Tag: Abia

  • “NLC, TUC Nationwide Strike: Mixed Compliance Across States Sparks Controversy”

    “NLC, TUC Nationwide Strike: Mixed Compliance Across States Sparks Controversy”

    By Milcah Tanimu

    the mixed compliance of the nationwide strike organized by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC).

    1. **Mixed Compliance Across States:**
    – The strike showed varied compliance across different states in Nigeria.
    – Some states experienced a complete shutdown of activities, including banks, public schools, and courts.
    – Other states witnessed partial compliance, and a few states did not comply with the strike directives.

    2. **State-Specific Compliance:**
    – States like Lagos, Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, Kebbi, and Edo experienced compliance with the strike directives.
    – In Kano, banks and schools were shut down, and qualifying examinations were suspended.
    – Imo recorded partial compliance with banks open for business.
    – Enugu and Abuja saw workers defying the industrial action, and some sectors continued normal operations.

    3. **Divergence in Universities:**
    – The public universities’ response to the strike varied, with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) supporting the strike, while the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) directed its members to shun the action.

    4. **Government Warning and Legal Action:**
    – The Federal Government had warned against the strike, obtaining a restraining order from the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.
    – Labour leaders expressed satisfaction with the compliance level and insisted that the strike was not a personal matter, citing various issues affecting workers.

    5. **Sector-Specific Compliance:**
    – Major sectors like Maritime, Food, Beverage, Tobacco, Chemical, and Non-metallic Products complied with the strike.
    – Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) directed its members to join the strike.

    6. **Expectations and Impact:**
    – Labour leaders anticipated increased compliance in the coming days.
    – Some states experienced the shutdown of public offices, schools, and banks, while others saw only partial compliance.

    7. **Response from Officials:**
    – TUC President dismissed reports of any meeting with the Federal Government.
    – ASUU directed its members to join the strike, while CONUA instructed its members not to participate.

    8. **Observations in Specific States:**
    – In Lagos, banks and train services were grounded.
    – In Osun, schools were shut down with increased police presence.
    – In Kebbi, all labour affiliates complied, shutting down offices and social facilities.

    9. **Imo State Situation:**
    – The strike in Imo recorded partial compliance, with civil servants reporting for duty, and banks were open for businesses.

    10. **Controversy and Criticism:**
    – The government accused the strike of being an ego trip and an attempt to blackmail the government, a claim refuted by the NLC.

    11. **Response from Labour:**
    – Labour defended the strike, emphasizing the need to address issues such as minimum wage, insecurity, corruption, and poor governance.

    12. **Special Note on University Affiliation:**
    – CONUA distanced itself from the strike, citing lack of communication and incomplete affiliation processes with TUC.

    13. **Additional Issues:**
    – Other grievances included outstanding salary arrears, unjust declaration of ghost employees, unsettled gratuities, non-compliance with the minimum wage act, and the declaration of ghost retirees.

    In summary, the strike led to varied compliance levels across different states and sectors, with ongoing debates and controversies regarding the motives and impact of the industrial action.

  • NLC Announces Two-Day Warning Strike in Protest Against Fuel Subsidy Removal Consequences

    NLC Announces Two-Day Warning Strike in Protest Against Fuel Subsidy Removal Consequences

    By Daniel Edu

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has officially declared a two-day warning strike set to commence on Tuesday, September 5, to express their dissatisfaction with the Federal Government’s handling of the challenges arising from the removal of fuel subsidies.

    During a press conference held at the Labour House in Abuja, NLC President Joe Ajaero announced the strike on Friday. This decision came following discussions and resolutions reached by the NLC National Executive Committee (NEC) during their previous meeting.

    The labor union has accused the Federal Government of neglecting ongoing negotiations and failing to implement resolutions from prior engagements with the government.

