BusinessDay 26 Feb 2018

Monday 26 February 2018
44 BUSINESS DAY
C002D5556
NEWS
Supreme Court directs INEC to delineate Bakassai LGA
FELIX OMOHOMHION, Abuja
The Supreme Court
has directed the Independent
National
Electoral Commission
(INEC) to delineate
wards in Bakassi Local Government
Area of Cross River
State.
The apex court gave this
order weekend while delivering
a judgment on an appeal
brought by the election
umpire against representatives
of Bakassi LGA, who
were displaced from the Republic
of Cameroon.
The people of Bakassi
had gone to court to compel
INEC to recognise and
conduct elections in the
boundaries adjustment by
the Cross River State House
of Assembly, which was in
line with Law No 7 of Cross
River State 2007.
It would be recalled that
the lower court had earlier
passed judgment ordering
the INEC to conduct elections
in the 10 new wards
of Bakassi that were created
from the old three Ikanga
wards in Akpabuyo Local
Government Area of the
state. But INEC had disagreed
with the judgment
and went to the court of appeal,
which it also lost. This
necessitated approaching
the apex court for interpretation
of the relevant sections
of the Constitution.
However, the apex court
Concerned Edo citizens urge SSS, EFCC to invite Orbih to prove IDP rice allegation
Members of Concerned
Citizens
of Edo State
(CCES), a nongovernmental
organisation,
have called on the Nigeria
Police, the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) and the State
Security Service (SSS) to
invite Dan Orbih, chairman,
Edo State People’s
Democratic Party (PDP) for
proof of his allegation that
the Edo State government
diverted bags of rice meant
for Internally Displaced
Persons (IDPs).
President of the association,
Ogbewi Aghedo, said,
“There are several dimensions
to this allegation.
The credibility of the Edo
State government has been
called to question by the allegation.
The Edo State PDP
chairman has also by that
comment, accused the state
held on Friday that the people
of Bakassi had suffered
enough and urged the electoral
umpire to “do the needful”
in ameliorating their
plight by delineating areas in
the council.
The respondents in the
appeal: Muri Asuquo, Antigha
Cobham, Bassey Ekpenyong
Etim and Effiong
Iyam, who had instituted the
case at the lower courts for
themselves and on behalf
of Ikanga, Esighi, Antigha
Ene Eyo and Edihi Idim Ikot
Eyi clans of Bakassi LGA, respectively,
in their brief of
argument, had urged the Supreme
Court to uphold the
February 2012 judgments of
a Federal High Court and a
Court of Appeal that were
in their favour, and dismiss
INEC appeal.
In the lead judgment,
which was prepared and
delivered by Justice John
Inyang Okoro, the Supreme
Court said: “All we are saying
in this judgment is that
INEC should take steps to
do the needful.
“The people of Bakassi
have suffered more than
enough, and that their own
representation should not
be tampered with. INEC
should do something as
soon as possible at least to
make them feel that they
(Bakassi) belong.”
The Supreme Court further
held that the Cross River
State House of Assembly
government of criminal diversion
of the relief materials
approved for internally
displaced persons and yet
another diversion is the indictment
of a senator from
Ondo State, whose name
was not given by Orbih.
“You will agree with me
that these are weighty allegations
and cannot be
equated with mere politicking.
These alleged crimes
fall within the purview of
the police, the EFCC and
the SSS, and the recorded
audio interview of Dan Orbih
on Independent Radio
is sufficient material for
preliminary investigation
by these security agencies.”
Aghedo said its members
were aware that the
state government had petitioned
the state commissioner
of police, “This a
step in the right direction.
The allegation is an attack
“has powers to make laws to
adjust boundaries of local
governments as it deemed
fit” in line with Law No 7 of
the state, adding that the law
did not create any constituency,
but adjusted boundaries
of Akpabuyo LGA in order
to accommodate Bakassi.
It agreed with the appellant
(INEC) that the umpire
had the sole powers to create
constituencies.
Presenting their arguments
before the Supreme
Court, the respondents
(Bakassi representatives) submitted
that the state assembly
had powers having enacted
Law No 7 as a legal compass
to locate Ikanga North, Ikanga
Central and Ikanga South
as Wards in Bakassi LGA, in
view of the current realities
on ground occasioned by the
cession of Bakassi to Cameroon,
saying, INEC ought to
have effected a consequential
amendment in its directory of
wards and constituencies in
Cross River State.
Reacting to the judgment,
the Cross River State
commissioner for transport,
Nyong Saviour Okon, expressed
delight at the decision
of the apex court, saying,
“On behalf of the government
of Cross River State, we
have received this judgment
with delight. As a law-abiding
people, we will go with the
dictates of the judgment. We
will try to get INEC to do the
needful.”
L-R: Adetukunbo Adekunbi, director of flight operations, Arik Air; Roy Ilegbodu, chief executive officer, Arik
Air ; Jones Chukwudi Onyereri, chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency,
and his deputy, Zakari Ningi, during the House Committee’s visit to Arik Air in Lagos, at the weekend.
on the integrity of the state
government and it is only
proper for the state to rise
up to the occasion and demand
proof.”
The allegation, according
to Aghedo, “is equivalent
to whistle blowing and
as you are aware, when you
have your facts and proof,
the Federal Government
will reward you for blowing
the whistle, but if you blow
a false whistle, we all know
the implication.”
He added that as a
stakeholder in the nation’s
democracy project, its activities
includes identifying
actions and inactions that
pose threat to the lives of
the ordinary Edo people
and Nigerians alike, defend
them against obnoxious
policies and laws and defend
pro-people policies
and programmes, among
others.
