[dropcap]M[/dropcap]r Stephen Chukwudi Anyanwu got married to his heartthrob Anastatia Eseanobi on December 2nd, 2017. The ceremony kicked off with a Traditional Marriage at Egbe Street, Umunkwo, Asaba, Delta State. Mr Stephen Chukwudi Anyanwu is a lucky man to have found Anastasia who is a unique definition of beauty and brains and this union would forever be blessed.
See pictures below:
[dropcap]S[/dropcap]enator Peter Nwaoboshi, has lauded the good people of Ibusa and Oshimili North local government Area, for turning out enmase to vote for candidates of their choice in the Saturday’s local government election.This was even as he described the conduct of the elections in Delta as very peaceful and commendable.
Senator Peter Nwaoboshi on Saturday said the era of conducting elections that are not credible were over in the country, saying Delta State government had put measures in place to ensure that the Local Government election held on Saturday in the state was peaceful, free and fair. The Senator, who spoke shortly after casting his vote in the local government elections at his polling unit at Isieke in Ibusa pointed out that it was only through such credible electoral process that Nigeria can make meaningful progress and deepen its democratic values.Senator Peter Nwaoboshi who arrived at his polling unit by 12:00 am and casted his vote at exactly 12:45am, urged Deltans to come out en-masse and vote for credible candidates.
He said adequate security measures have been put in place to ensure that voters cast their votes in a peaceful atmosphere and also forestall any breakdown of law and order, saying that what was left was for people to come out and perform their civic responsibility. “So far so good, from the reports I have received from all the other parts of Delta State, we are pleased with what is going on. Voting has commenced in every part of Delta; the whole thing has been very peaceful thus far and I believe strongly that it would be peaceful throughout. “We have done so much to ensure that the security is good and so I just urge people to come out and exercise their franchise. What is important to us is to conduct a free, fair and credible election.
Senator Nwaoboshi appreciated the voters for the large turnout, saying such civil obligation would go a long way to bring development to the grassroots.
He was particularly impressed by the peaceful atmosphere under which the election was conducted.
Source : Ike Abiagom
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Grassroots Newspaper Publishers Network(GNPN) has commended the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DESIEC) for organizing peaceful Local Government Elections in Delta State, in spite of attempt to derail the exercise.
Speaking after monitoring the elections in Ibusa , the National President of GNPN, Dr Dan Awana, told journalists that he and his colleagues were pleased with the conduct of the elections, applauding Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for providing an enabling environment, which he said gave the electorate the opportunity to exercise their franchise.
Dr Awana explained that despite complaints by the opposition over alleged late arrival of election materials, which his team’s observations from the polling units visited showed that the exercise was successful, peaceful and in accordance with the commission’s guidelines.
“We are so glad for the peaceful conduct of this Local Government Elections in Delta State and we thank the governor for this feat, at least the people are voting and the process is ongoing and we will continue our independent monitoring to enable us give a comprehensive report,” the GNPN President said.
The DESIEC had organized Local Government elections across the 25 Local Government Areas and electoral wards in the state to elect those who will be at the helm of the council areas as chairmen and councilors.
The results of the elections are being awaited.
[dropcap]G[/dropcap]ov Nyesom Wike of Rivers said on Friday that there was an orchestrated plan to create the impression that Rivers was not safe through the promotion of targeted cult-related killings. Wike made the allegation when the Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazzau (Rtd) paid him a courtesy call in Port Harcourt.
The governor said that the state government was ready to partner with the Federal Government to tackle the security challenges in the state. He stated that the security agencies in the state had knowledge of the cult kingpins terrorizing flashpoints in the state.
“The security agencies have the profiles of all cult kingpins in different parts of the state and they know their locations, there is no wisdom in the politicization of security. “Insecurity can affect anybody, you can never know the next victim of insecurity,’’ the governor stated.
Wike called on the security agencies and the Federal Government to deploy personnel to cult flashpoints in the state to stop repeated attacks by cultists.
“In every system, the security agencies know the flashpoints, here we requested for the strengthening of security around these flashpoints, especially areas with high prevalence of cultists.
“I expect that security would be beefed up in these places, I ask this question, Is there an orchestrated plan to tag Rivers State unsafe?
