12092018 - APC PRIMARIES: Gov kick against conditions for consensus candidate

34—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2018
Group demands release of
Africa’s oldest prisoner,
Egbunuche GSAC President,
By Dennis Agbo
ENUGU—AN anti-graft
organisation, Global
Society for Anti Corruption,
GSAC, has demanded for
the unconditional and
immediate parole of Africa’s
oldest prisoner, Pa
Celestine Egbunuche, who
turned 100 years in Enugu
Maximum Prison, last
month.
Egbunuche, who turned
100 years has been serving
prison sentence for over 17
years after being convicted
of murder in Imo state
following the slump and
death of someone he had
land dispute with.
The group in a letter to
Governor Rochas Okorocha
of Imo state prayed the
chief executive to grant
state pardon to the
centenerian, arguing that
in other climes, prisoners of
65 years were granted state
pardon.
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Franklin Ezeona in his
letter to Governor Okorocha
said that Pa Egbunuche,
who hails from Akokwa in
Ideato North Local
Government Area of Imo
state, has been on death
row for over 17 years with
his surviving son and
another 87-year-old
relation, after somebody
slumped and died in the
course of dispute over a
piece of land.
He turned 100 on August
4, 2018, in solitary
confinement in the Enugu
Maximum Prison.
“Our last inquiry
indicated that the health
condition of the
centenarian who has been
suffering from diabetes for
years, nose-dived shortly
after his last birthday and
to worsen the case, he may
soon lose his sight. He is
currently incapacitated and
passes faeces and urine at
will on his clothes,” said
Ezeona.
Labour reads riot act in Imo
By Chidi
Nkwopara
O
W E R R I —
ORGANISED
labour in Imo State has said
it is no longer very
comfortable with the
prevailing non-payment
and under-payment of
workers salaries and
allowances in the state.
The State chairman of
Nigeria Labour Congress,
NLC, Comrade Austine
Chilakpu, who made the
feelings of Imo workers
known in a telephone
interview also said that
“since there was no reason
why salaries should go into
arrears, the leadership of
labour can no longer
guarantee industrial
harmony in the state”.
According to the Imo
NLC boss, "workers are
aware that the state gets
monthly allocation from the
federation account",
stressing that "there could
not have been any cogent
reason why workers
salaries should run into
arrears.
“I am seriously under
pressure from the entire
workers in Imo State. They
are complaining bitterly
about their unpaid salaries.
They are no longer
comfortable with the underpayment
of their salaries."
Continuing, Chilakpu
said that from their
investigations, there was no
monthly federal allocation
that excluded Imo State.
“So, there is no moral
justification for the
government of Imo State, to
start owing workers as it is
currently doing. Schools
are resuming soon and the
meagre take home pay of
workers are no longer
taking them home, not to
talk of sending the children
back to school”, Chilakpu
fumed.
“The leadership of the
organized labour in the
state is calling on the state
government to as a matter
of urgency, pay all the
workers their full salaries
and all the arrears by this
week. I would not like
anybody to turn around
tomorrow and claim that the
organized labour is either
embarrassing government
or being sponsored by any
group or person."
He explained that labour
in Imo State had shown
more than enough
understanding with
government, pointing out
that “because of what the
workers are facing now, we
cannot guarantee industrial
harmony if the workers are
not paid in the days ahead”.
Chilakpu equally used
the opportunity to urge
Governor Rochas Okorocha
to pay the frail and
famished pensioners.
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IPOB accuses Swiss govt of aiding
human rights violation in Nigeria
By Chimaobi
Nwaiwu
N NEWI—THE
Indigenous People
of Biafra, IPOB, has
accused Swiss government
and it’s Embassy in Abuja
of aiding and abating the
unlawful disappearance of
its leader, Mazi Nnamdi
Kanu.
IPOB in a statement by its
Media and Publicity
Secretary, Emma
Powerful, also accused the
government of Switzerland
of collaborating with the
Nigerian government in
the continued
disappearance of its
leader.
“We note with grave
sadness, the role the Swiss
Embassy in Abuja have
played in aiding and
abating the unlawful
disappearance of our
members in Nigeria, by
denying entry Visa to
members of Kanu's family
and other first hand
witnesses to the Nigerian
Army massacre of unarmed
civilians at Nnamdi Kanu’s
compound in Isiama
Afaraukwu on September
14th 2017.
“This is a clear case of
conspiracy between a
member of staff of the Swiss
Embassy in Abuja and the
Nigerian government to
deny United Nations
investigators access to vital
information and facts
surrounding the
murderous invasion of
Nnamdi Kanu’s compound
by the Nigerian military.
"Instead of commending
the UN for their
intervention, the Swiss
Embassy chose to act out of
character by appearing to
support impunity and
gross violations of the rights
of Kanu's family to seek
justice.
