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Enugu Govt Accused of Killing Livelihoods as Minister Condemns Demolitions

Published

1 year ago

July 21, 2025

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The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji has frowned at what he called indiscriminate demolition of markets and peoples shops by the Enugu state government, without notice and compensation, thereby inflicting untold hardship on the traders leading to death of several traders in the last one year.

Nnaji spoke at Ogurute, Igbo-Eze North local government area of Enugu state on Sunday when he received more than 500 defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) into the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The leader of APC in Enugu state stressed that it was wrong to destroy people’s means of livelihood in the name of building modern motor parks without providing a reasonable alternative for them.

The Minister also expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, who is from the local government area, as the Chief of Naval Staff, and thanked the people for their decision to join APC enmass.

Nnaji, who was accompanied by the State Chairman of APC, Barr Ugochukwu Agballah, the deputy governorship candidate of APC in 2023 elections, Barr George Ogara, Rt. Hon.Dennis Amadi, Chief Ohamadike Okwonkwo and the Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of the Governing Council of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia state, Comr. Fidelis Edeh, among other party leaders, stated that APC will do everything possible and under the law to displace the PDP government under Governor Peter Mbah in 2027 general elections.

He condemned an alleged attempt by the Igbo-Eze North local government authority and PDP leaders in the area to stop the mini-rally, which made the organizers change the original venue to another location, saying it was abuse of authority and political intolerance.

“We heard that some people were trying to abuse their authority by attempting to stop this gathering today, to the extent that we have to move from the original venue to this place. What we have come today is more of liberating our people.“Enugu has never had it this bad, and as I stand today, I imagine how a people can survive without something like Ogige Nsukka market. Ogige Nsukka market has gone; they have bulldozed Ogige Nsukka to ashes, without any notice.

Many of our people have died out of that singular act of government.“If you come to Enugu too, Holy Ghost suffered the same fate, Garki and Abakpa suffered the same fate, and Ogurute market here in Igbo-Eze North LGA suffered the same fate, and I wonder how our people who are predominantly businessmen can survive without trading.“An average Igbo man is a trader, so if you keep on destroying the markets, demolishing the markets without compensation, without providing an alternative, I don’t know how our people are going to survive and that is why we have brought out ourselves, come rain, come shine, that we are going to fight, we are going to do everything humanly possible and within the ambit of law to make sure that come 2027 our people will start rejoicing again.“We are moving to the Lion Building (Enugu State Government House), we are going to make our people happy, the road will be open.

It’s not a situation of opening CCTV for people to listen to governor or anybody in authority, I will meet you live, you will come we will have interaction with you live, and we will not be afraid of meeting our people, we will meet with our people when we get into government House come 2027,” the Minister asserted.

Nnaji stated that APC Enugu will not stop anybody who wants to defect to the party, noting that the door of the party will be open to welcome new members but that nobody will snatch the structure of the party from them.“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu knows that we are here, he knows we are doing all these things for the state and for him and for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He knows and he has our support 101 percent and he is behind us, we are APC.

We are not running away anywhere for anybody’s sake.“We will remain here and we will welcome anybody that wants to enter, anybody that wants to enter we’ll welcome him, but we’ll make sure we defeat him. If anybody enters we’ll welcome him and defeat him and throw him away. So we are waiting for people to come into this party, we want many people to come in, there is no preferential treatment; when they come in we’ll defeat them.“…And we thank the president and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, for appointing Vice Admiral Ogalla, who is from Igbo-Eze North, for making him the Chief of Naval Staff, we’ll keep thanking him for this,” the Minister stated.

In his remarks, the State Chairman of APC, Agballah thanked the defectors for joining APC saying that the disadvantage of belonging to small parties is that they won’t be able to protect their votes.“You know that in the last election, Labour Party won in Igbo-Eze North, LP won the House of Assembly, won the House of Rep, won everything but they were rigged out. Do you know why they were rigged out? It’s because they were in a one man show. One-man-show parties don’t go far, politics is like a market, one person does not constitute the market.

“I was once in a one man party, I contested for governorship under APGA, and APGA is a one man party. We did our best in APGA, I was even elected governor, not once but twice, but the votes were snatched from me. That’s why we are telling Igbo-Eze people who want to go far in politics to come into APC, APC is the ruling party.

