself. I also know, and it is public knowledge, that the Catholic Church is perhaps one of the few churches, if not the only one, which do not tolerate abuse of its processes without punishment that may be as grave as defrocking an errant priest. It does not seem, and has yet to be established, that the Onitsha metropolitan see under the bishopric control of the courageous and strict moral theologian, Archbishop Valerian Okeke would sit by or had sat still and allowed violation of the Church’s age-long tradition. I will like to be contradicted.\r\n\r\nEager to profess deep knowledge of the Catholic Church perhaps more than the Church leadership itself, he delved into the issue of curse and how alien it is to the Catholic liturgy. He alleged megalomania and arrogance against Fr. Ebube Muonso who, until the failed security situation in Anambra, was hardly in evidence. He was quick to reel out cases where men of God and or Catholic Priests were publicly abused, even defamed without them placing curses on the aggressor. To cap his point, he cited the case of Ali Mehmet Agca, the Turkish assailant, who made attempt on the life of Pope John Paul 11, on St. Peter’s Square in Rome sometime in 1981, and how the Catholic Pontiff, on recovery, visited him in prison and forgave him. With this and other allusions to abuse and forgiveness he tried very much to portray Fr. Ebube Muonso as being of vindictive cast of mind. But before he succeeds in this self-imposed task, it is important to know what a curse is, if indeed it is alien to the Church and whether it can light if uttered in vain, and by a man he claims is unpriestly, and in whose adoration ground, God neither assumes another nature nor greater power.\r\n\r\nCurse or imprecation is a swearword or solemn utterance that is designed to invoke supernatural power in order to exact harm. Though not easily advocated except on extreme situation, it can only light on the ground of justification and cannot be placed in vain. It is not alien to the Church and there are evidences where imprecation was placed on willful and infernal offenders. St Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, uttered a curse on malevolent pagans of his time. Up against King Ceretic Guletic who sold Christian Irish Converts into slavery and ridiculed him, and against the pagan community that frustrated his effort at proselytization, the Holy Patrick took umbrage at them. In uttering the solemn words he said: “Mudebroth, in spite of all your labour you shall achieve nothing”. It was reported that the following night a heavy storm stirred up the sea and rendered waste all that the pagans had done as the man of God had said.\r\n\r\nElsewhere in the Holy book there are instances of curse. In Genesis 4: 11-6, Cain was cursed by God after he murdered his brother Abel and lied about it. In Mark 11: 12-24, Christ cursed a fig tree to wither for not bearing fruits. “The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again”. And it came to pass.\r\n\r\nAlthough there is nothing to be said in defense of a curse if it can be avoided, but let no rat knowingly incur the wrath of a diviner (dibia) so that the latter does not deliberately curse it. It is easy to defame anybody particularly in this age of the internet and pretend that all is well. What Fr. Ebube Muonso has said to the government in the state and will still say once there is noticeable breach, which elicited attack on his person by a few whippersnappers, is still within the ambit of the law, while his reaction to the defamation of his person does not contravene his obligation as a priest. He is alive to his duty to the church and the people. He might not have got everything right because he is human, but neither has the state. In fact, the state is the worst offender and was in deep slumber until the charismatic priest roused it to action. Going forward let the state appreciate that security is the first line charge of any government and work towards maintaining it. Ebube Muonso is speaking the mind of the silent majority cowed by the intimidating presence of the state.\r\n\r\nUbaka Okwusogu\r\n\r\nOnitsha','Re-Fr. Ebube Muonso and the tragedy of ego','','inherit','closed','closed','','5913-revision-v1','','','2025-03-07 19:17:47','2025-03-07 19:17:47','',5913,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5914',0,'revision','',0),(5916,1,'2025-03-21 16:44:05','2025-03-21 16:44:05','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5898\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0029-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" />\r\n\r\nBy Ejike Anyaduba\r\n\r\nRev. Fr. Emmanuel Obimma, a.k.a Ebube Muonso of the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Uke, Anambra state, does not need introduction. He is a household name with an Adoration Ministry that is venerated for years as solution ground by Catholics and non-Catholics in search of spiritual and physical needs. The number of worshippers that throng the Uke Adoration ground every Friday from across the states, excluding virtual participants, bespeaks of the priest as a man of unusual charisma.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nEbube Muonso is perhaps the most celebrated Adoration Minister east of the Niger – if indeed this great man of God cum philanthropist – can be described straightforwardly as such. But he is that and more. He is an Adoration priest, a teacher, a philanthropist and a rebel. He has enormous flock. It won’t be out of context to see him as an embodiment of all the qualifications above as no single one is enough to capture all his essence. Beyond the call of clerical duties, Ebube Muonso has done a lot of work to help the cause of humanity. And it is the fact of these works, not the manner of his priesthood that is the thrust of this essay.\r\n\r\nThese works sans his priestly obligations are legion and will be difficult to put a price on. They cut across education, health, empowerment and all. His recent tiff with the state notwithstanding, Ebube Muonso is a major contributor to the development of education in the state. He has empowered as many people as are available to his ministry and has brought his weight to bear on human capital development to such a degree even his implacable enemies will not be able to contradict.\r\n\r\nThe recognition of Anambra as one of the few states in Nigeria with more than 60% pass rate in WASC, which Senator Ben Murray-Bruce spoke favourably about in his Commonsense Series, was not the effort of the state government alone, but also of individual contributors like Ebube Muonso. The charismatic priest, barely 14 years in priesthood and a teacher of many (he had taught at St. Paul’s Secondary School, Ogwuikpele, Holy Trinity Secondary School, Akili Ogidi and All Hallow’s Seminary, Onitsha - as teacher prefect) during his priestly formation, established two of the best secondary schools in the state. These schools namely Divine Rays British School (DRBS), Obosi, 2017, and St. John Vianney Science College, (SJVSC) Igbariam(described as the best boarding school in Anambra State), 2023, have yet to miss on the attendance lists of performing schools in Nigeria. Both have successfully improved the quality of education in high schools in the state and etched Anambra’s name on a pedestal of academic excellence.\r\n\r\nThe DRBS, in 2022, competed for, and won, the Horn Entrepreneurship Award, put together by Diamond Challenge of the University of Delaware, Dover, United States of America. The Entrepreneurship Award, created in 2012, by the University, challenges teens to unleash their creative energy towards advancing world technology. The DRBS trio of Elvis Ugochukwu, Jennifer Onyejiego and Anthony Maduka trumped other competing schools like Mater Amabilis Secondary School, Umuoji (first runner up), Caleb British International School, Lekki, Lagos, African Church Model School, Ifako, Lagos, Vetland Senior Grammar School, Agege, Lagos, Iju Senior Grammar School, Iju, Lagos, to take the coveted prize and represent Nigeria at the Global Summit. Prior to this, the school had competed in Kampala, Uganda, for African Spelling Bee, and in Lagos, for Crux Mathematics Competition. It has been the defending champion of AVOSCO (Archbishop Valarie Okeke Science Competition) for two consecutive years 2021 and 2022. In 2023, barely 6 years after its establishment, the school produced the highest JAMB scorer in Enugu state in the person of Ernest Ofoama. He scored 347 marks, 13 short of the highest overall national scorer, Kamsiyochukwu Umeh, with 360 marks.\r\n\r\nSt John Vianney Science College, Igbariam, has not been any different in terms of performance both in academics and character formation. Like the DRBS, it has clocked impressive disciplinary miles on its journey to grooming thoughtful and highly skilled future managers. Just last year, the school won the Technology Innovation Competition for all girls in Secondary Schools across Nigeria, tagged M-Tag V2, organized by the Federal Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy. The project which was designed to allow users explore iconic landmarks like Zuma Rock in order to learn the fascinating cultural aspects of Nigerian tribes was competed for by schools from all the 36 states of the federation. In the end, SJVSC’s Immaculate Ikegwuonu, Camilla Anyadike and Oluchi Nonso-Nweke triumphed over the rest.\r\n\r\nIt may be fair to argue that none of these achievements came gratis, and none was secured on a platter. All were efforts of the students, the teachers and more importantly Ebube Muonso’s abiding sense of hard work and reward. Workers in these schools and elsewhere in his other concerns who are diligent in their duties are often rewarded with financial support and car gift as fillip. Many of them, especially those at the lowest rung of the ladder have their hospital bills and school fees of their children paid regularly. Well over 300 elderly people from his Nkwelle Ezunnaka community are on salary from the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry.\r\n\r\nWithout straining the limit of what he has done and is doing, Ebube Muonso provides scholarships to many brilliant students and others from financially unstable backgrounds, with more than 30% of the beneficiaries coming from his schools. This does not detract from his corporal work of mercy which is consistent with his work as a priest where he empowers orphans, widows, displaced persons, underprivileged ones and the physically challenged. He has provided shelter for the displaced, secured accommodation for those in need and contributes actively to community development across the state. His intervention in emergency situations, especially during flood disaster, inferno, and sundry other incidents is public knowledge. However, it is his empathic support to families particularly children who lost their parents in tragic circumstances, many of whom he adopts while empowering others financially that sets him apart as a compassionate priest.\r\n\r\nIt should be borne in mind that not everything he does is public knowledge. Some are deliberately kept under wraps while many more are obscured by problems of definition. Ebube Muonso is a priest at ease with solemnness and prayer, but miraculously undefined by either. A good conversationalist with little of the grave appearance of a typical charismatic priest. No man with his wits about him, even if he is not cottoned to his ideas, would willingly choose him as an enemy. He has none and if he “be a man of God” as he is wont to say may his work speak for him always.\r\n\r\nEjike Anyaduba\r\n\r\nAbatete','Ebube Muonso: Priest with unusual charisma','','publish','open','open','','ebube-muonso-priest-with-unusual-charisma','','','2025-03-21 16:44:05','2025-03-21 16:44:05','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5916',0,'post','',0),(5917,1,'2025-03-21 16:44:05','2025-03-21 16:44:05','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5898\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG-20250221-WA0029-300x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"160\" />\r\n\r\nBy Ejike Anyaduba\r\n\r\nRev. Fr. Emmanuel Obimma, a.k.a Ebube Muonso of the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Uke, Anambra state, does not need introduction. He is a household name with an Adoration Ministry that is venerated for years as solution ground by Catholics and non-Catholics in search of spiritual and physical needs. The number of worshippers that throng the Uke Adoration ground every Friday from across the states, excluding virtual participants, bespeaks of the priest as a man of unusual charisma.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nEbube Muonso is perhaps the most celebrated Adoration Minister east of the Niger – if indeed this great man of God cum philanthropist – can be described straightforwardly as such. But he is that and more. He is an Adoration priest, a teacher, a philanthropist and a rebel. He has enormous flock. It won’t be out of context to see him as an embodiment of all the qualifications above as no single one is enough to capture all his essence. Beyond the call of clerical duties, Ebube Muonso has done a lot of work to help the cause of humanity. And it is the fact of these works, not the manner of his priesthood that is the thrust of this essay.\r\n\r\nThese works sans his priestly obligations are legion and will be difficult to put a price on. They cut across education, health, empowerment and all. His recent tiff with the state notwithstanding, Ebube Muonso is a major contributor to the development of education in the state. He has empowered as many people as are available to his ministry and has brought his weight to bear on human capital development to such a degree even his implacable enemies will not be able to contradict.\r\n\r\nThe recognition of Anambra as one of the few states in Nigeria with more than 60% pass rate in WASC, which Senator Ben Murray-Bruce spoke favourably about in his Commonsense Series, was not the effort of the state government alone, but also of individual contributors like Ebube Muonso. The charismatic priest, barely 14 years in priesthood and a teacher of many (he had taught at St. Paul’s Secondary School, Ogwuikpele, Holy Trinity Secondary School, Akili Ogidi and All Hallow’s Seminary, Onitsha - as teacher prefect) during his priestly formation, established two of the best secondary schools in the state. These schools namely Divine Rays British School (DRBS), Obosi, 2017, and St. John Vianney Science College, (SJVSC) Igbariam(described as the best boarding school in Anambra State), 2023, have yet to miss on the attendance lists of performing schools in Nigeria. Both have successfully improved the quality of education in high schools in the state and etched Anambra’s name on a pedestal of academic excellence.\r\n\r\nThe DRBS, in 2022, competed for, and won, the Horn Entrepreneurship Award, put together by Diamond Challenge of the University of Delaware, Dover, United States of America. The Entrepreneurship Award, created in 2012, by the University, challenges teens to unleash their creative energy towards advancing world technology. The DRBS trio of Elvis Ugochukwu, Jennifer Onyejiego and Anthony Maduka trumped other competing schools like Mater Amabilis Secondary School, Umuoji (first runner up), Caleb British International School, Lekki, Lagos, African Church Model School, Ifako, Lagos, Vetland Senior Grammar School, Agege, Lagos, Iju Senior Grammar School, Iju, Lagos, to take the coveted prize and represent Nigeria at the Global Summit. Prior to this, the school had competed in Kampala, Uganda, for African Spelling Bee, and in Lagos, for Crux Mathematics Competition. It has been the defending champion of AVOSCO (Archbishop Valarie Okeke Science Competition) for two consecutive years 2021 and 2022. In 2023, barely 6 years after its establishment, the school produced the highest JAMB scorer in Enugu state in the person of Ernest Ofoama. He scored 347 marks, 13 short of the highest overall national scorer, Kamsiyochukwu Umeh, with 360 marks.\r\n\r\nSt John Vianney Science College, Igbariam, has not been any different in terms of performance both in academics and character formation. Like the DRBS, it has clocked impressive disciplinary miles on its journey to grooming thoughtful and highly skilled future managers. Just last year, the school won the Technology Innovation Competition for all girls in Secondary Schools across Nigeria, tagged M-Tag V2, organized by the Federal Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy. The project which was designed to allow users explore iconic landmarks like Zuma Rock in order to learn the fascinating cultural aspects of Nigerian tribes was competed for by schools from all the 36 states of the federation. In the end, SJVSC’s Immaculate Ikegwuonu, Camilla Anyadike and Oluchi Nonso-Nweke triumphed over the rest.\r\n\r\nIt may be fair to argue that none of these achievements came gratis, and none was secured on a platter. All were efforts of the students, the teachers and more importantly Ebube Muonso’s abiding sense of hard work and reward. Workers in these schools and elsewhere in his other concerns who are diligent in their duties are often rewarded with financial support and car gift as fillip. Many of them, especially those at the lowest rung of the ladder have their hospital bills and school fees of their children paid regularly. Well over 300 elderly people from his Nkwelle Ezunnaka community are on salary from the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry.\r\n\r\nWithout straining the limit of what he has done and is doing, Ebube Muonso provides scholarships to many brilliant students and others from financially unstable backgrounds, with more than 30% of the beneficiaries coming from his schools. This does not detract from his corporal work of mercy which is consistent with his work as a priest where he empowers orphans, widows, displaced persons, underprivileged ones and the physically challenged. He has provided shelter for the displaced, secured accommodation for those in need and contributes actively to community development across the state. His intervention in emergency situations, especially during flood disaster, inferno, and sundry other incidents is public knowledge. However, it is his empathic support to families particularly children who lost their parents in tragic circumstances, many of whom he adopts while empowering others financially that sets him apart as a compassionate priest.\r\n\r\nIt should be borne in mind that not everything he does is public knowledge. Some are deliberately kept under wraps while many more are obscured by problems of definition. Ebube Muonso is a priest at ease with solemnness and prayer, but miraculously undefined by either. A good conversationalist with little of the grave appearance of a typical charismatic priest. No man with his wits about him, even if he is not cottoned to his ideas, would willingly choose him as an enemy. He has none and if he “be a man of God” as he is wont to say may his work speak for him always.\r\n\r\nEjike Anyaduba\r\n\r\nAbatete','Ebube Muonso: Priest with unusual charisma','','inherit','closed','closed','','5916-revision-v1','','','2025-03-21 16:44:05','2025-03-21 16:44:05','',5916,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5917',0,'revision','',0),(5923,1,'2025-04-03 16:55:09','2025-04-03 16:55:09','<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5924\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250403-WA0028-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" /></p>\r\n… _Says Mbah has greatly improved security_\r\n\r\n… _People mistook Nkala-Eha in Ebonyi for Eha-Amufu in Enugu_\r\n\r\nThe Anglican Bishop of Eha-Amufu Diocese in Isi-Uzo LGA of Enugu State, Rt. Rev. Daniel Olinya, has refuted the reports of mass killings and arson in Eha-Amufu making the rounds on the social media, noting that many mistook Nkala-Eha community in Ebonyi State, which suffered grisly attacks in February, for Eha-Amufu, which shares boundaries with it.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nBishop Olinya said that while Isi-Uzo LGA in general and Eha-Amufu communities and farm settlements in particular had suffered suspected herders’ attacks over the years, peaking between 2020 and 2022 when farm settlements and communities were sacked, security had since greatly improved under the Governor Peter Mbah dispensation and Eha-Amufu people had returned to their homes.\r\n\r\nHe said that unlike in December 2022 and January 2023 when many Eha-Amufu residents, including himself, escaped to townships and Internally Dispacdd Persons (IDP) camps where they spent the Christmas and New Year, relative peace and order had returned to the communities.\r\n\r\nThe clergy, who fielded questions from newsmen after briefing the governor on the actual security situation in Eha-Amufu, explained that apart from isolated incidents of security breach such as the recent murder of a young undergraduate, the people go to their farms.\r\n\r\nHe however noted that most people were still afraid to live in many of the farm settlements as they were far removed from their communities, blaming it on the fears instilled by the gruesome attacks of 2020 to 2022.\r\n\r\n“No. There is no mass killings. But Abor people used to run away to Eha-Amufu town to stay any time they hear that the herders were coming. But not that there was any mass killing this year in Eha-Amufu. No.\r\n\r\n“Even a blind man will tell you that he has seen what Mbah is doing. The security situation in Eha-Amufu has become very good because we do not run again. And we have seen his efforts. Farmers are ready to go back to their farm settlements. And when I go back now, I will start encouraging them to go back because the governor has done something that will make our people to go back to their farm settlements.\r\n\r\n“Anybody, who refuses to go back now, will not say it is because the herders are chasing him because they cannot chase anybody now in Eha-Amufu with what our Governor has done and still doing,” he said.\r\n\r\nProviding more insights, he continued, “The problem in Eha-Amufu started way back 2020, and in 2022 the entire Eha-Agu, Mbuji-Agu, Ebor-Agu and Mgbuji-Agu were sacked completely. Even those in Eha-Amufu town were also sacked. Like myself, I had to run away from my Bishop’s Court because the Fulani militia were approaching Eha-Amufu town. So everybody had to run away.\r\n\r\n“I ran to Bishop Agbo’s house; that’s bishop of Nsukka, and that was where I celebrated my Christmas that year and the New Year.\r\n\r\n“But this recent time, like this year, we cannot say that anybody has been killed, apart from the young man, the undergraduate, who was unfortunately killed at Ndi-Agu Amofia. But, as I said, there is nothing like mass killings this year in Eha-Amufu.\r\n\r\n“Nkala-Eha is in Ebonyi State, but people mistook it because we (Eha-Amufu and Nkala-Eha) share the same boundary. So, this made some people to say that it was in Eha-Amufu. It wasn’t in Eha-Amufu. It was in Ebonyi State.”','No Mass Killings, Arson in Eha-Amufu – Bishop Olinya','','publish','open','open','','no-mass-killings-arson-in-eha-amufu-bishop-olinya','','','2025-04-03 16:55:09','2025-04-03 16:55:09','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5923',0,'post','',0),(5924,1,'2025-04-03 16:54:36','2025-04-03 16:54:36','','IMG-20250403-WA0028','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250403-wa0028','','','2025-04-03 16:54:36','2025-04-03 16:54:36','',5923,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250403-WA0028.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5925,1,'2025-04-03 16:55:00','2025-04-03 16:55:00','','IMG-20250403-WA0029','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250403-wa0029','','','2025-04-03 16:55:00','2025-04-03 16:55:00','',5923,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250403-WA0029.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5926,1,'2025-04-03 16:55:09','2025-04-03 16:55:09','<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5924\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250403-WA0028-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" /></p>\r\n… _Says Mbah has greatly improved security_\r\n\r\n… _People mistook Nkala-Eha in Ebonyi for Eha-Amufu in Enugu_\r\n\r\nThe Anglican Bishop of Eha-Amufu Diocese in Isi-Uzo LGA of Enugu State, Rt. Rev. Daniel Olinya, has refuted the reports of mass killings and arson in Eha-Amufu making the rounds on the social media, noting that many mistook Nkala-Eha community in Ebonyi State, which suffered grisly attacks in February, for Eha-Amufu, which shares boundaries with it.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nBishop Olinya said that while Isi-Uzo LGA in general and Eha-Amufu communities and farm settlements in particular had suffered suspected herders’ attacks over the years, peaking between 2020 and 2022 when farm settlements and communities were sacked, security had since greatly improved under the Governor Peter Mbah dispensation and Eha-Amufu people had returned to their homes.\r\n\r\nHe said that unlike in December 2022 and January 2023 when many Eha-Amufu residents, including himself, escaped to townships and Internally Dispacdd Persons (IDP) camps where they spent the Christmas and New Year, relative peace and order had returned to the communities.\r\n\r\nThe clergy, who fielded questions from newsmen after briefing the governor on the actual security situation in Eha-Amufu, explained that apart from isolated incidents of security breach such as the recent murder of a young undergraduate, the people go to their farms.\r\n\r\nHe however noted that most people were still afraid to live in many of the farm settlements as they were far removed from their communities, blaming it on the fears instilled by the gruesome attacks of 2020 to 2022.\r\n\r\n“No. There is no mass killings. But Abor people used to run away to Eha-Amufu town to stay any time they hear that the herders were coming. But not that there was any mass killing this year in Eha-Amufu. No.\r\n\r\n“Even a blind man will tell you that he has seen what Mbah is doing. The security situation in Eha-Amufu has become very good because we do not run again. And we have seen his efforts. Farmers are ready to go back to their farm settlements. And when I go back now, I will start encouraging them to go back because the governor has done something that will make our people to go back to their farm settlements.\r\n\r\n“Anybody, who refuses to go back now, will not say it is because the herders are chasing him because they cannot chase anybody now in Eha-Amufu with what our Governor has done and still doing,” he said.\r\n\r\nProviding more insights, he continued, “The problem in Eha-Amufu started way back 2020, and in 2022 the entire Eha-Agu, Mbuji-Agu, Ebor-Agu and Mgbuji-Agu were sacked completely. Even those in Eha-Amufu town were also sacked. Like myself, I had to run away from my Bishop’s Court because the Fulani militia were approaching Eha-Amufu town. So everybody had to run away.\r\n\r\n“I ran to Bishop Agbo’s house; that’s bishop of Nsukka, and that was where I celebrated my Christmas that year and the New Year.\r\n\r\n“But this recent time, like this year, we cannot say that anybody has been killed, apart from the young man, the undergraduate, who was unfortunately killed at Ndi-Agu Amofia. But, as I said, there is nothing like mass killings this year in Eha-Amufu.\r\n\r\n“Nkala-Eha is in Ebonyi State, but people mistook it because we (Eha-Amufu and Nkala-Eha) share the same boundary. So, this made some people to say that it was in Eha-Amufu. It wasn’t in Eha-Amufu. It was in Ebonyi State.”','No Mass Killings, Arson in Eha-Amufu – Bishop Olinya','','inherit','closed','closed','','5923-revision-v1','','','2025-04-03 16:55:09','2025-04-03 16:55:09','',5923,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5926',0,'revision','',0),(5927,1,'2025-04-03 21:23:19','2025-04-03 21:23:19','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5928\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250403-WA0052-300x135.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"135\" />\r\n\r\nMmaduabuchi Onwumelu\r\n\r\nIt was a gathering of who is who and celebration of excellence on Saturday, 30th March 2025, at Tansian University Umunya (Main Campus), in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State as the citadel of learning held its 13th Convocation ceremony amidst pomp and pageantry.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe All Progressives Congress (APC) frontline gubernatorial aspirant, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu (Ikukuoma) was honoured and installed as the Pillar of the University.\r\n\r\nThe event witnessed the installation and decoration of Reverend Father Edwin SC Obiorah, SAN, as well as conferring on various deserving individuals with honorary doctoral degrees, including the Royal Highness Igwe Pharm. Onyido (Ezechumagha of Ogidi), former Reps member representing Idemili North and South Federal Constituency, Rt Hon. Ifeanyi Ibezi (Ochiagha Idemili), Anambra South Senatorial Zone by-election APGA aspirant, Chief Ebuka Onunkwo (Seahorse), Outgoing Chief of Staff to the Senator President and Executive Director of Corporate Services, Southeast Development Commission, Barrister Sylvester Okonkwo, the Deputy Speaker Anambra State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Chukwuma Okoye, AIG Tunde Ogunsakan (Rtd), for their outstanding contributions to the development of education in Nigeria.\r\n\r\nDecorating Fr. Obiora, the visitor of the school, Cardinal Peter Ebere Okpaleke, represented by Rev. Brother Innocent Anthony Uke extolled Fr Obiora, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) for holding and guarding tenaciously his principles, ideals, and virtues, describing him as a square peg in a square hole.\r\n\r\nIn a grand ceremony that showcased the institution\'s commitment to academic excellence, a total of 414 students bagged their first and postgraduate degrees of the institution during the 13th convocation ceremony. The event, which was attended by dignitaries from various walks of life, also saw countless others receive their master\'s and doctoral degrees, marking a significant milestone in their academic journeys of the great citadel of learning (Tansian University Umunya Nigeria).\r\n\r\nThe convocation ceremony was chaired by Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, MFR, who brought his wealth of experience and expertise to the occasion. The planning committee was chaired by the Deputy Vice Chancellor and former House of Assembly Member representing Aguata I State Constituency, Prof. Cater Dike Nnamdi Umeoduagu who ensured that the event was a resounding success, with every detail meticulously taken care of, especially as expected of such occasion.\r\n\r\nAs the event commenced, the university orator Associate Professor Tony Ngonadi reeled out the list of distinguished guests in attendance which included Chief Dr. Ebuka Onunkwo, Ifeanyi Ibezi, Sylvester Okonkwo, Rt Hon Barr Sunday Umeha (Honourable Memeber representing Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency), Rt Hon Chief Pius Okoye, immediate past National chairman of APGA Chief Victor Ike Oye, among many, whose presence added to the prestige and significance of the event.\r\n\r\nAs the graduands marched proudly across the stage to receive their degrees, the atmosphere was filled with excitement and pride. The ceremony was a testament to the hard work and dedication of the students, as well as the unwavering support of their families and loved ones.\r\n\r\nIn his address, the Vice Chancellor of Tansian University, Prof. Eugene Nwadialor , congratulated the graduands on their achievements, charging them to remain committed to excellence in all their endeavours, noting that the university\'s commitment to academic excellence was evident in the quality of its graduates, who have gone on to make a positive impact in their various fields.\r\n\r\nThe Vice Chancellor admonished the graduands, who hailed from various disciplines to use their knowledge and skills to make a positive impact in their communities and the world at large as they embark on the next stage of their academic and professional journeys, adding that they do so with the knowledge and skills imparted to them by Tansian University, Umunya.\r\n\r\nSpeaking the newly inaugurated Chancellor and the Chairman Board of Trustees (BoT) of the institution, Reverend Fr. Edwin SC Obiorah, SAN, paid a glowing tribute to the founder of Tansian University Umunya, Nigeria, Very Rev. Monsignor Johnbosco Akam, stating that Tansian University has a checkered history and was founded as a centre of academic excellence in 2004 by Late Very Rev. Msgr. Prof. John Bosco Akam (FCON), a cleric of great vision and versatility, adding that It was licensed on 27/05/2007, by the National University Commission (NUC), to provide various tertiary educational, technical, and professional courses to students who thirst for wholistic formation and transformation.\r\n\r\n\'In fact, its motto is \'Scientia Potestas et Virtus\'(Knowledge is Power and Virtue). On 16/02/2022, Tansian University was recreated by the Corporate Affairs\r\nCommission (CAC), as a juristic entity that exists and acts eo nomine with perpetual succession stated that It gives him a singular. I am the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Chancellor of this great citadel of learning. It is my singular honour to address you on this occasion when our students are getting various laurels for their hard work in scholarship and where men and women who have distinguished themselves esteemed careers and disciplines are being conferred with various Honorary Degrees of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.),\' he said.\r\n\r\nCongratulating Professor Idemobi on behalf of the Governing Council, Management, Staff, and Students of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kate Azuka Omenugha, fnipr, extends heartfelt congratulations to Prof. Ellis Idemobi on his historic inauguration as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Tansian University, Umunya.\r\n\r\nProf. Omenugha emphasized that this appointment represents a significant milestone for the growing reputation of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University. She expressed gratitude to the Board of Trustees of Tansian University for recognizing Prof. Idemobi is the ideal candidate for this prestigious role, highlighting his qualifications as a perfect fit.\r\n\r\nProf. Idemobi originally assumed the position in an acting capacity in September 2024, with his appointment officially ratified by the Board of Trustees in December 2024, culminating in the formal inauguration during the 13th Convocation held on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at the Umunya Main Campus.\r\n\r\nThe convocation ceremony was a fitting celebration of the graduands\' achievements and a testament to Tansian University\'s commitment to academic excellence.\r\n\r\nAwards presentations to the three first class graduates, Ojomah Kelvin Ojonubah, Microbiology department of\r\nNatural and Applied Sciences, Reverend Sister, Rosemary Nonyelum Ugboma (NES),Faculty of Law. The Awka Diocesan Chancellor, Reverend Fr Charles Ndubuisi, was among the dignitaries that graced the event.','13th Convocation Ceremony: Tansian University Umunya Graduates 414 Graduands Amid Pomp, Installs Fr Obiora As Chancellor, Honours Deserving Individuals With Honorary Doctoral Degrees','','publish','open','open','','13th-convocation-ceremony-tansian-university-umunya-graduates-414-graduands-amid-pomp-installs-fr-obiora-as-chancellor-honours-deserving-individuals-with-honorary-doctoral-degrees','','','2025-04-03 21:23:19','2025-04-03 21:23:19','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5927',0,'post','',0),(5928,1,'2025-04-03 21:22:43','2025-04-03 21:22:43','','IMG-20250403-WA0052','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250403-wa0052','','','2025-04-03 21:22:43','2025-04-03 21:22:43','',5927,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250403-WA0052.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5929,1,'2025-04-03 21:23:10','2025-04-03 21:23:10','','IMG-20250403-WA0056','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250403-wa0056','','','2025-04-03 21:23:10','2025-04-03 21:23:10','',5927,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250403-WA0056.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5930,1,'2025-04-03 21:23:19','2025-04-03 21:23:19','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5928\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250403-WA0052-300x135.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"135\" />\r\n\r\nMmaduabuchi Onwumelu\r\n\r\nIt was a gathering of who is who and celebration of excellence on Saturday, 30th March 2025, at Tansian University Umunya (Main Campus), in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State as the citadel of learning held its 13th Convocation ceremony amidst pomp and pageantry.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe All Progressives Congress (APC) frontline gubernatorial aspirant, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu (Ikukuoma) was honoured and installed as the Pillar of the University.\r\n\r\nThe event witnessed the installation and decoration of Reverend Father Edwin SC Obiorah, SAN, as well as conferring on various deserving individuals with honorary doctoral degrees, including the Royal Highness Igwe Pharm. Onyido (Ezechumagha of Ogidi), former Reps member representing Idemili North and South Federal Constituency, Rt Hon. Ifeanyi Ibezi (Ochiagha Idemili), Anambra South Senatorial Zone by-election APGA aspirant, Chief Ebuka Onunkwo (Seahorse), Outgoing Chief of Staff to the Senator President and Executive Director of Corporate Services, Southeast Development Commission, Barrister Sylvester Okonkwo, the Deputy Speaker Anambra State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Chukwuma Okoye, AIG Tunde Ogunsakan (Rtd), for their outstanding contributions to the development of education in Nigeria.\r\n\r\nDecorating Fr. Obiora, the visitor of the school, Cardinal Peter Ebere Okpaleke, represented by Rev. Brother Innocent Anthony Uke extolled Fr Obiora, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) for holding and guarding tenaciously his principles, ideals, and virtues, describing him as a square peg in a square hole.