“Is the situation above the security agencies, despite the information we have made available to them?” the governor asked.
He accused oil multinationals for the escalation of cultism in some communities, adding that the multinationals had encouraged cultism through the award of surveillance contracts to cultists.
Wike lamented that having been funded by multinationals, cultists were able to purchase sophisticated weapons with which they caused mayhem on communities and law-abiding citizens.
He disclosed that the State Government had made several requests to the Inspector-General of Police to deploy special squads to tackle cultism and kidnapping in Rivers.
The governor stated that the Inspector-General of Police had failed to deploy special squads to the state, despite several requests by the State government.
“The peculiar nature of Rivers State requires peculiar intervention, before now, I have been shouting that we need support to fight crime, I have made this complaint severally,” he said.
Wike berated politicians who had wanted to adopt cult-related killings to play politics by making false allegations against the state.
Earlier, the Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Danbazzau noted that he was in the State at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari to assess the security situation.
The Minister on behalf of the President condoled the government and the people of the State over the killings at Omoku.“Rivers State is important to the country, particularly when it comes to the issue of the nation’s economy.
“It is very important that the Federal Government collaborates with the state to see how any security gap can be closed for adequate protection of lives and property, ” the Minister added.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has called for prompt enforcement of the law to check incessant diversion of petroleum products from Nigeria to the neighbouring countries.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Federal Road Safety Corps has redeployed 109 personnel as part of efforts to enhance its operational efficiency, according to the Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem.
…Seeking Cover For His Fraudulent Tendencies
The attention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Delta State Chapter, has been drawn to the vociferous attacks on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, by a one time Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei.
Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have dignified him with any response, but in the interest of the general public who may have taken him seriously as someone who has enjoyed the priviledge of serving as a former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, this statement becomes, appropriate and inevitable.
1. In setting the records straight, it is important to state that, Hon Ochei is obviously suffering from the effects of multiple electoral defeats, ocassioned by his ill-fated gubernatorial ambition which he lost woefully at the PDP Primaries. Because of his desperation for power, he left the PDP and pitched tent with the Accord Party where he failed again to win the Delta North Senatorial District Seat.
2. We had assumed that, three years after these defeats, Hon Ochei would have recovered from his electoral misfortune, but his recent rantings have shown that he has not learnt any political lessons from his defeats.
3. In denigrating Governor Okowa’s well chronicled and verifyable achievements, Hon. Ochei exposed his double standards, when he exonerated the APC led federal Government from abysmal performance ocassioned by the fall in crude oil prices.
Hon. Ochei forgot the fact that if a fall in oil prices could affect the APC’s performance at the Federal level, it could also limit the performance of any other tier of government, since crude oil accounts form the major chunk of government revenue.
Let us also place on record that during the attacks by the Niger Delta Avengers on oil installation in the Niger Delta region, Delta State was worst hit and for upwards of 16 months, crude oil was not exported from our Forcadoes Terminal, yet Governor Okowa recorded appreciable milestones in the initiation and rebuilding of critical infrastructure across the length and breadth of Delta state.
4. Hon. Ochei forgot the fact that the massive empowerment of Deltans to become job and wealth creators rather than job seekers, is a star project that has attracted the attention of even Governors of his new found political party, APC and even the endorsement of very Credible international bodies.
5. Despite all the challenges encountered, the Okowa led administration has embarked on the construction of 149 roads that span about 764.39 kilometres and over 225.59 kilometres of drains across the three senatorial districts of the state and commissioned over 95 per cent projects, despite the economic recession which Ochei’s party, the APC, inflicted on the country.
ALSO READ: Okowa’s Performance Is Abysmal, Worst Administration So Far—Ochei
6. Hon. Ochei lacks the moral pedigree to speak on corruption as it is an open secret that his defection to the APC was to seek cover for his corrupt tendencies. Hon. Ochei should tell the world the source of his wealth as a billionaire that he still flaunts till date.
He talked about star projects, perhaps he needs to explain to the world the role he played in scuttling the Independent Power Plant Project, IPP, at Oghara and the Asaba Township Stadium project, awarded to his companies.
7. We also read with hilarious disposition, how he boasted of what he intends to do when he becomes a Governor. Perhaps he needs to tell the world what he did as Speaker to ensure the completion of work on the Okpanam road which houses the legislative quarters where he held sway for many years as a Speaker and member of the House of Assembly.