    On August 2, organized labor staged a protest against what they perceived as anti-people policies under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), along with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and their affiliated unions, organized demonstrations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and various states, including Lagos, Abia, Plateau, Kaduna, Kano, Rivers, Zamfara, Katsina, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Kwara, Ogun, Imo, Ondo, and Edo.

    These protests followed a seven-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government, demanding the “immediate reversal of all anti-poor policies, including the recent increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), the rise in public school fees, and the release of eight months’ withheld salaries for university lecturers and workers.”

    The union also called for an upward adjustment of the minimum wage, from N30,000 to N200,000, citing the impact of the removal of the fuel subsidy on the well-being of Nigerians, as stated in the President’s May 29, 2023, inauguration speech, where he mentioned the end of subsidies.

    Despite multiple discussions between the Presidency and the unions regarding measures to alleviate the hardship faced by Nigerians following the removal of petrol subsidies, no concrete solutions have emerged.

  • 2023: I’ll make Abia exports hub – Tinubu 

    2023: I’ll make Abia exports hub – Tinubu 

    The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, has promised to make Abia State a major exporter of manufactured goods if elected.

    He stated this on Tuesday while addressing a mammoth crowd at the party’s presidential rally at the Umuahia Township Stadium.

    The former Lagos State governor commended Abians for their work rate and promised to create a conducive environment that will enable them to thrive in whatever they choose to do.

    A statement issued by the Tinubu Media Office and signed by Tunde Rahman quoted Tinubu as saying, “Your state is a centre of production and industry. Today, my hope is renewed that together, we can achieve industrial activity unprecedented in our history.

    “Aba market is one of the largest in West Africa. I see it becoming a major exporter of all types of manufactured goods to Asia, North and South America and Europe.

    “I see this state humming with industrial activity such that it will become a world-famous centre of activity from the manufacture of clothing to that of cars, appliances and computers and their components.

    “We will provide better infrastructure to open the region and the entire country to the trade, export, travel and tourism in which you will excel. This includes roads, waterways, ports, rail and the provision of steady reliable power.”

    He also spoke of other plans for the state, saying, “The teeming youth population standing before me makes my heart glad. We have good plans for you! God’s Own Youths! You are blessed! We will empower you. There will be jobs for those who desire jobs by providing tax and other employment credits to employers, encouraging them to hire you.

    “My government shall support those starting their own businesses. My digital economy plan calls for one million new jobs in ICT within 24 months in office.

    “We are also investing in an educational system that will provide you with skills that make you globally competitive while also affording you a good standard of living,” he added.

    “Our national security policy will function to give peaceful living clear of violence and fear. Insecurity will be tackled using advanced technological platforms for surveillance and tracking of kidnappers and violent criminals.

    “Security forces will be better trained and better compensated. They will exercise restraint when needed but will also show strength whenever put to the test.

    “This nation will be a safe and prosperous place to live in,” he added.

  • Food Prices Soar, FCT, Abia Lead – NBS

    Food Prices Soar, FCT, Abia Lead – NBS

    The Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) and Abia State have led a number of other southern states as food prices soar to record levels in 2022.

    This is according to data from “selected food prices” reports by the National Bureau of Statistics during the period in review.

    The reports show that food prices have risen highest in the FCT, Abia, Ebonyi, Rivers, and Edo states in 2022. Further analysis showed that the southeastern region has recorded the highest food prices in the country.

    Prices of food items observed within this period included staple foods such as rice, beans, yam tuber, tomatoes, agric eggs, bread, beef, among others. Findings showed that food prices witnessed significant price increases across the board in the year 2022.

    For example, the average price of 1kg of tomato rose on a year-on-year basis by 30.79 per cent from N347.47 in October 2021 to N454.46 in October 2022. Similarly, the average price of a bottle of palm oil increased by 33.22 per cent from N727.21 in October 2021 to N968.76 per cent in October 2022.

    This soaring food prices comes just as the NBS disclosed that 62.9 per cent of Nigerians — nearly 133 million people — are multidimensionally poor.