\r\n\r\nIn a grand ceremony that showcased the institution\'s commitment to academic excellence, a total of 414 students bagged their first and postgraduate degrees of the institution during the 13th convocation ceremony. The event, which was attended by dignitaries from various walks of life, also saw countless others receive their master\'s and doctoral degrees, marking a significant milestone in their academic journeys of the great citadel of learning (Tansian University Umunya Nigeria).\r\n\r\nThe convocation ceremony was chaired by Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, MFR, who brought his wealth of experience and expertise to the occasion. The planning committee was chaired by the Deputy Vice Chancellor and former House of Assembly Member representing Aguata I State Constituency, Prof. Cater Dike Nnamdi Umeoduagu who ensured that the event was a resounding success, with every detail meticulously taken care of, especially as expected of such occasion.\r\n\r\nAs the event commenced, the university orator Associate Professor Tony Ngonadi reeled out the list of distinguished guests in attendance which included Chief Dr. Ebuka Onunkwo, Ifeanyi Ibezi, Sylvester Okonkwo, Rt Hon Barr Sunday Umeha (Honourable Memeber representing Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency), Rt Hon Chief Pius Okoye, immediate past National chairman of APGA Chief Victor Ike Oye, among many, whose presence added to the prestige and significance of the event.\r\n\r\nAs the graduands marched proudly across the stage to receive their degrees, the atmosphere was filled with excitement and pride. The ceremony was a testament to the hard work and dedication of the students, as well as the unwavering support of their families and loved ones.\r\n\r\nIn his address, the Vice Chancellor of Tansian University, Prof. Eugene Nwadialor , congratulated the graduands on their achievements, charging them to remain committed to excellence in all their endeavours, noting that the university\'s commitment to academic excellence was evident in the quality of its graduates, who have gone on to make a positive impact in their various fields.\r\n\r\nThe Vice Chancellor admonished the graduands, who hailed from various disciplines to use their knowledge and skills to make a positive impact in their communities and the world at large as they embark on the next stage of their academic and professional journeys, adding that they do so with the knowledge and skills imparted to them by Tansian University, Umunya.\r\n\r\nSpeaking the newly inaugurated Chancellor and the Chairman Board of Trustees (BoT) of the institution, Reverend Fr. Edwin SC Obiorah, SAN, paid a glowing tribute to the founder of Tansian University Umunya, Nigeria, Very Rev. Monsignor Johnbosco Akam, stating that Tansian University has a checkered history and was founded as a centre of academic excellence in 2004 by Late Very Rev. Msgr. Prof. John Bosco Akam (FCON), a cleric of great vision and versatility, adding that It was licensed on 27/05/2007, by the National University Commission (NUC), to provide various tertiary educational, technical, and professional courses to students who thirst for wholistic formation and transformation.\r\n\r\n\'In fact, its motto is \'Scientia Potestas et Virtus\'(Knowledge is Power and Virtue). On 16/02/2022, Tansian University was recreated by the Corporate Affairs\r\nCommission (CAC), as a juristic entity that exists and acts eo nomine with perpetual succession stated that It gives him a singular. I am the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Chancellor of this great citadel of learning. It is my singular honour to address you on this occasion when our students are getting various laurels for their hard work in scholarship and where men and women who have distinguished themselves esteemed careers and disciplines are being conferred with various Honorary Degrees of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.),\' he said.\r\n\r\nCongratulating Professor Idemobi on behalf of the Governing Council, Management, Staff, and Students of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kate Azuka Omenugha, fnipr, extends heartfelt congratulations to Prof. Ellis Idemobi on his historic inauguration as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Tansian University, Umunya.\r\n\r\nProf. Omenugha emphasized that this appointment represents a significant milestone for the growing reputation of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University. She expressed gratitude to the Board of Trustees of Tansian University for recognizing Prof. Idemobi is the ideal candidate for this prestigious role, highlighting his qualifications as a perfect fit.\r\n\r\nProf. Idemobi originally assumed the position in an acting capacity in September 2024, with his appointment officially ratified by the Board of Trustees in December 2024, culminating in the formal inauguration during the 13th Convocation held on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at the Umunya Main Campus.\r\n\r\nThe convocation ceremony was a fitting celebration of the graduands\' achievements and a testament to Tansian University\'s commitment to academic excellence.\r\n\r\nAwards presentations to the three first class graduates, Ojomah Kelvin Ojonubah, Microbiology department of\r\nNatural and Applied Sciences, Reverend Sister, Rosemary Nonyelum Ugboma (NES),Faculty of Law. The Awka Diocesan Chancellor, Reverend Fr Charles Ndubuisi, was among the dignitaries that graced the event.','13th Convocation Ceremony: Tansian University Umunya Graduates 414 Graduands Amid Pomp, Installs Fr Obiora As Chancellor, Honours Deserving Individuals With Honorary Doctoral Degrees','','inherit','closed','closed','','5927-revision-v1','','','2025-04-03 21:23:19','2025-04-03 21:23:19','',5927,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5930',0,'revision','',0),(5932,1,'2025-04-09 09:21:48','2025-04-09 09:21:48','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5933\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250409-WA0006-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nRAYMOND OZOJI reports\r\n\r\nThe Executive Governor of Anambra State His Excellency Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo has assured the people of Umueri community in Anambra-East Local Government Area of the state that Ugwu-Oyi road will be constructed in no distant time.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe governor who stated this at the grand commissioning of the Chinua Achebe International Passenger and Cargo Airport road Umueri recently, assured Umueri community that he has taken cognisance of the road in question and how it is strategic to the Omambala region, adding that necessary actions will commence on Ugwu-Oyi road shortly.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile the traditional ruler of Umueri ancient kingdom His Royal Majesty Igwe Bennett Izuchukwu Emeka who drew the attention of the governor to Ugwu-Oyi road, noted that Ugwu-Oyi road is so important and strategic such that if constructed, it will serve the navigation needs of Ayamelum, Anambra-East and Anambra-West especially as the road also leads to the Chinua Achebe International Passenger and Cargo Airport Umueri.\r\n\r\nThe President-General of Umueri General Assembly Amb. Dr. John Metchie thanked Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo for the commissioning of the airport road and also naming the road after his predecessor Chief Dr. Willie Obiano, who is an illustrious son of the Omambala region.\r\n\r\nMetchie noted that the ancient kingdom of Umueri and all her people all over the world expressed deep contentment and profound gratitude to the governor for completing and commissioning the Chinua Achebe International Passenger and Cargo Airport Road, Umueri which he described as strategic and economically viable.\r\n\r\nMetchie who extolled the governor\'s acceptance to construct the Ugwu-Oyi-Umueri Airport Road, also appealed to the governor that through the Solution Magic, the road in question becomes a reality even as he assured Governor Soludo that Umueri community will give him 100% votes as her modest contribution to his reelection bid.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n##','Soludo To Construct Another Strategic Road In Umueri','','publish','open','open','','soludo-to-construct-another-strategic-road-in-umueri','','','2025-04-09 09:21:48','2025-04-09 09:21:48','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5932',0,'post','',0),(5933,1,'2025-04-09 09:21:11','2025-04-09 09:21:11','','IMG-20250409-WA0006','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250409-wa0006','','','2025-04-09 09:21:11','2025-04-09 09:21:11','',5932,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250409-WA0006.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5934,1,'2025-04-09 09:21:48','2025-04-09 09:21:48','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5933\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250409-WA0006-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nRAYMOND OZOJI reports\r\n\r\nThe Executive Governor of Anambra State His Excellency Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo has assured the people of Umueri community in Anambra-East Local Government Area of the state that Ugwu-Oyi road will be constructed in no distant time.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe governor who stated this at the grand commissioning of the Chinua Achebe International Passenger and Cargo Airport road Umueri recently, assured Umueri community that he has taken cognisance of the road in question and how it is strategic to the Omambala region, adding that necessary actions will commence on Ugwu-Oyi road shortly.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile the traditional ruler of Umueri ancient kingdom His Royal Majesty Igwe Bennett Izuchukwu Emeka who drew the attention of the governor to Ugwu-Oyi road, noted that Ugwu-Oyi road is so important and strategic such that if constructed, it will serve the navigation needs of Ayamelum, Anambra-East and Anambra-West especially as the road also leads to the Chinua Achebe International Passenger and Cargo Airport Umueri.\r\n\r\nThe President-General of Umueri General Assembly Amb. Dr. John Metchie thanked Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo for the commissioning of the airport road and also naming the road after his predecessor Chief Dr. Willie Obiano, who is an illustrious son of the Omambala region.\r\n\r\nMetchie noted that the ancient kingdom of Umueri and all her people all over the world expressed deep contentment and profound gratitude to the governor for completing and commissioning the Chinua Achebe International Passenger and Cargo Airport Road, Umueri which he described as strategic and economically viable.\r\n\r\nMetchie who extolled the governor\'s acceptance to construct the Ugwu-Oyi-Umueri Airport Road, also appealed to the governor that through the Solution Magic, the road in question becomes a reality even as he assured Governor Soludo that Umueri community will give him 100% votes as her modest contribution to his reelection bid.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n##','Soludo To Construct Another Strategic Road In Umueri','','inherit','closed','closed','','5932-revision-v1','','','2025-04-09 09:21:48','2025-04-09 09:21:48','',5932,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5934',0,'revision','',0),(5937,1,'2025-04-14 14:53:27','2025-04-14 14:53:27','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5938\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250414-WA0023-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nThere is crisis currently in Ihite community in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State over plan to crown a monarch for the community.\r\n\r\nIt was gathered that a section of the community loyal to the President General, Mr George Madu plans to crown chief Timothy Ifurunwa as king on Easter Saturday, a move that members of the traditional council of the community has vowed to vehemently reject, describing Ifurunwa as an illegal monarch.<!--more--><!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe traditional council of the community, who are the kingmakers has raised the alarm over attempt by the president general of the community, Mr George Madu to crown an alleged illegal monarch for the community.\r\n\r\nThe council in a petition addressed to governor of the state, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo and the commissioner of police, CP Ikioye Orutugu said the event if allowed to continue would cause breakdown of law and order in the area.\r\n\r\nIn the petitions to the duo, which were made available to journalists, the counsel to the traditional council of the community, Barr Ndubuisi Onyeakpa said the coronation ceremony is being planned for April 19, despite the objections of the kingmakers of the community and a pending court suit.\r\n\r\nThe petitions urged both the governor of Anambra State and the commissioner to intervene to avoid any breech of peace.\r\n\r\nOnyeakpa said: \"Members of Ihite Traditional Council; Sir Dominic Ahamkaonye, Mr. Ephraim Anudu, Ichie Dennis Ohajekwe and Iche Anthony Okoli were people selected by various villages in Ihite under the leadership of late Igwe B.O. Ofu, Eze Amama I of Ihite as members of Ihite Traditional Council.\r\n\r\n\"They worked with Igwe B.O. Ofu in settlement causes and matters revolving around tradition, native law and custom of Ihite Town before Igwe B.O. Ofu joined his ancestors in 2020.\r\n\r\n\"Unfortunately however, after the death of Igwe B.O. Ofu, dispute arose on who will succeed the throne and procedure for the succession. Sequel upon the development the president general of Ihite Mr. George Madu unilaterally went into amendment of Ihite chieftaincy constitution when he discovered that original chieftaincy constitution executed by Igwe B.O. Ofu did not favour his choice candidate, Mr. Okwudiri Ifurunwa.\"\r\n\r\nRecall that Anambra State governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo had on January 13, issued certificate of return to Mr Timothy Ifurunwa, who was rejected by members of the community.\r\n\r\nA claimant to the stool, Chief Ikechukwu Samson Okoli told journalists that Ifurunwa is an illegal monarch, and a making of the president general of the community, George Madu, who he said connived with the commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Hon Tonycollins Nwabunwanne to deceive the governor into issuing him a certificate of recognition.\r\n\r\n\"Our Igweship stool is rotational, and it rotates around the villages in the community, and after the demise of Igwe B.O Ofu, my village, which is supposed to produce the next monarch, choose me as the next monarch, but the President General unilaterally amended the constitution even without the traditional council, and went ahead to pick Ifurunwa as Igwe, who is from the last village.\r\n\r\n\"We have dragged them to court, but they jettisoned the court process to pick Ifurunwa as Igwe and even as the matter is still in court, they want to crown him. I want to call on the governor and the CP to stop it to avoid breakdown of peace in the community.\"\r\n\r\nIn his petition to both the governor and the CP on behalf of the traditional council, Barr Ndubuisi Onyeakpa also added his voice, warning of a possible breakdown of law and order if the coronation is allowed to take place\r\n\r\nThe petition read: \"The unilateral amendment of Ihite chieftaincy constitution neutralized the involvement of Ihite Traditional Council in the process of selection, nomination, presentation and crowing of a would be traditional ruler of Ihite and introduction of use of electoral college in the selection of Igwe which is contrary to Ihite chieftaincy constitution.\r\n\r\n\"In the light of the above development, the members of Ihite Traditional Council felt aggrieved and approached court to nullify the amended.\r\n\r\n\"Despite the pending of the subject matter in court, George Madu, Okwudiri Ifurunwa, Michael Ugwu, Sunday Nwankwo and Lazarus Eze, had fixed 19 day of April, 2025 for the inauguration of new Traditional Council of Ihite and coronation of Okwudiri Ifurunwa as new Igwe of the town despite motions pending in the High Court to stop the process.\r\n\r\n\"We call on you to use your good office and the Chief security officer of the state to look into this matter and prevent the suspects from going against the law and respect the process of court rather than taking steps that will cause breach of peace and break down of law and order in Ihite town knowing full well that taking step over a matter that is pending in court amounts to total disrespect to the court and rule of law which a person who is holding himself out as a royal father should not undermine the process of court,\" the petition read','Igweship crisis: Anambra community boils over plan to crown monarch, Soludo, CP, urged to intervene','','publish','open','open','','igweship-crisis-anambra-community-boils-over-plan-to-crown-monarch-soludo-cp-urged-to-intervene','','','2025-04-14 14:53:27','2025-04-14 14:53:27','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5937',0,'post','',0),(5938,1,'2025-04-14 14:52:50','2025-04-14 14:52:50','','IMG-20250414-WA0023','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250414-wa0023','','','2025-04-14 14:52:50','2025-04-14 14:52:50','',5937,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250414-WA0023.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5939,1,'2025-04-14 14:53:27','2025-04-14 14:53:27','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5938\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250414-WA0023-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nThere is crisis currently in Ihite community in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State over plan to crown a monarch for the community.\r\n\r\nIt was gathered that a section of the community loyal to the President General, Mr George Madu plans to crown chief Timothy Ifurunwa as king on Easter Saturday, a move that members of the traditional council of the community has vowed to vehemently reject, describing Ifurunwa as an illegal monarch.<!--more--><!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe traditional council of the community, who are the kingmakers has raised the alarm over attempt by the president general of the community, Mr George Madu to crown an alleged illegal monarch for the community.\r\n\r\nThe council in a petition addressed to governor of the state, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo and the commissioner of police, CP Ikioye Orutugu said the event if allowed to continue would cause breakdown of law and order in the area.\r\n\r\nIn the petitions to the duo, which were made available to journalists, the counsel to the traditional council of the community, Barr Ndubuisi Onyeakpa said the coronation ceremony is being planned for April 19, despite the objections of the kingmakers of the community and a pending court suit.\r\n\r\nThe petitions urged both the governor of Anambra State and the commissioner to intervene to avoid any breech of peace.\r\n\r\nOnyeakpa said: \"Members of Ihite Traditional Council; Sir Dominic Ahamkaonye, Mr. Ephraim Anudu, Ichie Dennis Ohajekwe and Iche Anthony Okoli were people selected by various villages in Ihite under the leadership of late Igwe B.O. Ofu, Eze Amama I of Ihite as members of Ihite Traditional Council.\r\n\r\n\"They worked with Igwe B.O. Ofu in settlement causes and matters revolving around tradition, native law and custom of Ihite Town before Igwe B.O. Ofu joined his ancestors in 2020.\r\n\r\n\"Unfortunately however, after the death of Igwe B.O. Ofu, dispute arose on who will succeed the throne and procedure for the succession. Sequel upon the development the president general of Ihite Mr. George Madu unilaterally went into amendment of Ihite chieftaincy constitution when he discovered that original chieftaincy constitution executed by Igwe B.O. Ofu did not favour his choice candidate, Mr. Okwudiri Ifurunwa.\"\r\n\r\nRecall that Anambra State governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo had on January 13, issued certificate of return to Mr Timothy Ifurunwa, who was rejected by members of the community.\r\n\r\nA claimant to the stool, Chief Ikechukwu Samson Okoli told journalists that Ifurunwa is an illegal monarch, and a making of the president general of the community, George Madu, who he said connived with the commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Hon Tonycollins Nwabunwanne to deceive the governor into issuing him a certificate of recognition.\r\n\r\n\"Our Igweship stool is rotational, and it rotates around the villages in the community, and after the demise of Igwe B.O Ofu, my village, which is supposed to produce the next monarch, choose me as the next monarch, but the President General unilaterally amended the constitution even without the traditional council, and went ahead to pick Ifurunwa as Igwe, who is from the last village.\r\n\r\n\"We have dragged them to court, but they jettisoned the court process to pick Ifurunwa as Igwe and even as the matter is still in court, they want to crown him. I want to call on the governor and the CP to stop it to avoid breakdown of peace in the community.\"\r\n\r\nIn his petition to both the governor and the CP on behalf of the traditional council, Barr Ndubuisi Onyeakpa also added his voice, warning of a possible breakdown of law and order if the coronation is allowed to take place\r\n\r\nThe petition read: \"The unilateral amendment of Ihite chieftaincy constitution neutralized the involvement of Ihite Traditional Council in the process of selection, nomination, presentation and crowing of a would be traditional ruler of Ihite and introduction of use of electoral college in the selection of Igwe which is contrary to Ihite chieftaincy constitution.\r\n\r\n\"In the light of the above development, the members of Ihite Traditional Council felt aggrieved and approached court to nullify the amended.\r\n\r\n\"Despite the pending of the subject matter in court, George Madu, Okwudiri Ifurunwa, Michael Ugwu, Sunday Nwankwo and Lazarus Eze, had fixed 19 day of April, 2025 for the inauguration of new Traditional Council of Ihite and coronation of Okwudiri Ifurunwa as new Igwe of the town despite motions pending in the High Court to stop the process.\r\n\r\n\"We call on you to use your good office and the Chief security officer of the state to look into this matter and prevent the suspects from going against the law and respect the process of court rather than taking steps that will cause breach of peace and break down of law and order in Ihite town knowing full well that taking step over a matter that is pending in court amounts to total disrespect to the court and rule of law which a person who is holding himself out as a royal father should not undermine the process of court,\" the petition read','Igweship crisis: Anambra community boils over plan to crown monarch, Soludo, CP, urged to intervene','','inherit','closed','closed','','5937-revision-v1','','','2025-04-14 14:53:27','2025-04-14 14:53:27','',5937,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5939',0,'revision','',0),(5940,1,'2025-04-20 06:16:24','2025-04-20 06:16:24','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5941 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/download.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"266\" height=\"190\" />\r\n\r\nFestus Adedayo\r\n\r\nOn Page 28 of his very provocative book, The Present Darkness: A history of Nigerian organized crime, (2016) Stephen Ellis, British historian and Africanist, compared Nigerian politics to con artistry. Their practices, he said, were not different from acts of fabulists and fraudsters. Ellis’ take on Nigerian leaders synchronizes with a Henry Louis Gate’s The New Yorker piece of September 25, 1995. With the title, “Powell and the Black Elite,” the piece quoted ex-American Secretary of State, Colin Powell, as saying, “Nigerians as a group, frankly, are marvellous scammers… I mean, it is in their natural culture.”<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAs it is done in scholarship, traditional Africa also gives justification for the Ellis comparison. It says, when the shape and size of a peanut’s shell bears striking semblance to the coffin of a species of mouse called Eliri, then a justification is successfully established. Last week, there was an eruption of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth in many homes. Investors in the digital financial platform called CBEX met their financial waterloo. CBEX ultimately unraveled as a Ponzi scheme, with about 600,000 Nigerian victims in tow. It has given critical minds an opportunity to examine whether there is a meeting of minds between Ponzi chancers and Nigerian political leaders. Why do we dwell so much on Nigerian economic scams and scammers, while we sacralize the equally cancerous virus of political scammers?\r\n\r\nThe genealogy of this crave for quick wealth dates back in time. In 1925, J. K. Magregor, headmaster of Scottish-Presbyterian-founded, Hope Waddell Institute, of which the great Nnamdi Azikiwe was an alumnus, had written the Nigerian governor-general. His complaints were based on a motif of pupils of the school writing incredibly suspicious letters to unknown persons abroad. In the letter, the pupils asked to be sold medicines of esoteric teachings which guaranteed success and happiness. They turned out to be quack. In a single mail delivery, said Ellis, Magregor discovered 125 of such scam letters. One laughable example was a 12-year old pupil who had purchased through post from India a “Mystic Charm” with an instruction to him to send more money so that he could be sent “blessings from the Hindu deity Siddheswari”. The letter also told the boy that the sign he would get to confirm the efficacy of the deity was “by watching the flow of his nasal mucus”!\r\n\r\nOur visible connect to this pre-colonial crave for mysticism was re-enacted during the First Republic Nigeria. During this period, secret societies played pivotal roles in governance. The barbarism and primitivism of killing people for sacrifice in order to gain ascendancy in political circles became rife. The Ogboni cult held a supremacist place in Western Nigerian politics. It was only the northern part of Nigeria that was saved the barbarity. By the end of the Third Republic, however, military despots like Sani Abacha had reportedly began to seek spiritual interventions of Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal for a mystic buy-in into their infernal rule. Cows were reportedly buried alive in all outposts of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory by the goggled General. By the Fourth Republic, politicians had fully imported into Nigeria this Islamic mysticism which was spreading in sub-Saharan Africa. The marabouts were Islamic priests who combined Islam with the syncretic practice of local healers, fortune tellers, spiritual guides and diviners. Today, virtually all Nigerian politicians, like that 12-year Hope Waddell old boy, still seek mysticism, either from Islamic mullah, clergies, Babalawo or Senegalese marabouts to guarantee their political happiness and success.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5942\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/download-3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"299\" height=\"168\" />\r\n\r\nEconomic chancing of the CBEX kind is not purely native to Nigeria. In August 1920, after months of covert investigations by Clarence Barron, Boston Post newspaper’s top financial journalist, of the activities of Charles Ponzi, burst his bubble. Barron had found out that Ponzi, an Italian, born 1882, who immigrated to the United States in 1903, was a notorious con artist. In January 1920, Ponzi had established a “Securities Exchange Company” where he promised investors returns of up to 50% in 45 days. The scheme attracted thousands of local investors who, mimicking early Christians of Jerusalem’s mode of spread of the religion, engaged in a mouth-to-mouth spread of the “good news”. Gradually, they escalated its rapid growth and staggering participation. At the height of the scheme, Ponzi collected not less than $250,000 a day from unsuspecting victims, quadrupling his wealth to over $15million. Immediately after Barron’s investigation leaked, Bostonians rushed to and camped outside Ponzi’s offices. They were panicky crowds of local investors demanding a return of their money. Last week, same scenario was reenacted as angry and exasperated Nigerian victims of CBEX stormed its Nigerian offices.\r\n\r\nPonzi and CBEX’s gambits were not dissimilar. They were predicated on paying existing investors funds that were collected from new investors. As the Ponzi scheme left thousands of investors devastated, having lost their life savings, its traits ultimately became known globally as the ‘Ponzi scheme’. After Ponzi’s infamy, the fraud ring mutated severally all over the world. Like in Bernard Madoff. For 17 years, Madoff duped investors of billions of dollars. He eventually got sentenced to 150 years. Nigeria also had the MMM. Launched in 2016, this infamous financial scheme attracted huge investment traffic, such that when it froze its transactions, it left thousands of investors crushed and heartbroken. CBEX is said to have ripped off Nigerians of over a trillion Naira.\r\n\r\nThe divide separating economic, political and leadership Ponzi in Nigeria is very thin. It is welded together by the glue of voodoo, talisman, juju and marabout. I learnt that victims of CBEX gave testimonies in churches before their waterloo, with some pastors telling congregants that the chancers had brought a new wave of God’s blessings. While greed and straitened economic times resulting in citizens seeking desperate escape have been attributed to the flourishing and successes of these scams, Prof Ellis established a corollary between Ponzi chancers of pre and post-colonial Nigeria and emergent political and military rulers. He then situated Nigeria as one huge forest of a fraud ring: “Most Nigerian practices of organized crime, including document fraud, embezzlement and large-scale smuggling, originate in politics and the state itself, or at least have important and durable connections to the state.”\r\n\r\nAs Ponzi scammers feed fat on the red blood corpuscles of trickery and deceit, so do Nigerian leaders and politicians. Ellis insinuates that scam can be found in the bloodstream of Nigerian politics and political leadership since they first began in the 1940s. If you break Ponzi to its most basic moral component, it is driven by unrighteousness, desire to outwit the other person, gain personal advantage and in most cases, leave sorrow as mementos. Nigerian politics and leadership are founded on same nefarious aspiration.\r\n\r\nOnly last week, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered top US law enforcement agencies to release confidential information generated during a 1990s federal investigation. One Mr. Greenspan had, between 2022 and 2023, filed 12 FOIA requests seeking information about a joint investigation of the FBI, IRS, DEA, and the US Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Indiana and Northern District of Illinois. He wanted the charging decisions on the activities, including money laundering, of a Chicago heroin ring that operated in the early 1990s made open. The Nigerian president is said to be located at the vortex of this investigation.\r\n\r\nWhile reacting to the American court ruling, the Nigerian presidential media office dismissed it as “having been in the public space for more than 30 years,” and did not in any way “indict the Nigerian leader” while concluding that “lawyers are examining the ruling.” My people say, if someone does not move in gaits that resemble an African pouched rat’s, no one would ask them to eat a meal of palm-nut seeds that is the culinary preference of this species of rats. (Bi eeyan ko bá rìn ìrìn awasa, wón o ní fi ekurọ lọ). The fact that the president’s name is enmeshed in such shame is already a national disaster. I don’t know of any scam bigger than a presidential Ponzi of paying millions of dollars to American lawyers so as to keep blocking American courts from disclosing to Nigerians and the world the truth or lie in the allegation that our president was involved in a heroin trade in the 1990s.\r\n\r\nEllis provided a nexus, no matter how tenuous, to the Ponzi. As far back as 1952, he wrote, Nigeria had become a staging point for heroine drug trade. According to him, the country was “a heavy dope traffic” from the near East to the USA via Europe, with one of those implicated at the Nigerian end of this pipeline being “one O. Chagoury.” Ellis’ conclusion on this pee-independence Nigerian drug trade gives the reader of the book today the latitude to connect its frightening nexus. He had written: “A few decades later, a Lebanese family with the same name had become very influential in both business and in political finance: Gilbert Chagoury, born in 1946…He was very close to the military dictator of the 1990s, Sani Abacha…It seems he is a descendant of a heroin trader who arrived Nigeria in 1952…the heroin trade may provide start-up capital for other forms of business…” You may find this on Page 92 of Ellis’ book.\r\n\r\nWhile we lament the Ponzi scam of CIBEX, I put it to us that we are merely being hypocritical. Ponzi, MMM, CBEX, either figuratively or literally, have always constituted our ways of life. In our individual, collective and national relations, our modus operandi has never been dissimilar from these scammers’. We take delight in sucking the nectar of the joy of our fellow man. We elect known scammers into political offices and when they scam us, we complain. We are like the farmer who knew that the land he planted peanuts on was squirrel-infested. At the time of harvest, this same farmer became grumpy because squirrels had eaten up all his farm proceeds. When a man tells his people he was going on a two-weeks “working vacation,” which we all knew was a euphemism for a date with his Chagoury business partners or a date at the infirmary, didn’t both the man who spun the yarn and we, the people who received it, know we were mutually involved in a CBEX transaction? Or, didn’t we know that the spinner of the lie wasn’t dealing with us straight? Our forebears sounded alarm on characters like this in their saying that, when you meander round truth and refuse to walk straight, you are most likely encumbered by issues of finance (Sàn làá rìn, ajé ní mú ní pẹ kọ̀rọ̀)\r\n\r\nOur scam began from the very beginning when Nigerians brought in a presidential baggage they didn’t have access to its constitution. Last week, the White House released President Donald Trump’s annual health report. Nigerians are left to make guesswork on what ails theirs and the billions of their patrimony spent to maintain it. Our president’s health is run like a coven, which reminds one of the miasma that surrounded the health of monarchs of pre-modern Africa. The king must not be seen to have taken ill like a commoner. It is a sacrilege. What Ponzi is greater than this, full of its opacity!\r\n\r\nReplying to criticisms that, after almost 200 Nigerians had been killed in the president’s absence, he is still oscillating like a spirit from France to London, his media office told us he could rule Nigeria through remote control from anywhere in the world. Nigerians instantly remembered they had walked that punishing road before. At Easter, the statement purportedly issued by the president was that, “evil forces will not triumph in Nigeria” at a time when Evil had been crowned as King. What evil is greater than the carnage ongoing in Plateau and Benue States which, as usual, was dressed beautifully in a refrain, “the president has ordered decisive action”. Both of us, the president and Nigerians at large, know that this statement is a complete scam. There is no action coming from anywhere, not to talk of its being decisive. When the killers strike again soon, the presidency will re-calibrate the commiseration refrain. Charles Ponzi must be happy he has identical offspring in the Nigerian presidency.\r\n\r\nIn Nigeria, we live in a world of deception which Yoruba call “Ìlú ẹtan”. It is an antonym for the kind of trade that catapulted Charles Ponzi into global infamy. Claude Ake, in his, Is Africa Democratizing (1996) slammed our brand of politics as one “that does not know legitimacy or legality, only expediency.” If you listened to Nyesom Wike’s Media Chat on Friday, you will see hope receding for a Nigeria of our dream in the hands of the CBEX vultures. You will see crude audacity and man God-ifying himself. It affirms the Ake expediency as the credo of Nigerian politics, in agreement with Ellis that Nigeria is one huge river of Ponzi traders. If it wasn’t CBEX on parade, why would a man gloat as his own party is bleeding?\r\n\r\nWherever you turn, Nigeria is a an ocean where sharks feast on sharks and lesser fishes devour one another. Atiku Abubakar and his co-travelers on a coalition have started spinning their own political Ponzi which they know its end is not basically for the Nigerian people. Peter Obi is busy with his own Ponzi as well. Muhammadu Buhari, who regressed Nigeria colossally in eight years as president is the one to decide Nigeria’s political future now because he is patrons to millions of Almajiri voters who know not their right from left. As the week was ending, Reno Omokri, the Peter Obi-hating political Smart Alec, spun another of his serial Tinubu intervention Ponzi yarns. “Nigeria is safer now under Tinubu”, he said. If any of Omokri’s family members was among the almost 200 victims of Nigerian Ponzi rulers, killed in Benue and Plateau States in the last two weeks, a period when Nigeria had, not even a scare-crow placeholder for president in Aso Rock, will the “Ambassador” spew this undiplomatic puke?