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Imo: Uzodinma Has No Issue With Catholic Church, Bishops, Says Govt

By
The Source
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Hope Uzodimma and new Bishop

By Charles Igbo

The Imo State Government has distanced itself and the Governor of the State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, a staunch Catholic, from an embarrassing, uncleared, undiscussed and unauthorised statement issued by an Aide to the Governor, to the effect that Uzodinma criticised the newly installed Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, His Grace, the Most Reverend Lucius Ugorji and the Archbishop Emeritus, His Grace the Most Reverend Anthony Obinna, for not allowing him to use a lectern with the Governor’s seal to address the Congregation during the Installation Service of Ugorji on Thursday, June 23, 2022, at the Maria Assumpta Cathedral, Owerri.

The Government, in a statement signed by the Honourable Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, denied any such issue between Governor Hope Uzodinma and the Catholic Church.

Emelumba emphasised that Uzodinma,as a Christian of the Catholic faith, holds the Church and its leadership in high esteem and, therefore, would never undermine their authority.

Emelumba noted that although the Church did not allow Governor Uzodinma to address the faithful with the Executive Seal of Government during the installation of Archbishop Lucius Ugorji,  the Governor did not see it as a slight either on his office or authority.

“To demonstrate that His Excellency was not in anyway bothered by that incident, he went ahead to host the Apostolic Nuncio and other Bishops that attended the ceremony to a State dinner, that same evening. So, there is no animosity to warrant the speculations of rift by the social media, particularly that of the opposition PDP,” the Commissioner said.

He noted that a personal opinion expressed by one of the Governor’s appointees  has since been retracted by the said individual.

According to Emelumba, “what the appointee expressed was her opinion and she has retracted same  to show that Government has no hand in it. Any other appiontee expressing an opinion on the issue is doing so in a personal capacity.”

Emelumba said the Governor has deep respect, not only for the Church, but for all religious leaders and would always accord them their due.

He advised the Media to learn to distinguish between Government’s official positions and mere personal opinion of some people who serve in government to avoid misrepresentation and misinformation.

Lady Chantel Chinyere, the Governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Networking and Communications had, on Friday, made an undiscussed and unauthorised statement to the effect that the Governor felt slighted by the lectern, incident, and so took a swipe at Archbishops Ugorji and Obinna.

Imo Government House sources told this medium on Friday that Governor Uzodinma, on reading the story,  was not only embarrassed, but furious over it, especially, as he took the lectern incident as nothing.

India 2022: Flamingoes In Difficult Group; Coach, Bankole Olowookere Optimistic

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Nigeria U-17 Grils Flamingoes

By Akinwale Kasali

The 2022 FIFA Under-17 World Cup Draw held at the FIFA Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, saw the Flamingoes of Nigeria grouped alongside Football Powerhouses, Germany, New Zealand and Chile in Group B.

This has given soccer fans and enthusiasts cold feet, putting into consideration  the teams the Nigerian Female Under-17 will trade tackles with at the global showpiece.

But Coach Bankole Olowookere remains confident that his  Girls will do the nation proud at the tournament.

Bankole said that all the Team needs is  to strategise and plan with the technical team ahead of the World Cup in India.

“It is not too early to start preparation and planning ahead of the World Cup. They (technical department) have always been impacting their knowledge to us.

“They are my father; they had a lot of experience that I need to tap from it,” he said.

He added the team’s success was a joint work of the entire team and the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, and this will intensify as his Team now know their opponents at the competition.

“This is national work. It’s teamwork. We have to work together – the coaches, the players, the entire team, as well as the entire body of the NFF”.

“Our priority and our next assignment is to make sure that Nigeria does well at the World Cup,” he said.

The coach commended the team for making the country proud over their counterparts.

“The victory is not for us but to make the country proud, it was a tough journey up till now; we give God all the glory for the success,” he said.

He said Ethiopia was one of the fittest teams he had ever met on this journey.

“The second match was a tough one, we knew that they lost at home and they are coming to Nigeria for revenge.

“We decided not to give a chance to score, they are one of the fittest teams I have ever played in my life,” Olowookere said.

The Nigerian girls had a brilliant run in the qualification series for the competition. They overcame Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ethiopia en route to the tournament.

They scored 15 goals and conceded none in the process with Opeyemi Ajakaye striking six times as Nigeria sealed a ticket to India.

Africa’s other representatives, Tanzania and Morocco are in Group D and A respectively.

