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Attack On Edwin Clark: Don’t Jeopardise Igbo Ties, Ohanaeze Warns IPOB
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo has cautioned members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to be careful on how they go about creating enemies for Ndigbo and jeopardizing the Igbo relationships with their good neighbours.
Ohanaeze particularly flayed the unsavoury remarks IPOB made against the leader of Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, and apologized for IPOB’s youthful exuberance displayed against Clark.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo made it abundantly clear that the Igbo extol old age with courtesy and reverence, noting that old age is so treasured in Igbo land that the eldest man in a village or community, in most cases, enjoys community burial and funeral rites at death.
“The old are deemed to represent the Igbo ancestors here on earth and thus are often celebrated,” Ohanaeze said.
The National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Alex Ogbonnia, said that it is public knowledge that youths, all over the world, have some common characteristics which include impetuosity and exuberance.
The apex Igbo body said that as much as the effervescence and exuberance of the youths are the essential hallmarks of a growing society, it is still the duty of the elders to moderate the excesses and idiosyncrasies of the youth.
It told the young Igbo that it was on record that Chief Edwin Clark is one of the few detribalized Nigerians with an unassailable love for the Igbos who have in more than several ways demonstrated an intense passion for the Igbo.
Ohanaeze recalled that, “It was Chief Clark who facilitated the renovation and equipment of the Queen’s School, Enugu with state of the art facilities shortly after the Nigerian civil war.
“Eminent Igbo women that passed through the school, such as Justice Rose Ukeje (rtd), Justice Victoria Nebo, Prof. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Prof. Ifeoma Enemuo, Prof. Ifeoma Egbuonu, Mrs Justina Offia (SAN), Prof. Gloria Chukwukere, etc, are some of the testaments of Clark’s magnanimity.
“Since then Clark has remained one of the patrons of the school to the present day. It was Clark, who has spoken vehemently against the Igbo marginalization and has propelled the concept of a president of Nigeria from the South-East. It was Clark who had stated that the agitations by the Igbo are justified, among several others.”
“It is important to urge our youths to refrain from remarks capable of putting the Igbo relationships with our highly valued neighbours in avoidable distress. The Igbo agitation, no doubt, is genuine but restraints, persuasions and cordial inter-ethnic relations are required to sustain the supports of other ethnic groups in Nigeria,” Ohanaeze cautioned.
It reminded IPOB that the Leaders of the South-East, South-South, South-West and Middle Belt converged and chose Clark as the indefatigable leader of Southern Nigeria and Middle Belt Forum (SMBLF), because of his sterling qualities.
“I must also add that one of the most cherished of his enviable leadership qualities is the exceptional courage of his innermost convictions and the ability to speak truth to power.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide led by Prof George Obiozor holds Chief E. K. Clark in very high esteem. Our profound admiration for him is beyond measures and will always condemn any form of attack on his person.
“We, therefore, hope that the unsavoury remarks by our youths will not weaken his passion and commitment for the Igbo.”
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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