\r\n\r\nWhat is glaring is, by the time this current CBEX government in Aso Rock finishes with us, we will have a long roll-call of victims.','Nigerian leaders as CBEX Ponzi chancers','','publish','open','open','','nigerian-leaders-as-cbex-ponzi-chancers','','','2025-04-20 06:16:51','2025-04-20 06:16:51','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5940',0,'post','',0),(5941,1,'2025-04-20 06:15:01','2025-04-20 06:15:01','','download','','inherit','open','closed','','download-17','','','2025-04-20 06:15:01','2025-04-20 06:15:01','',5940,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/download.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(5942,1,'2025-04-20 06:15:34','2025-04-20 06:15:34','','download (3)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-3-2','','','2025-04-20 06:15:34','2025-04-20 06:15:34','',5940,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/download-3.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5943,1,'2025-04-20 06:16:24','2025-04-20 06:16:24','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5941 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/download.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"266\" height=\"190\" />\r\n\r\nFestus Adedayo\r\n\r\nOn Page 28 of his very provocative book, The Present Darkness: A history of Nigerian organized crime, (2016) Stephen Ellis, British historian and Africanist, compared Nigerian politics to con artistry. Their practices, he said, were not different from acts of fabulists and fraudsters. Ellis’ take on Nigerian leaders synchronizes with a Henry Louis Gate’s The New Yorker piece of September 25, 1995. With the title, “Powell and the Black Elite,” the piece quoted ex-American Secretary of State, Colin Powell, as saying, “Nigerians as a group, frankly, are marvellous scammers… I mean, it is in their natural culture.”<!--more-->\r\n\r\nAs it is done in scholarship, traditional Africa also gives justification for the Ellis comparison. It says, when the shape and size of a peanut’s shell bears striking semblance to the coffin of a species of mouse called Eliri, then a justification is successfully established. Last week, there was an eruption of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth in many homes. Investors in the digital financial platform called CBEX met their financial waterloo. CBEX ultimately unraveled as a Ponzi scheme, with about 600,000 Nigerian victims in tow. It has given critical minds an opportunity to examine whether there is a meeting of minds between Ponzi chancers and Nigerian political leaders. Why do we dwell so much on Nigerian economic scams and scammers, while we sacralize the equally cancerous virus of political scammers?\r\n\r\nThe genealogy of this crave for quick wealth dates back in time. In 1925, J. K. Magregor, headmaster of Scottish-Presbyterian-founded, Hope Waddell Institute, of which the great Nnamdi Azikiwe was an alumnus, had written the Nigerian governor-general. His complaints were based on a motif of pupils of the school writing incredibly suspicious letters to unknown persons abroad. In the letter, the pupils asked to be sold medicines of esoteric teachings which guaranteed success and happiness. They turned out to be quack. In a single mail delivery, said Ellis, Magregor discovered 125 of such scam letters. One laughable example was a 12-year old pupil who had purchased through post from India a “Mystic Charm” with an instruction to him to send more money so that he could be sent “blessings from the Hindu deity Siddheswari”. The letter also told the boy that the sign he would get to confirm the efficacy of the deity was “by watching the flow of his nasal mucus”!\r\n\r\nOur visible connect to this pre-colonial crave for mysticism was re-enacted during the First Republic Nigeria. During this period, secret societies played pivotal roles in governance. The barbarism and primitivism of killing people for sacrifice in order to gain ascendancy in political circles became rife. The Ogboni cult held a supremacist place in Western Nigerian politics. It was only the northern part of Nigeria that was saved the barbarity. By the end of the Third Republic, however, military despots like Sani Abacha had reportedly began to seek spiritual interventions of Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal for a mystic buy-in into their infernal rule. Cows were reportedly buried alive in all outposts of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory by the goggled General. By the Fourth Republic, politicians had fully imported into Nigeria this Islamic mysticism which was spreading in sub-Saharan Africa. The marabouts were Islamic priests who combined Islam with the syncretic practice of local healers, fortune tellers, spiritual guides and diviners. Today, virtually all Nigerian politicians, like that 12-year Hope Waddell old boy, still seek mysticism, either from Islamic mullah, clergies, Babalawo or Senegalese marabouts to guarantee their political happiness and success.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5942\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/download-3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"299\" height=\"168\" />\r\n\r\nEconomic chancing of the CBEX kind is not purely native to Nigeria. In August 1920, after months of covert investigations by Clarence Barron, Boston Post newspaper’s top financial journalist, of the activities of Charles Ponzi, burst his bubble. Barron had found out that Ponzi, an Italian, born 1882, who immigrated to the United States in 1903, was a notorious con artist. In January 1920, Ponzi had established a “Securities Exchange Company” where he promised investors returns of up to 50% in 45 days. The scheme attracted thousands of local investors who, mimicking early Christians of Jerusalem’s mode of spread of the religion, engaged in a mouth-to-mouth spread of the “good news”. Gradually, they escalated its rapid growth and staggering participation. At the height of the scheme, Ponzi collected not less than $250,000 a day from unsuspecting victims, quadrupling his wealth to over $15million. Immediately after Barron’s investigation leaked, Bostonians rushed to and camped outside Ponzi’s offices. They were panicky crowds of local investors demanding a return of their money. Last week, same scenario was reenacted as angry and exasperated Nigerian victims of CBEX stormed its Nigerian offices.\r\n\r\nPonzi and CBEX’s gambits were not dissimilar. They were predicated on paying existing investors funds that were collected from new investors. As the Ponzi scheme left thousands of investors devastated, having lost their life savings, its traits ultimately became known globally as the ‘Ponzi scheme’. After Ponzi’s infamy, the fraud ring mutated severally all over the world. Like in Bernard Madoff. For 17 years, Madoff duped investors of billions of dollars. He eventually got sentenced to 150 years. Nigeria also had the MMM. Launched in 2016, this infamous financial scheme attracted huge investment traffic, such that when it froze its transactions, it left thousands of investors crushed and heartbroken. CBEX is said to have ripped off Nigerians of over a trillion Naira.\r\n\r\nThe divide separating economic, political and leadership Ponzi in Nigeria is very thin. It is welded together by the glue of voodoo, talisman, juju and marabout. I learnt that victims of CBEX gave testimonies in churches before their waterloo, with some pastors telling congregants that the chancers had brought a new wave of God’s blessings. While greed and straitened economic times resulting in citizens seeking desperate escape have been attributed to the flourishing and successes of these scams, Prof Ellis established a corollary between Ponzi chancers of pre and post-colonial Nigeria and emergent political and military rulers. He then situated Nigeria as one huge forest of a fraud ring: “Most Nigerian practices of organized crime, including document fraud, embezzlement and large-scale smuggling, originate in politics and the state itself, or at least have important and durable connections to the state.”\r\n\r\nAs Ponzi scammers feed fat on the red blood corpuscles of trickery and deceit, so do Nigerian leaders and politicians. Ellis insinuates that scam can be found in the bloodstream of Nigerian politics and political leadership since they first began in the 1940s. If you break Ponzi to its most basic moral component, it is driven by unrighteousness, desire to outwit the other person, gain personal advantage and in most cases, leave sorrow as mementos. Nigerian politics and leadership are founded on same nefarious aspiration.\r\n\r\nOnly last week, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered top US law enforcement agencies to release confidential information generated during a 1990s federal investigation. One Mr. Greenspan had, between 2022 and 2023, filed 12 FOIA requests seeking information about a joint investigation of the FBI, IRS, DEA, and the US Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Indiana and Northern District of Illinois. He wanted the charging decisions on the activities, including money laundering, of a Chicago heroin ring that operated in the early 1990s made open. The Nigerian president is said to be located at the vortex of this investigation.\r\n\r\nWhile reacting to the American court ruling, the Nigerian presidential media office dismissed it as “having been in the public space for more than 30 years,” and did not in any way “indict the Nigerian leader” while concluding that “lawyers are examining the ruling.” My people say, if someone does not move in gaits that resemble an African pouched rat’s, no one would ask them to eat a meal of palm-nut seeds that is the culinary preference of this species of rats. (Bi eeyan ko bá rìn ìrìn awasa, wón o ní fi ekurọ lọ). The fact that the president’s name is enmeshed in such shame is already a national disaster. I don’t know of any scam bigger than a presidential Ponzi of paying millions of dollars to American lawyers so as to keep blocking American courts from disclosing to Nigerians and the world the truth or lie in the allegation that our president was involved in a heroin trade in the 1990s.\r\n\r\nEllis provided a nexus, no matter how tenuous, to the Ponzi. As far back as 1952, he wrote, Nigeria had become a staging point for heroine drug trade. According to him, the country was “a heavy dope traffic” from the near East to the USA via Europe, with one of those implicated at the Nigerian end of this pipeline being “one O. Chagoury.” Ellis’ conclusion on this pee-independence Nigerian drug trade gives the reader of the book today the latitude to connect its frightening nexus. He had written: “A few decades later, a Lebanese family with the same name had become very influential in both business and in political finance: Gilbert Chagoury, born in 1946…He was very close to the military dictator of the 1990s, Sani Abacha…It seems he is a descendant of a heroin trader who arrived Nigeria in 1952…the heroin trade may provide start-up capital for other forms of business…” You may find this on Page 92 of Ellis’ book.\r\n\r\nWhile we lament the Ponzi scam of CIBEX, I put it to us that we are merely being hypocritical. Ponzi, MMM, CBEX, either figuratively or literally, have always constituted our ways of life. In our individual, collective and national relations, our modus operandi has never been dissimilar from these scammers’. We take delight in sucking the nectar of the joy of our fellow man. We elect known scammers into political offices and when they scam us, we complain. We are like the farmer who knew that the land he planted peanuts on was squirrel-infested. At the time of harvest, this same farmer became grumpy because squirrels had eaten up all his farm proceeds. When a man tells his people he was going on a two-weeks “working vacation,” which we all knew was a euphemism for a date with his Chagoury business partners or a date at the infirmary, didn’t both the man who spun the yarn and we, the people who received it, know we were mutually involved in a CBEX transaction? Or, didn’t we know that the spinner of the lie wasn’t dealing with us straight? Our forebears sounded alarm on characters like this in their saying that, when you meander round truth and refuse to walk straight, you are most likely encumbered by issues of finance (Sàn làá rìn, ajé ní mú ní pẹ kọ̀rọ̀)\r\n\r\nOur scam began from the very beginning when Nigerians brought in a presidential baggage they didn’t have access to its constitution. Last week, the White House released President Donald Trump’s annual health report. Nigerians are left to make guesswork on what ails theirs and the billions of their patrimony spent to maintain it. Our president’s health is run like a coven, which reminds one of the miasma that surrounded the health of monarchs of pre-modern Africa. The king must not be seen to have taken ill like a commoner. It is a sacrilege. What Ponzi is greater than this, full of its opacity!\r\n\r\nReplying to criticisms that, after almost 200 Nigerians had been killed in the president’s absence, he is still oscillating like a spirit from France to London, his media office told us he could rule Nigeria through remote control from anywhere in the world. Nigerians instantly remembered they had walked that punishing road before. At Easter, the statement purportedly issued by the president was that, “evil forces will not triumph in Nigeria” at a time when Evil had been crowned as King. What evil is greater than the carnage ongoing in Plateau and Benue States which, as usual, was dressed beautifully in a refrain, “the president has ordered decisive action”. Both of us, the president and Nigerians at large, know that this statement is a complete scam. There is no action coming from anywhere, not to talk of its being decisive. When the killers strike again soon, the presidency will re-calibrate the commiseration refrain. Charles Ponzi must be happy he has identical offspring in the Nigerian presidency.\r\n\r\nIn Nigeria, we live in a world of deception which Yoruba call “Ìlú ẹtan”. It is an antonym for the kind of trade that catapulted Charles Ponzi into global infamy. Claude Ake, in his, Is Africa Democratizing (1996) slammed our brand of politics as one “that does not know legitimacy or legality, only expediency.” If you listened to Nyesom Wike’s Media Chat on Friday, you will see hope receding for a Nigeria of our dream in the hands of the CBEX vultures. You will see crude audacity and man God-ifying himself. It affirms the Ake expediency as the credo of Nigerian politics, in agreement with Ellis that Nigeria is one huge river of Ponzi traders. If it wasn’t CBEX on parade, why would a man gloat as his own party is bleeding?\r\n\r\nWherever you turn, Nigeria is a an ocean where sharks feast on sharks and lesser fishes devour one another. Atiku Abubakar and his co-travelers on a coalition have started spinning their own political Ponzi which they know its end is not basically for the Nigerian people. Peter Obi is busy with his own Ponzi as well. Muhammadu Buhari, who regressed Nigeria colossally in eight years as president is the one to decide Nigeria’s political future now because he is patrons to millions of Almajiri voters who know not their right from left. As the week was ending, Reno Omokri, the Peter Obi-hating political Smart Alec, spun another of his serial Tinubu intervention Ponzi yarns. “Nigeria is safer now under Tinubu”, he said. If any of Omokri’s family members was among the almost 200 victims of Nigerian Ponzi rulers, killed in Benue and Plateau States in the last two weeks, a period when Nigeria had, not even a scare-crow placeholder for president in Aso Rock, will the “Ambassador” spew this undiplomatic puke?\r\n\r\nWhat is glaring is, by the time this current CBEX government in Aso Rock finishes with us, we will have a long roll-call of victims.','Nigerian leaders as CBEX Ponzi chancers','','inherit','closed','closed','','5940-revision-v1','','','2025-04-20 06:16:24','2025-04-20 06:16:24','',5940,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5943',0,'revision','',0),(5945,1,'2025-04-23 10:17:37','2025-04-23 10:17:37','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5946 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250423-WA0004-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /><!--more-->\r\n\r\nBy Christian ABURIME\r\n\r\nIf charity, as they say, begins at home, then accountability as a governance virtue must also be shown first at home before being trumpeted to the world.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nSince last month, when his administration clocked three years, the Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, has been regaling Ndi Anambra with reports of his scintillating performance.\r\n\r\nFrom Awka to Lagos and Abuja, the tireless governor has been reporting and giving transparent accounts to the good people of Anambra State, whom he has always respectfully referred to as his employers\r\n\r\nIn a continuation of his transparent, accountable governance, Governor Soludo has now taken his administration’s progress report directly to Anambra citizens abroad. The Easter Monday town hall meeting in London marks the culmination of a strategic Diaspora engagement tour that has already impressed audiences in Lagos and Abuja.\r\n\r\nWhat makes this approach remarkable is not just the governor’s willingness to face his constituents directly but his emphasis on fiscal responsibility. Just as he told the London audience, at a time when many Nigerian states are drowning in debt, Governor Soludo proudly highlighted his administration’s achievements without resorting to potentially crippling World Bank loans. This prudent financial stewardship deserves attention, especially as some governments struggle with mounting repayment obligations.\r\n\r\nThe London gathering also represents more than a mere political exercise. It was spontaneously interactive. Critical questions were asked, and satisfactory answers were given. By actively courting Diaspora participation, Governor Soludo taps into a powerful resource: the intellectual and financial capital of Anambra citizens abroad. These professionals and business leaders possess networks, expertise, and investment capacity that could accelerate development back home, and the governor beckoned them to think home.\r\n\r\nBy and large, the governor’s methodical outreaches, from state capital Awka to economic hub Lagos to political centre Abuja and now to international Diaspora, demonstrates strategic thinking about stakeholder engagement. By framing development as collective ownership rather than government largesse, Governor Soludo challenges the traditional patron-client relationship that has hindered sustainable progress in many Nigerian states.\r\n\r\nAs Governor Soludo continues pursuing his Anambra smart megacity ambitions, this Diaspora dialogue and more such productive engagements may prove the critical difference between lofty plans and concrete achievements, going forward into his anticipated second term. For now, his model of accountability, fiscal discipline, and Diaspora partnership keeps Anambra rising on the wings of One State, One People, One Agenda.','A DIALOGUE IN ACCOUNTABILITY: SOLUDO TAKES SCORE CARD TO EU/UK NDI ANAMBRA*','','publish','open','open','','a-dialogue-in-accountability-soludo-takes-score-card-to-eu-uk-ndi-anambra','','','2025-04-23 10:17:37','2025-04-23 10:17:37','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5945',0,'post','',0),(5946,1,'2025-04-23 10:16:39','2025-04-23 10:16:39','','IMG-20250423-WA0004','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250423-wa0004','','','2025-04-23 10:16:39','2025-04-23 10:16:39','',5945,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250423-WA0004.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5947,1,'2025-04-23 10:17:08','2025-04-23 10:17:08','','IMG-20250423-WA0005','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250423-wa0005','','','2025-04-23 10:17:08','2025-04-23 10:17:08','',5945,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250423-WA0005.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5948,1,'2025-04-23 10:17:37','2025-04-23 10:17:37','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5946 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250423-WA0004-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /><!--more-->\r\n\r\nBy Christian ABURIME\r\n\r\nIf charity, as they say, begins at home, then accountability as a governance virtue must also be shown first at home before being trumpeted to the world.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nSince last month, when his administration clocked three years, the Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, has been regaling Ndi Anambra with reports of his scintillating performance.\r\n\r\nFrom Awka to Lagos and Abuja, the tireless governor has been reporting and giving transparent accounts to the good people of Anambra State, whom he has always respectfully referred to as his employers\r\n\r\nIn a continuation of his transparent, accountable governance, Governor Soludo has now taken his administration’s progress report directly to Anambra citizens abroad. The Easter Monday town hall meeting in London marks the culmination of a strategic Diaspora engagement tour that has already impressed audiences in Lagos and Abuja.\r\n\r\nWhat makes this approach remarkable is not just the governor’s willingness to face his constituents directly but his emphasis on fiscal responsibility. Just as he told the London audience, at a time when many Nigerian states are drowning in debt, Governor Soludo proudly highlighted his administration’s achievements without resorting to potentially crippling World Bank loans. This prudent financial stewardship deserves attention, especially as some governments struggle with mounting repayment obligations.\r\n\r\nThe London gathering also represents more than a mere political exercise. It was spontaneously interactive. Critical questions were asked, and satisfactory answers were given. By actively courting Diaspora participation, Governor Soludo taps into a powerful resource: the intellectual and financial capital of Anambra citizens abroad. These professionals and business leaders possess networks, expertise, and investment capacity that could accelerate development back home, and the governor beckoned them to think home.\r\n\r\nBy and large, the governor’s methodical outreaches, from state capital Awka to economic hub Lagos to political centre Abuja and now to international Diaspora, demonstrates strategic thinking about stakeholder engagement. By framing development as collective ownership rather than government largesse, Governor Soludo challenges the traditional patron-client relationship that has hindered sustainable progress in many Nigerian states.\r\n\r\nAs Governor Soludo continues pursuing his Anambra smart megacity ambitions, this Diaspora dialogue and more such productive engagements may prove the critical difference between lofty plans and concrete achievements, going forward into his anticipated second term. For now, his model of accountability, fiscal discipline, and Diaspora partnership keeps Anambra rising on the wings of One State, One People, One Agenda.','A DIALOGUE IN ACCOUNTABILITY: SOLUDO TAKES SCORE CARD TO EU/UK NDI ANAMBRA*','','inherit','closed','closed','','5945-revision-v1','','','2025-04-23 10:17:37','2025-04-23 10:17:37','',5945,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5948',0,'revision','',0),(5949,1,'2025-04-23 10:25:18','2025-04-23 10:25:18','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5950\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250423-WA0006-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" />\r\n\r\nEnugu State Government and the Management of the Lion Business Park have signed a novation Memorandum of Understanding for the new Enugu Lion Business Park Limited.\r\n\r\nPerforming the function in his office, the State governor, Dr Peter Mbah said the project will leverage the incentives associated with doing business in a Free Trade Zone to attract foreign direct investments, promote human capital, innovation and technology development as well as create jobs for shared economic prosperity for Enugu State, the South-East Geo-political Zone and Nigeria at large.\r\n\r\nOur Government House Correspondent Fred Nnaji reports that Dr Mbah noted that his administration recognises the role of the Lion Business Park project in catalysing exponential growth of investment and economic emancipation.\r\n\r\nThe governor while calling on the Enugu indigenes to judiciously utilise the opportunity inherent in the Lion Business Park, said the state would provide all the necessary infrastructure that is required for investments and businesses to thrive in the state.\r\n\r\nHe pledged that his administration will ensure it attracts the best of the best industries to Enugu as the state is now working in partnership with the Lion Business Park Ltd, saying Enugu prides itself as a business friendly state and must maintain the position.\r\n\r\nEarlier, the Chairman of the Lion Business Park, Dr John Mbonu who led other management staff to the Enugu government house, commended the governor for his visionary leadership, developmental strides and the wonderful achievements he has recorded within a short period in office.\r\n\r\nDr Mbonu noted that despite the progress recorded so far with the implementation of the project, there is need for greater collaboration, strategic investment, state promotion and the provision of requisite infrastructure to fully unlock the immense potentials of the Lion Business Park project\r\n\r\nHe said the shared objective with the state government was to develop a world-class industrial and commercial hub within the Enugu Industrial Park Free Trade Zone that would catalyze trade, industry, economic growth and create jobs for the youthful population.','Enugu govt, Private investor sign MoU to develop Lion Business Park*','','publish','open','open','','enugu-govt-private-investor-sign-mou-to-develop-lion-business-park','','','2025-04-23 10:25:18','2025-04-23 10:25:18','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5949',0,'post','',0),(5950,1,'2025-04-23 10:24:55','2025-04-23 10:24:55','','IMG-20250423-WA0006','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250423-wa0006','','','2025-04-23 10:24:55','2025-04-23 10:24:55','',5949,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250423-WA0006.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5951,1,'2025-04-23 10:25:18','2025-04-23 10:25:18','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5950\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG-20250423-WA0006-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" />\r\n\r\nEnugu State Government and the Management of the Lion Business Park have signed a novation Memorandum of Understanding for the new Enugu Lion Business Park Limited.\r\n\r\nPerforming the function in his office, the State governor, Dr Peter Mbah said the project will leverage the incentives associated with doing business in a Free Trade Zone to attract foreign direct investments, promote human capital, innovation and technology development as well as create jobs for shared economic prosperity for Enugu State, the South-East Geo-political Zone and Nigeria at large.\r\n\r\nOur Government House Correspondent Fred Nnaji reports that Dr Mbah noted that his administration recognises the role of the Lion Business Park project in catalysing exponential growth of investment and economic emancipation.\r\n\r\nThe governor while calling on the Enugu indigenes to judiciously utilise the opportunity inherent in the Lion Business Park, said the state would provide all the necessary infrastructure that is required for investments and businesses to thrive in the state.\r\n\r\nHe pledged that his administration will ensure it attracts the best of the best industries to Enugu as the state is now working in partnership with the Lion Business Park Ltd, saying Enugu prides itself as a business friendly state and must maintain the position.\r\n\r\nEarlier, the Chairman of the Lion Business Park, Dr John Mbonu who led other management staff to the Enugu government house, commended the governor for his visionary leadership, developmental strides and the wonderful achievements he has recorded within a short period in office.\r\n\r\nDr Mbonu noted that despite the progress recorded so far with the implementation of the project, there is need for greater collaboration, strategic investment, state promotion and the provision of requisite infrastructure to fully unlock the immense potentials of the Lion Business Park project\r\n\r\nHe said the shared objective with the state government was to develop a world-class industrial and commercial hub within the Enugu Industrial Park Free Trade Zone that would catalyze trade, industry, economic growth and create jobs for the youthful population.','Enugu govt, Private investor sign MoU to develop Lion Business Park*','','inherit','closed','closed','','5949-revision-v1','','','2025-04-23 10:25:18','2025-04-23 10:25:18','',5949,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5951',0,'revision','',0),(5955,1,'2025-05-11 06:18:55','2025-05-11 06:18:55','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5956 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250511-WA0001-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nIn a significant electoral event held today, Innocent Okoli has emerged as the winner of the Uruagu Community President-General election, securing 130 votes to lead the community for the upcoming term. Additionally, Mbazuluike Iloka was elected as Vice President-General, promising to support the President in bolstering leadership and development efforts across the 15 constituent communities.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe election, which drew 135 delegates from the 15 communities, was characterized by a peaceful and orderly process. The Uruagu BOT which served as the electoral committee announced the results after collating votes from the 135 delegates from the 15 communities within Uruagu who participated in the voting process.\r\n\r\nInnocent Okoli, popularly known as Organiser, expressed gratitude to the community for their support. “This victory is a collective effort, and I am committed to serving with integrity and dedication. Together, we will work towards the progress and unity of Uruagu,” he said in his acceptance speech.\r\n\r\nThe PG who is known for his proactive character in fostering development in Uruagu has in his first tenure saw to the building of the Obi Uruagu Palace hall, attracted government\'s interest to the Okpuno-eze - Akaboezem road, the new secretariat for the community which is still under construction, this and many more he has done\r\n\r\nMbazuluike Iloka, who clinched the vice-presidency, also conveyed his readiness to support the new administration’s initiatives. “I am honored to serve as Vice President General and look forward to collaborating with our president to address the needs of our community and foster growth,” he remarked.\r\n\r\nThe stakeholders of Uruagu Community and residents have praised the conduct of the election and are optimistic about the future under the new leadership.\r\n\r\nWith a combined focus on infrastructure, security, youth empowerment, and social welfare, the leadership team is expected to steer Uruagu towards a period of renewed development.\r\n\r\nAs the 15 communities unite under the new leadership, residents are hopeful that these elections mark the beginning of positive change and increased cooperation within Uruagu.','BREAKING: Innocent Okoli Returned as Uruagu Community President-General; Mbazuluike Iloka Wins Vice President General Position','','publish','open','open','','breaking-innocent-okoli-returned-as-uruagu-community-president-general-mbazuluike-iloka-wins-vice-president-general-position','','','2025-05-11 06:18:55','2025-05-11 06:18:55','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5955',0,'post','',0),(5956,1,'2025-05-11 06:17:53','2025-05-11 06:17:53','','IMG-20250511-WA0001','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250511-wa0001','','','2025-05-11 06:17:53','2025-05-11 06:17:53','',5955,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250511-WA0001.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5957,1,'2025-05-11 06:18:45','2025-05-11 06:18:45','','IMG-20250511-WA0001','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250511-wa0001-2','','','2025-05-11 06:18:45','2025-05-11 06:18:45','',5955,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250511-WA0001-1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5958,1,'2025-05-11 06:18:55','2025-05-11 06:18:55','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5956 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250511-WA0001-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nIn a significant electoral event held today, Innocent Okoli has emerged as the winner of the Uruagu Community President-General election, securing 130 votes to lead the community for the upcoming term. Additionally, Mbazuluike Iloka was elected as Vice President-General, promising to support the President in bolstering leadership and development efforts across the 15 constituent communities.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe election, which drew 135 delegates from the 15 communities, was characterized by a peaceful and orderly process. The Uruagu BOT which served as the electoral committee announced the results after collating votes from the 135 delegates from the 15 communities within Uruagu who participated in the voting process.\r\n\r\nInnocent Okoli, popularly known as Organiser, expressed gratitude to the community for their support. “This victory is a collective effort, and I am committed to serving with integrity and dedication. Together, we will work towards the progress and unity of Uruagu,” he said in his acceptance speech.\r\n\r\nThe PG who is known for his proactive character in fostering development in Uruagu has in his first tenure saw to the building of the Obi Uruagu Palace hall, attracted government\'s interest to the Okpuno-eze - Akaboezem road, the new secretariat for the community which is still under construction, this and many more he has done\r\n\r\nMbazuluike Iloka, who clinched the vice-presidency, also conveyed his readiness to support the new administration’s initiatives. “I am honored to serve as Vice President General and look forward to collaborating with our president to address the needs of our community and foster growth,” he remarked.\r\n\r\nThe stakeholders of Uruagu Community and residents have praised the conduct of the election and are optimistic about the future under the new leadership.\r\n\r\nWith a combined focus on infrastructure, security, youth empowerment, and social welfare, the leadership team is expected to steer Uruagu towards a period of renewed development.\r\n\r\nAs the 15 communities unite under the new leadership, residents are hopeful that these elections mark the beginning of positive change and increased cooperation within Uruagu.','BREAKING: Innocent Okoli Returned as Uruagu Community President-General; Mbazuluike Iloka Wins Vice President General Position','','inherit','closed','closed','','5955-revision-v1','','','2025-05-11 06:18:55','2025-05-11 06:18:55','',5955,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5958',0,'revision','',0),(5959,1,'2025-05-11 06:33:09','2025-05-11 06:33:09','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5960 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/download-7.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" />\r\n\r\nFestus Adedayo\r\n\r\nA couple of months ago, history walked on its two legs into my feeble embrace. When it did, I never knew it was Providence’s own way of anticipating Nigerian Aso Rock’s nauseating historical revisionism. History’s embrace had come by the way of a terse mail I received from foremost online medium, Premium Times. The newspaper had been sent an enquiry from a South African British author on February 7, 2025, “wanting to make contact with one of your Op-Ed writers, Festus Adedayo.” The enquirer described himself as “an old Africa hand (who) lived and worked in Nigeria…(who) also wrote (a book) on the Nigerian civil war”. I immediately proceeded to make contact with the British author. One thing led to the other and the enquirer and I were glued together by Thoth, the Egyptian mythological god of writing. He then couriered to me a copy of his recent book with the title, Takka Takka Bom Bom: A South African Correspondent’s Story (2022).<!--more-->\r\n\r\nMy new friend is 86 years-old Albertus Johannes Venter, famously known as Al J. Venter, with a Boer and German ancestry. He is a white South African war correspondent, documentary filmmaker and author of more than forty books. Venter initially served in the South African Navy between 1956 and 1960, rising to the rank of Acting Leading Seaman. He was twice wounded in combat, by a Soviet anti-tank mine in Angola and by sub-machine gun fire. Venter was in Nigeria in 1965 to work for John Holt, and during the Nigerian 1967 civil war, covered it as an Africa and Middle East correspondent for Jane’s International Defence Review, which produced the war memoir, Biafra’s War: A Tribal Conflict In Nigeria That Left A Million Dead (2016). In coverage of the war, he was in the company of his friend, Frederick Forsyth, who was BBC’s war correspondent for Biafra.\r\n\r\nVenter also covered a number of wars in Africa. He was in Uganda during Idi Amin Dada’s bloodthirsty reign in the 1970s which culminated in his hour-long documentary, Africa’s Killing Fields, which gained viewing traction in the United States. He also spent several years in the Middle East, traversing Israel and Lebanon, covered the Israeli invasion force that made incursion into Beirut in 1982 and the war hostilities in Sudan, Angola, Congo, Rhodesia and Portuguese Guinea. His recent war coverage was in Sierra Leone, working with South African mercenary pilot, Neall Ellis, as they flew combat in a Russian helicopter gunship, an experience he published as a book on mercenaries he titled War Dog: Fighting Other People\'s Wars.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5961\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/images-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"290\" height=\"174\" />\r\n\r\nIn my piece of November 24, 2024, with the title, Obasanjo and Tinubu’s Tańtólóhun dogs, I critiqued Nigeria’s presidential media team’s reactive and oftentimes combative approach to communication. In it, I drew a parallel between this bellicose communication approach and German art enthusiast and scholar, Horst Ulrich Beier, famously known as Ulli Beier’s narrative about the power and powerlessness of dogs. For a media team, President Bola Tinubu apparently or ostensibly keeps a kennel of Rottweilers dogs who, like Beier’s Tańtólóhun dogs, almost every time get unleashed on perceived haters of their principal.