”Some of the defectors are; Hon Ikechukwu Ogbugo, a former executive Vice Chairman Igbo-Eze North LGA under PDP; Hon Barr Osita Ugwuoke, Hon Festus Ayogu of PDP (Bravo), Chief Oliver Idoko (Ego Amaka Transport), Hon Emmanuel Itodo (E-Gas) and Prof. Onyeke A. Onyeke, former House of Assembly member under old Enugu state, and Hon Ojobor Ikechukwu (Jnr) Ebuge.Others are; Hon Emeka Okenyi, former Labour Party chieftain; Chief Onu Emmanuel, from PDP; Chief Cosmas Onu, former APGA chieftain; Sunday Eze, PDP; Idoko Uchenna, PDP; Eya Hilary, PDP; and Festus Ugwu, a former Executive Vice chairman of the local government under PDP, and their numerous supporters.

The defectors stated that they were joining APC because of the appointment of their brother as chief of Naval Staff as well as neglect by their former parties over the years.

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New financial markets facility set to open in Abia

Published

13 hours ago

September 16, 2026

Top News Nigeria

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A forex trading facility is expected to open in Abia State in October, following the 2025 Abia Forex Expo, which organisers said attracted more than 1,500 participants.

The facility is being established by entrepreneur and financial markets personality, Sam Keys, as a platform for financial education, market analysis, trading activities and networking.

According to the organisers, the project followed increased interest in forex trading and other financial market activities among youths and business communities in the state.

The proposed facility will provide a physical location where traders, aspiring investors and other participants can access financial market information, take part in educational activities and interact with others in the sector.

Keys had previously organised the 2025 Abia Forex Expo, which brought together participants interested in forex trading, investment and financial markets.

The new facility is expected to complement such events by providing a permanent location for activities relating to financial market education and trading.

The October opening is expected to attract traders, investors and other individuals interested in learning about the financial markets.

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Abia debunks N50,000 akara tax claim

Published

13 hours ago

September 15, 2026

Top News Nigeria

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Abia State Government has debunked reports that akara sellers and other petty traders in the state are being compelled to pay N50,000 as tax, describing the claim as misinformation.

The government also said it had approved the designation of some historical and natural sites as State Monuments and State Natural Monuments, while declaring Aba a Creative and Innovative City.

Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti.

Kanu said the historical sites approved as State Monuments include the National War Museum, Umuahia; Ojukwu Bunker, Umuahia; and Government College, Umuahia.

Those designated State Natural Monuments are Ibom Waterfall in Arochukwu and Ulochukwu Cave in Alayi, Bende Local Government Area.

According to him, the designations would strengthen the government’s efforts to preserve the state’s cultural and natural heritage, promote tourism and open up new economic opportunities.

“These sites have been elevated to heritage sites that enhance the state’s tourism potential. With this approval, they are primed to attract recognition as UNESCO Heritage Sites,” Kanu said.

He further disclosed that Aba had been designated a Creative and Innovative City in recognition of its longstanding commercial, industrial and creative significance.

The commissioner said the retrofitting of the Ojukwu Bunker and National War Museum had reached about 80 per cent completion and was expected to be concluded before the end of 2026.

He said the projects would improve the preservation of the sites, enhance visitors’ experience and strengthen their tourism potential.

Kanu also disclosed that the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy had received approval to develop the Ibom Waterfall Tourism Corridor in Arochukwu.

He said work had commenced, including grading of access roads to the waterfall, with completion expected before the end of the year.

The commissioner added that the state government had commenced the erection of monuments at strategic locations to preserve Abia’s heritage, honour its heroes and heroines and promote the state’s cultural identity.

He cited a monument being dedicated to the heroines of the 1929 Aba Women’s Riot as one of such initiatives, saying it would celebrate their courage, resilience, resistance and leadership.

No N50,000 tax on akara sellers
On the controversy over alleged excessive taxation, Kanu said there had been no fresh increase in tax rates by the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue, noting that most of the rates being circulated were contained in tax laws enacted in 2020 under the previous administration.

He stressed that the Board could not unilaterally increase tax rates without enabling legislation.

“For starters, these rates are not new. Most of the rates are 2020 tax rates that were introduced by the previous government.

“Let me reiterate that the Board of Internal Revenue cannot raise tax rates without the backing of enabling laws. And no such increases have been introduced by the Abia State Government,” he said.