    Speaking with our correspondent, the Lagos chapter Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Mr Femi Oke said factors such as logistics, increased demand, as well as government’s unwillingness to invest in large scale cultivation of certain agricultural products are the reason behind soaring food prices in the country.

    He said, “Diesel and fuel are affecting logistics and transportation. Most of these products are coming from the north. They will factor in their transportation.

    “Diesel is almost a thousand naira per litre right now. It will affect food prices, and the Nigerian government is not doing anything about it. Why is the government not doing something strategic to curb grain importation? In the last ten years, if we deliberately invested in grain or wheat, by now we would be producing and not importing. This is what is happening to us. There is no family in Nigeria that does not take grain or wheat. What is the government doing about it?”

    Commenting on the reason why food prices have been higher in the southeast, Oke noted that social tensions and frequent farmers-herders clashes have negatively impacted farming activities in the region.

    He added, “When you don’t allow your people to go to the farm. With the sit at home, people are afraid to go to the farm.

    “Fulani herdsmen, herder-farmers clash is also rampant in the east, coupled with the climatic change, almost all the farmlands have been washed away. This is the reason behind the current food prices.”

    On his part, the president of the Premium Bread-Makers Association of Nigeria, Emmanuel Onuorah agreed with the statistics body’s data that bread price had witnessed an increase of 36.68 per cent in 2022.

    He said, “The increase could have been worse. It could have been up to 50 per cent. But if we do 50 per cent, you have to balance it.

    “If you don’t balance it, you will go out of business. Our own production, our capacity utilisation has dropped by 70 per cent. Before, in my bakery, I was doing 110 bags (flour). Today I’m doing 30, 40 bags. I had 150 workers. Today I have just over 40 workers. I was doing two to three shifts. Today I’m doing one shift.”

    In a recent report titled ‘Africa’s Inflation Among Region’s Most Urgent Challenges,’ the International Monetary Fund said Nigeria and its Sub-Saharan counterparts are facing one of the most challenging economic environments in years, marked by a slow recovery from the pandemic, rising food and energy prices, and high levels of public debt.

    According to the IMF, with food and energy accounting for half of the household consumption in sub-Saharan Africa, living costs across the region have spiraled. It estimated that 12 percent of the region’s population will face acute food insecurity by the end of this year.

  • How Gov Emmanuel’s 300m bridge salvaged education, healthcare in A’Ibom, Abia communities

    How Gov Emmanuel’s 300m bridge salvaged education, healthcare in A’Ibom, Abia communities

    By Odo Ogenyi,Uyo

    For indegenes and residents of Nto Edino in Obot Akara LGA of Akwa Ibom and Ekwereazu Ngwa in Obingwa LGA of Abia state, the 300m Nto Edino twin bridges have become a saviour to education and healthcare delivery in the area.

    This was after the old iron bridge, constructed during the civil war and linking the communities with their brothers in Akwa Ibom damaged due to old age and disrepair.

    They told journalists who went on a tour of some projects executed by Governor Udom Emmanuel that the new bridge has salvaged what was left of basic education and healthcare delivery in the area as students and sick persons virtually became starved of these basic services when the bridge collapsed.

    Paramount Ruler of Obot-Akara, Akuku Uwa Umo Adiaka who scored Governor Emmanuel very high in infrastructural developments in the rural communities of the area recalled how students could not access their schools for several years.

    Adiaka also recalled how many a pregnant women met their Waterloo while attempting to cross the damaged bridge to access a medical facility as their community was cut off from the rest of the LGA and state.

    The Monarch who also listed other projects in the area to include the ongoing Nto Ide-Ikot Amba-Ikot ossom road linking ikot umo Essien-ikot inemme-Aba road, the completed 4.2km Abak Ifia – Ikpe Mbak Eyop- Ikot Abia Osom- Nko Road project, 6.36km Nko- Ikot Abia Osom-Ikpe Mbak Eyop road and several others, said the people of the area would remain  grateful to the Governor for salvaging them from years of neglect.