\r\n\r\nOutgoing African Development Bank (AfDB’s) President Akinwumi Adesina seems to be the latest victim of the blood-baying incisors of these Tańtólóhun hounds. In the last two years of this administration, the presidential groove must be brimming with dry bones of top-placed Nigerians whose fleshes have been mercilessly torn into pieces by these insufferable dogs. As president of AfDB, Adesina has variously commented on the economies of virtually all countries in Africa. His\' had been a passionate bother about the slide in African economies and how, in the immortal words of Chinua Achebe, African leadership had left its plates unwashed and a swarm of flies now holds conferences inside its dirty plate.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5962\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/download-8.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"271\" height=\"186\" /> <img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5963\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/images-1-300x125.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"125\" />\r\n\r\nFollowing this path, which has variously earned him kudos as a concerned African, Dr. Adesina, in a keynote address delivered at Chapel Denham, an investment firm’s 20th anniversary held in Lagos, issued a stern warning that, if Nigeria desires to attain a globally competitive and industrialized status by 2050, it must radically transform its economic model. He then warned of a looming deeper economic depression which he saw manifest in his mental computation. His bother was that, with a current per capita of a mere $824, Nigerians are significantly worse off than they were in 1960 at independence.\r\n\r\nSilence should have been a golden reply. Weren’t we warned that it is not all clothes that are spread to dry under sunlight? Replying Adesina with such gruff is akin to a proverbial man without a virile sexual potency, and who, rather than insert into where his effort was needed, claimed he could insert a thread inside the eye of a needle! Street wisdom counsels silence in this regard. Between the duo of American president, Abraham Lincoln and celebrated American humorist, Mark Twain, a quip credited to either of them dictates the route to follow by the presidential media office in the circumstance. It says, it is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubts. The moment our boss, Bayo Onanuga, chose to disobey Twain and Lincoln, he let the cat out of the bag.\r\n\r\nIn a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the media office, we were entertained to a caterwaul of boring statistics. Adesina’s “figures (that) do not align with available data”, it said, and his comparative analysis of Nigeria’s GDP per capita in 1960 and 2025, misleading. “GDP per capita is not the only criterion used to determine whether people live better lives now than in the past. Indeed, it is a poor tool for assessing living standards,” the post stated. Apparently still fuming that anyone had the temerity to have another opinion about the Eldorado government Aso Rock runs today, Onanuga argued that GDP does not reflect economic realities: “GDP per capita is silent on whether Nigerians in 2025 enjoy better access to healthcare, education, and transportation, such as rail and air transport than in 1960,” he said.\r\n\r\nHowever, the Tańtólóhun dogs did their comparative analysis and reached a conclusion favourable to their narrative. “We can comfortably say without contradiction that it (the economy) is at least 50 times, if not 100 times, more than it was at Independence,” they said. They also recalled that, “in 1960, Nigeria had only 18,724 telephone lines for about 45 million people” but, “today, over 200 million Nigerians have access to mobile and digital services.”\r\n\r\nThe tirelessly whining old Ọkọ Idọgọ train eventually arrived its destination. According to the Nigerian presidency, which reads 2027 into every patriotic call for a governmental sanity, Adesina’s statement was politically motivated. It compared him to the Villa’s tormentor and Achilles heel. “Adesina spoke like a politician, in the mould of Peter Obi, and did not do due diligence before making his unverifiable statement,” Onanuga said. The question that needed to be asked the Tańtólóhun dogs was asked some decades back by another Juju music great, Chief Ebenezer Obey, in an evergreen vinyl. In an imponderable situation as this, Obey asked the Woman cloth seller who held a whiplash as she stood guard of her clothes, what correlation existed between cloths and goats that could necessitate her standing sentinel over cloths with a whip: Do animals eat lace cloth materials? (Kínni Màmá Aláso ńtà t’ó y’egba dání, àb’éwúré ńje lace ni?) We are asking the Tańtólóhun dogs same Obey question over this statement against revered Dr. Adesina.\r\n\r\nVenter’s Takka Takka Bom Bom: A South African Correspondent’s Story is a 27 chapter book of 399 pages, with a chapter entitled “Nigeria: Crazy, but I love it!” It was a title he got from his first report for Argus Africa News Service describing his experience in a 5-year old post-independence Nigeria. Compared to other countries he had been, the then 27-year old Venter said he spent “next to nothing” commuting from Calabar, through Port-Harcourt, Onitsha, Benin across land to Lagos. “It was significant that I never once encountered any hostility throughout my Nigerian peregrinations, political or otherwise. Lagos was then among the most secure cities in Africa,” Venter wrote, stating, “We were out every night, often on foot, moving around the bars on Lagos Victoria Island or up to Yaba and Ikorodu Roadway - often until the wee hours.” Is the situation same today in Tinubu’s Nigeria? The plenty in Nigeria of the time can effortlessly be found in Venter’s fluid narrative. It is also in the people’s sense of nationalism. Take for instance an American Peace Corps female volunteer whose story is in the book. She had sent home a postcard which referred to Nigeria as a disgusting filth pile and slums. All hell was let loose when somebody in the post-office passed the card over to someone in government. Not only was the lady kicked out of the country, Nigerians were still disconsolate until Washington apologized for this indiscretion.\r\n\r\nThis particular quote from Venter excited me: “…the standard of governance in Nigeria was exemplary… Things worked and that included finances. After completing a spell with the British group John Holt, I shipped all my goods and chattels to South Africa when I left Nigeria. Several months later, a cheque arrived in the post in Johannesburg for money that, the accompanying statement revealed, was a refund for taxes overpaid.” Can one of the Tańtólóhun dogs tell us whether this is still the Nigerian picture?\r\n\r\nNigeria’s presidential office would want us believe that Nigeria is better today than at independence, simply because Nigerians now have access to mobile telephony and modernity. For its attention, statistics on poverty rates, income growth, and factors like affordability of housing, commute times, and environmental quality are better indicators of a people’s overall well-being. The Villa should have availed us that. A few days ago, the World Bank alerted that poverty rate among Nigeria\'s rural population had slid to an alarming 75.5 per cent. This digs at the core of a deepening inequality and widespread economic hardship across the country. While glittering modern houses abound today, the percentage of Nigerians who had access to shelter in 1960 across population was more than those who do now. Same goes for the percentage of citizens who can access education and even healthcare services. In Benue especially, Northeast and Northwest, Nigeria has literally reverted to the 1967 civil war carnage era with deaths in those areas most likely to have tipped over the one million figure of Biafra.\r\n\r\nNow, we have the Nigerian government gloat on a claim of its having paid up IMF debt. The reality staring us in the face is that the suffering of Nigerian people is spreading like bushfire in the harmattan. If the Villa voodoo media doctors can, for a minute, open the shutters and see beyond the comfy Aso Rock, what will confront them is the reality that, every hour, Nigerians slide into poverty and die because they cannot access healthcare and food. Thousands also slant into depression. Flaunting apocryphal statistics of citizen-comfort across ages won’t work. Such exercise is as smelly to the nose as the “remains of dead animals, birds, reptiles,” apologies to Venter, an image provoked as he filmed a documentary on witch-doctors at the Akodessawa Fetish Market, Lome. Citing another Venter phrase, the Villa statistics-bandying, without corresponding description of the people’s plight today, finds simile in his description of someone “using magic to communicate with supernatural spirits and dead people.”\r\n\r\nToday, while Aso Rock is winning the war of political demographics and idolatry bow of opposition parties by its feet, it is not winning the hearts of the people. Nigerian political parties, governors, senators, Reps are jumping inside the dirty pond of APC to swim in the mud preparatory to 2027. Great that a Charles Soludo, desperate for a second term, has found an “ideological” liaison in a combine of APC and APGA for an illicit romp. Yes, the president is now “Dike si mba Anambra,” (warrior from the Diaspora) a chieftaincy title conferred on him on Thursday by Igwe Chidubem Iweka who said it was a title “by all the royal fathers from the 179 communities of Anambra State.” What war has the president won since he secured the tenancy of Aso Rock that makes him a Dike, warrior? Hunger war? Hopelessness war? Insecurity war? War against corruption? After politicians finished their trade-off huffing and puffing at the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka that Thursday and federal largesses exchanged hands, did the people of Anambra go to bed happier or hungrier?\r\n\r\nIt is apparent that the statistics juggling by “Dike si mba Anambra”’s people are all geared towards 2027. Beautiful. While they appear to have tightened the nuts and bolts of the human factor, I wish they spare a minute to screw together God’s nuts and bolts, too. It is like hunting a game, killing and disemboweling the animal but failing to reckon with its bile busting to foul up a neatly-dressed venison. This reminds me of a gory picture Juju music maestro, King Sunny Ade, painted in one of his 1970s songs. KSA’s imaginary enemies had sent a kid on an errand to the l’éku-l’éja market, almost similar to Lome’s Akodessawa Fetish Market. The kid’s assignment was to buy some fetish bric-a-bac with which they hoped to put a final seal of spiritual victory on their enemy. The fetish objects comprised one of the most lethal assemblages ever, but effete in the real sense of it - dry head of a cobra, bought for six pence; seven carcasses of the animal called Itun; seven bitter seeds of Abere and seven seeds of alligator pepper, all of which were pounded with a traditional black soap. Little did they know, sang KSA, that like nincompoops, (Paddy Ọdẹ-nsin) they had been sold a dummy!','Aso Rock’s voodoo statistics and my friend, Al Venter','','publish','open','open','','aso-rocks-voodoo-statistics-and-my-friend-al-venter','','','2025-05-11 06:33:09','2025-05-11 06:33:09','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5959',0,'post','',0),(5960,1,'2025-05-11 06:30:44','2025-05-11 06:30:44','','download (7)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-7-4','','','2025-05-11 06:30:44','2025-05-11 06:30:44','',5959,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/download-7.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5961,1,'2025-05-11 06:31:22','2025-05-11 06:31:22','','images (2)','','inherit','open','closed','','images-2-13','','','2025-05-11 06:31:22','2025-05-11 06:31:22','',5959,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/images-2.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5962,1,'2025-05-11 06:32:07','2025-05-11 06:32:07','','download (8)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-8-4','','','2025-05-11 06:32:07','2025-05-11 06:32:07','',5959,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/download-8.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5963,1,'2025-05-11 06:32:48','2025-05-11 06:32:48','','images (1)','','inherit','open','closed','','images-1-8','','','2025-05-11 06:32:48','2025-05-11 06:32:48','',5959,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/images-1.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5964,1,'2025-05-11 06:33:09','2025-05-11 06:33:09','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5960 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/download-7.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" />\r\n\r\nFestus Adedayo\r\n\r\nA couple of months ago, history walked on its two legs into my feeble embrace. When it did, I never knew it was Providence’s own way of anticipating Nigerian Aso Rock’s nauseating historical revisionism. History’s embrace had come by the way of a terse mail I received from foremost online medium, Premium Times. The newspaper had been sent an enquiry from a South African British author on February 7, 2025, “wanting to make contact with one of your Op-Ed writers, Festus Adedayo.” The enquirer described himself as “an old Africa hand (who) lived and worked in Nigeria…(who) also wrote (a book) on the Nigerian civil war”. I immediately proceeded to make contact with the British author. One thing led to the other and the enquirer and I were glued together by Thoth, the Egyptian mythological god of writing. He then couriered to me a copy of his recent book with the title, Takka Takka Bom Bom: A South African Correspondent’s Story (2022).<!--more-->\r\n\r\nMy new friend is 86 years-old Albertus Johannes Venter, famously known as Al J. Venter, with a Boer and German ancestry. He is a white South African war correspondent, documentary filmmaker and author of more than forty books. Venter initially served in the South African Navy between 1956 and 1960, rising to the rank of Acting Leading Seaman. He was twice wounded in combat, by a Soviet anti-tank mine in Angola and by sub-machine gun fire. Venter was in Nigeria in 1965 to work for John Holt, and during the Nigerian 1967 civil war, covered it as an Africa and Middle East correspondent for Jane’s International Defence Review, which produced the war memoir, Biafra’s War: A Tribal Conflict In Nigeria That Left A Million Dead (2016). In coverage of the war, he was in the company of his friend, Frederick Forsyth, who was BBC’s war correspondent for Biafra.\r\n\r\nVenter also covered a number of wars in Africa. He was in Uganda during Idi Amin Dada’s bloodthirsty reign in the 1970s which culminated in his hour-long documentary, Africa’s Killing Fields, which gained viewing traction in the United States. He also spent several years in the Middle East, traversing Israel and Lebanon, covered the Israeli invasion force that made incursion into Beirut in 1982 and the war hostilities in Sudan, Angola, Congo, Rhodesia and Portuguese Guinea. His recent war coverage was in Sierra Leone, working with South African mercenary pilot, Neall Ellis, as they flew combat in a Russian helicopter gunship, an experience he published as a book on mercenaries he titled War Dog: Fighting Other People\'s Wars.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5961\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/images-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"290\" height=\"174\" />\r\n\r\nIn my piece of November 24, 2024, with the title, Obasanjo and Tinubu’s Tańtólóhun dogs, I critiqued Nigeria’s presidential media team’s reactive and oftentimes combative approach to communication. In it, I drew a parallel between this bellicose communication approach and German art enthusiast and scholar, Horst Ulrich Beier, famously known as Ulli Beier’s narrative about the power and powerlessness of dogs. For a media team, President Bola Tinubu apparently or ostensibly keeps a kennel of Rottweilers dogs who, like Beier’s Tańtólóhun dogs, almost every time get unleashed on perceived haters of their principal.\r\n\r\nOutgoing African Development Bank (AfDB’s) President Akinwumi Adesina seems to be the latest victim of the blood-baying incisors of these Tańtólóhun hounds. In the last two years of this administration, the presidential groove must be brimming with dry bones of top-placed Nigerians whose fleshes have been mercilessly torn into pieces by these insufferable dogs. As president of AfDB, Adesina has variously commented on the economies of virtually all countries in Africa. His\' had been a passionate bother about the slide in African economies and how, in the immortal words of Chinua Achebe, African leadership had left its plates unwashed and a swarm of flies now holds conferences inside its dirty plate.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5962\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/download-8.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"271\" height=\"186\" /> <img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5963\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/images-1-300x125.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"125\" />\r\n\r\nFollowing this path, which has variously earned him kudos as a concerned African, Dr. Adesina, in a keynote address delivered at Chapel Denham, an investment firm’s 20th anniversary held in Lagos, issued a stern warning that, if Nigeria desires to attain a globally competitive and industrialized status by 2050, it must radically transform its economic model. He then warned of a looming deeper economic depression which he saw manifest in his mental computation. His bother was that, with a current per capita of a mere $824, Nigerians are significantly worse off than they were in 1960 at independence.\r\n\r\nSilence should have been a golden reply. Weren’t we warned that it is not all clothes that are spread to dry under sunlight? Replying Adesina with such gruff is akin to a proverbial man without a virile sexual potency, and who, rather than insert into where his effort was needed, claimed he could insert a thread inside the eye of a needle! Street wisdom counsels silence in this regard. Between the duo of American president, Abraham Lincoln and celebrated American humorist, Mark Twain, a quip credited to either of them dictates the route to follow by the presidential media office in the circumstance. It says, it is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubts. The moment our boss, Bayo Onanuga, chose to disobey Twain and Lincoln, he let the cat out of the bag.\r\n\r\nIn a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the media office, we were entertained to a caterwaul of boring statistics. Adesina’s “figures (that) do not align with available data”, it said, and his comparative analysis of Nigeria’s GDP per capita in 1960 and 2025, misleading. “GDP per capita is not the only criterion used to determine whether people live better lives now than in the past. Indeed, it is a poor tool for assessing living standards,” the post stated. Apparently still fuming that anyone had the temerity to have another opinion about the Eldorado government Aso Rock runs today, Onanuga argued that GDP does not reflect economic realities: “GDP per capita is silent on whether Nigerians in 2025 enjoy better access to healthcare, education, and transportation, such as rail and air transport than in 1960,” he said.\r\n\r\nHowever, the Tańtólóhun dogs did their comparative analysis and reached a conclusion favourable to their narrative. “We can comfortably say without contradiction that it (the economy) is at least 50 times, if not 100 times, more than it was at Independence,” they said. They also recalled that, “in 1960, Nigeria had only 18,724 telephone lines for about 45 million people” but, “today, over 200 million Nigerians have access to mobile and digital services.”\r\n\r\nThe tirelessly whining old Ọkọ Idọgọ train eventually arrived its destination. According to the Nigerian presidency, which reads 2027 into every patriotic call for a governmental sanity, Adesina’s statement was politically motivated. It compared him to the Villa’s tormentor and Achilles heel. “Adesina spoke like a politician, in the mould of Peter Obi, and did not do due diligence before making his unverifiable statement,” Onanuga said. The question that needed to be asked the Tańtólóhun dogs was asked some decades back by another Juju music great, Chief Ebenezer Obey, in an evergreen vinyl. In an imponderable situation as this, Obey asked the Woman cloth seller who held a whiplash as she stood guard of her clothes, what correlation existed between cloths and goats that could necessitate her standing sentinel over cloths with a whip: Do animals eat lace cloth materials? (Kínni Màmá Aláso ńtà t’ó y’egba dání, àb’éwúré ńje lace ni?) We are asking the Tańtólóhun dogs same Obey question over this statement against revered Dr. Adesina.\r\n\r\nVenter’s Takka Takka Bom Bom: A South African Correspondent’s Story is a 27 chapter book of 399 pages, with a chapter entitled “Nigeria: Crazy, but I love it!” It was a title he got from his first report for Argus Africa News Service describing his experience in a 5-year old post-independence Nigeria. Compared to other countries he had been, the then 27-year old Venter said he spent “next to nothing” commuting from Calabar, through Port-Harcourt, Onitsha, Benin across land to Lagos. “It was significant that I never once encountered any hostility throughout my Nigerian peregrinations, political or otherwise. Lagos was then among the most secure cities in Africa,” Venter wrote, stating, “We were out every night, often on foot, moving around the bars on Lagos Victoria Island or up to Yaba and Ikorodu Roadway - often until the wee hours.” Is the situation same today in Tinubu’s Nigeria? The plenty in Nigeria of the time can effortlessly be found in Venter’s fluid narrative. It is also in the people’s sense of nationalism. Take for instance an American Peace Corps female volunteer whose story is in the book. She had sent home a postcard which referred to Nigeria as a disgusting filth pile and slums. All hell was let loose when somebody in the post-office passed the card over to someone in government. Not only was the lady kicked out of the country, Nigerians were still disconsolate until Washington apologized for this indiscretion.\r\n\r\nThis particular quote from Venter excited me: “…the standard of governance in Nigeria was exemplary… Things worked and that included finances. After completing a spell with the British group John Holt, I shipped all my goods and chattels to South Africa when I left Nigeria. Several months later, a cheque arrived in the post in Johannesburg for money that, the accompanying statement revealed, was a refund for taxes overpaid.” Can one of the Tańtólóhun dogs tell us whether this is still the Nigerian picture?\r\n\r\nNigeria’s presidential office would want us believe that Nigeria is better today than at independence, simply because Nigerians now have access to mobile telephony and modernity. For its attention, statistics on poverty rates, income growth, and factors like affordability of housing, commute times, and environmental quality are better indicators of a people’s overall well-being. The Villa should have availed us that. A few days ago, the World Bank alerted that poverty rate among Nigeria\'s rural population had slid to an alarming 75.5 per cent. This digs at the core of a deepening inequality and widespread economic hardship across the country. While glittering modern houses abound today, the percentage of Nigerians who had access to shelter in 1960 across population was more than those who do now. Same goes for the percentage of citizens who can access education and even healthcare services. In Benue especially, Northeast and Northwest, Nigeria has literally reverted to the 1967 civil war carnage era with deaths in those areas most likely to have tipped over the one million figure of Biafra.\r\n\r\nNow, we have the Nigerian government gloat on a claim of its having paid up IMF debt. The reality staring us in the face is that the suffering of Nigerian people is spreading like bushfire in the harmattan. If the Villa voodoo media doctors can, for a minute, open the shutters and see beyond the comfy Aso Rock, what will confront them is the reality that, every hour, Nigerians slide into poverty and die because they cannot access healthcare and food. Thousands also slant into depression. Flaunting apocryphal statistics of citizen-comfort across ages won’t work. Such exercise is as smelly to the nose as the “remains of dead animals, birds, reptiles,” apologies to Venter, an image provoked as he filmed a documentary on witch-doctors at the Akodessawa Fetish Market, Lome. Citing another Venter phrase, the Villa statistics-bandying, without corresponding description of the people’s plight today, finds simile in his description of someone “using magic to communicate with supernatural spirits and dead people.”\r\n\r\nToday, while Aso Rock is winning the war of political demographics and idolatry bow of opposition parties by its feet, it is not winning the hearts of the people. Nigerian political parties, governors, senators, Reps are jumping inside the dirty pond of APC to swim in the mud preparatory to 2027. Great that a Charles Soludo, desperate for a second term, has found an “ideological” liaison in a combine of APC and APGA for an illicit romp. Yes, the president is now “Dike si mba Anambra,” (warrior from the Diaspora) a chieftaincy title conferred on him on Thursday by Igwe Chidubem Iweka who said it was a title “by all the royal fathers from the 179 communities of Anambra State.” What war has the president won since he secured the tenancy of Aso Rock that makes him a Dike, warrior? Hunger war? Hopelessness war? Insecurity war? War against corruption? After politicians finished their trade-off huffing and puffing at the Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka that Thursday and federal largesses exchanged hands, did the people of Anambra go to bed happier or hungrier?\r\n\r\nIt is apparent that the statistics juggling by “Dike si mba Anambra”’s people are all geared towards 2027. Beautiful. While they appear to have tightened the nuts and bolts of the human factor, I wish they spare a minute to screw together God’s nuts and bolts, too. It is like hunting a game, killing and disemboweling the animal but failing to reckon with its bile busting to foul up a neatly-dressed venison. This reminds me of a gory picture Juju music maestro, King Sunny Ade, painted in one of his 1970s songs. KSA’s imaginary enemies had sent a kid on an errand to the l’éku-l’éja market, almost similar to Lome’s Akodessawa Fetish Market. The kid’s assignment was to buy some fetish bric-a-bac with which they hoped to put a final seal of spiritual victory on their enemy. The fetish objects comprised one of the most lethal assemblages ever, but effete in the real sense of it - dry head of a cobra, bought for six pence; seven carcasses of the animal called Itun; seven bitter seeds of Abere and seven seeds of alligator pepper, all of which were pounded with a traditional black soap. Little did they know, sang KSA, that like nincompoops, (Paddy Ọdẹ-nsin) they had been sold a dummy!','Aso Rock’s voodoo statistics and my friend, Al Venter','','inherit','closed','closed','','5959-revision-v1','','','2025-05-11 06:33:09','2025-05-11 06:33:09','',5959,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5964',0,'revision','',0),(5965,1,'2025-05-11 15:56:26','2025-05-11 15:56:26','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5966 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250511-WA0015-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nRAYMOND OZOJI reports\r\n\r\nThe Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS) says that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu\'s Renewed Hope Agenda on forest security is a task that must be pursued with the vigor and vitality it truly deserves inorder to secure as well as protect the forests from brigands and undesirable elements.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nSpeaking at the end of a 4-day training session for Provosts, Intelligence and Surveillance Departments of the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS) the Commander-General of the service Dr. Joshua Wole Osatimehin, said that the bill to establish the Nigeria Forest Security Service as an agency of the federal government (NFSS) has been passed by the national assembly and currently awaiting presidential assent.\r\n\r\nOsatimehin therefore appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to assent to the bill to propel officers and men of the service in all the various commands across the federation into more dedicated actions to preserve the forests and protect them from criminal campings.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile the Deputy Commander-General (Intelligence Department) of the NFSS, Dr. John Metchie, who was conferred an award as the Best and Most Accommodating DCG in NFSS by the FCT police command, said that intelligence gathering is the bedrock of security and that forest guards are the missing links of the security architecture in Nigeria.\r\n\r\nMetchie maintained that it is no longer news that the Senate and the House of Representatives have both passed the Bill to establish the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS) as a full-fledged government agency.\r\n\r\nHe was therefore of the opinion that all eyes are now on President Bola Tinubu to sign the bill into law to enhance the operational efficacy of the NFSS, adding that the NFSS bill presents a rare opportunity for the President to implement a key plank of his Renewed Hope Agenda, which he said was to create and empower a special body to guard Nigeria’s huge forested areas, so that Nigerians can return to their farms without fear of molestations by brigands and other undesirable elements.\r\n\r\nOn his part, the FCT police commissioner CP Ajao Adewale underscored the importance of the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS) in the safety and security of Nigeria\'s forest reserves.\r\n\r\nCP Adewale who lauded the contributions of the NFSS to national security, noted that the interactions with Nigeria Forest Security Service has indeed strengthened security especially around the forests and mountainous areas\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5967\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250511-WA0013-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" />.\r\n\r\nHe added that where the police and other security agencies could not reach, the NFSS continues which he described as the beauty of synergy, emphasizing that the nation is achieving better results with the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS).\r\n\r\n##','NFSS Backs Tinubu\'s Renewed Hope Agenda On Forest Security  ...As DCG Intelligence Gets Recognition','','publish','open','open','','nfss-backs-tinubus-renewed-hope-agenda-on-forest-security-as-dcg-intelligence-gets-recognition','','','2025-05-11 15:56:26','2025-05-11 15:56:26','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5965',0,'post','',0),(5966,1,'2025-05-11 15:54:38','2025-05-11 15:54:38','','IMG-20250511-WA0015','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250511-wa0015','','','2025-05-11 15:54:38','2025-05-11 15:54:38','',5965,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250511-WA0015.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5967,1,'2025-05-11 15:55:12','2025-05-11 15:55:12','','IMG-20250511-WA0013','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250511-wa0013','','','2025-05-11 15:55:12','2025-05-11 15:55:12','',5965,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250511-WA0013.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5968,1,'2025-05-11 15:56:09','2025-05-11 15:56:09','','IMG-20250511-WA0014','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250511-wa0014','','','2025-05-11 15:56:09','2025-05-11 15:56:09','',5965,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250511-WA0014.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5969,1,'2025-05-11 15:56:26','2025-05-11 15:56:26','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5966 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250511-WA0015-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nRAYMOND OZOJI reports\r\n\r\nThe Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS) says that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu\'s Renewed Hope Agenda on forest security is a task that must be pursued with the vigor and vitality it truly deserves inorder to secure as well as protect the forests from brigands and undesirable elements.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nSpeaking at the end of a 4-day training session for Provosts, Intelligence and Surveillance Departments of the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS) the Commander-General of the service Dr. Joshua Wole Osatimehin, said that the bill to establish the Nigeria Forest Security Service as an agency of the federal government (NFSS) has been passed by the national assembly and currently awaiting presidential assent.\r\n\r\nOsatimehin therefore appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to assent to the bill to propel officers and men of the service in all the various commands across the federation into more dedicated actions to preserve the forests and protect them from criminal campings.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile the Deputy Commander-General (Intelligence Department) of the NFSS, Dr. John Metchie, who was conferred an award as the Best and Most Accommodating DCG in NFSS by the FCT police command, said that intelligence gathering is the bedrock of security and that forest guards are the missing links of the security architecture in Nigeria.\r\n\r\nMetchie maintained that it is no longer news that the Senate and the House of Representatives have both passed the Bill to establish the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS) as a full-fledged government agency.\r\n\r\nHe was therefore of the opinion that all eyes are now on President Bola Tinubu to sign the bill into law to enhance the operational efficacy of the NFSS, adding that the NFSS bill presents a rare opportunity for the President to implement a key plank of his Renewed Hope Agenda, which he said was to create and empower a special body to guard Nigeria’s huge forested areas, so that Nigerians can return to their farms without fear of molestations by brigands and other undesirable elements.\r\n\r\nOn his part, the FCT police commissioner CP Ajao Adewale underscored the importance of the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS) in the safety and security of Nigeria\'s forest reserves.\r\n\r\nCP Adewale who lauded the contributions of the NFSS to national security, noted that the interactions with Nigeria Forest Security Service has indeed strengthened security especially around the forests and mountainous areas\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5967\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250511-WA0013-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" />.\r\n\r\nHe added that where the police and other security agencies could not reach, the NFSS continues which he described as the beauty of synergy, emphasizing that the nation is achieving better results with the Nigeria Forest Security Service (NFSS).\r\n\r\n##','NFSS Backs Tinubu\'s Renewed Hope Agenda On Forest Security  ...As DCG Intelligence Gets Recognition','','inherit','closed','closed','','5965-revision-v1','','','2025-05-11 15:56:26','2025-05-11 15:56:26','',5965,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5969',0,'revision','',0),(5976,1,'2025-05-31 16:59:00','2025-05-31 16:59:00','','IMG-20250531-WA0011','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250531-wa0011','','','2025-05-31 16:59:00','2025-05-31 16:59:00','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250531-WA0011.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5979,1,'2025-05-31 17:06:48','2025-05-31 17:06:48','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5981 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/download-28.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"201\" height=\"251\" />\r\n\r\nBy Sir Paul Chukwuma\r\n\r\nA close confidant once remarked, during the crescendo of the 2023 general elections, that it would take a “mad man” to aspire to lead Nigeria at such a perilous juncture. His words were less hyperbole and more diagnosis: Nigeria, at that time, represented the archetype of a “wicked problem”; a multidimensional crisis with no easy resolution and several painful trade-offs. To him, the presidency was a poisoned chalice; any occupant was fated for disillusionment and the slow erosion of political capital.\r\n\r\nIndeed, the economic outlook was bleak. Inflation had soared to 22.4% in May 2023, driven by structural inefficiencies, supply shocks, and a ballooning fiscal deficit. Nigeria’s public finances were deeply strained. Over 96% of government revenue in 2022 was used to service debt, according to the Debt Management Office, with total public debt at ₦87.91 trillion by Q3 2023. Compounding the fiscal nightmare was the fuel subsidy, which guzzled over ₦4.4 trillion annually, an unsustainable regime that effectively subsidized consumption at the expense of capital formation and long-term productivity.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe foreign exchange market was no less chaotic. The naira was arbitraged across multiple rates, official, NAFEX, and parallel, creating distortions that stifled investment and undermined confidence. At its nadir, the FX backlog had risen to $7 billion, trapping investors and importers alike in a bureaucratic quagmire. Simultaneously, the Central Bank’s unorthodox monetary policy, marked by uncontrolled “Ways and Means” advances exceeding ₦27 trillion, injected vast amounts of unbacked liquidity into the system, fueling further inflation and currency depreciation.