8. Perhaps again, Victor Ochei doesn’t know that the Dualization of Cable Point Road and Streetlights completed by Governor Okowa and recently commissioned by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State is a star project to the people living in Asaba and the cable point axis.
9. Hon. Ochei should also account for his twelve years in the House of Assembly and tell the people of Aniocha North Local Government Area, the projects he attracted to his constituency when he represented them. In the last two years and seven months alone, Governor Okowa has completed the construction and rehabilitation of several roads and schools including the Issele-Uku township roads, Issele-Uku/Onicha-Ugbo Road, Issele-Uku/Issele-Mkpitime/Olona Road, Idumogo/Obomkpa/ Ukwu-Nzu Road, rehabilitation and upgrade of facilities at Issele-Uku Technical College, Issele-Uku and other school projects executed in his local government area.
10. On the local government council elections, the PDP has campaigned throughout the local government areas and wards in the State, Hon. Ochie is yet to come from his Abuja abode to campaign for his party’s candidates yet he expects to win election from Abuja without campaigning to the people.
11. We therefore call on Deltans to ignore the rantings of Victor Ochei as the PDP and Governor Okowa are committed to the overall development of the Delta State.
God Bless Delta State.
Ifeanyi Michael Osuoza
State Publicity Secretary, PDP, Delta State.
January 4, 2018.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday described the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as “a dead party, not capable of capturing Lagos in 2019.” The Assistant Publicity Secretary of the APC in the state, Mr Abiodun Salami made the remark in an interview with the The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday described the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as “a dead party, not capable of capturing Lagos in 2019.” The Assistant Publicity Secretary of the APC in the state, Mr Abiodun Salami made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Salami was reacting to an assertion by the Publicity Secretary of PDP in the state, Mr Taofik Gani, that the opposition party would win Lagos and take over government in 2019. Gani had told NAN on Tuesday that 2019 would be the beginning of the end of APC administration in the state as the party was sure of dislodging the ruling party. He had claimed that Lagosians were tired of the “non-performance of APC government “and were eagerly waiting to vote PDP.
“We will shock the APC in 2019. Take my words. We already have a lot of novel ideas to wrestle governance from them. “For now, we will keep our strategies sealed. When the game starts, we will unleash them. “Ambode has failed in purposeful governance. The only thing we see is propaganda. Lagosians desire a change, and that change is PDP,” Gani had said. But Salami described the assertions as laughable, saying PDP had been completely decimated and have no capacity to make any impact in the governorship election let alone winning. He dismissed the assertion as “empty boast”, saying Lagosians knew the difference between light and retrogression and would continue to vote the APC. “The assertion made by the PDP that it would win the state in 2019 is a huge joke. In fact it is laughable. “How do they want to achieve that? The party has been deserted and left for dead by Lagosians.
“A party where virtually all their bigwigs, such as Obanikoro and others had deserted because they have seen the light and are now in the fold of APC. “Who is left in the PDP in the state? I think they are living in a fool’s paradise by thinking they would make an impact let alone win in 2019. PDP in Lagos is dead and buried,” he said. Salami said he was surprised that PDP was still boasting of winning some House of Assembly seats in 2015 even though all those elected under its banner with the exception of one member had since defected to the APC.
He said the recent defection of no fewer than 1,500 former PDP members to APC was further confirmation that the opposition party had no place in the state. Salami said Lagosians trusted the APC government in the state to deliver good leadership, saying PDP lacked the drive for progress. “Gov. Akinwumi Ambode has been rendering purposeful leadership in the state in line with his electoral promise. “Lagosians appreciate the progress the government is making, the people trust the APC to do more. PDP has no place in the state,” he said.
in Lagos.
Salami was reacting to an assertion by the Publicity Secretary of PDP in the state, Mr Taofik Gani, that the opposition party would win Lagos and take over government in 2019. Gani had told NAN on Tuesday that 2019 would be the beginning of the end of APC administration in the state as the party was sure of dislodging the ruling party.
