Author: Editor
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Security has been beefed up around Abia State, as a former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara, buries his late wife, Elder Mrs Felicia Edeomola Wabara, on Saturday, in his Ohambele, Ukwa East Local Government Area. Speaking with Ikengaonline on the security arrangement, Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Zone 9, Mr George Okafor, said adequate security measures had been put in place to ensure the safety of guests to the event. He said that Operational Order had been drawn, and security operatives deployed both around the venue of the burial and hotels as well as critical locations…
Lawrence Nwimo, Awka Anambra State Governor Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has condemned reports making rounds in some social media, alleging ‘budget-padding’ in ongoing right-sizing of the state’s budget. Soludo in a statement released by his press secretary, Christian Aburime on Thursday, described the reports as misinformation and falsehood. According to him, the peddlers were those who have lost out in milking the state treasury. “These are the handiwork of losers and detractors. The misinformation should evoke pity for the purveyors in the light of the manifest ignorance boldly couriered in every paragraph of the hasty piece of distraction. Bad as it is, no credible reporter…
Lawrence Nwimo, Awka The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has warned the Federal Government and other security agencies in the country to desist from luring Nigerians into unnecessary war and crisis. The separatist group gave the warning in a statement signed by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful. It accused the government and security forces of syndicating bandits in the North to attack Kuje correctional centre in Abuja. It also claimed that the security agencies especially the military and DSS agents are in a covert action detailing a systematic strategy to eliminate IPOB members detained in the correctional center. According to…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia But for providence, 11 passengers including a National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, member, would have perished Thursday afternoon when a 14-seater passenger bus conveying them crashed in Abia State. The accident occured at Ofeme Umuahia axis of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway way. The Benue-bound passenger bus belonging to Benue Links marked XB 263 TKP took off from Aba and was headed towards Okigwe when the incident occurred. Confirming the incident to our Correspondent, the Abia State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr Paul Ugwu, said the victims had been evacuated from the accident scene and rushed to…
Our Reporter, Abuja The interim vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Dr Doyin Okupe, has officially withdrawn from the 2023 presidential race. Okupe, the Director General of Peter Obi’s presidential campaign organization, had his name sent to INEC by Obi and the Labour Party as the vice presidential candidate of the party, pending when an appropriate person would be named. But in a Facebook post on Thursday, Okupe said he had written to INEC to officially withdraw from the position of the vice presidential candidate of Labour Party. He also hinted that his replacement would be announced shortly.…
By Aloy Ejimakor Before post-colonial Nigeria lapsed into its current unitary state, while still passing off as a federation, regional security was largely within the purview of the respective regions, not the Federal Government. And it worked pretty well. This basic arrangement was not by chance but by well-considered design. Despite their many failings, Nigeria’s indigenous founding fathers and the departing British colonists knew too well that you cannot secure a people within their region without their participation. Even the mighty British empire knew that it couldn’t secure colonial Nigeria without the participation of Nigerians in vast numbers. In a…
By Azu Ishiekwene Nigeria is awash with arms – guns, bullets, charms, drugs and local stuff. Not just Nigeria. The entire Sahelian and sub-Saharan African region is drowning in deadly small arms and light weapons – so-called because of their portability and ease of use and adaptation. The firearms may be out of the line of sight, but they are making the rounds in cars and motorcycles or as headloads and hand luggage, concealed in unimaginable places. Many are also believed to be siphoned from the armouries of security agencies, and are making their way into the hands of “unknown…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia The menacing activities of kidnappers suspected to be herders around Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State and its environs, are getting out of control, as the people have raised alarm over the latest tactics of the hoodlums. According to the locals, herdsmen who initially raped only women they met in the farms now invade homes in search of women. This sudden twist is coming barely one month after youths in Umunneochi staged a peaceful protest against incessant kidnappings in the area, demanding the relocation of the Regional Cattle Market at Lokpanta, which they alleged, provides safe haven…
The BBC’s political editor Chris Mason says the embattled prime minister has finally agreed to go after another torrid morning that saw several cabinet ministers walk out. The prime minister is expected to confirm the reports when he addresses the nation within hours. It is understood he will plough on with the top job until a new party leader is chosen over summer. It marks a huge turn of events after Mr Johnson vowed to stay on yesterday, saying quitting would ‘not be responsible’ because of the huge mandate he won at the 2019 General Election. He refused to go…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Assessing the performance of Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, in over seven years of his eight-year tenure is one that will surely divide the citizens of the state. While many of his party members are blowing the vuvuzelas for the governor, his political opponents, and indeed the general public, think his scorecard is nothing to write home about. In this Special Report, Stephen Ukandu, Ikengaonline’s News/Features Editor, provides a bird’s-eye view on the matter. Governor Okezie Ikpeazu mounted the leadership saddle of Abia State in 2015 amid high expectations and promises some of which he has met,…