29112019

34—Vanguard, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2019
EEDC urges customers
to protect facilities
against vandalism
By Chinedu Adonu
ENUGU Electricity
Distribution
Company, EEDC, has
called on consumers
within its franchise area to
be vigilant and ensure
power installations
serving them are
protected against vandals,
as the yuletide is around
the corner.
Head
of
Communication, Mr
Emeka Eze who made this
known to newsmen in
Enugu yesterday,
regretted the rate at which
power facilities are being
vandalized across
EEDC’s network,
stressing that the menace
is always high during the
yuletide period as already
being experienced.
According to him, “in
recent times, millions of
Naira have been
committed to replacing
vandalized materials, a
regular practice which has
eaten deep into the
company’s revenue. No
day passes without a case
of vandalism recorded in
three or more districts.
“The effect of vandalism
has untold consequences
on electricity customers
who depend on electricity
DSC owners fault
report of collapse
M ANAGING
Director and
Chief Executive Officer of
Premium Steel and Mines
Limited, PSML, Mr.
Prasanta Mishra, has
assured that the new
owners of the former Delta
Steel Company, DSC,
Ovwian-Aladja, Delta
State, are working hard to
get the plant fully
operational, noting that
any insinuation of a
collapse in operation of the
plant was in bad taste and
not the reality on ground.
Mr. Mishra spoke in
reaction to a publication,
“Reps Probe N1.9bn Delta
Steel Company Collapse,”
in a national daily (not
Vanguard) with the
headline suggesting that
the company was not
doing well, prompting the
House of Representatives
upon a motion moved by
Ben Igbakpa, to set up a
committee to investigate
the state of things at the
plant.
He maintained that the
information made
available to Igbakpa did
not portray the true picture
on ground, disclosing that
since the take-over of the
to carry out their various
business activities, as
they are subjected to
blackout and
inconvenienced during
the period, before the
vandalized material is
replaced and supply
restored”.
Mr Eze said that
EEDC is however not
relenting on its effort to
reduce the cases of
vandalism through its
strategic partnership
with government
security agencies and
vigilant groups. This
collaboration is however
yielding positive result.
Eze stated that in some
cases, investigations
have led to the recovery
of vandalized items at
the residents of these
vandals who happen to
live among other people.
“These vandals are not
spirits and do not
operate in the air. They
are human beings: our
relatives, friends,
neighbours and so on,
who operate in the same
environment.
“We encourage you to
say something once you
see something. Report
any suspicious
movement around these
power installations.”
company by PSML,
activities have peaked
and steel products were
being produced daily.
A statement by the firm
said: “We are doing a
total turn-around of the
company with
installation of modern
equipment just as we
have continued to
impact on the immediate
community, where we
operate through our
corporate social responsibility
initiatives.“
The rolling mill is
working at full blast and
the next in line is the
SMS shop, which will
guarantee local
production of billets. We
are targeting the third
quarter of next year for
the SMS to come on
stream. When PSML
took over the plant, we
met just five staff on
board.
He said the company
was prepared to meet
with the House of
Representatives
Committee on Steel
Development for an
opportunity to share the
company’s experiences
with the lawmakers.
Stakeholders worry over environmental pollution in Imo
By Chinonso Alozie
O WERRI—SEVERAL
organisations in Imo
State said the time has come
to put an end to activities
that are causing
environmental pollution in
the state.
Vanguard gathered
yesterday in Owerri that
the organisations, led by
Centre for Peace Across
Borders, CEPAB, spoke
through Anthony Osuoha,
N
N
E W I —
LANDLORDS
and traders, who are
victims of Upper Iweka
tanker fire incident that
spread to Amobi, Emodi
streets, Zik's Avenue and
parts of Ochanja Central
Market heaved a sigh of
relief yesterday as Church
of Nigeria, Province of the
Niger, Anglican
Communion, visited and
made a donation of
N10,000,000.
The Province of the Niger
is made up of nine
dioceses—Diocese on the
Niger, with headquarters in
Onitsha; Dioceses of
Nnewi, Awka, Amichi,
Aguata, Ogbaru, Ihiala,
Niger West and Mbamili.