He had claimed that Lagosians were tired of the “non-performance of APC government “and were eagerly waiting to vote PDP. “We will shock the APC in 2019. Take my words. We already have a lot of novel ideas to wrestle governance from them. “For now, we will keep our strategies sealed. When the game starts, we will unleash them. “Ambode has failed in purposeful governance. The only thing we see is propaganda.
Lagosians desire a change, and that change is PDP,” Gani had said. But Salami described the assertions as laughable, saying PDP had been completely decimated and have no capacity to make any impact in the governorship election let alone winning. He dismissed the assertion as “empty boast”, saying Lagosians knew the difference between light and retrogression and would continue to vote the APC. “The assertion made by the PDP that it would win the state in 2019 is a huge joke. In fact it is laughable. “How do they want to achieve that? The party has been deserted and left for dead by Lagosians.
“A party where virtually all their bigwigs, such as Obanikoro and others had deserted because they have seen the light and are now in the fold of APC. “Who is left in the PDP in the state? I think they are living in a fool’s paradise by thinking they would make an impact let alone win in 2019. PDP in Lagos is dead and buried,” he said. Salami said he was surprised that PDP was still boasting of winning some House of Assembly seats in 2015 even though all those elected under its banner with the exception of one member had since defected to the APC.
He said the recent defection of no fewer than 1,500 former PDP members to APC was further confirmation that the opposition party had no place in the state. Salami said Lagosians trusted the APC government in the state to deliver good leadership, saying PDP lacked the drive for progress. “Gov. Akinwumi Ambode has been rendering purposeful leadership in the state in line with his electoral promise. “Lagosians appreciate the progress the government is making, the people trust the APC to do more. PDP has no place in the state,” he said.
[dropcap]P[/dropcap]etrol marketers in the country have told the government for the umpteenth time that they can no longer sell petrol at N145 a litre. The marketers under the aegies of Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) made their decision known to the government at a meeting with top officials at the presidential villa on Tuesday in Abuja.
The marketers insisted that selling petrol at N145 a litre was no longer profitable as the price of crude oil in the international market has risen and this has a corresponding relation with the price of refined products.
Present at the meeting held at the Presidential Villa Conference Centre Abuja were Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to the President, who presided; Maikanti Baru, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, and Lawal Daura, Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS).
Dapo Abiodun, chairman DAPMAN told journalists at the end of the meeting that the meeting was called by the government to find a lasting solution to the cause of the petrol scarcity.
“Today’s meeting was called at the instance of the Chief of Staff to the President and it was to find out exactly what happened, where we had the problems we had in December with the supply of petrol and how Nigerians were made to go through the pains and suffering.
“He wanted to know the truth and to ensure that going forward this problem will be solved once and for all. And that is why you saw that we sat in here from 2pm and the meeting just finished after three and half hours.
“A lot of issues were raised and a committee was constituted that will meet tomorrow under the chairmanship of the minister of petroleum to further go into the nitty-gritty and to ensure that these problems do not reoccur again.
“From our point of view as marketers, we made our submission known to government and we emphasised the fact that this was not a marketer-related problem. There was no hoarding on the part of any marketer. Marketers are your brothers, they are Nigerian citizens, they are businessmen, no marketer makes money from hoarding petroleum products, our business is to take petrol and sell.”
Abiodun said he and his colleagues took the time to highlight their challenges.
“We explained that the problem that you saw is not willful on the part of anyone either NNPC or marketers.
“The situation, from our point of view, is that from January to December, the price of crude remained relatively stable. Following the Hurricane Katrina in the month of September, October, crude prices went up and marketers lost the ability to import any sell at N145 per litre.
“Since the price of crude is directly proportional to the refined product, we could not import petrol and sell at N145 anymore. And this business is a partnership between marketers and NNPC. Marketers bring in a certain volume and NNPC also brings in a certain volume.
“In the past marketers bring in about 60% while NNPC brings about 35 to 40 percent. But by the month of October marketers completely stopped importing because there is no more subsidy so we can’t sell for profit so we have to stop importing.
“So, the burden of importing 100% now fell on NNPC. So you can imagine a situation where NNPC was importing in part and marketers were importing in part and then suddenly NNPC begins to import 100%. Couple with the fact that in the months we called the ember months from October to December the consumption of petrol is highest in the country.