Morocco will also battle hosts India, the USA, and Brazil in the same group while Japan, Canada, and France complete Tanzania’s group.

The competition will run from 11th to 30th October. It was supposed to hold in 2020 but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Spain won the last edition in 2018. They are grouped alongside Colombia, Mexico, and China.

Below are the groups and teams for the U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022:

Group A: India, USA, Morocco, Brazil

Group B: Germany, Nigeria, New Zealand, Chile

Group C: Spain, Colombia, Mexico, China

Group D: Japan, Tanzania, Canada, France

Bread Scarcity Looms As Bakers Threaten Strike

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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Lagos Bread Festival

By Tosin Olatokunbo

The price of bread may rise significantly in the next few days if the threat by bakers in the country to embark on strike is anything to go by. The strike has been scheduled to begin in three weeks. The price of bread, a major staple among Nigerians, apart from rice and beans has gone up in the last few months due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, which started in February following the invasion of the country by Russia.

Russia and Ukraine are world’s biggest exporters of grains including wheat, used in producing bread flour. The war has hampered the export of the product from the war thorn country, even as economics predicts more food scarcity if the war persists.

According to the umbrella body of bread bakers in Nigeria, the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria, AMBCN the strike has become imminent due to the rising cost of flour, sugar and other ingredients used in the production of bread.

AMBCN said they will only abort the planned strike if the federal government intervened. The bread makers said they have been neglected by the government who has failed to listen to their calls to intervene over the rising costs bakery ingredients.

The association said this on Friday in a communiqué issued after a meeting of its national executive council in Abuja.

In the communiqué, signed by Mansur Umar, the national president of AMBCN, the bakers said they would embark on a nationwide strike from July 13, 2022.

The bakers said the cost of flour, sugar and other materials used in the bakery business had soared beyond the reach of many bakers, saying they are no longer making profits.

AMBCN said, “Increase in prices of bakery materials, especially flour and sugar having reached unprecedented levels, for example, flour is now between N25,000 and N27,500, so also other ingredients,” it reads.

“The National Wheat Cultivation Committee already constituted is yet to be inaugurated after over one year. NAFDAC, SON, and NESREA have turned the bakers into money-making machines by charging our members outrageous levies even at this very challenging moment.

“Consequently, the NEC in session resolved that all zones, state, Local Governments and units of our association should commence full mobilisation of our members nationwide to embark on withdrawal of services starting from Wednesday, July 13, 2022, for an initial period of two weeks.”

Since the beginning of the year, the price of bread has risen sharply by at least 40 per cent even as analyst doubts price stability in months ahead due to inflation and the war in Ukraine.

In March, the bakers warned that many of their members will not be able to remain in business due to the rising cost of bread ingredients and other raw materials, including diesel.

March, bakers complained that the hike in diesel price and exchange rate volatility caused many of its members across the country to shut down their business operation

Ondo Catholic Church Attack : Police Command Not Aware Of Arrest Of Suspects  – Spokesperson

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

There seems to be a break in communication between the Ondo State Police Command and the Amotekun Security Corps over the arrests of suspects linked with the attack on St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Owo early this month.

The South-west security network, Amotekun had on Thursday informed the world that those suspected to be behind the attack had been arrested.

Amotekun went ahead to claim that the operation which led to the arrest was jointly carried out with other security agencies in the state.

However, the state Police Command has denied, saying it is not aware of any arrest in connection with Owo church attack.

The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Funmilayo Odunlami, said the Command was not aware of claims by Ondo State Security Network codenamed Amotekun Corps that some persons suspected to be involved in the attack have been arrested.

Odunlami confirmed that the command has been working with the state security outfit, but said the it was not involved in the arrest of any of the suspects even though it works in collaboration with the Amotekun Corps.

The police spokesperson, who distanced the command from the report of the arrest of suspects in connection to the Owo attack maintained that the information did not emanate from the police.

“I can confirm to you that we are still working round the clock to ensure the perpetrators of the attack are brought to book, but as I speak, no arrest has been made and we are assuring the public that they will not go unpunished.”

The state commander of Amotekun, Adetunji Adeleye revealed that “A number of people have been arrested concerning the owo attack and I am telling you for free that the last vehicle they used before they jumped into the bush has been recovered.