Ikpeazu rehabilitates Aba General
Hospital, 7 years after it was abandoned
GODFREY OFURUM
In line with its policy
to improve healthcare
in Abia State, Governor
Okezie Ikpeazu on
Wednesday, February 21,
2018, commissioned the
newly rehabilitated Aba
General Hospital, a secondary
healthcare facility
that had been moribund
for seven years.
The new Aba General
Hospital, equipped with
modern facilities, is to
serve as a referral health
facility for the primary
healthcare centres established
in all communities
in Aba and its environs.
The Aba General Hospital,
which is regarded as
the sole of Aba, apart from
providing healthcare for
residents and visitors to
the city, also trains nurses.
It also served as a take-off
point for the state teaching
hospital - Abia State University
Teaching Hospital
(ABSUTH).
The story of the hospital
began to nosedive when
ABSUTH moved to its permanent
site at Abayi area
of Aba, and all attention
moved to the new facility,
leaving the general hospital
to rot.
The re-opening of the
hospital holds a lot of nostalgia
for the residents.
According to Governor
Okezie Ikpeazu, “This hospital
is associated with all
kinds of relief, for pregnant
women, children, from 0-5
years, the elderly, the aged,
victims of road traffic accidents,
victims of industrial
accidents and people with
all kinds of illnesses, the
place to go to as it where
was Aba General Hospital.
“It was safe, secured and
renowned for best medical
practices.
“However, a few years
ago, the story changed,
what we saw 10 years ago
was that we have backlog of
students, who have come
here to train as nurses in
their general nursing programme
and probably
midwives in the midwifery
programme, abandoned
for 10 years without being
licensed to practice.
“What it meant was that
a little girl, who entered
school here, hopping that
after three years, she will
become a nurse, ended up
celebrating her 28th birthday,
without a certificate of
a licensing authority.
“But to the glory of God,
within the first 18 months
of this administration, we
were able to return and
restore the capacity and
credibility of this nursing
school to the status that we
have cleared the backlog of
those waiting for their licensing
and has continued
to train nurses.”
Governor Ikpeazu wondered
what Aba residents
would do, if the General
Hospital was out of service,
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu
and applauded Dr. Ijeoma
Nduka, chief executive,
Health Management, and
her team for their resilience,
which he observed
led to the rehabilitation of
the hospital.
“So, it is more to their
credit that we are commissioning
this hospital today.
But I see a tomorrow for
this place, better than what
we have ever seen before. I
see a tomorrow where people
will run into this place
and God will heal them, I
see a day when pregnant
women will not have to
pay so much to give birth
to their children, safe and
healthy.
“I look forward to a day
when aged men and women
will come here to access
healthcare and get well
again. I look forward to a
day when a trader, who has
headache, will rush to the
General Hospital, access
medicare and go back to
his/her shop, healthy,” the
Governor said.
The Governor continued,
“I look forward to
a day, when this facility
will have the best medical
equipment you can find
anywhere in the world and
handled by our citizens in
diaspora, who are desirous
of coming back home to
serve their people.
“This is our desire and
we will not rest until we
achieve it.”
For Dr. John Akukanna,
the state’s commissioner
for health, the Governor’s
vision is to ensure that secondary
healthcare system
in Abia State is strengthened.
“He wants to make
secondary health system
strengthened, such that
primary healthcare centres
have proper referral
healthcare centres. And
today, Aba is the first to be
given such attention,” the
commissioner said.
The Abia health commissioner
also revealed
that the same facility
would be replicated in the
three senatorial zones of
the state.
According to Akukanna,
“Aba residents and
environs yawned that this
hospital should be opened
for you and now you have
it. So, Aba as it is now has
full complements of primary
healthcare, secondary
and tertiary healthcare
systems.”
He urged Aba residents
to patronise the hospital
and complain where
things were not working
properly.
To strengthen healthcare
delivery in Abia State,
the current administration
in the State has recruited
medical personnel and is
partnering with organizations
to provide medical
equipment in the state
owned hospitals.
The State Government
has taken delivery of some
medical equipment from
Project CURE, a United
States of America (USA)
based organisation.
Project CURE donates
medical supplies and
equipment to developing
countries.
Governor Ikpeazu, on
tour general hospitals in
the state, explained that
the exercise was aimed
at identifying the various
needs of each General
Hospital in the state.
Accompanied by Bev
Sloan, Project CURE representative,
Ikpeazu stated
that all the general hospitals
need attention in
terms of manpower, medical
equipment, and furniture,
among others.
The Abia State Governor
disclosed that the state
government had plans to
recruit medical personnel
that would be deployed to
various general hospitals
in the state.
He disclosed that the
state was partnering Project
CURE for the supply
of medical equipment
and consumables, and
thanked the Hospital Management
Board for their
commitment in spite of
the numerous challenges
and encouraged them to
continue.
Bev said she was in Abia
State to see things for herself
to enable her make recommendations
for the right
equipment needed in the
general hospitals in the state.
She stressed that her
organisation supplies
medical consumables and
equipment, and informed
that the hospitals visited
were hopeful, as she would
make recommendations
for the supply of the needs
identified.
Nelson Ogboh, medical
director, General Hospital,
Arochukwu, commended
the efforts of the Governor
Ikpeazu-led administration
in fixing and upgrading
the general hospitals,
describing the action as a
welcome development.
Hospitals visited include,
Arochukwu General
Hospital, Abia State University
Teaching Hospital
(ABSUTH), Aba, Abia Specialist
Hospital, Amachara,
Health Management Board
(HMB) Dental Centre, Aba,
and Mgboko General Hospital
in Obingwa Local
Government Area of the
state.