    “Governor Udom has done a lot of things but we will particularly commend him for Ekwerazu road and bridges. Successive government’s had promised to fix that road, but failed to do so. We can’t count the number of lives lost at that bridge.

    “You may not understand what those roads, especially the Nto Edino bridge means for us. We had lost so many expectant mothers at that spot and our people could no longer access this other side. Even if that was all the project the Governor did, we would have been happy with him. But he has gone ahead to build another bridge at Ikot Amba and he is doing other roads here. We pray every day about the Governor that God should bless him.”

    “We will not cease to thank our Governor that has given us that bridge and the road. This is one project i will not cease to say God bless Udom. 

    “Next, I will thank him for Ikot amba-ikot-osom bridge.That river has taken many kids and adults.The river connects nto edino and Ikot Abia clan.Those saying Udom has not done anything in Obot Akara are engaging in political gimmicks.

    “This Governor has done exceedingly well for Obot-Akara, helping to connect us with other parts of the state.”He explained.

    At Ekwerazu-Nnwa Community in Obingwa LGA of Abia State, where the Nto-Edino-Ekwereazu road with bridge terminated, a  trader in the area, Obinna Ceaser Okebu told Journalists how the road has boosted economic activities in the area and the route.

    “This road was in a bad state before the Governor of Akwa Ibom State intervened. The road is more safer than other roads. It’s crime free, easy access to Umuahia, Enugu and the rest of the east. It’s a channel road to the East. I thank the Governor for constructing this road.” He said.

    Also, Ndifreke Okon Elijah who hails from Nto ideh in Obot Akara describef the Governor as an answered prayers to the many years of neglect and abandonment but however sued for work on the ikot Amba axis of the second road project to be expedited.

    Special Assistant to the Governor on Research and Documentation, Mr. Essien Ndueso lauded the people of Obot-Akara for their steadfastness and loyalty to the Udom Emmanuel administration, and reassured of the readiness of the government to complete all ongoing projects.

  • Prof. Ikonne to promote human resource development

    Prof. Ikonne to promote human resource development

    The gubernatorial candidate for the Peoples Democratic (PDP) in next year’s election in Abia State, Prof. Uche Ikonne has strongly assured that human resource development will form a major policy of his administration.

    Prof Ikonne gave this assurance when a group paid him a courtesy visit.

    He said that human resource development should be a priority of any government striving to bridge the poverty gap, especially in developing economies.

    According to him, he is not going into government for self-aggrandizement rather to contribute his quota in solving the problems bedevilling the society.

    Prof. Ikonne also commended Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu for the worthy legacies he is set to bequeath to Abians at the expiration of his tenure.

  • Compromise as a veritable conflict resolution tool, the Abia Case

    Compromise as a veritable conflict resolution tool, the Abia Case

    By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu

    Conflict is an inevitable phenomenon in human relations. Be it at the international, national, state or family levels and units. According to a notable scholar, David Lockwood” there are machnisms in societies that make conflict inevitable and inexorable. For example, power differentials assure that some groups would exploit others, and constituted a built- in source of tension and conflict in social systems. Additionally, the existence of scarce resources in societies would inevitably generate fights over the distribution of these resources. And finally, the fact that different interest groups in social systems pursue different goals, and hence often had to vie with another assured that conflict would erupt”.

    Like Lockwood aptly posited, other sources of conflicts are ego, interest, perception to issues, distribution of scarce resources, power interest, among others. Even Biblical characters such as Abraham, locked in one conflict form or the other. In Abraham’s case, it is a classical demonstration of compromise. When there were early signals indicating a serious breakdown of law and order between servants of Abraham and his nephew, Lot, over grazing spaces,Abraham had to consult Lot for a consensus. Even when it was obvious that Lot’s choices of the grazing spaces were not fair, Abraham had to cave in and compromised. Compromise in conflict situations does not portray us as cowards or paint us as weaklings, rather it portraysbus as ardent Christians who are faithfully demonstrating the teachings for nonviolent resistance when we are shortchanged.