“We pursued them to that point and we are still pursuing them, we will get to the root of it. The suspects being paraded were arrested within the last one month  for crimes ranging from armed robbery, cattle rustling, kidnapping, fraud.”

2023: INEC Omits APC Candidates From Senatorial Election List

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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By Tosin Olatokunbo

The All Progressives’ Congress, APC has no candidates for three senatorial districts in next year election, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The ruling party is likely to suffer for wrong substitution of candidates, after submitting the names of Ahmad Lawan, Godswill Akpabio and Governor Dave Umahi, as senatorial candidates for their respective senatorial districts in Yobe, Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi.

The three APC stalwarts did not participate in the primaries conducted by the party and were not validly elected.

Those that won the elections include Udom Ekpoudom, Bashir Sheriff Machina and Austin Umahi, the younger brother of Governor Umahi who willingly stepped down for him after securing the senatorial ticket in Ebonyi state.  

But INEC has refused to include the names of Lawan, Akpabio and Umahi in the list it published on Friday, on the basis that they were not validly nominated for the positions, as they did not participate in their party’s primary supervised by the electoral body.

Recall that the three politicians were aspirants in the APC presidential primaries. They failed to participate in senatorial primaries in their respective states.

After they failed to secure the presidential ticket, the Abdullahi Adamu-led APC tried to smuggle their names in through the back door as the party’s senatorial candidates.

Speaking on the issue on Friday, Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Commissioner for Information and Voters Education said Lawan, Umahi and Akpabio did not emerge from valid party primaries conducted by the APC.

Since the candidates did not participate in the primaries, INEC said it has no obligations to publish their names, as doing so will contradict the Electoral Act. Any aggrieved candidate, it said can go to court for redress.

According to him, “If a political party submits to the Independent National Electoral Commission the name of a candidate that did not emerge from party primaries or did not emerge from valid party primaries, the commission is not obligated to publish the name of such a candidate.

“The final list of validly nominated candidates will be published by the Independent National Electoral Commission on the 20th day of September, 2022. And that is for presidential and National Assembly candidates.

“What the commission has published, as of today, complies with Section 29(3) of the Electoral Act which says that the moment political parties comply with the provision of Section 29 (1) of the Electoral Act in terms of the submission of its validly nominated candidates, that the commission shall publish the personal particulars of such candidates in the constituencies where the candidates intend to contest election.

“In other words, for instance, for a senatorial candidate, if a senatorial district covers four local governments, we will publish the personal particulars of such a candidate in the four local governments.

“That is exactly what we have done. And we published the personal particulars of candidates that emerged from valid party primaries. And that is what the law says we should do.

“So, if the name of any candidate was not published or if the personal particulars of any candidate were not published today, the implication is that such a candidate did not emerge from valid party primaries.”

Uzodinma To Archbishops Ugoji and Obinna: I am An Unbreakable Catholic

By
The Source
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0
Hope Uzodimma and new Bishop

By Charles Igbo

A humble and excited Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, has told the newly installed Catholic Archbishop of the Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, His Grace the Most Reverend Lucius Ugorji and his predecessor, Emeritus Archbishop AJV Obinna, that he is an Unbreakable member of the Catholic Church, and remains loyal to their spiritual guidance for the good of Imo State and Nigeria.

The historic installation of Ugorji, Uzodinma said, reminded him of his youth, and brought back emotional nostalgia.

The Governor: “Being here today brings back nostalgic memories of my youth and reminds me of my unbreakable membership of the Catholic Church.”

The Governor spoke during the installation ceremony at the Maria Assumpta Cathedral, Owerri, of Ugorji as the new Archbishop. He was installed on Thursday, June 23, 2022, by the Papal Nuncio, Antonio Guido Filipazzi (representative of the Pope)

The grand and solemn ceremony was witnessed by hundreds of eminent Nigerians, including two Catholic Cardinals and 48 Bishops.

Following, are the brief remarks by the Governor whose State, successfully, hosted the high profile crowd, without any incident.

“I am very thankful to Almighty God who made it possible for me to witness this historic and memorable ceremony.

“Being here today brings back nostalgic memories of my youth and reminds me of my unbreakable membership of the Catholic Church.

“I warmly congratulate and felicitate with our new Archbishop, His Grace, Rev. Lucius Ugorji on his installation. May I also seize this opportunity to most sincerely appreciate the outgoing Archbishop, His Grace, AJV Obinna, for his eventful, very remarkable tenure which stretched from 1994 to 2022.