\r\n\r\nAll these unfolded against a backdrop of rampant insecurity; from banditry in the North West to separatist unrest in the South East, and deepening ethnic and religious divisions that imperiled national cohesion.\r\n\r\nIt was into this inferno that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stepped on May 29, 2023. His declaration that “fuel subsidy is gone,” delivered impromptu during his inaugural address, was more than rhetorical flourish. It was the clearest indication that he would eschew political expediency for structural realignment. For decades, Nigerian presidents had flirted with subsidy removal, often retreating at the altar of public discontent. Tinubu, however, acted; decisively and without subterfuge.\r\n\r\nHis administration swiftly embarked on a macroeconomic recalibration.\r\n\r\nThe unification of the FX windows in June 2023 effectively floated the naira, allowing market forces to determine its value. This move, although painful in the short term, addressed the rent-seeking culture that had metastasized under the previous multiple-rate regime. By eliminating arbitrage opportunities, the reforms aimed to redirect capital into productive enterprise rather than speculative gain.\r\n\r\nThe Central Bank, under new leadership, adopted a more orthodox monetary posture, tightening liquidity, raising the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 24.75%, and clearing a significant portion of the FX backlog by Q1 2024. These actions restored some degree of investor confidence. The naira, which had plunged to over ₦1,900/$ in early 2024, rebounded to ₦1,200/$ by May 2025; reflecting improved dollar inflows and coordinated fiscal-monetary alignment.\r\n\r\nThe results are beginning to show. The Nigerian Stock Exchange’s All-Share Index has surged past 110,000 points in 2025, its highest in history, buoyed by foreign portfolio inflows and improved corporate earnings. Many blue-chip companies posted positive FY2024 results, a testament to stabilizing macro fundamentals. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), GDP growth in Q1 2025 stood at 3.5%, with the World Bank projecting a 3.7% expansion for the full year, driven largely by services, telecommunications, and a recovering oil sector.\r\n\r\nInflation, 23.71% in April 2025, has begun to moderate on a month-on-month basis. Crucially, food inflation—once breaching over 40%—has been decelerating, thanks in part to temporary import waivers on grains and fertilizer subsidies aimed at stabilizing supply chains. Nonetheless, challenges persist. Insecurity, price gouging by middlemen, and logistics inefficiencies continue to constrain agricultural productivity and inflate prices.\r\n\r\nTax revenue is also improving. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) reported a record ₦12.3 trillion in tax receipts for FY2024; a 47% increase year-on-year, largely attributable to compliance reforms and digitization. The recently passed Fiscal Reform and Tax Policy Act, once assented to by the president, is expected to deepen revenue mobilization, reduce leakages, and expand the tax net beyond oil.\r\n\r\nBut beyond the metrics, the soul of the nation needs mending.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5976 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250531-WA0011-268x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"268\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nNo economic rebound is sustainable without national unity. Ethnic mistrust, religious polarisation, and regional marginalisation remain potent threats to the republic’s stability. The administration must therefore deepen dialogue, promote inclusion, and deliberately engineer a sense of shared ownership in the Nigerian project.\r\n\r\nPresident Tinubu’s tenure, now at its two-year mark, is defined by audacity. His reforms, though costly in the short term, have the potential to shift Nigeria from consumption to production, from patronage to productivity, from reactive governance to strategic statecraft.\r\n\r\nBut the work is far from done.\r\n\r\nThe path forward must prioritise inclusive growth. Social safety nets must be expanded. Infrastructure investment must expand and be efficient. Local manufacturing must be shielded from volatility and incentivised for scale. Job creation, especially for Nigeria’s 70% youth population, must move from rhetoric to reality.\r\n\r\nIf sustained, these early reforms may well be remembered as the foundation of a new Nigeria; competitive, coherent, and confident on the global stage. But if truncated or mismanaged, they may be mourned as yet another “what could have been.”\r\n\r\nMr. President, history is watching. And, so far, you have chosen the hard path of reform over the easy applause of populism. For that, posterity may yet applaud.\r\n\r\nCongratulations on two years of purposeful leadership.\r\n\r\nMay your courage yield enduring fruit for this nation.\r\n\r\n*Sir Paul Chukwuma is the YPP 2025 Governorship Candidate in Anambra State*','President Bola Tinubu\'s Two Years of Resolute Reforms in a Tenuous Republic','','publish','open','open','','president-bola-tinubus-two-years-of-resolute-reforms-in-a-tenuous-republic','','','2025-05-31 17:06:48','2025-05-31 17:06:48','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5979',0,'post','',0),(5980,1,'2025-05-31 17:04:52','2025-05-31 17:04:52','','download (29)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-29','','','2025-05-31 17:04:52','2025-05-31 17:04:52','',5979,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/download-29.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5981,1,'2025-05-31 17:05:26','2025-05-31 17:05:26','','download (28)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-28-3','','','2025-05-31 17:05:26','2025-05-31 17:05:26','',5979,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/download-28.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5982,1,'2025-05-31 17:06:34','2025-05-31 17:06:34','','IMG-20250531-WA0011','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250531-wa0011-2','','','2025-05-31 17:06:34','2025-05-31 17:06:34','',5979,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250531-WA0011-1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5983,1,'2025-05-31 17:06:48','2025-05-31 17:06:48','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5981 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/download-28.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"201\" height=\"251\" />\r\n\r\nBy Sir Paul Chukwuma\r\n\r\nA close confidant once remarked, during the crescendo of the 2023 general elections, that it would take a “mad man” to aspire to lead Nigeria at such a perilous juncture. His words were less hyperbole and more diagnosis: Nigeria, at that time, represented the archetype of a “wicked problem”; a multidimensional crisis with no easy resolution and several painful trade-offs. To him, the presidency was a poisoned chalice; any occupant was fated for disillusionment and the slow erosion of political capital.\r\n\r\nIndeed, the economic outlook was bleak. Inflation had soared to 22.4% in May 2023, driven by structural inefficiencies, supply shocks, and a ballooning fiscal deficit. Nigeria’s public finances were deeply strained. Over 96% of government revenue in 2022 was used to service debt, according to the Debt Management Office, with total public debt at ₦87.91 trillion by Q3 2023. Compounding the fiscal nightmare was the fuel subsidy, which guzzled over ₦4.4 trillion annually, an unsustainable regime that effectively subsidized consumption at the expense of capital formation and long-term productivity.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe foreign exchange market was no less chaotic. The naira was arbitraged across multiple rates, official, NAFEX, and parallel, creating distortions that stifled investment and undermined confidence. At its nadir, the FX backlog had risen to $7 billion, trapping investors and importers alike in a bureaucratic quagmire. Simultaneously, the Central Bank’s unorthodox monetary policy, marked by uncontrolled “Ways and Means” advances exceeding ₦27 trillion, injected vast amounts of unbacked liquidity into the system, fueling further inflation and currency depreciation.\r\n\r\nAll these unfolded against a backdrop of rampant insecurity; from banditry in the North West to separatist unrest in the South East, and deepening ethnic and religious divisions that imperiled national cohesion.\r\n\r\nIt was into this inferno that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stepped on May 29, 2023. His declaration that “fuel subsidy is gone,” delivered impromptu during his inaugural address, was more than rhetorical flourish. It was the clearest indication that he would eschew political expediency for structural realignment. For decades, Nigerian presidents had flirted with subsidy removal, often retreating at the altar of public discontent. Tinubu, however, acted; decisively and without subterfuge.\r\n\r\nHis administration swiftly embarked on a macroeconomic recalibration.\r\n\r\nThe unification of the FX windows in June 2023 effectively floated the naira, allowing market forces to determine its value. This move, although painful in the short term, addressed the rent-seeking culture that had metastasized under the previous multiple-rate regime. By eliminating arbitrage opportunities, the reforms aimed to redirect capital into productive enterprise rather than speculative gain.\r\n\r\nThe Central Bank, under new leadership, adopted a more orthodox monetary posture, tightening liquidity, raising the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 24.75%, and clearing a significant portion of the FX backlog by Q1 2024. These actions restored some degree of investor confidence. The naira, which had plunged to over ₦1,900/$ in early 2024, rebounded to ₦1,200/$ by May 2025; reflecting improved dollar inflows and coordinated fiscal-monetary alignment.\r\n\r\nThe results are beginning to show. The Nigerian Stock Exchange’s All-Share Index has surged past 110,000 points in 2025, its highest in history, buoyed by foreign portfolio inflows and improved corporate earnings. Many blue-chip companies posted positive FY2024 results, a testament to stabilizing macro fundamentals. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), GDP growth in Q1 2025 stood at 3.5%, with the World Bank projecting a 3.7% expansion for the full year, driven largely by services, telecommunications, and a recovering oil sector.\r\n\r\nInflation, 23.71% in April 2025, has begun to moderate on a month-on-month basis. Crucially, food inflation—once breaching over 40%—has been decelerating, thanks in part to temporary import waivers on grains and fertilizer subsidies aimed at stabilizing supply chains. Nonetheless, challenges persist. Insecurity, price gouging by middlemen, and logistics inefficiencies continue to constrain agricultural productivity and inflate prices.\r\n\r\nTax revenue is also improving. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) reported a record ₦12.3 trillion in tax receipts for FY2024; a 47% increase year-on-year, largely attributable to compliance reforms and digitization. The recently passed Fiscal Reform and Tax Policy Act, once assented to by the president, is expected to deepen revenue mobilization, reduce leakages, and expand the tax net beyond oil.\r\n\r\nBut beyond the metrics, the soul of the nation needs mending.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5976 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG-20250531-WA0011-268x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"268\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nNo economic rebound is sustainable without national unity. Ethnic mistrust, religious polarisation, and regional marginalisation remain potent threats to the republic’s stability. The administration must therefore deepen dialogue, promote inclusion, and deliberately engineer a sense of shared ownership in the Nigerian project.\r\n\r\nPresident Tinubu’s tenure, now at its two-year mark, is defined by audacity. His reforms, though costly in the short term, have the potential to shift Nigeria from consumption to production, from patronage to productivity, from reactive governance to strategic statecraft.\r\n\r\nBut the work is far from done.\r\n\r\nThe path forward must prioritise inclusive growth. Social safety nets must be expanded. Infrastructure investment must expand and be efficient. Local manufacturing must be shielded from volatility and incentivised for scale. Job creation, especially for Nigeria’s 70% youth population, must move from rhetoric to reality.\r\n\r\nIf sustained, these early reforms may well be remembered as the foundation of a new Nigeria; competitive, coherent, and confident on the global stage. But if truncated or mismanaged, they may be mourned as yet another “what could have been.”\r\n\r\nMr. President, history is watching. And, so far, you have chosen the hard path of reform over the easy applause of populism. For that, posterity may yet applaud.\r\n\r\nCongratulations on two years of purposeful leadership.\r\n\r\nMay your courage yield enduring fruit for this nation.\r\n\r\n*Sir Paul Chukwuma is the YPP 2025 Governorship Candidate in Anambra State*','President Bola Tinubu\'s Two Years of Resolute Reforms in a Tenuous Republic','','inherit','closed','closed','','5979-revision-v1','','','2025-05-31 17:06:48','2025-05-31 17:06:48','',5979,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5983',0,'revision','',0),(5985,1,'2025-06-14 10:26:46','2025-06-14 10:26:46','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5986\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG-20250614-WA0009-300x209.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"209\" />\r\n\r\nThe agenda to get Anambra State connected to the centre through the victory of the All Progressives Congress, APC during the November 8 Governorship Election gathered momentum on Friday, as the APC Governorship candidate for the election, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu was endorsed by the APC Senate caucus.\r\nUkachukwu, alongside the National Chairman of the APC, His Excellency, Abdullahi Ganduje, was received by the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin and APC senators from the Southeast.\r\nThe meeting, which took place in Abuja, was to reaffirm the senators’ unwavering commitment towards ensuring that APC takes over Anambra State, come November 8 2025.<!--more-->\r\nThe endorsement, they noted, is in line with the directive of President Bola Tinubu, when he presented the APC flag to Prince Ukachukwu and his deputy, Senator Uche Ekwunife last month.\r\nThis development gives impetus to the overwhelming support which Prince Ukachukwu, a known name in Nigerian politics, has continued to garner, since he emerged the standard bearer of the APC for the Anambra 2025 Governorship Election, on the 5th of April, 2025.\r\nEver since, Ikukuoma, as Ukachukwu is fondly called, has engaged in consultations and alliances that present him as a formidable force, assured of victory during the November election.\r\nAddressing newsmen after the meeting, an elated Ukachukwu said the task ahead is clear, to get Anambra connected to the centre, to ensure it gets its fair share of benefits from the federation.\r\nUkachukwu posited that the nation under the leadership of President Tinubu is making steady progress, especially with the quality support provided to it by the Senate under the leadership of Senator Akpabio.\r\nAccording to him, such collaboration has been the catalyst that is consistently changing the fortunes of the nation for the best.\r\nThe business mogul noted that Ndi Anambra have seen the light and are willing to take their destiny in their own hands on the 8th of November, by rejecting the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA in the state with their votes.\r\n“Our people are very enlightened and cannot be deceived by the antics of the APGA in Anambra State.\r\n“From the feedback we are getting through a thorough survey we conducted, the people are fed up with the lies and propaganda of the ruling party in the state and are ready to embrace the renewed hope agenda.\r\n“Anambra people are ready to connect to the centre and begin to get their due share of the national benefits. Mushroom political parties cannot and will never get us to the centre stage of national politics.\r\n“APC is the gamechanger and come November 2025, we will all speak with one voice, for the betterment of Anambra, for the enthronement of APC in the state and for the continued leadership of our leader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Ukachukwu concluded.','Akpabio, Deputy endorse Ukachukwu, in line with President Tinubu\'s charge to connect Anambra to the Center','','publish','open','open','','akpabio-deputy-endorse-ukachukwu-in-line-with-president-tinubus-charge-to-connect-anambra-to-the-center','','','2025-06-14 10:26:46','2025-06-14 10:26:46','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5985',0,'post','',0),(5986,1,'2025-06-14 10:25:22','2025-06-14 10:25:22','','IMG-20250614-WA0009','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250614-wa0009','','','2025-06-14 10:25:22','2025-06-14 10:25:22','',5985,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG-20250614-WA0009.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5987,1,'2025-06-14 10:26:46','2025-06-14 10:26:46','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5986\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG-20250614-WA0009-300x209.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"209\" />\r\n\r\nThe agenda to get Anambra State connected to the centre through the victory of the All Progressives Congress, APC during the November 8 Governorship Election gathered momentum on Friday, as the APC Governorship candidate for the election, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu was endorsed by the APC Senate caucus.\r\nUkachukwu, alongside the National Chairman of the APC, His Excellency, Abdullahi Ganduje, was received by the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin and APC senators from the Southeast.\r\nThe meeting, which took place in Abuja, was to reaffirm the senators’ unwavering commitment towards ensuring that APC takes over Anambra State, come November 8 2025.<!--more-->\r\nThe endorsement, they noted, is in line with the directive of President Bola Tinubu, when he presented the APC flag to Prince Ukachukwu and his deputy, Senator Uche Ekwunife last month.\r\nThis development gives impetus to the overwhelming support which Prince Ukachukwu, a known name in Nigerian politics, has continued to garner, since he emerged the standard bearer of the APC for the Anambra 2025 Governorship Election, on the 5th of April, 2025.\r\nEver since, Ikukuoma, as Ukachukwu is fondly called, has engaged in consultations and alliances that present him as a formidable force, assured of victory during the November election.\r\nAddressing newsmen after the meeting, an elated Ukachukwu said the task ahead is clear, to get Anambra connected to the centre, to ensure it gets its fair share of benefits from the federation.\r\nUkachukwu posited that the nation under the leadership of President Tinubu is making steady progress, especially with the quality support provided to it by the Senate under the leadership of Senator Akpabio.\r\nAccording to him, such collaboration has been the catalyst that is consistently changing the fortunes of the nation for the best.\r\nThe business mogul noted that Ndi Anambra have seen the light and are willing to take their destiny in their own hands on the 8th of November, by rejecting the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA in the state with their votes.\r\n“Our people are very enlightened and cannot be deceived by the antics of the APGA in Anambra State.\r\n“From the feedback we are getting through a thorough survey we conducted, the people are fed up with the lies and propaganda of the ruling party in the state and are ready to embrace the renewed hope agenda.\r\n“Anambra people are ready to connect to the centre and begin to get their due share of the national benefits. Mushroom political parties cannot and will never get us to the centre stage of national politics.\r\n“APC is the gamechanger and come November 2025, we will all speak with one voice, for the betterment of Anambra, for the enthronement of APC in the state and for the continued leadership of our leader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Ukachukwu concluded.','Akpabio, Deputy endorse Ukachukwu, in line with President Tinubu\'s charge to connect Anambra to the Center','','inherit','closed','closed','','5985-revision-v1','','','2025-06-14 10:26:46','2025-06-14 10:26:46','',5985,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5987',0,'revision','',0),(5989,1,'2025-06-21 11:37:32','2025-06-21 11:37:32','','download (5)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-5-8','','','2025-06-21 11:37:32','2025-06-21 11:37:32','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/download-5.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5990,1,'2025-06-21 11:38:03','2025-06-21 11:38:03','','download (2)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-2-7','','','2025-06-21 11:38:03','2025-06-21 11:38:03','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/download-2.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5992,1,'2025-06-21 11:56:20','2025-06-21 11:56:20','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5993\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG-20250621-WA0011-264x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"264\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nEjike Anyaduba\r\n\r\nThe Divine Rays British School (DRBS), Obosi, Anambra state has achieved yet another remarkable feat with the release of the just concluded 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result organized by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). The school which is barely eight years old and sitting for its third UTME has ten of its students scoring 300 marks and above in the examination.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe ten, dubbed “Our Golden Eagles” by the school, are led by Kingsley Nzubechukwu Ogbogu with a belter performance of 353 marks, 18 short of the national highest overall scorer David Kikisoka Adogbo who scored 371 marks. Ogbogu who is among the highest scorers in the Southeast is closely followed by Anastasia Somtochukwu Ezekaka with 346 marks. Others are Christopher Ifeanyichukwu Okeoma 330, Nereus Nzubechukwu Agwunobi 321, Sixtus Chidiebere Nwoye 318, Henry Somtochukwu Okwuego 314, Bernard Chukwudi Chukwuemeka 308, Sylvia Mmesoma Nwali 305, John Mary Chiagozie Ibeabuchi 300 and Marvis Chijindu Lebechi 300.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs stated above this is the third time Divine Rays British School (DRBS) is sitting for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. The first was in 2023 when the school announced its presence with an excellent performance in both the UTME and WAEC. What it achieved then placed the school on a pedestal where no other its age, whether in the state or elsewhere, is recorded to have equaled the feat, much less surpassing it. It bears repeating here that the singular performance was so impressive that its poster boy, currently a student of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, trounced every other competitor to emerge the highest overall scorer in his home state of Enugu. With a score of 347, 13 less than 360 marks, scored by the national highest overall scorer, he etched the name of Divine Rays British School in the hall of fame of performing schools in Nigeria.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTwo years on, the school has yet to dip in academic excellence. Rather it has stepped up its game, quickly setting itself apart as the go-to-guy school – a place where well-rounded education is guaranteed. It has maintained a good run of academic excellence not only in posting high performance in examinations like the UTME/WAEC, but also in winning a plethora of awards in national and international competitions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDRBS is the current champion in the 2025 Anambra State SMASE (Strengthening Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education) Africa- IDK Mathematics Competition and will be traveling to Thailand for the pre-World Mathematics Competition. The duo of Amanda Egbo and Kamsiyochukwu Anigbogu beat the other competitors to etch the name of DRBS in gold. However, before this time the school had participated and still participates in a number of competitions chief among which were the African Spelling B, CRUX Mathematics, Horn Entrepreneurship Competition, put together by Diamond Challenge of the University of Delaware, Dover, USA, Archbishop Valeria Okeke Science Competition (AVOSCO) and many others, and won. It has also maintained unbeaten record in some of these competitions while conquering new grounds in others, including sporting events.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWithout adding bells and whistles, the exceptional academic performance and outstanding achievements of the Divine Rays British School is many and various, and are of the type only a foundation of diligence and hard work can birth. The school is said to be built on “a sacred space where academic excellence, personal growth, and spiritual formation come together”. But more than that, it is a school where love, respect and inclusivity is fostered with the students fully exposed to opportunities to reach their full potentials in life. It is a place where the necessary character formation and discipline required for progressive life journey is imparted with firmness and love.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe story of the academic excellence of the DRBS cannot be told without the mention of the director of the school Reverend Father Emmanuel Obimma, of the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry Uke, a priest of uncanny abilities and abundant grace and ably managed by a faculty of teachers led by the thorough-going professional administrator Mrs. Stephanie Ozioma Ezeibeanu who knows where her work is and stays no nonsense. Mrs. Ezeibeanu is the pioneer principal of the DRBS whose office transcends mere administrative work to include spotting out students of unusual genius and grooming them accordingly.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt is important to state here that DRBS does not abide the run-of-the-mill type of academic system where students are regimented, and do not engage well in extracurricular activities. In DRBS, academic work is flexible and students are groomed to respond easily to areas where they have both the competence and comparative advantage. The reward system of the school is equally good as teachers who manifest hard work and uncommon artistry are often rewarded. Perhaps it is for this reason and more that no effort is spared in preparing the students for thorough academic work which exposes them to a number of international examinations like Cambridge -International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), Junior Checkpoint and A Levels among others.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe success of the DRBS can be said to derive from the combined efforts of the students, management staff and the directorate. The Golden Eagles, as the brilliant ten are called, would have accentuated the school position in the perking order with their prodigious performance, but it is believed to peak in the coming years. With a crack staff of teachers dutifully managed by the school’s seasoned administrator, the chance of achieving a lot more in future is high. DRBS is a school nurtured on the principles of hard work and discipline which ensures there grows no weed of indolence to choke its flowers of academic excellence. And the school has a vast untenanted plain of this flower of academic excellence yet to be fully harvested. With sustained effort at training and retaining of its staff in order to meet the changing academic times, DRBS is on a perch where further positions beckon with ease. Everything considered, the school’s big dream will be difficult to kill in the years following from now.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nEjike Anyaduba\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAbatete','Divine Rays British School wins big in UTME and SMASE competition','','publish','open','open','','divine-rays-british-school-wins-big-in-utme-and-smase-competition','','','2025-06-21 11:56:20','2025-06-21 11:56:20','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5992',0,'post','',0),(5993,1,'2025-06-21 11:55:50','2025-06-21 11:55:50','','IMG-20250621-WA0011','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250621-wa0011','','','2025-06-21 11:55:50','2025-06-21 11:55:50','',5992,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG-20250621-WA0011.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(5994,1,'2025-06-21 11:56:20','2025-06-21 11:56:20','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-5993\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG-20250621-WA0011-264x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"264\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nEjike Anyaduba\r\n\r\nThe Divine Rays British School (DRBS), Obosi, Anambra state has achieved yet another remarkable feat with the release of the just concluded 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result organized by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). The school which is barely eight years old and sitting for its third UTME has ten of its students scoring 300 marks and above in the examination.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe ten, dubbed “Our Golden Eagles” by the school, are led by Kingsley Nzubechukwu Ogbogu with a belter performance of 353 marks, 18 short of the national highest overall scorer David Kikisoka Adogbo who scored 371 marks. Ogbogu who is among the highest scorers in the Southeast is closely followed by Anastasia Somtochukwu Ezekaka with 346 marks. Others are Christopher Ifeanyichukwu Okeoma 330, Nereus Nzubechukwu Agwunobi 321, Sixtus Chidiebere Nwoye 318, Henry Somtochukwu Okwuego 314, Bernard Chukwudi Chukwuemeka 308, Sylvia Mmesoma Nwali 305, John Mary Chiagozie Ibeabuchi 300 and Marvis Chijindu Lebechi 300.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs stated above this is the third time Divine Rays British School (DRBS) is sitting for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. The first was in 2023 when the school announced its presence with an excellent performance in both the UTME and WAEC. What it achieved then placed the school on a pedestal where no other its age, whether in the state or elsewhere, is recorded to have equaled the feat, much less surpassing it. It bears repeating here that the singular performance was so impressive that its poster boy, currently a student of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, trounced every other competitor to emerge the highest overall scorer in his home state of Enugu. With a score of 347, 13 less than 360 marks, scored by the national highest overall scorer, he etched the name of Divine Rays British School in the hall of fame of performing schools in Nigeria.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTwo years on, the school has yet to dip in academic excellence. Rather it has stepped up its game, quickly setting itself apart as the go-to-guy school – a place where well-rounded education is guaranteed. It has maintained a good run of academic excellence not only in posting high performance in examinations like the UTME/WAEC, but also in winning a plethora of awards in national and international competitions.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDRBS is the current champion in the 2025 Anambra State SMASE (Strengthening Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education) Africa- IDK Mathematics Competition and will be traveling to Thailand for the pre-World Mathematics Competition. The duo of Amanda Egbo and Kamsiyochukwu Anigbogu beat the other competitors to etch the name of DRBS in gold. However, before this time the school had participated and still participates in a number of competitions chief among which were the African Spelling B, CRUX Mathematics, Horn Entrepreneurship Competition, put together by Diamond Challenge of the University of Delaware, Dover, USA, Archbishop Valeria Okeke Science Competition (AVOSCO) and many others, and won. It has also maintained unbeaten record in some of these competitions while conquering new grounds in others, including sporting events.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWithout adding bells and whistles, the exceptional academic performance and outstanding achievements of the Divine Rays British School is many and various, and are of the type only a foundation of diligence and hard work can birth. The school is said to be built on “a sacred space where academic excellence, personal growth, and spiritual formation come together”. But more than that, it is a school where love, respect and inclusivity is fostered with the students fully exposed to opportunities to reach their full potentials in life. It is a place where the necessary character formation and discipline required for progressive life journey is imparted with firmness and love.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe story of the academic excellence of the DRBS cannot be told without the mention of the director of the school Reverend Father Emmanuel Obimma, of the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry Uke, a priest of uncanny abilities and abundant grace and ably managed by a faculty of teachers led by the thorough-going professional administrator Mrs. Stephanie Ozioma Ezeibeanu who knows where her work is and stays no nonsense. Mrs. Ezeibeanu is the pioneer principal of the DRBS whose office transcends mere administrative work to include spotting out students of unusual genius and grooming them accordingly.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt is important to state here that DRBS does not abide the run-of-the-mill type of academic system where students are regimented, and do not engage well in extracurricular activities. In DRBS, academic work is flexible and students are groomed to respond easily to areas where they have both the competence and comparative advantage. The reward system of the school is equally good as teachers who manifest hard work and uncommon artistry are often rewarded. Perhaps it is for this reason and more that no effort is spared in preparing the students for thorough academic work which exposes them to a number of international examinations like Cambridge -International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), Junior Checkpoint and A Levels among others.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe success of the DRBS can be said to derive from the combined efforts of the students, management staff and the directorate. The Golden Eagles, as the brilliant ten are called, would have accentuated the school position in the perking order with their prodigious performance, but it is believed to peak in the coming years. With a crack staff of teachers dutifully managed by the school’s seasoned administrator, the chance of achieving a lot more in future is high. DRBS is a school nurtured on the principles of hard work and discipline which ensures there grows no weed of indolence to choke its flowers of academic excellence. And the school has a vast untenanted plain of this flower of academic excellence yet to be fully harvested. With sustained effort at training and retaining of its staff in order to meet the changing academic times, DRBS is on a perch where further positions beckon with ease. Everything considered, the school’s big dream will be difficult to kill in the years following from now.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nEjike Anyaduba\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAbatete','Divine Rays British School wins big in UTME and SMASE competition','','inherit','closed','closed','','5992-revision-v1','','','2025-06-21 11:56:20','2025-06-21 11:56:20','',5992,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=5994',0,'revision','',0),(5995,1,'2025-06-21 12:47:53','2025-06-21 12:47:53','','realpath','','inherit','open','closed','','realpath','','','2025-06-21 12:47:53','2025-06-21 12:47:53','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/realpath.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6001,1,'2025-06-30 16:06:05','2025-06-30 16:06:05','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6002 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG-20250630-WA0035.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"188\" height=\"147\" />\r\n\r\nThe Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has tasked South-East residents on the need to always prioritise safety in the use of electricity as the rainy season fully sets in.The Group Head, Corporate Communications, EEDC, Mr Emeka Ezeh, gave the task on Monday in Enugu in an advisory statement issued to newsmen.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nEzeh noted that the season often comes with increased risks of electrical hazards, such as electrocution, electrical fires and damage to appliances.\r\n\r\nAccording to him, the advisory is necessary considering the nature of the electricity network obtainable in our environment where electrical wires/conductors are installed overhead.\r\n\r\n“Thus, exposing electrical wires/conductors to heavy rain, flooding, lightning, and high winds which can cause electrical faults and damage,” he said.\r\n\r\nEzeh said that lightning can strike power lines or buildings, posing a risk of electrical shocks or electrocution and could also cause power surges on electrical appliances and equipment.\r\n\r\nHe said, “In addition, strong winds knock down power lines, creating electrical hazards while downed power lines and water-logged installations, equally pose serious dangers to lives and property.