Politics
Umahi Inaugurates New Cabinet, 12 Commissioners Retain Portfolios
Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State last Wednesday inaugurated a large cabinet with 12 out of 15 re-appointed commissioners retaining their portfolios.
Umahi assigned the offices while swearing-in 26 commissioners, 18 members of the Local Government Area (LGA) Advisory Committee and 13 Coordinators out of the 64 Development Centres of the state.
The commissioners who retained their portfolios include: Mrs Rebecca Ogbuewu (Women Affairs/Social Development); Chief Moses Ogodo-Ali (Agriculrure/ Natural Resources); Mr Emmanuel Nwobo (Special Projects); and Mr Uchenna Orji ( Human Capital Development and Monitoring).
Mr Charlse Akpuenika (Youth Development and Sports); Mrs Elizabeth Ogbaga (Culture and Tourism); Mr Cletus Ofoke (Attorney General/ Commissioner for Justice); Sunday Inyima (Housing/ Urban Development); and Dr Daniel Umezurike (Health) also retained their portfolios.
The others are: Dr Sunday Nwangele (Grants/ Donor Agencies) and Chief Samuel Okoronkwo (Local Government and Chieftaincy matters.
Mr Emmanuel Uguru, former Commissioner for Power presently oversees the ministry of Environment while Mr Fidelis Nweze, former Commissioner for Works and Transport is now the commissioner for Infrastructural Development and Concession.
Mrs Uchechi Okah, former Commissioner for Project Monitoring is the Commissioner for Water Resources while Chief Donatus Njoku former Commissioner for Environment oversees the Commerce and Industry ministry.
The newly appointed Commissioners include: Mr Stanley Okoro-Emegha (Border, Peace and Security); Mr Jonah Egba (Solid Minerals); Mr Kenneth Uhuo (Information and Orientation); Dr Stephen Odoh (Education); and Dr Joseph Ekuma Nkama (Investment and Abuja Liaison Office).
The rest are Mr Uche Okah (Water Resources); Chinwe Okah (Budget/ Planning); Prof. Ogbonnaya Chukwu (Finance and Economic Development); Mrs Oluchuwu Ukie-Ezeali (Project Monitoring); and Moses Oshibe (Lands and Survey).
The governor said he expected a ‘robust engagement’ from the appointees in order to assist the people and develop the state.
“This is not a form of patronage but a sign that the state is in a hurry to deploy available talents to check the national and global economic challenges.
“We are using the 13 coordinators to ‘test waters’ as they are supposed to be in charge of primary, secondary schools and primary health centres within their development centres,” he said.
He charged the appointees to use their capacities to generate money for the state because there were lots of loose funds to be accessed.
Mr Cletus Ofoke, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, commended the governor for ensuring adequate geographical spread in the appointments as captured in section 14, sub section 4 of the 1999 constitution as amended.
“The appointees have been duly cleared by the state House of Assembly and are expected to bring their knowledge and experience to bear in overall development of the state,” he said.
Chief Solomon Okoronkwo, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, who spoke on behalf of the commissioners, thanked the governor for appointing them and pledged to justify the confidence reposed in them.
Politics
Senegal: Faye Set To Become Youngest Elected African President As Rival Concedes Defeat
Senegalese politician, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, (44), is set to become the youngest elected leader on the African continent.
While Faye’s main rival, Amadou Ba, from the ruling coalition had said a run-off might happen to determine the winner, at least five of the 19 candidates in the race had issued statements to congratulate Faye as of early Monday.
“For our part, and considering the feedback of the results from our team of experts, we are certain that, in the worst case scenario, we will go to a run-off,” Ba, a former Senegalese Prime Minister, had said.
But as Faye’s lead got wider, Ba called to concede victory in Sunday’s presidential elections, BBC quoted a government official to have said.
Faye’s lead had spurred his followers to troop out in celebration on the streets of the capital, Dakar, on Sunday.
Reports revealed that millions took part in a peaceful day of voting to elect Senegal’s fifth president after three years of unprecedented political turbulence that triggered violent anti-government protests and bolstered support for the opposition.
Faye is a Senegalese politician and a former tax inspector, who also served as the General Secretary of dissolved PASTEF.
He contested the highest political position in the West African country in place of disqualified candidate Ousmane Sonko.
Senegalese voters had a choice among 19 contenders to replace Sall, who is stepping down after a second term marred by unrest over the prosecution of opposition leader Sonko.