Speaking during the visit,
Archbishop, Province of the
Niger, Anglican
Communion and Bishop of
Awka Diocese, Rt. Rev.
Alexander Ibezim,
admonished the victims on
the essence of trusting in
God in all circumstances.
He thanked the members
of the Diocese on the Niger
and its Bishop, Rt. Rev.
Owen Nwokolo, for the
earlier visit and donation to
the victims, adding that the
Province as a family is
who advised the current
government to implement
policies that will address the
issue of companies using
non-degradable materials
for production of their
goods.
Osuoha said: “On the
World Clean-Up Day 2019,
we conducted a house-tohouse
clean-up on plastic
and collected data on the
brands we found.
“After our analysis, we
found out that sachet water
coming to sympathise and
give them hope.
He announced a
donation of N10 million to
the victims and assured
them of prayers by the
church for them to get to
their feet again.
Other Bishops that visited
with Archbishop Ibezim,
were Bishop of Amichi
Diocese, Rt. Rev. Ephraim
Ikeakor; Bishop of Niger
West Diocese, Rt. Rev.
Johnson Ekwe, and Bishop
is the highest plastic
polluters in our state and
among the highest
environment polluters
around the area (Owerri
North) where these plastic
collections were
conducted.
“It is time to change the
habit of polluters. In
making a change, it is right
for them to lead the change.
We are proposing that they
go into research and come
up with materials that are
of Ogbaru Diocese, Rt. Rev.
Prosper Amah.
Earlier in his
admonition, Bishop
Nwokolo encouraged the
traders to always see any
thing that happened to
them as act of God, to
which only him can provide
remedy or solution.
Other Bishops in
attendance, who took turns
to speak, encouraged the
traders not to loose hope or
be discouraged because
degradable and re-usable.”
They also demanded
among other things that
“companies publicly
declare how many units of
single plastic they produce
per year.
“It is also their responsibility
to lead the way in
redesigning packaging to
be refillable and re-usable.
It is time to take responsibility
for the harm caused by
the single-use plastic they
are pushing on society.”
HONOUR: Retired Permanent Secretary, Delta State Hospitals Management Board, Dr. Akpufuoma
Pemu (5th left); Chief Medical Director of the Board, Dr. Ola Odidi (on his left); Medical Director, Central
Hospital, Agbor, Dr. Roy Maduka (on his right), and other zonal medical directors, during the retirement
and birthday party organised by the zonal medical directors in honour of Dr. Pemu.
Anglican Communion donates
N10m to Upper Iweka fire victims
By Chimaobi
Nwaiwu
NGO partners police to monitor
abuse of Nigerians by officers
By Vincent
Ujumadu
AWKA—THE Rule of
Law and
Accountability Advocacy
Centre, RULAAC, a nongovernmental
organisation, is to appoint
experts to identify and
report police abuses in
Anambra State.
The monitoring group
would report to the Police
Stakeholders Partnership
Forum, PSPF, jointly set up
by RULAAC and the
Nigeria Police Force.
Executive Director of
RULAAC, Mr. Okechukwu
Nwanguma, said at the
inauguration and launch of
PSPF in Awka that the new
platform would serve as a
mechanism for making the
police account for rights
violation and creating
awareness to ensure
prevention and reduction of
such violations.
According to
Nwanguma, RULAAC had
already designed a case
management register,
CMR, into which cases and
complaints would be
entered, adding that the
register would provide an
opportunity to monitor the
progress of cases and
complaints.
He said: “To facilitate this
process, RULAAC has
engaged the services of a
good things will soon come
their ways, their lives and
businesses.
Responding on behalf of
the victims, Chairman of
Ochanja Market, Mr.
Nelson Ugochukwu, who
received the N10 million
donation from the Province
of the Niger, thanked the
Church and promised to
ensure that each of the
affected victims get their
share of the money and
make judicious use of it.
documentation officer to
receive reports of police
abuses and challenges
from the field and steps
taken by PSPF and other
relevant institutions of state
to address them.
“We will engage public
advocacy appropriate to
update the public on recent
developments from the
case management register.
“We will also print and
publicly present the final
CMR at the end of the
project and we hope that
we will work together to
improve the system of
criminal justice administration
in the overall interest
of citizens and residents of
Anambra State.”