\r\n\r\n“With all these conditions in mind, it is imperative that as a responsible corporate organisation, we educate our customers on the need to stay safe during the rainy season.\r\n\r\n“These precautions are essential to prevent electrical shocks and fatalities.\r\n\r\n“During this season, we usually experience cases of fallen poles caused by heavy storms and dangling wires, and we advise our customers to avoid contact with them and immediately report such through the emergency line (08150824301).”\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHe advised customers not to touch electrical equipment with wet hands and ensure that they always dry their hands before handling electrical appliances, “as water itself is a conductor of electricity”.\r\n\r\nThe EEDC spokesman said, “Parents are to ensure that children stay away from electrical poles, transformers and open wires.\r\n\r\n“They should avoid playing in the rain and in flooded areas especially if electricity is still on as there might be contact with fallen or collapsed cables/conductors, making it a death trap.\r\n\r\n“Switching off electrical appliances during thunderstorms is a very smart safety precaution to prevent damage from power surges.”\r\n\r\nEzeh emphasised the need to always engage the services of professionals and licensed electricians for repairs or wiring and ensure proper earthling (place of earth wire) in their homes to prevent electrical shocks.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n“At EEDC, the safety of our customers and their property is our priority, and we remain committed to delivering safe and reliable electricity to them,” he said.','Rainy season: EEDC tasks S/East residents on prioritise safety','','publish','open','open','','rainy-season-eedc-tasks-s-east-residents-on-prioritise-safety','','','2025-06-30 16:06:17','2025-06-30 16:06:17','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6001',0,'post','',0),(6002,1,'2025-06-30 16:05:27','2025-06-30 16:05:27','','IMG-20250630-WA0035','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250630-wa0035','','','2025-06-30 16:05:27','2025-06-30 16:05:27','',6001,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG-20250630-WA0035.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6003,1,'2025-06-30 16:05:58','2025-06-30 16:05:58','','IMG-20250630-WA0036','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250630-wa0036','','','2025-06-30 16:05:58','2025-06-30 16:05:58','',6001,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG-20250630-WA0036.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6004,1,'2025-06-30 16:06:05','2025-06-30 16:06:05','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6002 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG-20250630-WA0035.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"188\" height=\"147\" />\r\n\r\nThe Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has tasked South-East residents on the need to always prioritise safety in the use of electricity as the rainy season fully sets in.The Group Head, Corporate Communications, EEDC, Mr Emeka Ezeh, gave the task on Monday in Enugu in an advisory statement issued to newsmen.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nEzeh noted that the season often comes with increased risks of electrical hazards, such as electrocution, electrical fires and damage to appliances.\r\n\r\nAccording to him, the advisory is necessary considering the nature of the electricity network obtainable in our environment where electrical wires/conductors are installed overhead.\r\n\r\n“Thus, exposing electrical wires/conductors to heavy rain, flooding, lightning, and high winds which can cause electrical faults and damage,” he said.\r\n\r\nEzeh said that lightning can strike power lines or buildings, posing a risk of electrical shocks or electrocution and could also cause power surges on electrical appliances and equipment.\r\n\r\nHe said, “In addition, strong winds knock down power lines, creating electrical hazards while downed power lines and water-logged installations, equally pose serious dangers to lives and property.\r\n\r\n“With all these conditions in mind, it is imperative that as a responsible corporate organisation, we educate our customers on the need to stay safe during the rainy season.\r\n\r\n“These precautions are essential to prevent electrical shocks and fatalities.\r\n\r\n“During this season, we usually experience cases of fallen poles caused by heavy storms and dangling wires, and we advise our customers to avoid contact with them and immediately report such through the emergency line (08150824301).”\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHe advised customers not to touch electrical equipment with wet hands and ensure that they always dry their hands before handling electrical appliances, “as water itself is a conductor of electricity”.\r\n\r\nThe EEDC spokesman said, “Parents are to ensure that children stay away from electrical poles, transformers and open wires.\r\n\r\n“They should avoid playing in the rain and in flooded areas especially if electricity is still on as there might be contact with fallen or collapsed cables/conductors, making it a death trap.\r\n\r\n“Switching off electrical appliances during thunderstorms is a very smart safety precaution to prevent damage from power surges.”\r\n\r\nEzeh emphasised the need to always engage the services of professionals and licensed electricians for repairs or wiring and ensure proper earthling (place of earth wire) in their homes to prevent electrical shocks.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n“At EEDC, the safety of our customers and their property is our priority, and we remain committed to delivering safe and reliable electricity to them,” he said.','Rainy season: EEDC tasks S/East residents on prioritise safety','','inherit','closed','closed','','6001-revision-v1','','','2025-06-30 16:06:05','2025-06-30 16:06:05','',6001,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6004',0,'revision','',0),(6006,1,'2025-07-01 06:33:49','2025-07-01 06:33:49','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6007 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-5.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"246\" height=\"205\" />\r\n\r\n* _Says Ndigbo have no future in PDP_\r\n\r\nThe Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, has berated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for alleged serial injustice against the region, describing the zone\'s marriage with the main opposition party as nightmarish.\r\n\r\nThe group urged leaders of the party in the region to seek political alignment outside of the party ahead of the 2027 general election, maintaining that the region has no future in the PDP.\r\n\r\nIt observed that besides what it termed the mistreatment of the region over the position of National Secretary zoned to it, the party had no plan to remedy the injustice of its failure to zone the party’s 2023 presidential ticket to the region ahead of the 2027 election.\r\n\r\nCOSYL made its position known in a statement entitled “PDP has Used and Dumped the South East: Time To Dump the Party,” issued by its President-General, Comrade Goodluck Ibem, on Monday.\r\n\r\n“We note with deep sadness that a party co-founded by one of the likes of the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme, has continued to disrespect, use, and dump the South East region without regrets and redresses since the Jos 1998 Convention, when Ekwueme, was thrown under the bus in the presidential primary election for the 1999 election\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6008\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/images-10.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"261\" height=\"192\" />.\r\n\r\n“For the record, despite Ekwueme’s fate at the Jos convention, the South East gave PDP and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo 3.2 million votes, representing 78 percent of votes they cast in the 1999 presidential poll.\r\n\r\n“In 2003, PDP got 4.5 million votes from the region towards Obasanjo’s re-election, the presence of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, a revered Igbo hero on the ballot notwithstanding.\r\n\r\n“The South East voted massively again for PDP/Umaru Yar’Adua in 2024 even when Chief Mike Ahamba, SAN, was Muhummadu Buhari’s running mate.\r\n\r\n“PDP and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan got 4,985,246 in the South East in 2011 as opposed to 76,228 votes secured by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) despite Atiku running with Senator Ben Obi as vice presidential candidate.\r\n\r\n“Even when several other traditionally PDP states worked against the party in favour of the APC in 2015, Dr. Jonathan’s votes in the region were so massive as against Buhari’s abysmal performance that the former President punished the region mercilessly for eight years. The region was denied an opportunity to even head a paramilitary agency like the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, while he chose a rail line project to Niger Republic over the rehabilitation of the Eastern Rail Corridor to benefit the South East,” the group recounted.\r\n\r\nContinuing, COSEYL maintained that PDP\'s woes amounted to \'Nemesis Pro-Max\'; retribution at work for the injustice done to the South East region.\r\n\r\nIt recalled that whereas the PDP 2015 Post-Election Review Committee chaired by former Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, recommended the zoning of the party’s presidential ticket to the North in 2019 as a remedy for the perceived injustice to the region in 2015, “the PDP failed a moral test by refusing to zone the ticket to the South East in 2023 or take necessary steps to do things right with the region ahead of 2027.\r\n\r\n“Lets make no mistake about it, PDP’s woes of today is karma at work, given the injustice ingrained in their failure to zone the 2023 presidential ticket to the South East region. This bad fate forced the likes of Mr. Peter Obi and Engr. Dave Umahi out of the party and resulted in the electoral loss in the last general election.\r\n\r\n“Therefore, let no one be fooled; the South East has no future in the ungrateful and unjust party. It is high time South East PDP leaders took pragmatic steps to opt out of a party that has no regards for the region and chart a fresh political trajectory and realignment for the dignity, political redemption, and development of the region,” the statement concluded.','South East Group: Marriage with PDP a Nightmare, Seeks for Political Realignment*','','publish','open','open','','south-east-group-marriage-with-pdp-a-nightmare-seeks-for-political-realignment','','','2025-07-01 06:33:49','2025-07-01 06:33:49','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6006',0,'post','',0),(6007,1,'2025-07-01 06:32:26','2025-07-01 06:32:26','','download (5)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-5-9','','','2025-07-01 06:32:26','2025-07-01 06:32:26','',6006,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-5.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6008,1,'2025-07-01 06:32:59','2025-07-01 06:32:59','','images (10)','','inherit','open','closed','','images-10-7','','','2025-07-01 06:32:59','2025-07-01 06:32:59','',6006,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/images-10.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6009,1,'2025-07-01 06:33:26','2025-07-01 06:33:26','','download (1)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-1-7','','','2025-07-01 06:33:26','2025-07-01 06:33:26','',6006,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-1.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6010,1,'2025-07-01 06:33:49','2025-07-01 06:33:49','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6007 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-5.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"246\" height=\"205\" />\r\n\r\n* _Says Ndigbo have no future in PDP_\r\n\r\nThe Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, has berated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for alleged serial injustice against the region, describing the zone\'s marriage with the main opposition party as nightmarish.\r\n\r\nThe group urged leaders of the party in the region to seek political alignment outside of the party ahead of the 2027 general election, maintaining that the region has no future in the PDP.\r\n\r\nIt observed that besides what it termed the mistreatment of the region over the position of National Secretary zoned to it, the party had no plan to remedy the injustice of its failure to zone the party’s 2023 presidential ticket to the region ahead of the 2027 election.\r\n\r\nCOSYL made its position known in a statement entitled “PDP has Used and Dumped the South East: Time To Dump the Party,” issued by its President-General, Comrade Goodluck Ibem, on Monday.\r\n\r\n“We note with deep sadness that a party co-founded by one of the likes of the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme, has continued to disrespect, use, and dump the South East region without regrets and redresses since the Jos 1998 Convention, when Ekwueme, was thrown under the bus in the presidential primary election for the 1999 election\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6008\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/images-10.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"261\" height=\"192\" />.\r\n\r\n“For the record, despite Ekwueme’s fate at the Jos convention, the South East gave PDP and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo 3.2 million votes, representing 78 percent of votes they cast in the 1999 presidential poll.\r\n\r\n“In 2003, PDP got 4.5 million votes from the region towards Obasanjo’s re-election, the presence of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, a revered Igbo hero on the ballot notwithstanding.\r\n\r\n“The South East voted massively again for PDP/Umaru Yar’Adua in 2024 even when Chief Mike Ahamba, SAN, was Muhummadu Buhari’s running mate.\r\n\r\n“PDP and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan got 4,985,246 in the South East in 2011 as opposed to 76,228 votes secured by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) despite Atiku running with Senator Ben Obi as vice presidential candidate.\r\n\r\n“Even when several other traditionally PDP states worked against the party in favour of the APC in 2015, Dr. Jonathan’s votes in the region were so massive as against Buhari’s abysmal performance that the former President punished the region mercilessly for eight years. The region was denied an opportunity to even head a paramilitary agency like the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, while he chose a rail line project to Niger Republic over the rehabilitation of the Eastern Rail Corridor to benefit the South East,” the group recounted.\r\n\r\nContinuing, COSEYL maintained that PDP\'s woes amounted to \'Nemesis Pro-Max\'; retribution at work for the injustice done to the South East region.\r\n\r\nIt recalled that whereas the PDP 2015 Post-Election Review Committee chaired by former Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, recommended the zoning of the party’s presidential ticket to the North in 2019 as a remedy for the perceived injustice to the region in 2015, “the PDP failed a moral test by refusing to zone the ticket to the South East in 2023 or take necessary steps to do things right with the region ahead of 2027.\r\n\r\n“Lets make no mistake about it, PDP’s woes of today is karma at work, given the injustice ingrained in their failure to zone the 2023 presidential ticket to the South East region. This bad fate forced the likes of Mr. Peter Obi and Engr. Dave Umahi out of the party and resulted in the electoral loss in the last general election.\r\n\r\n“Therefore, let no one be fooled; the South East has no future in the ungrateful and unjust party. It is high time South East PDP leaders took pragmatic steps to opt out of a party that has no regards for the region and chart a fresh political trajectory and realignment for the dignity, political redemption, and development of the region,” the statement concluded.','South East Group: Marriage with PDP a Nightmare, Seeks for Political Realignment*','','inherit','closed','closed','','6006-revision-v1','','','2025-07-01 06:33:49','2025-07-01 06:33:49','',6006,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6010',0,'revision','',0),(6011,1,'2025-07-01 11:55:16','2025-07-01 11:55:16','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6012 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250701-WA00131-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nBy Ifeizu Joe\r\n\r\nA Non Governmental Organisation, MacRose Pleasant Humanitarian Foundation, has commenced plans to hold its second health Outreach in Anambra State.\r\n\r\nThe Foundation with the motto: Helping The Less Privileged, was founded in July 2024, and held its first medical outreach in April this year, where it offered treatment to about 400 people with various ailments.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe first medical outreach was held April at Egbema Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State where beneficiaries were treated of various ailments, and gathered accolades from beneficiaries and members of the clergy.\r\n\r\nAs the foundation sets to mark it\'s one year of existence, the founder, Mr Jeremiah Ifediniru who spoke to journalists said his desire to found the organisation was borne out of the need to reach out to the needy. He said he derives joy in helping the needy.\r\n\r\n\"I\'m happy that this came to pass because it has been my desire since I was a kid.\"\r\n\r\nThe founder said the foundation has no political undertone, but just put together to ensure that people who cannot access medical healthcare are given the opportunity to receive free treatment.\r\n\r\nThe first outreach in April which was a successful outing was achieved through the assemblage of a team of health experts, including medical doctors, pharmacists, medical laboratory scientists and others, through the help of the founder, leading to the a massive outcome.\r\n\r\nDuring the event, the visibly elated beneficiaries took time to pray for the founder and other members of the team.\r\n\r\nGeneral Manager of the foundation, Mrs Uju Oziga said the beneficiaries were treated of various ailments including chronic hypertension, eye diseases, among others.\r\n\r\nShe said: \"It is a pity that most people are suffering from ailments and are not even aware of it, even those who know of their ailments will just be managing themselves and still live with it because they do not have money for medicals.\"\r\n\r\nAs the foundation prepares to mark its one year anniversary, Oziga who spoke with journalists said: \"We prepare to enlarge our coast and ensure greater number of people are reached as we go into our second year of existence.\r\n\r\n\"We will hold medical outreaches as many times as our pocket can carry, we will also be visiting orphanages to provide succour to as many people as possible. We are only calling on other well to do individuals to support what our founder in doing with this foundation.\"','MacRose Foundation Set to Uplift the Needy, Sick Persons, to Marks One Year Anniversary','','publish','open','open','','macrose-foundation-set-to-uplift-the-needy-sick-persons-to-marks-one-year-anniversary','','','2025-07-01 11:55:16','2025-07-01 11:55:16','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6011',0,'post','',0),(6012,1,'2025-07-01 11:54:41','2025-07-01 11:54:41','','IMG-20250701-WA0013(1)','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250701-wa00131','','','2025-07-01 11:54:41','2025-07-01 11:54:41','',6011,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250701-WA00131.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6013,1,'2025-07-01 11:55:16','2025-07-01 11:55:16','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6012 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250701-WA00131-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\nBy Ifeizu Joe\r\n\r\nA Non Governmental Organisation, MacRose Pleasant Humanitarian Foundation, has commenced plans to hold its second health Outreach in Anambra State.\r\n\r\nThe Foundation with the motto: Helping The Less Privileged, was founded in July 2024, and held its first medical outreach in April this year, where it offered treatment to about 400 people with various ailments.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe first medical outreach was held April at Egbema Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State where beneficiaries were treated of various ailments, and gathered accolades from beneficiaries and members of the clergy.\r\n\r\nAs the foundation sets to mark it\'s one year of existence, the founder, Mr Jeremiah Ifediniru who spoke to journalists said his desire to found the organisation was borne out of the need to reach out to the needy. He said he derives joy in helping the needy.\r\n\r\n\"I\'m happy that this came to pass because it has been my desire since I was a kid.\"\r\n\r\nThe founder said the foundation has no political undertone, but just put together to ensure that people who cannot access medical healthcare are given the opportunity to receive free treatment.\r\n\r\nThe first outreach in April which was a successful outing was achieved through the assemblage of a team of health experts, including medical doctors, pharmacists, medical laboratory scientists and others, through the help of the founder, leading to the a massive outcome.\r\n\r\nDuring the event, the visibly elated beneficiaries took time to pray for the founder and other members of the team.\r\n\r\nGeneral Manager of the foundation, Mrs Uju Oziga said the beneficiaries were treated of various ailments including chronic hypertension, eye diseases, among others.\r\n\r\nShe said: \"It is a pity that most people are suffering from ailments and are not even aware of it, even those who know of their ailments will just be managing themselves and still live with it because they do not have money for medicals.\"\r\n\r\nAs the foundation prepares to mark its one year anniversary, Oziga who spoke with journalists said: \"We prepare to enlarge our coast and ensure greater number of people are reached as we go into our second year of existence.\r\n\r\n\"We will hold medical outreaches as many times as our pocket can carry, we will also be visiting orphanages to provide succour to as many people as possible. We are only calling on other well to do individuals to support what our founder in doing with this foundation.\"','MacRose Foundation Set to Uplift the Needy, Sick Persons, to Marks One Year Anniversary','','inherit','closed','closed','','6011-revision-v1','','','2025-07-01 11:55:16','2025-07-01 11:55:16','',6011,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6013',0,'revision','',0),(6014,1,'2025-07-01 12:05:32','2025-07-01 12:05:32','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6015 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250701-WA0016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\nKenechukwu Ofomah\r\nAwka\r\n\r\nTwo hundred youths in Anambra State are to be trained on the TAENPROWIZ Fish Production Business System and Technology under the second phase of the ECOWAS Commission and the Fisheries and Aquaculture Value Chain Business Development Partnership, otherwise known as the Taenprowiz Production System and Technology Partnership Center, Anambra State anchored by FABDA with legs at the Adazi-Nnukwu Fish Production Village Business franchise and the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam.\r\nThe initiative, which is in line with the youth employability program of the ECOWAS Commission and aligned to the Youth friendly environment created by the Anambra State government, aimed at bringing youths into the agricultural businesses, involves the West Africa Secretariat for Ecological and Organic Agriculture (WASEOA) in this second phase, to coordinate some training Centers including the Taenprowiz Production System and Technology Partnership Center, Anambra State, Nigeria.\r\nIt also aligns with the mandate of FABDA which is the state Agency overseeing the Fisheries and Aquaculture economy in Anambra State.<!--more-->\r\nIn line with Section 5 of FABDA Law, Anambra State through FABDA has set a target to achieve local production of a minimum of 51,000 metric tons of Table Fish per annum to actualize self-sufficiency in Table Fish production.\r\nAddressing a cross-section of key youth leadership across Anambra state in one of the engagement and sensitisation meetings, at the TAENPROWIZ partnership centre in Awka, during a strategic meeting to get their buy-in into the initiative, the Managing Director and CEO of FABDA who is also the Training Co-ordinator, Mr. Emeka Iloghalu said the ECOWAS-sponsored youth training is coming at a time the State Government has put a high premium on human capital and economic development centered on the youths.\r\nIloghalu said under the 2nd batch of the initiative, the youths will be trained on improved production system for fish called the TAENPROWIZ Fish Production Business System and Technology, and how to apply the model to produce fish in a professional and precise way.\r\nAccording to him, the granting of the second phase was as a result of the significant success recorded in the first phase.\r\nOn the expected outcomes from the ECOWAS partnership, the Training Co-ordinator who is also the FABDA boss said it is envisaged that the training Centre and the various sites will become better now than when the ECOWAS Commission support came, and that the youths will emerge from the training successfully trained and equipped with the new technical skills to professionally run Fish businesses.\r\n“It is also expected that some of these youths will go into fish entrepreneurship, while some can work or manage fish establishments for third parties.\r\n“The Commission is looking forward to using the initiative to increase the population of youths within the ECOWAS region who are engaged in the Agribusinesses. This is because the agricultural sector is a strategic sector that has the capacity to create wealth and employment, as well as contribute to solving the food security question in the region,” he said.\r\nIloghalu noted that before the ECOWAS youth training, the FABDA has been on its mandate to drive and industrialize the Fisheries and Aquaculture economy in Anambra, in line with some of its targets including to achieve 51 million kg of table fish production per annum.\r\nAccording to him, that is why they are focused on training the youths on Table Fish Production business using the only business Solution for fish production currently, which is the TAENPROWIZ Fish Production Business System and Technology.\r\nWith this, he noted, “The state can do massive production of Table Fish at industrial level.\r\n“And as we are doing that, the seed fish component of the value chain will follow it normally, as well as the brood stock production and the processed fish aspect.\r\n“So, it is a strategic way and direction for strengthening the businesses along the fisheries and aquaculture value chain, starting from Anambra State, extending to Southeast, to Nigeria, ECOWAS and Africa at large.\r\n“So, we may be at the nucleus and pilot stage, but we look forward to getting it strengthened and the techniques multiplied for greater results.”\r\nSpeaking at the event, the State Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, Surveyor Ambassador Obi Emeka Chukwudi described agriculture as the way to go, adding that the fisheries and aquaculture area, with its value chain, can be leveraged to empower youths in the state to be self-reliant, as well as empower others.\r\nHe extolled the strategic collaborations being explored by the FABDA to get youths in the state to embrace the opportunities in the fisheries area, assuring that the NYCN will mobilize its members across the communities of the state to participate in the training.\r\n“In NYCN, we are ever-ready to partner with any group or organization with genuine intent to advance the cause of youths.\r\n“With what the FABDA is doing with the ECOWAS commission and the TAENPROWIZ Technology, we are hopeful that in the near future, we will begin to have young people who would have excelled in the fisheries and aquaculture area, and will be willing to support others,” Obi enthused.\r\nIn their remarks, the President of the Youth Wing of the Anambra State Association of Town Unions, ASATU, Comrade Ken Okoli and the State youth leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Dr Tochukwu Obiadi expressed their solidarity with the initiative, saying that more needs to be done to get the youths adequately empowered.\r\nUnder the second phase of the training, the Taenprowiz Fish Production Business System and Technology is evolving to incorporate the Ecological Organic Aquaculture principles to extend to Agroecological production of crops from the nutrients rich Fish wastewater, thereby imbibing the practice of respecting the environment while pursuing food security via promoting food systems with Fish production and Aquaculture as the driver.\r\nThe training opportunity is for any youth between the ages of 18 and 35 at 4th of June 2025 and interested to become successful in professional, corporate or personal investments in the Fish business as entrepreneur, investor or worker in the Fish Production and Trading Business.','200 Youths to be trained on TAENPROWIZ Fish Production Business System and Technology under ECOWAS/ Anambra State Partnership','','publish','open','open','','200-youths-to-be-trained-on-taenprowiz-fish-production-business-system-and-technology-under-ecowas-anambra-state-partnership','','','2025-07-01 12:05:32','2025-07-01 12:05:32','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6014',0,'post','',0),(6015,1,'2025-07-01 12:05:05','2025-07-01 12:05:05','','IMG-20250701-WA0016','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250701-wa0016','','','2025-07-01 12:05:05','2025-07-01 12:05:05','',6014,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250701-WA0016.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6016,1,'2025-07-01 12:05:32','2025-07-01 12:05:32','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6015 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250701-WA0016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />\r\n\r\nKenechukwu Ofomah\r\nAwka\r\n\r\nTwo hundred youths in Anambra State are to be trained on the TAENPROWIZ Fish Production Business System and Technology under the second phase of the ECOWAS Commission and the Fisheries and Aquaculture Value Chain Business Development Partnership, otherwise known as the Taenprowiz Production System and Technology Partnership Center, Anambra State anchored by FABDA with legs at the Adazi-Nnukwu Fish Production Village Business franchise and the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam.\r\nThe initiative, which is in line with the youth employability program of the ECOWAS Commission and aligned to the Youth friendly environment created by the Anambra State government, aimed at bringing youths into the agricultural businesses, involves the West Africa Secretariat for Ecological and Organic Agriculture (WASEOA) in this second phase, to coordinate some training Centers including the Taenprowiz Production System and Technology Partnership Center, Anambra State, Nigeria.\r\nIt also aligns with the mandate of FABDA which is the state Agency overseeing the Fisheries and Aquaculture economy in Anambra State.<!--more-->\r\nIn line with Section 5 of FABDA Law, Anambra State through FABDA has set a target to achieve local production of a minimum of 51,000 metric tons of Table Fish per annum to actualize self-sufficiency in Table Fish production.\r\nAddressing a cross-section of key youth leadership across Anambra state in one of the engagement and sensitisation meetings, at the TAENPROWIZ partnership centre in Awka, during a strategic meeting to get their buy-in into the initiative, the Managing Director and CEO of FABDA who is also the Training Co-ordinator, Mr. Emeka Iloghalu said the ECOWAS-sponsored youth training is coming at a time the State Government has put a high premium on human capital and economic development centered on the youths.\r\nIloghalu said under the 2nd batch of the initiative, the youths will be trained on improved production system for fish called the TAENPROWIZ Fish Production Business System and Technology, and how to apply the model to produce fish in a professional and precise way.\r\nAccording to him, the granting of the second phase was as a result of the significant success recorded in the first phase.\r\nOn the expected outcomes from the ECOWAS partnership, the Training Co-ordinator who is also the FABDA boss said it is envisaged that the training Centre and the various sites will become better now than when the ECOWAS Commission support came, and that the youths will emerge from the training successfully trained and equipped with the new technical skills to professionally run Fish businesses.\r\n“It is also expected that some of these youths will go into fish entrepreneurship, while some can work or manage fish establishments for third parties.\r\n“The Commission is looking forward to using the initiative to increase the population of youths within the ECOWAS region who are engaged in the Agribusinesses. This is because the agricultural sector is a strategic sector that has the capacity to create wealth and employment, as well as contribute to solving the food security question in the region,” he said.\r\nIloghalu noted that before the ECOWAS youth training, the FABDA has been on its mandate to drive and industrialize the Fisheries and Aquaculture economy in Anambra, in line with some of its targets including to achieve 51 million kg of table fish production per annum.\r\nAccording to him, that is why they are focused on training the youths on Table Fish Production business using the only business Solution for fish production currently, which is the TAENPROWIZ Fish Production Business System and Technology.\r\nWith this, he noted, “The state can do massive production of Table Fish at industrial level.\r\n“And as we are doing that, the seed fish component of the value chain will follow it normally, as well as the brood stock production and the processed fish aspect.\r\n“So, it is a strategic way and direction for strengthening the businesses along the fisheries and aquaculture value chain, starting from Anambra State, extending to Southeast, to Nigeria, ECOWAS and Africa at large.\r\n“So, we may be at the nucleus and pilot stage, but we look forward to getting it strengthened and the techniques multiplied for greater results.”\r\nSpeaking at the event, the State Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, Surveyor Ambassador Obi Emeka Chukwudi described agriculture as the way to go, adding that the fisheries and aquaculture area, with its value chain, can be leveraged to empower youths in the state to be self-reliant, as well as empower others.\r\nHe extolled the strategic collaborations being explored by the FABDA to get youths in the state to embrace the opportunities in the fisheries area, assuring that the NYCN will mobilize its members across the communities of the state to participate in the training.\r\n“In NYCN, we are ever-ready to partner with any group or organization with genuine intent to advance the cause of youths.\r\n“With what the FABDA is doing with the ECOWAS commission and the TAENPROWIZ Technology, we are hopeful that in the near future, we will begin to have young people who would have excelled in the fisheries and aquaculture area, and will be willing to support others,” Obi enthused.\r\nIn their remarks, the President of the Youth Wing of the Anambra State Association of Town Unions, ASATU, Comrade Ken Okoli and the State youth leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Dr Tochukwu Obiadi expressed their solidarity with the initiative, saying that more needs to be done to get the youths adequately empowered.\r\nUnder the second phase of the training, the Taenprowiz Fish Production Business System and Technology is evolving to incorporate the Ecological Organic Aquaculture principles to extend to Agroecological production of crops from the nutrients rich Fish wastewater, thereby imbibing the practice of respecting the environment while pursuing food security via promoting food systems with Fish production and Aquaculture as the driver.\r\nThe training opportunity is for any youth between the ages of 18 and 35 at 4th of June 2025 and interested to become successful in professional, corporate or personal investments in the Fish business as entrepreneur, investor or worker in the Fish Production and Trading Business.','200 Youths to be trained on TAENPROWIZ Fish Production Business System and Technology under ECOWAS/ Anambra State Partnership','','inherit','closed','closed','','6014-revision-v1','','','2025-07-01 12:05:32','2025-07-01 12:05:32','',6014,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6016',0,'revision','',0),(6019,1,'2025-07-08 14:58:49','2025-07-08 14:58:49','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6020 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250708-WA0032-300x240.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\" />\r\n\r\n*Says Enugu Smart Schools initiative a shining example of way forward\r\n\r\nGlobally renowned author and public speaker, Chimamanda Adichie, has commended the positive developments in Enugu under the Governor Peter Mbah Administration, saying the state’s dark times were over.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nShe spoke during a courtesy call to Governor Mbah at the Government House, Enugu, on the sidelines of the Things Fall Apart Festival 2025, which was held at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, at the weekend.\r\n\r\n“Arriving in Enugu, there is a feeling of calm and very welcoming. This is the city that I have always loved. I think, in the past, it had some dark times. It seems to me that the light is back,” she said.\r\n\r\nThe literary icon also told Government House correspondents that she left the meeting with Mbah feeling very inspired by his long-term vision, people-oriented policies and programmes, and the impressive representation of women in his government.