Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
REGIONAL NEWS
April 6, 2013
11
SOUTH EAST
Ignore Uwazuruike’s sit-at-home order –Agu Biafra DENNIS AGBO ENUGU
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ne of the founding fathers of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Ndubuisi Igwekani, popularly known as Agu Biafra, has urged Ndigbo both at home and in the Diaspora to ignore the June
8, 2013 sit-at-home order called for by MASSOB leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike. Igwekani, who spoke to our correspondent in Enugu, said there is no justifiable reason for the order, and that the terrorism going on in the northern part of Nigeria is not enough for Uwazuruike to issue such an order.
The MASSOB chieftain also said that if there should be any such sit-at-home, it should be organised by Ndigbo generally and not an individual. Uwazuruike had purportedly called on all Igbo sons and daughters to remain indoors on Saturday, June 8, 2013 in protest of the alleged killing of their people
in parts of the country. But Igwekani is urging all Igbo to go about their normal businesses on the proposed date, saying the order “is ineffective and of no relevance.” “Our people should ignore Uwazurike’s system of drawing government’s attention to himself. Anytime he wants the government to know he is still alive, he will
make one useless comment like the sit-at-home order he said should be observed,” Igwekani said. “I am challenging Uwazuruike that he has no right to tell our people to sit at home because of what is happening in the north or any other part of the country this time around. Our people can-
Anambra 2014: Motorcycle union denies pact with Andy Uba NWABUEZE OKONKWO ONITSHA
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L-R: Chairman, Nigeria Union of Teachers, Enugu State Wing, Comrade Chumaife Nze; representative of National President, Comrade Salamatu Aliu and Chairman, Anambra chapter, Comrade Ifeanyi Ofodile, at the inauguration of Nigeria Women in Education Network in Enugu, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN
Elechi preaches peace in Ebonyi
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overnor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State has said that peace was indispensable for the overall development of any society. He made the assertion while addressing the people of Abakaliki at Nkwegu Primary School during a thank you visit to appreciate their support for the PDP in the April 2011 general elections. He said no meaningful development could take place in an environment devoid of peace and security and added that peace was necessary for actualising both individual and collective goals. According to him, human and infrastructure development was achievable only when people learnt to live in peace and harmony and tolerate one another. “We are here to thank
you for the massive support you gave our great party, the PDP, in the 2011 general elections. Again, we want to use this opportunity to appreciate you for your continued support and solidarity to the party and also for being lovers of peace,’’ he said.
He commended the Chairman of Abakaliki LGA, Matthew Uguru, saying that his projects were people-oriented. He used the visit to inaugurate some projects, including a six-classroom block, an administrative block, a bridge, a health
centre and medical doctors’ residential quarters executed by Uguru. During the visit, Elechi was also conferred with the chieftaincy title of Ozuoha 1 of Abakaliki by the Abakaliki Local Government Area Council of traditional rulers.
Auto parts traders protest against LG chair NWABUEZE OKONKWO ONITSHA
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raders at the new auto spare parts market in Nkpor in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State yesterday staged a protest over an alleged plan by the Chairman of the Local Government Transition Committee, Barrister Ralphael Nnabuife, to demolish a control tower inside the market. The protesters, who
locked up their shops and headed for the governor’s office in Awka, the state’s capital, were met by the state’s Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Robert Okonkwo, who assured them that their message would be conveyed to Governor Peter Obi who was away from the state at the time. Speaking on behalf of the protesters, secretary of the market, Chief Chuma Eruchalu, said they decided to close the market abruptly because
the council boss, Nnabuife, vowed to pull down the market tower the next day.
Gov Obi
not continue suffering from what they don’t know anything about,” he added. Concluding, he said, “So we are telling our people to go about their normal business. If we want to encounter the federal government, we know what to do, everybody will speak with one voice.”
he national body of the Motorcycle Transport Union of Nigeria/Autobike Owners Association of Nigeria (MTUN/ AOWAN) has denied signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Senator Andy Uba on his purported quest to contest next year’s gubernatorial polls in Anambra State. Reacting to a recent newspaper publication (not Saturday Mirror) entitled ‘Anambra Okada Union backs Uba, signs MoU with candidate’ and credited to the state chairman of the union, Jude Udegbe, the chairman of board of trustees of MTUN/AOWAN, Dr. Jimmy Okonkwo, dissociated the union from the statement, saying the associations are not political organs, neither do they play partisan politics.
“We embrace any government in power. We are partners to the government in power. The statement of our state chairman, Jude Udegbe, is condemnable because he does not have the mandate of the national secretariat of the union to speak for them,” he said. A statement by Okonkwo claimed that in a bid to douse the tension already generated by the false news, the national body of the union has set up an ad-hoc committee to properly investigate Udegbe’s claim and make necessary recommendations. The national body of the union also urged its members to shun acts capable of causing disaffection among its members and mandated sectional leaders to always consult with the national body before addressing the press on sensitive issues.
Shun vengeance, cleric tells Christians
NWABUEZE OKONKWO ONITSHA
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he Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. Valerian Okeke, has charged Christians to shun vengeance and strive to repay evil with good. In his homily during a special mass held at the Onitsha Prisons at the weekend to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Okeke reminded Christians of the biblical injunction which says ‘Vengeance is mine says the Lord of Host’ and added that Christians should have hope in God transforming the situation in the country.
“In the midst of impunity, violence, kidnapping and many anomalies in some parts of the country, the children of God should have hope. Hope that is alive, hope that never dies. They should keep hope alive. God is alive. We should have hope that God has the final word. God is in control, our God is capable. He can give us peace, he can give us stability. He can give us victory,” he said. The cleric donated a cow, biscuits, toilet tissues, toilet soaps, confectioneries, eight bags of cooked rice and some cakes to the inmates and promised to look into their request for a bus to be conveying them to various courts.