The incumbent was not on the ballot for the first time in Senegal’s history. His ruling coalition picked Ba, 62, as its candidate.
In a country of over 18 million people, 7.3 million people were registered to vote, and about 71 percent voter turnout was recorded, Senegal’s State TV reported.
Politics
Writing Judgment For Presidential Election Tribunal Allegation, FG Arraigns One
The Federal Government has arraigned one Chike Ibezim for allegedly defaming Babatunde Fashola, former Minister of Works and Housing.
Ibezim is one of three individuals who alleged that Fashola had written the judgments of the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) that dismissed the petitions by the Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ibezim was arraigned on Monday before a federal high court in Abuja on a six-count charge.
The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/434/2023, borders on criminal conspiracy, cyberstalking, and defamation, among others.
The matter is before Bolaji Olajuwon and has been adjourned till April 15 for continuation of trial.
Count one of the charges reads: “That you Ibezim Chike Victor, male with Jackson Udeh, Nnamdi Emmanuel Ibezim and Reportera.ng (body corporate) now at large on or about 05/08/2023 at Abuja, did commit an illegal Act to wit: criminal conspiracy; when you jointly agreed to publish a defamatory statement of false allegations in your online social media, the reportera.ng news, against His Excellency Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN, CON, without justification, you thereby commit offence punishable under Section 27(1)(b) of the Cyber-crime Prohibition, Prevention Act 2015.”
However, Fashola said the allegation was “baseless and defamatory”.
The former minister described those behind the allegations as “agents of destabilisation”.
Politics
Soludo’s Performance Assessment, APGA Tackles LP Chieftain
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has faulted a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), Valentine Ozigbo, over his comments that the performance of Anambra State governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, after two years in office, was “not impressive.”
Mr Ozigbo, who was the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2021 Anambra State governorship election, now a chieftain of the LP, stated during an interactive session with journalists last weekend that he was not impressed about Governor Soludo’s performance and has therefore decided to contest the 2025 governorship election in the state.
He said, “We have seen the leadership of Soludo in two years, and some of you may be impressed, but I am not. After the last election in 2021, I called and wished him well and moved on, and we have never spoken again. My decision was to assess him after two years, and having seen it, I am not impressed, and I want to start holding him accountable.
“I am here to share my thoughts with you, what I think, and no matter how you see what he (Soludo) is doing, you will be more proud when I mount the saddle.
“We need to change the narrative and look for a way to survive. We must fight to rescue Anambra. I am a non-transactional politician. I have several things I can do, but my worry is how we can recover the state and put her on the path of development.
“Zoning is a good thing. But it must be combined with competence to make sense. Don’t pick a renegade just because he is from a certain zone, and don’t pick the best, when you know you can pick one that is better.”
Mr Ozigbo said further, “I respect zoning, and I will be making a case for a single term of four years. Anyone who sees what Alex Otti is doing in Abia State will know that four years is enough time to do a lot of work.
“I will honour that principle of zoning, and I will not need anyone’s push or prompting to do otherwise. I will be ready to do an agreement and do an undertaking that I will do just one term. I also wish to tell you that Peter Obi has been consistent that a southerner who emerges will only do one term.
“It is a settled matter that I intend to run for just one term. I intend to keep faith with the agreement.”
But reacting to the development in a telephone interview with The Tide’s source on Monday, APGA spokesman, Tony Olisa-Mbeki, dismissed Mr Ozigbo’s utterances, insisting he has nothing to offer the people of the state.
Mr Olisa-Mbeki said, “He is a political stooge. What could he possibly bring in? Last I checked, he only managed Transcorp Hotel. Is that a qualification to be a governor in Anambra State? Soludo runs an inclusive government in Anambra; that is why he holds town hall meetings with different sectors. What other approach to governance is Ozigbo talking about?
“Anambra State governance is not for learners like Ozigbo. Ozigbo can’t even give a good lecture; he would be better suited working as a PA to any governor. Ozigbo’s aspirations in the previous gubernatorial contest in Anambra found him trailing in third place under the banner of the PDP, despite the staunch endorsement from former APGA governor, Peter Obi.
“That alone should tell him that APGA is like an apostle’s creed to Ndi Anambra. However, what reforms could Ozigbo propose? Anambra State, under Governor Soludo’s leadership, is a testament to political and socio-economic ingenuity.”
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