\r\n\r\n“I have left this meeting feeling very inspired. Surprisingly inspired because I wasn\'t sure what to expect. But I have to say that I am so inspired. I am filled with a lot of admiration for the governor\'s vision; for his ability to think long term, which is something that I think we need more of in this country. And also for what seems to me very humane point and a kind of outlook that I think is borne from the desire to do well.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6021\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250708-WA0028-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" />\r\n\r\n“By doing well, I mean to do things that touch the lives of the ordinary people in Enugu State. That\'s for me very inspiring. It\'s also inspiring to hear and see that the women are very well represented in his cabinet,” she stated.\r\n\r\nShe hailed the ongoing construction of Smart Green Schools in each of the 260 political wards in Enugu and the allocation of well over 33 per cent in the state’s 2024 and 2025 annual budgets to education.\r\n\r\n“I have always felt very strongly that education has to be at the centre of any kind of forward-looking vision for any state in Nigeria. I was very impressed to hear about the Smart Green Schools. Of course, to value something, you have to invest in it. So, that the governor of Enugu State is investing bigger potion of the budget, more than UNESCO recommends, I think is something very powerful.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6022\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250708-WA0031-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" />\r\n\r\n“So, the idea of trying to reach children in rural areas, who might not have the opportunity to get really very good elementary education, is again, a very inspiring example of the ability to think long-term about the problem that we have. I think it is a shining example of the way forward,” Adichie concluded.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, receiving the multiple awards winning author, who also gifted him an autographed copy of her latest work, \"Dream Count,\" Governor Mbah described her as a literary giant, inspiration to the younger generation, and an ambassador of Igbo and African cultures.\r\n\r\n\"Chimamanda is a proud ambassador of Igbo culture, who continues to elevate African narratives on the global stage,\" he stated.\r\n\r\nHe said his government was investing heavily in education to be able to produce many more of her type and others, who would paint Enugu State, Nigeria, and Africa in glowing colours in various fields of human endeavors across the world.','The Light is Back,” Chimamanda Hails Enugu’s Strides Under Gov Mbah','','publish','open','open','','the-light-is-back-chimamanda-hails-enugus-strides-under-gov-mbah','','','2025-07-08 14:58:49','2025-07-08 14:58:49','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6019',0,'post','',0),(6020,1,'2025-07-08 14:56:54','2025-07-08 14:56:54','','IMG-20250708-WA0032','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250708-wa0032','','','2025-07-08 14:56:54','2025-07-08 14:56:54','',6019,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250708-WA0032.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6021,1,'2025-07-08 14:57:25','2025-07-08 14:57:25','','IMG-20250708-WA0028','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250708-wa0028','','','2025-07-08 14:57:25','2025-07-08 14:57:25','',6019,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250708-WA0028.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6022,1,'2025-07-08 14:57:54','2025-07-08 14:57:54','','IMG-20250708-WA0031','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250708-wa0031','','','2025-07-08 14:57:54','2025-07-08 14:57:54','',6019,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250708-WA0031.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6023,1,'2025-07-08 14:58:29','2025-07-08 14:58:29','','IMG-20250708-WA0034','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250708-wa0034','','','2025-07-08 14:58:29','2025-07-08 14:58:29','',6019,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250708-WA0034.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6024,1,'2025-07-08 14:58:49','2025-07-08 14:58:49','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6020 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250708-WA0032-300x240.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"240\" />\r\n\r\n*Says Enugu Smart Schools initiative a shining example of way forward\r\n\r\nGlobally renowned author and public speaker, Chimamanda Adichie, has commended the positive developments in Enugu under the Governor Peter Mbah Administration, saying the state’s dark times were over.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nShe spoke during a courtesy call to Governor Mbah at the Government House, Enugu, on the sidelines of the Things Fall Apart Festival 2025, which was held at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, at the weekend.\r\n\r\n“Arriving in Enugu, there is a feeling of calm and very welcoming. This is the city that I have always loved. I think, in the past, it had some dark times. It seems to me that the light is back,” she said.\r\n\r\nThe literary icon also told Government House correspondents that she left the meeting with Mbah feeling very inspired by his long-term vision, people-oriented policies and programmes, and the impressive representation of women in his government.\r\n\r\n“I have left this meeting feeling very inspired. Surprisingly inspired because I wasn\'t sure what to expect. But I have to say that I am so inspired. I am filled with a lot of admiration for the governor\'s vision; for his ability to think long term, which is something that I think we need more of in this country. And also for what seems to me very humane point and a kind of outlook that I think is borne from the desire to do well.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6021\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250708-WA0028-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" />\r\n\r\n“By doing well, I mean to do things that touch the lives of the ordinary people in Enugu State. That\'s for me very inspiring. It\'s also inspiring to hear and see that the women are very well represented in his cabinet,” she stated.\r\n\r\nShe hailed the ongoing construction of Smart Green Schools in each of the 260 political wards in Enugu and the allocation of well over 33 per cent in the state’s 2024 and 2025 annual budgets to education.\r\n\r\n“I have always felt very strongly that education has to be at the centre of any kind of forward-looking vision for any state in Nigeria. I was very impressed to hear about the Smart Green Schools. Of course, to value something, you have to invest in it. So, that the governor of Enugu State is investing bigger potion of the budget, more than UNESCO recommends, I think is something very powerful.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6022\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250708-WA0031-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" />\r\n\r\n“So, the idea of trying to reach children in rural areas, who might not have the opportunity to get really very good elementary education, is again, a very inspiring example of the ability to think long-term about the problem that we have. I think it is a shining example of the way forward,” Adichie concluded.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, receiving the multiple awards winning author, who also gifted him an autographed copy of her latest work, \"Dream Count,\" Governor Mbah described her as a literary giant, inspiration to the younger generation, and an ambassador of Igbo and African cultures.\r\n\r\n\"Chimamanda is a proud ambassador of Igbo culture, who continues to elevate African narratives on the global stage,\" he stated.\r\n\r\nHe said his government was investing heavily in education to be able to produce many more of her type and others, who would paint Enugu State, Nigeria, and Africa in glowing colours in various fields of human endeavors across the world.','The Light is Back,” Chimamanda Hails Enugu’s Strides Under Gov Mbah','','inherit','closed','closed','','6019-revision-v1','','','2025-07-08 14:58:49','2025-07-08 14:58:49','',6019,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6024',0,'revision','',0),(6026,1,'2025-07-12 06:08:17','2025-07-12 06:08:17','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6027\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250711-WA0102-300x180.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" />\r\n\r\nDescribes role as illegal\r\n\r\nChukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Anambra State has been thrown into a serious pandemonium and chaos following the alleged involvement of the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Ude in the election of Senate Representatives to Joint Council/Senate Committee for Selection of Substantive Vice-Chancellor of the citadel of learning, even as the University community accused her of lying against the Visitor of the University, Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, CFR.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nA source in the institution who spoke on the condition of anonymity stated that the involvement of the Education Commissioner in the exercise clearly showed that she had something up her sleeves, noting that the Madam Commissioner lack the legitimacy to meddle into the affairs of the Senate and processes of selecting a substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University.\r\n\r\nContinuing, the source noted that the varsity community had it in good authority that the Governor did not in any way ask her to assume the position she conferred on herself in the exercise.\r\n\r\n\'We were told that the Governor through the Governing Council Chairman, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, instructed her to come and monitor the election which turned out to be lies. We were terrified with her involvement. She practically usurped the powers of the University Senate. The question in everyone\'s lips is why would she lie against the Governor. Why would she use the name of the Governor as a cover? Why is she hell-bent on truncating the peace we are enjoying here in the university? Whose interest is she serving? These are questions begging for answers.\r\n\r\n\'You can see that people are not happy at all. There is a serious problem now in the University. We have had this election before, and it turned out successful. Few individuals went and wrote a petition, claiming that the outcome was marred with irregularities even when over 52 persons came out openly to declare that the process was free, fair, and credible. They went against the majority and acted on the petition of the few individuals. Go to the faculties, departments, offices, administrative blocks, and platforms and see how people are expressing and registrating their displeasure. I am very glad that a brave comrade spoke out, which was purely rape in our citadel, especially at a high level decision making body. We shouldn\'t allow this to be swept under the carpet knowing fully it is an unhealthy precedent.\r\n\r\n\'First, it was the announcement directive of a \"four-man\' Senate electoral committee that was rescinded after interrogations on their legitimacy. Now this? Old or young, senior or junior, male or female, COOU must outlive all of us. The next 25 years of COOU is already looking very interesting,\' he concluded.\r\n\r\nFor another visibly angry concerned member of the University community, \'For the Record. Having entertained many questions on the conduct of the Senate election to the Joint Committee of Council and Senate for the selection of substantive VC for COOU. I have the following issues to address. The role of the Commissioner for Education that doubled as observer and electoral umpire is illegal and unlawful. I am aware that the Governing Council of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University didn\'t authorise the role played by the Commissioner for Education in the Senate election of Joint Committee. The Commissioner for Education has set a very bad precedence in the Senate of COOU - that her action can not be tolerated in any university senate. The university is governed by its established laws, and that should be respected.\r\n\r\n\'The Commissioner for Education should explain to the Senate of COOU who sent her to conduct the Senate election on 9th July 2025. Until proven otherwise, I vehemently say that the Visitor of the University, Mr. Governor did not send Commissioner for Education to COOU under any guise whatsoever.\r\n\r\nAccording to another source who also pleaded not to be mentioned, \'I watched with great dismay how the University Senate was raped who neither the University Law nor the Senate Rule empowered to superimpose herself on the university Senate. This is a complete illegality.\r\n\r\n\'If the Governor sent the Commissioner to conduct the election, it should have been on a white paper from the Government House, and the University Management will be privy to it. There wouldn\'t have been any need to set up a committee in the first place.\r\n\r\n\'If the University Council sent the Commissioner, it would amount to an act of interference and meddling into Senate affairs, which the Council doesn\'t have the rights to do.\r\n\r\n\'If the Commissioner came in her capacity as the Commissioner for Education, who invited her? She should have stayed and observed and not imposed herself on the Senate\r\n\r\n\'If the Commissioner came as a Professor of the University, she should be reminded that she is on a leave of absence and can not participate in the Senate decisions. So, on whose authority did she act? This continuous rape of the university by desperate few individuals must stop. We are learning.\r\n\r\nFor another concerned member, For the Record – In Support of the earlier speakers\' Position\r\nHaving reviewed the points raised by them regarding the conduct of the Senate election to the Joint Council-Senate Committee for the selection of a substantive Vice-Chancellor for Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), I wish to strongly align myself with the observations and concerns expressed.It is indeed worrisome and irregular that the Commissioner for Education, who had no official mandate from either the Governing Council or the Visitor of the University (the Governor), assumed dual roles as an observer and electoral umpire in such a sensitive internal Senate exercise.\r\n\r\nThis action is both illegal and unprecedented within the context of university autonomy and governance principles. The following points must be emphasized:\r\n\r\n\'Breach of Protocol and Established University Laws: COOU, like all other public universities, is guided by its enabling law and internal statutes.\r\n\r\n\'The Commissioner\'s interference undermines these structures and violates the institutional integrity of the Senate.\r\n\r\n\'Lack of Authorization: There is no record or directive from the Governing Council or the Visitor empowering the Commissioner to preside over, supervise, or conduct any Senate election. Her unilateral involvement portrays a disregard for due process.\r\n\r\n\'Ulterior Motive Suspected: This action suggests a motive beyond observation and has, understandably, generated suspicion and unrest among members of the academic community. It gives the impression of an attempt to influence or control the outcome of a process that should be purely academic and internal.\r\n\r\n\'Dangerous Precedent: Allowing such interference to go unchallenged sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the autonomy of the university and the academic freedom of its Senate. It is a situation that must be addressed decisively to safeguard the sanctity of our governance systems.\r\n\r\n\'Clarification Demanded: The Commissioner owes the Senate and the entire University community an explanation of who authorized her involvement. Until proven otherwise, it is proper and responsible to assert that the Visitor did not instruct her to act in such a capacity.\r\n\r\n\'In conclusion, this issue goes beyond the current election—it is about upholding the rule of law, protecting the independence of university organs, and resisting the politicization of academic governance. I stand with earlier callers in demanding accountability and a reaffirmation of the rightful roles of the Senate and the Council in university affairs.\r\n\r\n\'This is a bold statement coming from whom we all voted to represent us in Council. If this is a Council position prior to the election, then the commissioner can\'t be an observer at the same time an umpire.','COOU Boils as Varsity Community Questions Commissioner for Education Involvement In the Election of Senate Representatives to Joint Council/Senate Committee for the Selection of Substantive VC, Accuses Her of Lying Against Governor Soludo, Usurpation of University Senate\'s Powers','','publish','open','open','','coou-boils-as-varsity-community-questions-commissioner-for-education-involvement-in-the-election-of-senate-representatives-to-joint-council-senate-committee-for-the-selection-of-substantive-vc-accuse','','','2025-07-12 06:09:01','2025-07-12 06:09:01','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6026',0,'post','',0),(6027,1,'2025-07-12 06:07:34','2025-07-12 06:07:34','','IMG-20250711-WA0102','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250711-wa0102','','','2025-07-12 06:07:34','2025-07-12 06:07:34','',6026,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250711-WA0102.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6028,1,'2025-07-12 06:08:06','2025-07-12 06:08:06','','IMG-20250711-WA0102','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250711-wa0102-2','','','2025-07-12 06:08:06','2025-07-12 06:08:06','',6026,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250711-WA0102-1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6029,1,'2025-07-12 06:08:17','2025-07-12 06:08:17','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6027\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250711-WA0102-300x180.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" />\r\n\r\n...Describes role as illegal\r\n\r\nChukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Anambra State has been thrown into a serious pandemonium and chaos following the alleged involvement of the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Ude in the election of Senate Representatives to Joint Council/Senate Committee for Selection of Substantive Vice-Chancellor of the citadel of learning, even as the University community accused her of lying against the Visitor of the University, Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, CFR.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nA source in the institution who spoke on the condition of anonymity stated that the involvement of the Education Commissioner in the exercise clearly showed that she had something up her sleeves, noting that the Madam Commissioner lack the legitimacy to meddle into the affairs of the Senate and processes of selecting a substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University.\r\n\r\nContinuing, the source noted that the varsity community had it in good authority that the Governor did not in any way ask her to assume the position she conferred on herself in the exercise.\r\n\r\n\'We were told that the Governor through the Governing Council Chairman, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, instructed her to come and monitor the election which turned out to be lies. We were terrified with her involvement. She practically usurped the powers of the University Senate. The question in everyone\'s lips is why would she lie against the Governor. Why would she use the name of the Governor as a cover? Why is she hell-bent on truncating the peace we are enjoying here in the university? Whose interest is she serving? These are questions begging for answers.\r\n\r\n\'You can see that people are not happy at all. There is a serious problem now in the University. We have had this election before, and it turned out successful. Few individuals went and wrote a petition, claiming that the outcome was marred with irregularities even when over 52 persons came out openly to declare that the process was free, fair, and credible. They went against the majority and acted on the petition of the few individuals. Go to the faculties, departments, offices, administrative blocks, and platforms and see how people are expressing and registrating their displeasure. I am very glad that a brave comrade spoke out, which was purely rape in our citadel, especially at a high level decision making body. We shouldn\'t allow this to be swept under the carpet knowing fully it is an unhealthy precedent.\r\n\r\n\'First, it was the announcement directive of a \"four-man\' Senate electoral committee that was rescinded after interrogations on their legitimacy. Now this? Old or young, senior or junior, male or female, COOU must outlive all of us. The next 25 years of COOU is already looking very interesting,\' he concluded.\r\n\r\nFor another visibly angry concerned member of the University community, \'For the Record. Having entertained many questions on the conduct of the Senate election to the Joint Committee of Council and Senate for the selection of substantive VC for COOU. I have the following issues to address. The role of the Commissioner for Education that doubled as observer and electoral umpire is illegal and unlawful. I am aware that the Governing Council of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University didn\'t authorise the role played by the Commissioner for Education in the Senate election of Joint Committee. The Commissioner for Education has set a very bad precedence in the Senate of COOU - that her action can not be tolerated in any university senate. The university is governed by its established laws, and that should be respected.\r\n\r\n\'The Commissioner for Education should explain to the Senate of COOU who sent her to conduct the Senate election on 9th July 2025. Until proven otherwise, I vehemently say that the Visitor of the University, Mr. Governor did not send Commissioner for Education to COOU under any guise whatsoever.\r\n\r\nAccording to another source who also pleaded not to be mentioned, \'I watched with great dismay how the University Senate was raped who neither the University Law nor the Senate Rule empowered to superimpose herself on the university Senate. This is a complete illegality.\r\n\r\n\'If the Governor sent the Commissioner to conduct the election, it should have been on a white paper from the Government House, and the University Management will be privy to it. There wouldn\'t have been any need to set up a committee in the first place.\r\n\r\n\'If the University Council sent the Commissioner, it would amount to an act of interference and meddling into Senate affairs, which the Council doesn\'t have the rights to do.\r\n\r\n\'If the Commissioner came in her capacity as the Commissioner for Education, who invited her? She should have stayed and observed and not imposed herself on the Senate\r\n\r\n\'If the Commissioner came as a Professor of the University, she should be reminded that she is on a leave of absence and can not participate in the Senate decisions. So, on whose authority did she act? This continuous rape of the university by desperate few individuals must stop. We are learning.\r\n\r\nFor another concerned member, For the Record – In Support of the earlier speakers\' Position\r\nHaving reviewed the points raised by them regarding the conduct of the Senate election to the Joint Council-Senate Committee for the selection of a substantive Vice-Chancellor for Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), I wish to strongly align myself with the observations and concerns expressed.It is indeed worrisome and irregular that the Commissioner for Education, who had no official mandate from either the Governing Council or the Visitor of the University (the Governor), assumed dual roles as an observer and electoral umpire in such a sensitive internal Senate exercise.\r\n\r\nThis action is both illegal and unprecedented within the context of university autonomy and governance principles. The following points must be emphasized:\r\n\r\n\'Breach of Protocol and Established University Laws: COOU, like all other public universities, is guided by its enabling law and internal statutes.\r\n\r\n\'The Commissioner\'s interference undermines these structures and violates the institutional integrity of the Senate.\r\n\r\n\'Lack of Authorization: There is no record or directive from the Governing Council or the Visitor empowering the Commissioner to preside over, supervise, or conduct any Senate election. Her unilateral involvement portrays a disregard for due process.\r\n\r\n\'Ulterior Motive Suspected: This action suggests a motive beyond observation and has, understandably, generated suspicion and unrest among members of the academic community. It gives the impression of an attempt to influence or control the outcome of a process that should be purely academic and internal.\r\n\r\n\'Dangerous Precedent: Allowing such interference to go unchallenged sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the autonomy of the university and the academic freedom of its Senate. It is a situation that must be addressed decisively to safeguard the sanctity of our governance systems.\r\n\r\n\'Clarification Demanded: The Commissioner owes the Senate and the entire University community an explanation of who authorized her involvement. Until proven otherwise, it is proper and responsible to assert that the Visitor did not instruct her to act in such a capacity.\r\n\r\n\'In conclusion, this issue goes beyond the current election—it is about upholding the rule of law, protecting the independence of university organs, and resisting the politicization of academic governance. I stand with earlier callers in demanding accountability and a reaffirmation of the rightful roles of the Senate and the Council in university affairs.\r\n\r\n\'This is a bold statement coming from whom we all voted to represent us in Council. If this is a Council position prior to the election, then the commissioner can\'t be an observer at the same time an umpire.','COOU Boils as Varsity Community Questions Commissioner for Education Involvement In the Election of Senate Representatives to Joint Council/Senate Committee for the Selection of Substantive VC, Accuses Her of Lying Against Governor Soludo, Usurpation of University Senate\'s Powers','','inherit','closed','closed','','6026-revision-v1','','','2025-07-12 06:08:17','2025-07-12 06:08:17','',6026,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6029',0,'revision','',0),(6030,1,'2025-07-12 06:09:01','2025-07-12 06:09:01','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6027\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250711-WA0102-300x180.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" />\r\n\r\nDescribes role as illegal\r\n\r\nChukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Anambra State has been thrown into a serious pandemonium and chaos following the alleged involvement of the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Ude in the election of Senate Representatives to Joint Council/Senate Committee for Selection of Substantive Vice-Chancellor of the citadel of learning, even as the University community accused her of lying against the Visitor of the University, Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, CFR.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nA source in the institution who spoke on the condition of anonymity stated that the involvement of the Education Commissioner in the exercise clearly showed that she had something up her sleeves, noting that the Madam Commissioner lack the legitimacy to meddle into the affairs of the Senate and processes of selecting a substantive Vice-Chancellor of the University.\r\n\r\nContinuing, the source noted that the varsity community had it in good authority that the Governor did not in any way ask her to assume the position she conferred on herself in the exercise.\r\n\r\n\'We were told that the Governor through the Governing Council Chairman, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, instructed her to come and monitor the election which turned out to be lies. We were terrified with her involvement. She practically usurped the powers of the University Senate. The question in everyone\'s lips is why would she lie against the Governor. Why would she use the name of the Governor as a cover? Why is she hell-bent on truncating the peace we are enjoying here in the university? Whose interest is she serving? These are questions begging for answers.\r\n\r\n\'You can see that people are not happy at all. There is a serious problem now in the University. We have had this election before, and it turned out successful. Few individuals went and wrote a petition, claiming that the outcome was marred with irregularities even when over 52 persons came out openly to declare that the process was free, fair, and credible. They went against the majority and acted on the petition of the few individuals. Go to the faculties, departments, offices, administrative blocks, and platforms and see how people are expressing and registrating their displeasure. I am very glad that a brave comrade spoke out, which was purely rape in our citadel, especially at a high level decision making body. We shouldn\'t allow this to be swept under the carpet knowing fully it is an unhealthy precedent.\r\n\r\n\'First, it was the announcement directive of a \"four-man\' Senate electoral committee that was rescinded after interrogations on their legitimacy. Now this? Old or young, senior or junior, male or female, COOU must outlive all of us. The next 25 years of COOU is already looking very interesting,\' he concluded.\r\n\r\nFor another visibly angry concerned member of the University community, \'For the Record. Having entertained many questions on the conduct of the Senate election to the Joint Committee of Council and Senate for the selection of substantive VC for COOU. I have the following issues to address. The role of the Commissioner for Education that doubled as observer and electoral umpire is illegal and unlawful. I am aware that the Governing Council of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University didn\'t authorise the role played by the Commissioner for Education in the Senate election of Joint Committee. The Commissioner for Education has set a very bad precedence in the Senate of COOU - that her action can not be tolerated in any university senate. The university is governed by its established laws, and that should be respected.\r\n\r\n\'The Commissioner for Education should explain to the Senate of COOU who sent her to conduct the Senate election on 9th July 2025. Until proven otherwise, I vehemently say that the Visitor of the University, Mr. Governor did not send Commissioner for Education to COOU under any guise whatsoever.\r\n\r\nAccording to another source who also pleaded not to be mentioned, \'I watched with great dismay how the University Senate was raped who neither the University Law nor the Senate Rule empowered to superimpose herself on the university Senate. This is a complete illegality.\r\n\r\n\'If the Governor sent the Commissioner to conduct the election, it should have been on a white paper from the Government House, and the University Management will be privy to it. There wouldn\'t have been any need to set up a committee in the first place.\r\n\r\n\'If the University Council sent the Commissioner, it would amount to an act of interference and meddling into Senate affairs, which the Council doesn\'t have the rights to do.\r\n\r\n\'If the Commissioner came in her capacity as the Commissioner for Education, who invited her? She should have stayed and observed and not imposed herself on the Senate\r\n\r\n\'If the Commissioner came as a Professor of the University, she should be reminded that she is on a leave of absence and can not participate in the Senate decisions. So, on whose authority did she act? This continuous rape of the university by desperate few individuals must stop. We are learning.\r\n\r\nFor another concerned member, For the Record – In Support of the earlier speakers\' Position\r\nHaving reviewed the points raised by them regarding the conduct of the Senate election to the Joint Council-Senate Committee for the selection of a substantive Vice-Chancellor for Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), I wish to strongly align myself with the observations and concerns expressed.It is indeed worrisome and irregular that the Commissioner for Education, who had no official mandate from either the Governing Council or the Visitor of the University (the Governor), assumed dual roles as an observer and electoral umpire in such a sensitive internal Senate exercise.\r\n\r\nThis action is both illegal and unprecedented within the context of university autonomy and governance principles. The following points must be emphasized:\r\n\r\n\'Breach of Protocol and Established University Laws: COOU, like all other public universities, is guided by its enabling law and internal statutes.\r\n\r\n\'The Commissioner\'s interference undermines these structures and violates the institutional integrity of the Senate.\r\n\r\n\'Lack of Authorization: There is no record or directive from the Governing Council or the Visitor empowering the Commissioner to preside over, supervise, or conduct any Senate election. Her unilateral involvement portrays a disregard for due process.\r\n\r\n\'Ulterior Motive Suspected: This action suggests a motive beyond observation and has, understandably, generated suspicion and unrest among members of the academic community. It gives the impression of an attempt to influence or control the outcome of a process that should be purely academic and internal.\r\n\r\n\'Dangerous Precedent: Allowing such interference to go unchallenged sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the autonomy of the university and the academic freedom of its Senate. It is a situation that must be addressed decisively to safeguard the sanctity of our governance systems.\r\n\r\n\'Clarification Demanded: The Commissioner owes the Senate and the entire University community an explanation of who authorized her involvement. Until proven otherwise, it is proper and responsible to assert that the Visitor did not instruct her to act in such a capacity.\r\n\r\n\'In conclusion, this issue goes beyond the current election—it is about upholding the rule of law, protecting the independence of university organs, and resisting the politicization of academic governance. I stand with earlier callers in demanding accountability and a reaffirmation of the rightful roles of the Senate and the Council in university affairs.\r\n\r\n\'This is a bold statement coming from whom we all voted to represent us in Council. If this is a Council position prior to the election, then the commissioner can\'t be an observer at the same time an umpire.','COOU Boils as Varsity Community Questions Commissioner for Education Involvement In the Election of Senate Representatives to Joint Council/Senate Committee for the Selection of Substantive VC, Accuses Her of Lying Against Governor Soludo, Usurpation of University Senate\'s Powers','','inherit','closed','closed','','6026-revision-v1','','','2025-07-12 06:09:01','2025-07-12 06:09:01','',6026,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6030',0,'revision','',0),(6032,1,'2025-07-13 17:43:22','2025-07-13 17:43:22','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6033 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-23.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" />\r\n\r\nFormer President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday afternoon passed on in a London hospital.\r\n\r\nA two-paragraph statement issued on Sunday by his spokesperson, Mallam Garba Shehu, announced the demise of ex-President Buhari.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe release stated inter aliia:”INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILAIHIRRAJIUUN.\r\n\r\n“The family of the former president has announced the passing on of the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, this afternoon in a clinic in London.\r\n\r\n“May Allah accept him in Aljannatul Firdaus, Amin.”','Former President Buhari Dies In London Hospital at Age 82','','publish','open','open','','former-president-buhari-dies-in-london-hospital-at-age-82','','','2025-07-13 17:43:22','2025-07-13 17:43:22','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6032',0,'post','',0),(6033,1,'2025-07-13 17:42:46','2025-07-13 17:42:46','','download (23)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-23','','','2025-07-13 17:42:46','2025-07-13 17:42:46','',6032,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-23.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6034,1,'2025-07-13 17:43:14','2025-07-13 17:43:14','','download (24)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-24-3','','','2025-07-13 17:43:14','2025-07-13 17:43:14','',6032,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-24.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6035,1,'2025-07-13 17:43:22','2025-07-13 17:43:22','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6033 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-23.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" />\r\n\r\nFormer President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday afternoon passed on in a London hospital.\r\n\r\nA two-paragraph statement issued on Sunday by his spokesperson, Mallam Garba Shehu, announced the demise of ex-President Buhari.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe release stated inter aliia:”INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILAIHIRRAJIUUN.\r\n\r\n“The family of the former president has announced the passing on of the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, this afternoon in a clinic in London.