“So, you now have what we call a double warning. NNPC is suddenly finding its importing what they probably didn’t expect in terms of volume and the fact that Nigerians themselves are consuming more volume that they will normally consume in earlier months. Couple with the fact that the countries that are surrounding us as a nation are all selling fuel at more than $1 per liter. $1 today is about N360. If you go to Cotonou, Ghana, Niger so is is not unlikely that some of our petrol is finding itself across the border to these countries.
“All these are issues we believe amounted to what we saw in December but thankfully NNPC rose to the occasion, they stepped up import, stepped up supplies that situation has since normalized.
“Today’s meeting is to ensure that this does not happen again and this we are going to continue tomorrow in the committee that was set up under the chairmanship of the Minister of State for Petroleum to ensure that we find a long-lasting and enduring solutions to this problem so that Nigerians will not have to go through this borrowing situation again.”
[dropcap]“G[/dropcap]reatness is a property for which no man can receive credit too soon; it must be possessed long before it is acknowledged.” When one of the world’s greatest thinkers, Ralph Waldo Emerson handed down the above words of wisdom, those he had in mind were certainly the likes of Chief Nwanze Roland.
For the trail-blazing business mogul and industrialist par excellence from Umuehea- Ibusa, Delta State, it is certainly impossible to gloss over his attributes for greatness.
The popular cliché, ‘first impression sticks’ is not applicable to Chief Nwanze Roland.If you profile and categorize him based on the spur of the moment kind of judgment, then you have done so using the wrong barometer and faulty premise. This is because at first encounter, you are confronted with a man you could pass for a middle income earner. He wears no airs and there are none around him. He is as simple as air itself. The calm ambience he exudes is just natural. He is just being himself.
However, many would be shocked to later learn that this unassuming Youngman who mingles with the lowly and the downtrodden without discrimination is workaholic, a business czar, corporate tiger and sits atop multi-billion dollars investments spanning several interests. Chief Nwanze Roland is a tested Philanthropist, an achiever-a job creator,and an employer of labour . And he makes no noise about these.
In Nigeria those often considered the greatest are the politicians, fraudulent exploiters, violent conquerors and evil geniuses turned heroes and heroines, who have out done others by stealing the community’s common wealth and sharing crumbs amongst their praise singers but Chief Nwanze Roland is neither any if the above, nor is he seeking any political office. His leadership is about a passionate commitment to better the lives of his people by giving them comfort with he ultimate fulfillment to them,his people.
He is a leader par excellence, whose compassion for his poor community, Umuehea Ibuzor, moved him to sink two boreholes for them, free, repaired the government millennium borehole, the only one that works in Ibuzor as at date, provided diesel powered street light, a security gate to curb the menace and excesses of cultists and passage of heavy duty vehicles. Nwanze Roland has gone ahead to smoothen the erosion prone roads in Umuehea,Ibusa with a promise to tar these roads.
In the midst of the crisis of leadership that has bedeviled Ibuzor as a Community, and Umuehea as part of this Community, it is desirable to reflect on the man NWANZE ROLAND and his leadership. Nwanze Roland uses his own lifestyle to teach us, both the mighty and low in Ibuzor that leadership is service, sacrifice and a dynamic enterprise. He assures his people that he is not like the politicians who make people to carry burdens that they politicians would not dare to carry. Nwanze Roland is that young man who eats and understands that his next door neighbour is hungry, needs food and goes ahead to provide it for him. He is that affluent young man who uses his God given wealth to better the lives of his people and sacrifices his own pleasure and comfort for the sake if his community.
Nwanze Roland ’s rise to the top was not a one-step movement. It was a humble beginning for a humble man. The inter play of factors that would established him as one of Nigeria’s reputable Community Developer shaped Nwanze Roland ’s principle and philosophy of life and business-humility, honesty and hard work. His unassuming nature and infectious humility explain why he does not trumpet his numerous philanthropist gestures.
In the midst of poor governance marred with corruption, when men and women are constantly striving to out do one another in the acquisition for power, wealth and privilege, here Nwanze Roland has left a legacy of purpose. He has cause happiness and good name for himself, family and generations yet on born. He had invested his talent to God given purpose and has made his life much bigger than himself. – The entire Ibusa people says Da’alu Shinne ooooooooóo…
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