“Without doubt, His Grace, Archbishop AJV Obinna, is leaving the Church he inherited in 1994 a bigger and stronger organisation that is more responsive to the crucial needs of our people thanks to his style of aggressive evangelism. It is also on record that he faced many battles, and weathered a lot of storms.

“The retiring Archbishop can be likened to Saint Paul in many ways. Therefore, I dare say to Your Grace,  Archbishop Obinna, you fought a good fight, and you’ve finished the race.

“Our new Archbishop, His Grace, Lucius Ugorji,  please, permit me to humbly remind you of the obvious. Much is expected from you. As you know, the divine office of the Archbishop of the Owerri Ecclesiastical Province is the Spiritual Headquarters of Catholics in both Imo State and Abia State.

“This implies that a great number of the Catholic faithfuls in the two states and beyond will look up to your new office for their spiritual well-being.

“You are taking over at a time when our Nation appears at a crossroad.

“Sadly, we are witnessing the highest levels of insecurity than ever before. We are also witnessing the aftermath of a global pandemic and economic hardship which continues to test the faith of many citizens if our country; thus, much is indeed expected from you as the shepherd of the faithfuls.

“I am gladdened, however, by the fact that your pedigree, your education and vast pastoral experience makes you eminently qualified for the task ahead.

“I have no doubt that you are the right man for this challenging job at this challenging time.

“While it is expected that you will provide the much needed direction for both the clergy and the laity in the Archdiocese. The larger society will look forward to you to provide an unwavering voice for the voiceless.”

Ugorji was the Archbishop of Umuahia Ecclesiastical Province before he was appointed the Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province. He is a native of Naze in the Owerri North Local Government of Imo State.

Ihedioha Says New Catholic  Archbishop, Ugorji Is Prayers Answered

By
The Source
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Ugorji and Emeka Ihedioha

By Charles Igbo

A former Governor of Imo State, The Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha has described the emergence, and installation of Archbishop Lucious Ugorji, as the new Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, as prayers answered.

Ihedioha spoke while addressing the congregation at the installation of Ugorji, on 23rd June 2022, at the Maria Assumpta Cathedral, Owerri.

Archbishop Ugoji was installed by the Papal Nuncio, Antonio Guido Filipazzi (representative of the Pope), before an array of eminent Nigerian citizens, including two Catholic Cardinals, 48 Bishops, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, former Governor of Anambra State and the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.

Ihedioha expressed his unbounded delight at the emergence of Archbishop Ugorji as the new Shepherd of the Archdiocese. “Your emergence is a prayer answered”, he told Ugorji.

Ihedioha, also, pledged to support, at all times,  the Archbishop in discharging his apostolic mandate, and to continue his usual support for the Archdiocese. 

Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji succeeds Archbishop Emeritus, Anthony John Valentine Obinna.

 Appointed on 26th March 1994 as the first Archbishop of Owerri, Obinna, a native of Emekuku, Owerri North, Imo State, recently retired after serving for 50 years in the Lord’s Vineyard.

Ugorji, a native of Naze, also in Owerri North, was the Archbishop of Umuahia Archdiocese until his Owerri appointment.

First Bank’s Staff, Syndicate Fail To Steal N20bn

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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By Tosin Olatokunbo

Stealing a whopping N20 billion from Nigeria’s oldest bank would have shaken the Kazeem Adeduntan-led commercial bank to its very foundation.

No doubt, many heads would have rolled from the top management level to the middle and lower cadres of Nigeria’s oldest commercial bank. But fate had a different plan for three employees of the bank who may have been dreaming of what to do with their share of such a humungous amount of money, if their conspiracy to steal, alongside a syndicate had materialised.

The story. Sometimes last year, three workers of the bank; Ozioma  Ugorji, Ugwu Emeka, and Obike Chukwuka, conspired with a gang of internet robbers to steal the said amount from  the bank using electronic means.

As part of the deal, the syndicate promised to provide a laptop to the employees which will then be connected to the bank’s server to enable the gang skim N20 billion from its account.

But luck ran out of the syndicate after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC got wind of their plot to connect the computer to tap into the bank’s main server.

The suspects have since been arrested, and are now being tried at a Lagos State Special Offences Court, Ikeja, Lagos.

Speaking to the magazine on condition of anonymity, a top staff of the bank said “the bank was lucky to have busted the syndicate before they perpetrated the fraud.