“The conduct of the Swiss
Embassy is unbecoming of
a civilised country, who by
this action, appears to be
collaborating with the
murderous regime in
Nigeria in their persecution
of Biafrans.
“It should be pointed out
to the Swiss Embassy in
Abuja that Prince
Emmanuel Kanu, the
younger brother of our
leader visited the United
States of America recently
on a two-year multiple
entry visa and returned to
Nigeria”
IPOB stated that, “With
all due respect, it is an
indisputable fact that most
people seeking to overstay
their visa permit would
rather prefer to do so in the
United States of America
than Switzerland.
Therefore, the reasons
given by the Kogi-born
employee at the Swiss
Embassy for refusing visas
to the Kanu family is
laughable.”
IPOB statement also
read: “We must also remind
the Swiss Embassy that
IPOB women in the past
months attended a
conference in Baltimore,
Maryland USA and duly
returned to their respective
countries of abode after the
2 factions of Abia APC adopt direct, indirect
the teams from Abuja, the
primaries
Ndukwe group
By Anayo Okoli
UMUAHIA—The crisis
rocking the Abia State
chapter of the All
Progressives Congress,
APC, has continued to
linger as the NEC of the
party has not waded into it,
leaving the party with two
state secretariats in
Umuahia.
Ahead of the primary
elections, the two factions
of the party have adopted
different modes to conduct
the primaries.
While the Emmanuel
Ndukwe-led faction
adopted indirect primaries,
the Donatus Nwankpa
faction adopted direct
PRESENTATION: From left—Chairman, Cross River State Carnival Commission, Mr. Gabe
Onah; the convener, Senator Florence Ita Giwa; Cross River State Deputy Governor, Prof
Evan Esu; and Director-General, National Council of Art and Culture, Otunba Segun Runsewe,
at the stage presentation of the Campaign Against Women Trafficking and Sex Slavery, held
in Lagos.
primaries.
The Ndukwe-led faction
which has the recognition
of an Abia State High Court
as the legal one, said they
have served factional
chairman, Donatus
Nwankpa forms 48 and 49
for still parading himself as
the chairman despite
subsisting court ruling.
Both factions however
have aspirants for various
positions, including
governorship and have
had their stakeholders
meeting where they
adopted the method of
primaries.
Rising from its
stakeholders meeting in
Umuahia, the Emmanuel
Ndukwe faction said it
would “continue to abide by
the order of the State High
Court, Isiala Ngwa Division
presided over by Justice C.
Okoroafor of 8th March
2018 and reaffirmed on
Thursday, the 28th of June
2018 that sacked the
executives of the immediate
past chairman of Abia State,
Hon. Donatus Nwankpa.
“The APC Abia State as a
law -abiding arm of the
party that believes in the
supremacy of the rule of
law and our courts resolved
not to be part of any scheme
to undermine the order
made by a court of
competent jurisdiction in
the country”, a
communiqué signed by
Ndukwe and other
members of the executive
committee said.
Following the conduct of
parallel ward congresses by
approached an Abia State
High Court which sacked
the Nwankpa group and
restrained him from
parading himself as the
State party chairman
pending the hearing of the
substantive suit.
At the last sitting of the
court on June 28, 2018, the
presiding Judge, Justice C.
Okorafor said, “the Order
of the Court remains valid
to the parties; the failure of
the defendants not to
appeal against the
judgment renders it
subsisting. The application
is hereby dismissed”, he
ruled and adjourned it to
September 26 for further
hearing in the matter.
event.
“We are therefore at a loss
to understand why Swiss
Embassy chose this line of
action when the lives of
human beings are at stake.
“We wonder if the Swiss
government through its
Embassy in Abuja is giving
tacit support to abuse of
human rights in Nigeria or
they are seeking to
influence or impede the
work of the United Nations.
“The United Nations
office invited Kanu's family
to meet them in
Switzerland to ascertain
what truly transpired
during the massacre of the
14th of September 2017 at
Isiama Afaraukwu during
Operation Python Dance 2.
“This Nigerian army's
ugly episode and mindless
attack resulted to the
disappearance of our
leader, Mazi Nnamdi
Kanu, his aged parents
and other family members
of IPOB since last year.
“It is important we state
clearly that our leader’s
whereabouts is still
unknown since that very
unwarranted and
unprovoked invasion and
attack.
"If the United Nations has
chosen to invite surviving
members of Kanu family to
a meeting in Geneva to
ascertain the facts, more so
when the Swiss Embassy
has a copy of the letter of
invitation, why is it trying
to stop or disrupt the
meeting through visas
refusal?
“We see this Swiss
Embassy's reluctance to
issue the entry visa to
Kanu’s family as politically
motivated.
“We therefore urge the
Swiss government not to
allow the travesty to subsist.
Otherwise, IPOB will have
no option than to regard
the Swiss government as an
accessory to mass murder
and promoter of human
rights abuses in Africa.”