    As long as there are interests to be protected, egos to protect, varying perceptions to issues, limited powers yo be distributed among power seekers, limited resources to be distributed to be distributed among unlimited population, conflict situations would arise. There is nothing entirely wrong in conflicts. Rather what is important is their management and conflicts.

    Shoddily managed conflict situations can trigger wildfires. At this, infernos are usually caused by mere sparks .The most deadly forest fire in the history of the United States engulfed the dry Woodlands of north-eastern Wisconsin in early October 1871. As the fire raged on, the flames and intense heat killed more than 1,200 people and consumed some two billion trees.

    This is a pathetic appeal to Abia politicians to adopt the Abraham’s model of conflict resolution to avert the state going up in flames. On this note, if ones political interest is not protected this season, it has not ruled out that in subsequent seasons, ones political interest would not be protected. A classical imagery is that a football constitutes most times over forty players but only eleven players are selected and permitted to compete at a time. Into may not necessarily mean that the 11 players are the best at that material time. Here, Ecclesiastics 9:11 comes into play “I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all”. Let us always learn to think Abianfirst, even when our political interest is not protected. Because Abia is our common heritage. It will be antithetical to set it ablaze because of an Individual ambition. Our individual ambitions should not override our collective goals and aspirations.
    Like Apostle James’ classical imagery in James 3:6: “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” This is similar to the admonition in Proverbs 18:21: “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

    Indecorous and unhealthy languages, rumours and propaganda are inimical to society’s progress. They undermine good human relations. They generate tension, chaos, panic, and can cause a city to evacuate, even when a single bullet has not been shot. Abia will be a better place for all of u if we could heed the biblical injunctions of Exodus 23:1: “You must not pass along false rumours. You must not cooperate with evil people by lying on the witness stand;” and Leviticus 19:16: “You must not go around spreading false stories against other people; don’t do anything that would put your neighbour’s life in danger. I am the Lord.”

    On the other hand,ambitions are good. Nothing is negative about ambitions, especially when they are done within the realms of decency and responsibility. What is negative about ambitions is when they are shot beyond every reasonable limit. This negative pursuit of ambitions informed Wolsey’s charge to Cromwell thus”Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition. By that sin fell the angels; how can man then,The image of his Maker, hope to win by it?Love thyself last, cherish those hearts that hate thee;Corruption wins not more than honesty .Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,To silence envious tongues. Be just and fear not;Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy country’s,Thy God’s, and truth’s. Then if thou fall’st, o Cromwell,Thou fall’st a blessed martyr. Had I but served my God, with half the zeal I served my King, he would not in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies”.

    Cardinal Wolsey, it would be recalled , was adviser to King Henry the Eighth of England, but he was an overly and unscrupulous element.As overambitious elements are not content with their states, Wolsey was not content with the level of wealth he amassed and besides, he had the ears of the King.

    Overambitious elements are noted for always going into unholy alliances to satisfy their selfish ambitions, Wolsey connived secretly for an alliance with France, and urges the king to divorce Katharine of Aragon, who has been his wife for twenty years. Wolsey hopes the king will then marry a French princess to cement the alliance. But the king falls in love with Anne Bullen, a Protestant. Alarmed at this turn, Wolsey requests the Pope to delay the divorce. A copy of this letter and an accounting of Wolsey’s wealth, enough to make a king jealous, fall into Henry’s hands. Confronted with the king’s wrath, these evidences of his double-dealing, and the loss of his offices, Wolsey meditates upon the precarious nature of ambition, and then speaks a touching farewell to his servant Cromwell.