\r\n\r\n“May Allah accept him in Aljannatul Firdaus, Amin.”','Former President Buhari Dies In London Hospital at Age 82','','inherit','closed','closed','','6032-revision-v1','','','2025-07-13 17:43:22','2025-07-13 17:43:22','',6032,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6035',0,'revision','',0),(6038,1,'2025-07-18 13:49:40','2025-07-18 13:49:40','*as Ozigbo admits Ikukuoma\'s nomination followed due process\r\n\r\nBy Chuks Collins, Awka\r\nJuly 17, 2025\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6039 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-45.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" />\r\n\r\nThe Federal High Court sitting in Awka has fixed July 23,2025 for judgement in the suit brought before it by Chief Valentine Ozigbo, a defeated aspirant for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the party\'s April primary election.\r\n\r\nThe 3rd Interim Report of the suit brought by Ozigbo against the APC &amp; 2Ors sequel to earlier interim reports, set the stage for the final judgment on 23rd July,2025.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nWhen closing arguments were taken and heard by the Court on June 18,2025 in the Pre-election matter filed by Chief Ozigbo against APC and it\'s nominated candidate- Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu (aka Ikukuoma, Wind of Glory) for the forthcoming November 8, 2025 Anambra State off-cycle Gubernatorial election and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants, Ozigbo in a shocking twist admitted that Ukachukwu\'s nomination followed due process.\r\n\r\nOzigbo had claimed that Ukachukwu did not qualify to contest the APC\'s primary election which he eventually won with a landslide victory.\r\n\r\nThe defeated aspirant who came a distant second in the said primary election insisted that Prince Ukachukwu did not become a member of APC, three months before the said primary election.\r\n\r\nIn their Counter Affidavits containing the facts and documentary evidence attached together with succinct Legal arguments in their Written Addresses from the three defendants, Ozigbo capitulated, as he was clearly and visibly shaken, ruffled and dumbfounded.\r\n\r\nConsequently, in a voltface, he changed the character of his case and and veered off tangent and started saying that he was not challenging Ukachukwu\'s APC membership but when became a member of the party. This new line of argument therefore knocked out the bottom of the spurious pre-election suit that was dead on arrival in view of a plethora of Supreme Court\'s decisions on membership of a political party since its locus classicus decision in Onuora Vs Okafor applied in its recent decisions especially Ahiwe Vs Otti.\r\n\r\nIn another attempt to wake the already dead case, Ozigbo when allowed to play two audio/video clips in the open Court and opted to take the witness box to face cross-examination of the 1st and 2nd defendants\' Senior Counsels.\r\n\r\nUnder the cross-examination he further capitulated and sounded the final death knell on his case by admitting that the two audio/video clips did not mention the date Prince Ukachukwu became a member of the APC.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6040 alignleft\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-46.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" />\r\n\r\nHe also admitted in his own Affidavit in support of his Originating Summons that the said Primary Election which he lost to Prince Ukachukwu was validly conducted without any breach of the Electoral Act or the APC Guidelines for Primary Elections. He thereby conceded that there was no need for him to have file the said suit ab initio.\r\n\r\nMoreso, APC in its Counter Affidavit, Documentary Exhibits attached and their Written Address confirmed that it complied with all relevant laws in nominating Prince Ukachukwu as her candidate to contest the coming Nov 8, 2025 as even admitted Valentine Ozigbo.\r\n\r\nThe overwhelming evidence against Ozigbo\'s case coupled with the most recent Supreme Court\'s decisions especially the case of R.S.H.A. Vs Government of Rivers State of (Similayi Fubara\'s case)which held that Membership Card of a political party is complete proof of membership and of the date of membership not from the speculation of public media as Ozigbo tried to insinuate.\r\n\r\nThe APC Membership Card of Prince Ukachukwu bearing the date he registered in his Orsumenyi, Nnewi South Council Electoral Ward as a member of APC was attached to his Counter Affidavit and Counter Affidavit of the APC which were not controverted in any way by Valentine Ozigbo in his further Affidavit and his two Audio/Video clips.\r\n\r\nThis therefore put paid to Ozigbo\'s case and he now knows that his case was based on mere public speculations, unsubstantiated and irreparable faulty foundation, frivolous and an abuse of the process of Court.','Anambra 2025: Court reserves July 23 for judgement on Ozigbo\'s suit against Prince Ukachukwu\'s guber nomination','','publish','open','open','','anambra-2025-court-reserves-july-23-for-judgement-on-ozigbos-suit-against-prince-ukachukwus-guber-nomination','','','2025-07-18 13:49:40','2025-07-18 13:49:40','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6038',0,'post','',0),(6039,1,'2025-07-18 13:48:26','2025-07-18 13:48:26','','download (45)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-45','','','2025-07-18 13:48:26','2025-07-18 13:48:26','',6038,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-45.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6040,1,'2025-07-18 13:49:02','2025-07-18 13:49:02','','download (46)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-46-2','','','2025-07-18 13:49:02','2025-07-18 13:49:02','',6038,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-46.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6041,1,'2025-07-18 13:49:31','2025-07-18 13:49:31','','Anambra-APC-gubernatorial-candidate-Nicholas-Ukachukwu','','inherit','open','closed','','anambra-apc-gubernatorial-candidate-nicholas-ukachukwu','','','2025-07-18 13:49:31','2025-07-18 13:49:31','',6038,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Anambra-APC-gubernatorial-candidate-Nicholas-Ukachukwu.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6042,1,'2025-07-18 13:49:40','2025-07-18 13:49:40','*as Ozigbo admits Ikukuoma\'s nomination followed due process\r\n\r\nBy Chuks Collins, Awka\r\nJuly 17, 2025\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6039 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-45.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" />\r\n\r\nThe Federal High Court sitting in Awka has fixed July 23,2025 for judgement in the suit brought before it by Chief Valentine Ozigbo, a defeated aspirant for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the party\'s April primary election.\r\n\r\nThe 3rd Interim Report of the suit brought by Ozigbo against the APC &amp; 2Ors sequel to earlier interim reports, set the stage for the final judgment on 23rd July,2025.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nWhen closing arguments were taken and heard by the Court on June 18,2025 in the Pre-election matter filed by Chief Ozigbo against APC and it\'s nominated candidate- Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu (aka Ikukuoma, Wind of Glory) for the forthcoming November 8, 2025 Anambra State off-cycle Gubernatorial election and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants, Ozigbo in a shocking twist admitted that Ukachukwu\'s nomination followed due process.\r\n\r\nOzigbo had claimed that Ukachukwu did not qualify to contest the APC\'s primary election which he eventually won with a landslide victory.\r\n\r\nThe defeated aspirant who came a distant second in the said primary election insisted that Prince Ukachukwu did not become a member of APC, three months before the said primary election.\r\n\r\nIn their Counter Affidavits containing the facts and documentary evidence attached together with succinct Legal arguments in their Written Addresses from the three defendants, Ozigbo capitulated, as he was clearly and visibly shaken, ruffled and dumbfounded.\r\n\r\nConsequently, in a voltface, he changed the character of his case and and veered off tangent and started saying that he was not challenging Ukachukwu\'s APC membership but when became a member of the party. This new line of argument therefore knocked out the bottom of the spurious pre-election suit that was dead on arrival in view of a plethora of Supreme Court\'s decisions on membership of a political party since its locus classicus decision in Onuora Vs Okafor applied in its recent decisions especially Ahiwe Vs Otti.\r\n\r\nIn another attempt to wake the already dead case, Ozigbo when allowed to play two audio/video clips in the open Court and opted to take the witness box to face cross-examination of the 1st and 2nd defendants\' Senior Counsels.\r\n\r\nUnder the cross-examination he further capitulated and sounded the final death knell on his case by admitting that the two audio/video clips did not mention the date Prince Ukachukwu became a member of the APC.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6040 alignleft\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-46.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" />\r\n\r\nHe also admitted in his own Affidavit in support of his Originating Summons that the said Primary Election which he lost to Prince Ukachukwu was validly conducted without any breach of the Electoral Act or the APC Guidelines for Primary Elections. He thereby conceded that there was no need for him to have file the said suit ab initio.\r\n\r\nMoreso, APC in its Counter Affidavit, Documentary Exhibits attached and their Written Address confirmed that it complied with all relevant laws in nominating Prince Ukachukwu as her candidate to contest the coming Nov 8, 2025 as even admitted Valentine Ozigbo.\r\n\r\nThe overwhelming evidence against Ozigbo\'s case coupled with the most recent Supreme Court\'s decisions especially the case of R.S.H.A. Vs Government of Rivers State of (Similayi Fubara\'s case)which held that Membership Card of a political party is complete proof of membership and of the date of membership not from the speculation of public media as Ozigbo tried to insinuate.\r\n\r\nThe APC Membership Card of Prince Ukachukwu bearing the date he registered in his Orsumenyi, Nnewi South Council Electoral Ward as a member of APC was attached to his Counter Affidavit and Counter Affidavit of the APC which were not controverted in any way by Valentine Ozigbo in his further Affidavit and his two Audio/Video clips.\r\n\r\nThis therefore put paid to Ozigbo\'s case and he now knows that his case was based on mere public speculations, unsubstantiated and irreparable faulty foundation, frivolous and an abuse of the process of Court.','Anambra 2025: Court reserves July 23 for judgement on Ozigbo\'s suit against Prince Ukachukwu\'s guber nomination','','inherit','closed','closed','','6038-revision-v1','','','2025-07-18 13:49:40','2025-07-18 13:49:40','',6038,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6042',0,'revision','',0),(6044,1,'2025-07-20 20:48:14','2025-07-20 20:48:14','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6045 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250603-WA0004-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\n..._Freezes Bands B, C, D and E Tariffs_\r\n\r\nThe Enugu State Electricityv Regulatory Commission (EERC), has issued a new tariff to MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited, the utility that succeeded Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, (EEDC), for electricity distribution in the state, reviewing electricity cost for Band A from N209/ kWh (per kiloWatt) to N160 kWh, effective from August 1, 2025.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThis was contained in the Commission\'s Order No. EERC/2025/003 entitled “Tariff Order for MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited 2025, issued by the Commission at the weekend.\r\n\r\nIt said its decision was cost reflective, insisting that tariff must reflect power generation subsidy by the federal government for the benefit of electricity consumers.\r\n\r\nEERC predicated its action on the Enugu State Electricity Law 2023, which empowers the Commission to regulate the activities of operators in power generation, transmission, and distribution in and exclusively for the state.\r\n\r\nThis Law signed by Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State in September 2023, is pursuant to the 2023 Constitutional Amendment which firmly established the legislative authority of the states on electricity matters within their states. This was followed by the passage of the Electricity Act 2023, that repealed the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005, and introduced major changes such as the separation of distribution and supply operations, and empowers states to regulate their own electricity markets.\r\n\r\nThrowing more light on the development, EERC Chairman, Chijioke Okonkwo, said that the reduction in tariff became imperative following the Commission\'s review of MainPower’s tariff and licence applications as the new subsidiary company (SubCo) that operates in Enugu State.\r\n\r\n“We reviewed their entire costs, using our Tariff Methodology Regulations 2024, and the supporting Distribution Tariff Model to get an average price of N94.\r\n\r\n“The price is low because the Federal Government has been subsidising electricity generation cost which charges only N45 out of the actual cost of N112. That was how we came about the average tariff of N94 as cost reflective tariff at our level as a subnational electricity market.\r\n\r\n“Breaking this across the various tariff bands means that Band A will be paying N160 while other Bands B, C, D, and E are frozen.\r\n\r\n“Band A, at N160 will help MainPower to manage the rate shock, and if the subsidy is removed, the savings will assist them in stabilising the tariff over a defined period of time. Nevertheless, at all times, the tariff will be cost reflective and will not require any state subsidy,” Okonkwo stated.\r\n\r\nHe noted, however, that the N160 Band A tariff could be difficult to sustain should the Federal Government remove the generation tariff subsidy currently being enjoyed by electricity consumers throughout the country, as tariffs would most likely rise beyond these new rates.\r\n\r\n“But until then, it is only right that Ndi Enugu - Band A customers enjoy the reduced tariff effective August 1, 2025,\" the Commission\'s Chairman added.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, EERC also said it had put in place monitoring and evaluation systems and guidelines to ensure MainPower’s compliance with service commitments so that its customers do not pay more for less power.\r\n\r\n“MainPower is obliged to publish daily on its website a rolling seven-day average daily hours of supply on each Bank A feeder no later than 9am of the next day.\r\n\r\n“Where MainPower fails to deliver on the committed level of service on Band A feeder for two consecutive days, MainPower shall report this to the Commission within 24 hours.\r\n\r\n“Where MainPower fails to meet the committed service level to a Band A feeder for seven consecutive days, the feeder shall be automatically downgraded to the recorded level of supply.\r\n\r\n\"The Commission is committed to working with industry developers, investors, customers and Stakeholders to develop and implement strategies and solutions to provide access and improve electricity services to all the citizens of the state, as this is a win for the establishment,\" the Commission concluded.','BREAKING... Enugu Electricity Regulatory Commission Issues New Tariff, Crashes Band A from N209 to N160 Per Kwh','','publish','open','open','','breaking-enugu-electricity-regulatory-commission-issues-new-tariff-crashes-band-a-from-n209-to-n160-per-kwh','','','2025-07-20 20:48:14','2025-07-20 20:48:14','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6044',0,'post','',0),(6045,1,'2025-07-20 20:47:13','2025-07-20 20:47:13','','IMG-20250603-WA0004','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250603-wa0004','','','2025-07-20 20:47:13','2025-07-20 20:47:13','',6044,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250603-WA0004.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6046,1,'2025-07-20 20:48:03','2025-07-20 20:48:03','','IMG-20250603-WA0003','','inherit','open','closed','','img-20250603-wa0003','','','2025-07-20 20:48:03','2025-07-20 20:48:03','',6044,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250603-WA0003.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6047,1,'2025-07-20 20:48:14','2025-07-20 20:48:14','<img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6045 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG-20250603-WA0004-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" />\r\n\r\n..._Freezes Bands B, C, D and E Tariffs_\r\n\r\nThe Enugu State Electricityv Regulatory Commission (EERC), has issued a new tariff to MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited, the utility that succeeded Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, (EEDC), for electricity distribution in the state, reviewing electricity cost for Band A from N209/ kWh (per kiloWatt) to N160 kWh, effective from August 1, 2025.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThis was contained in the Commission\'s Order No. EERC/2025/003 entitled “Tariff Order for MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited 2025, issued by the Commission at the weekend.\r\n\r\nIt said its decision was cost reflective, insisting that tariff must reflect power generation subsidy by the federal government for the benefit of electricity consumers.\r\n\r\nEERC predicated its action on the Enugu State Electricity Law 2023, which empowers the Commission to regulate the activities of operators in power generation, transmission, and distribution in and exclusively for the state.\r\n\r\nThis Law signed by Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State in September 2023, is pursuant to the 2023 Constitutional Amendment which firmly established the legislative authority of the states on electricity matters within their states. This was followed by the passage of the Electricity Act 2023, that repealed the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005, and introduced major changes such as the separation of distribution and supply operations, and empowers states to regulate their own electricity markets.\r\n\r\nThrowing more light on the development, EERC Chairman, Chijioke Okonkwo, said that the reduction in tariff became imperative following the Commission\'s review of MainPower’s tariff and licence applications as the new subsidiary company (SubCo) that operates in Enugu State.\r\n\r\n“We reviewed their entire costs, using our Tariff Methodology Regulations 2024, and the supporting Distribution Tariff Model to get an average price of N94.\r\n\r\n“The price is low because the Federal Government has been subsidising electricity generation cost which charges only N45 out of the actual cost of N112. That was how we came about the average tariff of N94 as cost reflective tariff at our level as a subnational electricity market.\r\n\r\n“Breaking this across the various tariff bands means that Band A will be paying N160 while other Bands B, C, D, and E are frozen.\r\n\r\n“Band A, at N160 will help MainPower to manage the rate shock, and if the subsidy is removed, the savings will assist them in stabilising the tariff over a defined period of time. Nevertheless, at all times, the tariff will be cost reflective and will not require any state subsidy,” Okonkwo stated.\r\n\r\nHe noted, however, that the N160 Band A tariff could be difficult to sustain should the Federal Government remove the generation tariff subsidy currently being enjoyed by electricity consumers throughout the country, as tariffs would most likely rise beyond these new rates.\r\n\r\n“But until then, it is only right that Ndi Enugu - Band A customers enjoy the reduced tariff effective August 1, 2025,\" the Commission\'s Chairman added.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, EERC also said it had put in place monitoring and evaluation systems and guidelines to ensure MainPower’s compliance with service commitments so that its customers do not pay more for less power.\r\n\r\n“MainPower is obliged to publish daily on its website a rolling seven-day average daily hours of supply on each Bank A feeder no later than 9am of the next day.\r\n\r\n“Where MainPower fails to deliver on the committed level of service on Band A feeder for two consecutive days, MainPower shall report this to the Commission within 24 hours.\r\n\r\n“Where MainPower fails to meet the committed service level to a Band A feeder for seven consecutive days, the feeder shall be automatically downgraded to the recorded level of supply.\r\n\r\n\"The Commission is committed to working with industry developers, investors, customers and Stakeholders to develop and implement strategies and solutions to provide access and improve electricity services to all the citizens of the state, as this is a win for the establishment,\" the Commission concluded.','BREAKING... Enugu Electricity Regulatory Commission Issues New Tariff, Crashes Band A from N209 to N160 Per Kwh','','inherit','closed','closed','','6044-revision-v1','','','2025-07-20 20:48:14','2025-07-20 20:48:14','',6044,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6047',0,'revision','',0),(6048,1,'2025-07-21 13:02:24','2025-07-21 13:02:24','<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6049 aligncenter\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-53.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"235\" height=\"214\" />\r\n\r\nFestus Adedayo\r\n\r\n“Why should I bother myself with what is done to my body when I die? Oyomesi (the council of seven high-ranking chiefs in the Oyo Empire) knows what to do with my body!” That was what immediate past Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111, told me in his palace, a few weeks before he journeyed to Ibara - where Oyo buries its kings. He was furious with Ogun State traditional rulers. His grouse was with the Obas and Chiefs Law of 2021. That law has aberrant stipulations that are repugnant to tradition and customs. One of them is the provision stipulating that traditional rulers can be buried according to their religious dispositions.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nFirst presented at the Ogun State legislature in early 2020, it was named, “State Traditional Rulers (Installation and Burial Rites) Bill 2020.” The Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, who recently passed, initiated it. The bill sought to make “a law to provide for the Preservation, Protection and Exercise by Traditional Rulers of their fundamental rights to be installed and buried according to their religions or beliefs and for other related matters.” In 2022, Governor Dapo Abiodun became the pall-bearer of this sacred, even if mythical, ritual of traditional burial of kings transmitted from our forebears.\r\n\r\nTo fortify institutions and systems that they revered, our forebears curated a number of taboos, myths, wise-sayings and social mores which served to make them distinct in everyday relations. An ancient saying that explains the secrecy of their kings’ burial is, “it is a taboo (èèwò) to bury the initiate the same way you bury a non-initiate.” It is one of Yoruba’s ancient aphorisms which escaped into the modern time. Though modernity has afforded us opportunity to see those inherited myths as mere decorative palm fronds (màrìwò) on a masquerade, they are the pillars upon which Yoruba traditional institution stands. The Orò cult myth is one of such. Those days, as the cult’s ceremonies were conducted, most times at nocturnes, a fearful, ululating flute whistled through the night. When women whom the system forbids from seeing its rituals hear the flute, a chill runs through their spines. It was a symbol of the dominance of male chauvinism.\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6050\" src=\"https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-54.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" />\r\nAn Ifa corpus poetic chant gives a short narration of a king called Olufimo Akoko. He did what no one ever did and got a recompense that was unexampled. His offense? He brought his youngest wife into the sacred grove. The wife had pestered her king husband to let her into the secret of the Oro cult. After ceaseless prodding, Olufimo caved in to her demand. So he hid his curious wife inside the Àpèrè, the king’s stool. As the ceremony was afoot, every of the initiation process hit a dud end. Thus goes the Ifa poetic chant about the dilemma the initiates faced: “A pe Ifá, Ifá ò jé o, a p’Orò, Orò ò mì tìtì o”. Troubled on what could have gone amiss, someone suggested that the Kabiyesi’s Àpèrè be searched. When they found the pretty woman carefully tucked inside the stool, they decided to do the needful. In order to continue to reify the myth of what goes on in the Orò cult, both the Olufimo and his damsel were instantly beheaded.\r\n\r\nOn Tuesday last week, as I stepped into the Obafemi Awolowo Auditorium of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) Ondo State, I was confronted with two choices. Before me were traditional rulers of immense renown. They gúnwà-ed (pardon my inflection for their royal sitting) in their ancient majesties. The Olowo of Owo and Chairman of the State Council of Traditional Rulers, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin, Ogunoye III, was there. He reminded me of one of his mythical predecessors, Sir Olateru Olagbegi, KBE. The Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade Aladelusi, whose stool parades lustering pedigree of great kings like the British-trained lawyer, 42nd Deji, Oba Ademuwagun Adesida, was there. The king of my village, Ilu Abo, and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Oba Olu Falae, was there. And many others. They were all gathered for the 10th coronation anniversary colloquium of the Deji. The topic for discussion was, “Role of Nigeria’s Traditional Institutions in Nation Building: Impediments and Prospects” and I was one of its three discussants. The options before me were binary: Give the Kabiyesis the platitudes they were used to, or tell them the absolute truth they needed to know? I chose the latter.\r\n\r\nSo, I began. The traditional institution parades a great pedigree. Before the advent of the colonialists, it was the highest governance institution of the era. Indeed, as stated by the colloquium’s Keynote speaker, Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, in the traditional institution, the colonial masters met an impregnable institution of governance that had been in existence centuries before their advent. It was a pillar of identity, legitimacy and cohesion which also upheld values and united communities, Makinde said.\r\n\r\nI continued: Today however, the traditional institution is at its lowest ebb. Seldom regarded, kings would seem to have lost their relevance and sacredness. Entrance into the institution has been generally bastardized. Money dictates who becomes king and in the process, illegitimates and dregs of society get smuggled into the system. An Oba is known to smoke marijuana. The bulk of them are land-grabbers who make money from the tears of their people. We now have kings who are ignorant about the customs of their people. I once heard a thoroughly confused Oba introduce himself as “Oba Assistant Pastor” on television.\r\n\r\nThe most annoying part of it is the ease with which they repudiate the customs and myths surrounding their offices. The latest is the funeral of the late Awujale of Ijebuland. A few days ago, Kabiyesi, one of the most revered monarchs of Yorubaland, was buried like an ordinary mortal and soldiers prevented traditionalists from having a hand in his burial. As I spoke, there was pin-drop silence. While many felt I was audacious in the presence of the Irunmole, some agreed that our fathers needed to hear the gospel truth. “The traditional institution must redeem itself if it wants to be taken seriously,” I concluded.\r\n\r\nIn an interview Oba Adetona granted before his death, he cavalierly disdained the traditional institution. A valiant man who stood staunchly against General Sani Abacha, in that interview, Awujale exposed virtually all the sacred innards of Yoruba kingship. For instance, the cult of secrecy preceding installation of Yoruba kings got massively shellacked by the Awujale. “What we did in seclusion is nothing secret. We were just there making merry and enjoying ourselves while relatives, friends and other well-wishers come around to visit and rejoice with the king… That is all... So, where were the traditionalists you talk about then? And what rites are you referring to? I cannot recall any rite that was done behind the scene. Let them come and tell me. It is all lies. Nothing like that. They even tell you that they give the heart of a deceased Oba to the new one to eat! They are crazy. Nothing like that...I didn’t eat anything oooo. So, no such thing happened,” he said.\r\n\r\nThis was the very first time I would see a Yoruba king expose and explode the myths of the centuries-old traditional institution. By their very definition, myths are lies. You will find many of Yoruba ancient myths in German editor, scholar and writer, Ulli Beier’s book with the title, Yoruba Myths (1980). Andrew Apter of the Yale University, in his journal article entitled, “The Historiography of Yoruba Myth and Ritual” History in Africa, Vol. 14 (1987), pp. 1-25, said of it, “Myth is… a false reflection of the past” or a “testimony of the past in oral societies”.\r\n\r\nUnable to explain how they came to where they were, Yoruba propounded so many founding myths to explain their existence. Reinforced by rituals and narrations, the myths explain the founding of their kingdoms through creation stories and tales of their migration. For instance, as espoused by Apter, Yoruba creation myth focuses on Ile Ife as the people’s source. Even though it lacks any empirical fact, it is a mythology that has shaped the people’s existence.\r\n\r\nSeveral other myths were curated to fortify their kingship system. Yoruba needed to differentiate their kings from ordinary mortals. Their aim was to invoke dread, respect and an eternal relevance for the system. One is that, kings’ heads are not to be seen by ordinary mortals. The rationale is that, if every Tom, Dick and Harry sees and touches their kings’ heads, it deconstructs them and the overall system. Again, in the process of carving immortality for their kings, Yoruba compare them to the gods, “igbá kejì òrìsà” and say their kings do not die. So, if they don’t die, a taboo was then needed to literally demonize sighting the corpse of an Oba.\r\n\r\nLike Christians did to mythologize their founding patriarch, Jesus Christ, the Yoruba also created and surrounded their kings with myths. It is a taboo, for instance, to say an Oba dies but appropriate to use the euphemism, “Oba w’àjà” - he ascended up through the rafters. Obas’ exits are not announced like mortals’ but with elements of sacredness and sobriety. As Christians are not allowed to query the non-empirical claim of their patriarch’s birth and anyone who does so is a social outcast or an atheist, the Yoruba do not take kindly to attempts to remove the ancient shawls surrounding their kings.\r\n\r\nMyths were essential to the ancient Yoruba people. Many of them are found in palaces. For instance, if you enter the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo today, you must remove your shoes, sandals and slippers. It is said that it is a taboo not to. No one has ever been let into the repercussions of dissension. Until recently, no one shook the hands of an Oba. Oba Lamidi Adeyemi was lucky. As he aged, providence, the designer of his visage, decorated his face with dread. You couldn’t look at Oba Adeyemi’s face without a dread running down your spine. You would assume you were looking at the frightening face of a lion. As close as I was to him, whenever I was in his presence, rather than his face, I looked at my feet. I once told the story he narrated to me. A lawyer had apparently got used to seeing the Alaafin in his palace without any encumbrance. One day, the king thought it fit to put an end to this. So, he kept the lawyer waiting all day. He went home without seeing him. Alaafin told me he had to mythify the office and person of the king. “Mo fi Aláàfin hàn án ni” - I showed him the steely stuff the king is made of, he said.\r\n\r\nAll the above make attempt by traditional rulers in Ogun State, in concert with their governor and legislators, to commonize the burial of their kings, a cultural heresy. Some other parts of Yorubaland have also partaken of this despicable heresy. All Yoruba of goodwill must get Dapo Abiodun and his co-travelers on this journey to retrace their steps. It is a calamitous journey. Obas must go through the seclusion rites of Ipebi and must be buried according to the tradition they willingly subjected themselves to. It is called traditional rule, not modern rule.\r\n\r\nThe burial of Oba Lipede, the Aláké Egbaland, some years ago, was going to end up a calamity but for a momentary recourse to reason. In Ogbomoso, the body of Soun, Oba Ajagungbade III, was subjected to a despicable act of public viewing. Ibadan people seem to have made this desecration of their Obas’ bodies an art. They did it with the bodies of two previous Olubadan who ‘w’àjà’-ed, Oba Saliu Adetunji and Oba Lekan Balogun. The two Obas’ bodies were carted round and about like skinned goats from the abattoir. The greatest calamity would have befallen Yorubaland when Aláàfin Adeyemi ‘w’àjà’-ed and Islamicists attempted to bury him like an ordinary mortal. It took the firmness of Sango cult adherents to stop the drift. They instantly stopped the madness.\r\n\r\nI have heard canvassers for the modernization of traditional institutions talk about the dynamism of culture. Yes, I agree, culture is not static and should not be resistant to change. However, as I said earlier, the glue that holds that institution in this age of modernity is the survival of those ancient myths. Without them, kings lose their differentiation from all of us. Come to think of it, why are so-called kings this cowardly that they are afraid of what becomes of their bodies which would be consumed by maggots anyway? Even an atheist, Dr. Tai Solarin, asked that his body parts should be given to medical students for anatomical studies.\r\n\r\nAt the Deji of Akure’s 10th coronation, the Olowo of Owo came to the rescue of the institution of his forefathers. After praising the Oyo State government for upholding tradition in the recent enthronement of the Alaafin of Oyo, he said, “Personally, I often said that I am a traditionalist to the highest level. Of recent, we were aware when the Queen of England passed away and what it entailed when she was being buried. To me, it is optional. If you want to be an Oba, be an Oba. If you do not want to practice what it entails, you have the option of not to accept to be an Oba. It is not by force. Before I accepted to be Olowo of Owo, I know what it entails. I was in the palace for 25 years with my father. I am fully aware of what is involved. I have not observed anything repugnant in our tradition. Let us understand that there is nothing repugnant about our tradition.”\r\n\r\nStill talking about burials, the passage of President Muhammadu Buhari has elicited diverse comments. To start with, I do not agree that when a person dies, regardless of the evils they commit while on earth, they should be sacralized. I began canvassing my opposition to this view, said to have been inherited from our past, long time ago. For eight good years of Buhari’s reign, I made my views of him available to all. The summary is that he was a disaster. In saner societies, his kind should never come near the dais of responsible governance. Today, many Nigerians queue where I stand\r\n\r\nLast week, President Bola Tinubu harvested the proceeds of Buhari’s death. I enjoyed his graveyard politics and diplomatic burial shuttles to Daura and Kano last week, ostensibly in pursuit of the mythic 12 million CPC votes said to have been sequestered in the hands of Buhari. More importantly, I hope Tinubu reckons with the lessons in his predecessor\'s sudden death? One is that, you cannot sow tears and sorrow and expect a debased, pummeled and traumatized people to garland your corpse with deodorants as elegies.\r\n\r\nApart from Tinubu and his graveyard politics crew eulogizing him, Nigerians literally pelted Buhari’s body with pellets at his departure.Tinubu should use this lesson to review his policies and find ways of making the rest of his life count in favour of the people. In the same vein, our traditional rulers should have a rethink. Most of them seem to have, by their conduct and proclamations, borrowing from the lesson from an ancient old anecdote, shown the fox that the crown on their cock\'s head holds no fire. If we continue to label our beautiful calabash ‘pankara’, what South Africans call wanzagsi - a broken calabash - we should not be surprised if the ignorant elect to pack their dirt with it.','Awujale’s burial and Aso Rock’s graveyard politics','','publish','open','open','','awujales-burial-and-aso-rocks-graveyard-politics','','','2025-07-21 13:02:24','2025-07-21 13:02:24','',0,'https://arisenews24.com/?p=6048',0,'post','',0),(6049,1,'2025-07-21 13:00:00','2025-07-21 13:00:00','','download (53)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-53','','','2025-07-21 13:00:00','2025-07-21 13:00:00','',6048,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-53.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6050,1,'2025-07-21 13:00:53','2025-07-21 13:00:53','','download (54)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-54','','','2025-07-21 13:00:53','2025-07-21 13:00:53','',6048,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-54.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(6051,1,'2025-07-21 13:01:53','2025-07-21 13:01:53','','download (53)','','inherit','open','closed','','download-53-2','','','2025-07-21 13:01:53','2025-07-21 13:01:53','',6048,'https://arisenews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/download-53-1.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),