Kanu explained that demand notices issued by the BIR were provided for under the law, urging taxpayers to comply with relevant tax provisions while assuring that legitimate concerns would be addressed by the appropriate officials.

On the specific claim that akara sellers were being made to pay N50,000, he said: “This is pure fallacy. Nothing can be further from the truth. Akara sellers don’t pay tax or levies. They pay daily tolls. And none can pay N50,000.”

The Chairman of the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue, Mr Uche Elekwachi, corroborated the clarification, saying there was no revenue window under the state’s tax laws requiring akara sellers to pay such an amount.

Elekwachi said the Abia Internally Generated Revenue Service Law establishing the applicable framework was enacted in 2020, before the present administration came into office.

“This whole thing has always been in existence. The Abia Internally Generated Revenue Service Law was enacted in 2020 long before this government came onboard, so we need to make that clarification,” he said.

Gratuity: 2011–2025 retirees next.

On outstanding gratuities owed retired workers, Kanu disclosed that the government had completed payments covering 2001 to 2010 and was preparing for the next batch covering 2011 to 2025.

He said the next payments would commence after the completion of ongoing internal verification and other necessary processes.

The commissioner dismissed claims that the government had only commenced gratuity payments because of pressure from the opposition, explaining that the huge financial commitment involved made payment in batches necessary.

“The payments will be in batches. The funds involved are huge for one balloon payment,” he said.

Kanu also clarified reports suggesting that gratuity payments would continue only until 2031, explaining that such reports are incorrect.

He explained that the State Gratuity Committee had recommended the inclusion of gratuity provisions in the state’s 2026–2031 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and subsequent annual budgets to ensure that gratuity obligations were systematically provided for and prevent the accumulation of fresh arrears.

“That does not translate to payments being terminated in 2031. As the internal processes and verification of beneficiaries of these payments continue, due payments would still be made in batches,” he said.

He added that the government remained committed to clearing the outstanding liabilities and expressed optimism that the process could be completed earlier than anticipated.

“The conclusion of payment of outstanding gratuities may happen earlier than we ever imagined. Let us therefore wait and see how the next batch of payments will unfold,” Kanu said.

The Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Mr Matthew Ekwuribe, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Internally Generated Revenue, Dr Emmanuel Okpechi, were also present at the briefing.

Source: Vanguard.

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‘I have no objection’ – Obi urges UNN to release his academic records

Published

14 hours ago

September 15, 2026

Top News Nigeria

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Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Peter Obi has said he has no objection to the release of his academic records amid reports of a legal action seeking certified true copies of his certificates and other educational documents.

Obi stated this in a statement posted on X on Tuesday, saying he had given consent for the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, to make available his academic records and other official documents relating to his admission and studies, subject to applicable laws.

His statement followed reports circulating on social media concerning a legal action by an individual or group seeking certified true copies of his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and other academic credentials relating to his admission into the university.

He wrote, “I wish to state clearly that I have absolutely no objection to the release of these records.

“I respectfully request that the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, within the limits permitted by law, make available, upon legitimate request, my academic certificates, records, and other official documents relating to my admission and studies at the University. I equally have no objection to other educational institutions, within and outside Nigeria, which I attended, making my academic records available in accordance with applicable laws and procedures.”

Obi said he believed strongly in transparency and accountability, particularly for individuals seeking public office, but stressed that public scrutiny should be fair, lawful and consistently applied to all presidential candidates.

“As a presidential candidate seeking the trust of Nigerians to lead our country, I welcome legitimate public interest in my background, qualifications, and record. I am prepared to subject myself to the level of scrutiny that should reasonably be expected of anyone seeking the highest office in our country,” he said.

Obi said candidates seeking the nation’s highest office should be willing to subject themselves to reasonable scrutiny and demonstrate that they had nothing to conceal from the people they sought to serve.

He subsequently challenged other presidential candidates to make their educational qualifications and relevant records available for public scrutiny.

“Doing so should not be regarded as an inconvenience or an attack. Rather, it is an opportunity to strengthen public confidence, promote accountability, and rebuild the trust of Nigerians in those who seek to govern them,” he said

Obi added that transparency, integrity and accountability should begin with those seeking to lead the country.

“I therefore welcome the scrutiny of my academic background and remain committed to the principle that those who ask Nigerians for their trust must also be willing to earn that trust through openness and accountability,” he added.