    Like Wolsey charged Cromwell, Abians let us learn to confine our political ambitions within the limit of decency and responsibility. Let us always remember that political seasons come and go but human relations will not cease to be. Let us remember that political seasons will come and go but Abia will not cease to exists. More importantly, let us have it at the back of our mind that our activities will define what we would bequeath to our unborn children.

  • Peter Obi Visits Gov Ikpeazu In Abia, Attends Catholic Church Event

    Peter Obi Visits Gov Ikpeazu In Abia, Attends Catholic Church Event

    The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has visited Abia State and met with Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

    Mr Obi met with Governor Ikpeazu on Saturday at the governor’s country home in Umuobiakwa, Obingwa Local Government Area.

    Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Onyebuchi Ememanka, said in a statement that both men met in the morning.

    Mr Obi is in the state to attend an event at the Mater Dei Catholic Cathedral in Umuahia and he informed Governor Ikpeazu that he had to meet with him in line with official courtesies and protocols before proceeding to the event, according to Ememanka.

    “They discussed a wide range of issues ranging from security, economy and politics. They also had a private breakfast session,” he added.

    “Governor Ikpeazu presented him with a Souvenir bag containing the first ever Abia State Long Term Development Plan and the Abia State Industrial Policy which was presented to the Governor yesterday by ECOWAS Representative at the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation.”

    At the Cathedral, Mr Obi is expected to also interact with members of the congregation, among other activities.

    The Labour Party presidential candidate, who sat with members of the congregation, during the event took time out to also interact with them.

  • Methodist Church Prelate, Two Others Abducted In Abia

    Methodist Church Prelate, Two Others Abducted In Abia

    Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence, Samuel Kanu Uche, was on Sunday May 29, abducted by gunmen.

    Kanu was abducted along Ihube-Leru-Isuochi Road in Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State at about 7pm yesterday.

    The police confirmed the incident, which has thrown the church hierarchy into fear over the safety of their leader.

    Dennis Mark, the bishop of Owerri, as well as another cleric, were also said to have been abducted during the attack.

    Geoffrey Ogbonna, Abia police spokesperson said efforts are ongoing to ensure the rescue of the clerics.

    He said;

    “We have intensified effort mobilising all our tactical teams to ensure that the prelate and the other priests that are with him are rescued unhurt and for a possible arrest of the suspects.

    “We are calling on members of the public to help with credible information that will help us rescue the victims.”

  • Abia 2023: Of purported endorsements and the zoning debate

    Abia 2023: Of purported endorsements and the zoning debate

    By Ndudirim Godspower

    Electioneering periods are always interesting . The periods provide some momentary jobs as faceless groups emerge to endorse purportedly anointed candidates. The recent weeks have been interesting in Abia politics. Speculations have been rife of blessings bestowed on some governorship aspirants. And, as usual, there have been swift visits to these anointed aspirants. This makes the game more interesting as the days unfold.

    Politics cannot be separated from all these. In 2015, similar groups, one under the aegis of Ukwa Ngwa One Million man March also paid a solidarity visit to the then governor, Senator Theodore Orji. If none of these takes place in this current season, something is amiss.

    The groups have resurrected once again. Few days back, a group led by a former deputy speaker of the state , under the aegis of Ukwa la Ngwa Elders, went to prod a former Vice Chancellor of Abia State University to join the governorship race of the state. They said that he is the most qualified candidate for the position. This is simply because of the speculations that the VC has received some anointing from above.

    For this group, it is the normal route and job. They undergo metamorphosis each political dispensation. This qualified as “the road most traveled that leads to nowhere”. It is simply a merry- go- round.

    One issue that has generated serious controversy recently is the purported zoning of the governorship ticket to Abia Central and North zones of the state. The purported zoning arrangement by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as was highly expected, has been trailed by untold negative reactions. It has received serious knocks from several prominent quarters. One argument is that zoning of the magnitude should be specific and not ambiguous.Two, according to political pundits, is that the purported zoning was designed to shut down the ambitions of the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe to rule the state in 2023.

