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Imo Assembly Sacks Dep Gov
Members of the Imo State House of Assembly yesterday voted to impeach the Deputy Governor of the state, Mr Jude Agbaso.
With 23 affirmative votes from the legislators present, the House Majority Leader, Mr Adaku Ihuoma (representing Ahiazu Mbaise Constituency), moved the motion for the impeachment.
The motion was seconded by the Minority Leader (Aboh Mbaise Constituency), Mr Pat Ekeji.
The Speaker, Mr Benjamin Uwajumogu, confirmed the resolution in favour of the impeachment after its adoption.
Following the impeachment, the Speaker read out a letter from Governor Rochas Okorocha where he nominated the Chief of Staff, Eze Madumere, to replace the deputy governor.
The legislators withdrew into a session to deliberate on the replacement.
Meanwhile, the Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up to investigate the N458 million contract scam against the Deputy Governor, Mr Jude Agbaso, has rejected the request by the deputy governor, urging it to suspend its investigation.
The Chairman of the panel, Justice Godwin Ihekire, announced the rejection while ruling on the request yesterday in Owerri.
He said the request was lacking in merit and therefore the panel would continue with the investigation.
Our correspondent reports that a judicial panel of inquiry was set up on March 23 by the Chief Judge of the state.
The panel is charged with the task of investigating the N458 million bribe allegedly given to the deputy governor by a construction company (J-Bros Ltd).
Agbaso, in a letter to the panel through his counsel, claimed that he was not served any summons on the matter.
He also drew the attention of the panel to two law suits he instituted at the Imo High Court on the “purported impeachment against me.”
“From the foregoing, it is clear that I am not only challenging the purported steps or actions leading to the constitution of your panel but also challenging the appointment/constitution of your panel by the Chief Judge of Imo State.
“Since we are in a constitutional democracy where the rule of law ought to be upheld, all activities and or proceedings of your panel ought to automatically terminate or be suspended as a mark of respect to the State High Court, before which the suits are pending.”
However, the counsel to the Imo Assembly, Mr Niyi Akintola (SAN), argued that the panel was not party to any suit in any court in Nigeria regarding the deputy governor.
Akintola described the letter as premature, and urged the panel to proceed with the investigation.
He said that the deputy governor could not claim to be ignorant of the panel when he had instituted two suits urging the court to stop his impeachment process.
Akintola explained that the panel was constituted by law and that Sections 101 and 102 of the Constitution permit State Houses to regulate its proceedings and that ignorance was no excuse in law.
“The letter holds no water. It is not binding on you (panel). You are not party to any suit in any court and have no need to adjourn because of the letter but to proceed with the investigation,” he said.
The counsel to the Managing Director of J-Bros Ltd, Mr Joseph Dina, the construction company involved in the alleged contract scam, raised no objection to Akintola’s submission.
The Clerk of the House, Mr Chris Duru, had earlier submitted the proceedings of the process of impeachment against the deputy governor and the notice informing him of the setting up of the panel to members of the panel.
He said the letter was posted on the door of the deputy governor’s office and the gate of his official residence aside announcements made in various media houses.
Our correspondent reports that a six-man special adhoc committee constituted by the state legislature had earlier indicted the deputy governor.
The committee investigated the award and abandonment of the road contract to which N1.3 billion was given without a voucher.
The House also got two-third majority of the members’ consent to impeach the deputy governor and a motion which sought that the allegations as contained in the particulars of the contract scam attached to the impeachment notice be investigated.
After looking into Akintola’s submission, the chairman of the panel discountenanced Agbaso’s letter and announced that hearing into the matter had ended while he would go ahead with his team to write their report.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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