“The implications of such large amount being stolen from the bank would have been felt by all the stakeholders. The customers would have been apprehensive and the banking sector would have felt the impact of such theft, due to the position of First Bank in the country’s financial sector”.

While arraigning the three suspects on Wednesday, the EFCC said the fraud was stopped due to reliable intelligence by the anti-graft agency.

Explaining what happened at the tribunal on Wednesday, a prosecution witness, Adamu Dahiru, said the suspects were caught while trying to link the laptop they received from the syndicate to the bank’s main server. The laptop has now been confiscated, and currently in the custody of the commission, according to sources in EFCC, who also stated that the anti-graft agency “had gleaned useful information from the laptop that is now being used to prosecute the case”.

The prosecution witness, according to his statement made to the tribunal said the First Bank employees “conspired to give access to a fraudster to defraud the bank of over N20bn. The report we gathered was that the money was in the cloud and they needed to bring it out. The second defendant (Emeka) had a meeting with the syndicate at a hotel,” he said.

He added that, “When the first defendant (Ugorji) was arrested, he made a statement that he was introduced to the syndicate by the third defendant (Chukwuka) and that they had communicated with someone from the headquarters.

“The second defendant made a statement that a laptop was given after several promises that he should connect the laptop to the bank’s system.

“When he was on duty, he connected the laptop to the banking system, but during the connection, the I.P. of the laptop was picked up and the system was destroyed.”

Last August, one Salau Abdulmalik Femi was arrested by detectives from the Special Fraud Unit, SFU of the Nigeria Police Force, NPF for allegedly hacking into the server of a Nigerian bank to steal N1.87 billion.

The suspect, according to checks from the police, is believed to be the kingpin of a syndicate which specializes in hacking servers of commercial banks and other financial institutions. Had he succeeded, the suspect would have committed one of the biggest single electronic frauds in the country.

Shehu Sani Shouts Down Voices Against Hijab; Asks Critics To Go Naked

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

Senator Shehu Sani has applauded the Supreme Court judgement which permits girls to wear hijab in public schools in Lagos State.

The Kaduna based former Senator said Nigerians who are criticizing the Supreme Court ruling are free to go naked.

The Apex Court on Friday, last week, ruled that Islamic female students should be allowed to appear in Lagos State public schools with their hijab.

The development, which angered many Christians, triggered a Lagos-based human right Lawyer, Malcom Omoirhobo to appear at the Supreme Court in Abuja on Thursday, dressed as a native doctor, claiming it is his own religion.

Reacting, Shehu Sani in a post on his verified Facebook page, expressed anger over the ongoing protests against the approval of hijab.

According to him, the Lawyer and other aggrieved Nigerians should remove their clothes completely instead of dressing in traditional attires.

“The Lawyer who went to the Supreme Court in the garb of a Herbalist or Traditional religionists should have gone there naked; that is the original appearance of our ancestors hundreds of thousands of years ago.

“If you don’t like the Hijab ruling, remove your clothes completely and cover some parts with leaves and the protest is real.”

India 2022: Flamingoes Opponents To Emerge At Today’s World Cup Draw

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0
Nigeria U-17 Grils Flamingoes

By Akinwale Kasali

The nation’s Under-17 Female Football Team, The Flamingoes, opponents for the FIFA Under-17 Female World Cup to be held in India will emerge today at the World Cup draw Ceremony scheduled for FIFA Headquarters, Zurich, Switzerland.

The World Showpiece to be held in India from October 11th to October 30th, 2022, with Nigeria, Morocco and Tanzania hoisting the continent’s flag at the Mundial.

16 Teams will be gunning for glory at the tournament with the Flamingoes battling it out with Female Soccer powerhouses, USA, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Spain, France, New Zealand, India, Colombia, Japan and China.

After successfully hosting the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2018, India was tipped to host the Female version of the tournament, but the COVID-19 Pandemic led to the postponement of the tournament in which they also won the nod.

This is the Seventh Edition of the tournament which was first held in New Zealand 14 Years ago.

Since the inauguration of the Championship, Nigeria have always qualified for the Tournament, but this is the first time Morocco and Tanzania will be hoisting the continent’s flag.

Flamingoes booked a place in the championship having defeated Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia to feature in her Seventh Edition of the tournament.

At today’s draw, Flamingoes will be in Pot 3, which means they will avoid France, USA and China, including the other Two African teams in the Championship.

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