    The first to knock the purported zoning is Senator Abaribe. In his reaction:“It is obvious that the statement was merely formulated to exclude me from the contest. By virtue of section 42(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, no person or body can exclude me (Nma Agha Ndigbo) from contesting and winning the 2023 elections in Abia State. All PDP members and Abia citizens are therefore urged to remain calm and participate in the forthcoming congresses and primaries where your voice will be heard as we dismantle the cabal that want to keep Abians subjected to further years of imposition. It is only Abians that will decide who will be their Governor in 2023″.

    Senator Adolphus Wabara, former Senate President and Secretary, Board of Trustees (BoT) of PDP, expressed surprise that the party could take such a far-reaching decision without first convening a meeting of the State caucus and party elders.

    In his words:“PDP is a party that has constitution. So, I don’t know where they got the whole idea from. As far as I’m, and many other leaders of this party are concerned, they did not summon a meeting of the caucus.

    “I’m not sure other leaders attended any caucus meeting not to talk of attending any Elders Council meeting where such decisions were reached”.

    Abaribe’s ambition to govern Abia State in 2023 has unsettled many camps, and equally, many nerves are now restless by that ambition. As expected fears are not borne out of nothing expeced because of the calibre of the personality that is behind the ambition.

    Borrowing from the biblical litotes that” Tarsus is no mean city”, Senator Abaribe is no mean personality as long as Nigerian politics is involved. In his home state, Abaribe commands what could be best described as a cult followership. The massive crowd that graced the reception by his kinsmen few days after his formal declaration for the governorship race at Ahiaba High School, Obingwa LGA, is a glaring testimony of his enviable profile.

    There is a concensus making waves currently in Abia that Abaribe has paid his dues as far as Igbo politics is concerned. He has remained a strong and consistent voice in championing the Igbo cause and at any given time, highlighting the injustices meted on the Igbo race. A feat which many political analysts and observers believe has given him far edge among his fellow contenders in his present. For a staunch political analyst and a PDP stalwart in the state, ” other contenders have multiple miles to cover”.

    On the other hand, Abaribe’s involvement in the IPOB struggle by standing surety for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the presently incarcerated leader of the group, is a very big puzzle for other contenders to resolve. This, according to an analyst,” is a mountain to big for any other contender in the race to climb”. It amounts to any contender swimming against the tide. “Abaribe is indeed an iroko,” the analyst explained.

    It will be recalled that from 2002 or there about,some Ukwa-Ngwa nation activists waged a struggle demanding a power shift to the enclave, which they said had not tasted the governorship position in the state right from the military era. The champion of the struggle was Senator Abaribe, who even contested for the governorship position in the platform of All People’s Party in 2003, which was later rechristened All Nigerian Peoples Party(ANPP). Abaribe lost in the election, but the spirit of the Ukwa-Ngwa struggle was not lost.

    As predictions and forecasts can never be pushed to the background in the affairs of human beigns, politics not in exception, questions have started agitated minds if this is the time nature wants to reward Abaribe for the struggle he initiated years back. On this, let us keep our fingers crossed as events unfolding in the subsequent months will only determine.

    Another argument going for Abaribe is that if he emerged as the governor of Abia state that he is going to adjust alot of things to the positive angle. It is highly suggested that he is the only character that has the capacity to turn around situation of things in the state presently. But like every other argument which must possess a flip side, there are arguments that Abaribe would witness a strong opposition from some powers in state who depend on handouts from state treasury, which derogatorily is referred tobas” blood tonic” to survive.But the assumption is that Senator Abaribe has enormous capacity to contain this enormous challenge.

    Argument in favour of Senator Abaribe’s candidacy is stretched to the point that the Igbo nation urgently requires another governor in the mould of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who has just emerged governor of Anambra State, in terms of intellectualism and clout, to strengthen the Igbo nation’s hold in the schemes of political affairs in the country. This they say, Abaribe fits in perfectly.

    Recently the zoning debate has assumed a sore point in Abia politics. Reacting some media comments credited to Dr. Eme Okoro, Don Ubani wrote:”Intelligence allegedly had it then that three of them had strongly cautioned Governor Kalu never to have any form of confidence in any Abian that was not of Old Bende origin. The same intelligence reportedly reminded Governor Kalu that the late first Nigeria’s Military Head of State, General J T U Aguiyi-Ironsi, an indigene of Old Bende from Ibeku, was assassinated because of his trust in non-Igbo Military Officers.

    “Reportedly, it was the three Musketeers that drew up ‘the Old Bende Agenda’ for Governor Orji Uzor Kalu. The resume of the Old Bende Agenda’, according to their projection, was to hold power in perpetuity in Abia State, not minding what Abia Charter of Equity implied. The goal of that invisible Old Bende Advisory Council was to make sure people from Old Aba Division were marginalized, emasculated and ridiculed in whatever position they were given in Governor Kalu’s Government.

    “By the dictates of Abia Charter of Equity, Governor Orji Uzor Kalu should have handed over power to a successor from Old Aba Division. Even Governor Kalu openly agreed to this written understanding at Aba Township Stadium about November 2002 when Chief Reagan Ufomba organized a very colourful and well attended Ukwa/Ngwa Declaration. Unknown to the Peoples of Old Aba Division, all was a deceit.

    “Therefore, in 2007, Governor Orji Uzor Kalu perfected the Old Bende Agenda sold to him by the trio of Dr Eme Okoro, Chief M D Ofo and late Sir Bob Ogbuagu. Contrary to the intendment and understanding inherent in Abia Charter of Equity , Governor Kalu enthroned another indigene of Old Bende in the person of Chief Theodore Ahamefule Orji, from Ibeku-Umuahia, as Governor of the State in 2007.

    “It would be recalled that Dr Eme Okoro was among those that had fallen out with Governor Kalu before the 2007 Governorship election. He, however, did not deviate from the agenda of holding power in perpetuity by the people of Old Bende. In pursuit of that horrendous agenda, he was a strong pillar of support for the Governorship Ambition of yet another indigene of Old Bende, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu from Ohuhu in Umuahia”.

    What could be deducted by the above statements by Don Ubani is that the “Abia Charter of Equity” is more of a ruse. Because, if as alleged by Don Ubani the likes of Eme Okoro and cohorts ganged and thwarted the power shift to Old Aba division when Orji Uzor Kalu completed his eight years (two terms) in 2007, the good intentions of the founding fathers of Abia was highly defeated and this has rendered any argument proposing power shift to Abia North null and void.

    What is decipherable here is that power should remain in Old Aba Division, comprising the nine local government areas of Ngwa and Ukwa ethnic nationalities. But now, another argument has popped up. And the argument is that while the retention by the Old Aba Division to complete the 16 years the Old Bende did remains non- negotiable, the best hands with the right exposure and intellect should be mobilised for this onerous task despite which section of the divide the candidate is coming from, whether from the Ngwa extraction of Abia Central or Abia South.

    What buttresses this argument is that the Abia situation is critical and demands urgent attention to bail. Like an analyst posits” the situation is critical and demands urgent steps to resolve. What Abia needs in 2023 is a stabilising force that would beat certain things that have gone wrong in the state to shape. What is most important is that there is an unjust status quo in the state that demands urgent dismantling. Abians should vehemently oppose imposition of candidates at all cost because it has remained our albatross and has kept us where we are today.

    “It is only a person like Senator Abaribe who enjoys widespread love and respect among all Abians irrespective of the divide they come from can unite Abians in the quest to uproot the hegemony foisted on Abians since 1999”.

    Flowing from the above assertion, another debate surfaces: Abia is in a serious crossroad and requires a formidable candidate to address. In the midst of this argument, the pointer is looking towards the direction of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe.