The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will commence a nationwide continuous voters registration on June 28 across the 774 local government areas of the federation.
Its Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, made the announcement, at a media briefing on Thursday in Abuja.
He said the registration exercise would be carried out continuously for over a year until the third quarter of 2022.
The commission, had earlier in the year, announced that the exercise would commence in the first quarter of 2021.
He stated that the Commission is now in a position to embark on recommencement of the CVR exercise on Monday 28th June 2021.
According to the INEC boss, “there are three cardinal reasons why the exercise could not start earlier.The first is the establishment of new systems that would ensure safer CVR exercise in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In this regard, the Commission is building a new online registration portal that would enable new registrants to commence registration online and subsequently complete the capture of their biometric data at designated registration centres.
“This is designed to reduce crowding.Through the online portal, they can schedule their visits to the registration centres to suit their convenience.
“Above all, a CVR Locator is integrated into the new portal which will enable online registrants to locate the nearest registration centre available to them to complete their registration.
“Previously, registered voters who wished to transfer their voting locations, apply for replacement of their PVCs or correct their personal information had to appear physically at the registration centres.
“The development of this portal, which is being done in-house by our engineers, has taken a little more time to complete than the Commission anticipated.
“The second reason is the Commission’s determination to expand voter access to Polling Units. You would all recall that recently the Commission embarked on a nation wide engagement with Nigerians in which we raised the fundamental issue of declining voter access to Polling Units across the country.
“The engagement clearly demonstrated that the existing Polling Units are inadequate. They were initially designed to cater for a projected 50 million voters but presently serve over 84 million voters.
“In addition, many of the Polling Units are inaccessible to voters, especially Persons With Disability (PWDs), and are not conducive to implementing the Commission’s election regulations, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are glad that most Nigerians agree with the Commission on this issue, and we
have commenced a far-reaching programme of converting Voting Points and Voting Point Settlements into full-fledged Polling Units and relocating poorly situated Polling Units to better locations.
“The Commission needs more time to complete this exercise, so that the new Polling Units will be available for registrants to choose during the CVR exercise.
“Thirdly, the Commission has decided to introduce a new voter registration equipment and technology. The present generation of voter registration equipment, which the Commission introduced in 2011, is the Direct Data Capture Machine (DDCM).
“While the DDCMs have served the Commission well over the last 10 years, we believe that there are now more compact registration devices that will better serve Nigerians during the CVR exercise.”
The Federal Government is set to wield the big stick against those who fail to get their National Identification Number.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami, Thursday, April 1, 2021. He spoke during the Weekly Ministerial briefing organized by the Presidential Media Team, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Pantami said that it is mandatory for all Nigerians to register for NIN.
He warned that failure to enroll precludes defaulting citizens and residents from operating certain functions like using Banks and Communication services.
Stressing further, he warned that failure to obtain the NIN could lead to between Seven to 14 years imprisonment as stipulated by the Nigerian Constitution, and that no one is entitled to enjoy and benefit from government services without the number.
It was also revealed that over 51 Million Nigerians have registered for NIN as stipulated by the Federal Government.
Effective from today, April 1st, Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, will begin a 15-day working vacation as first instalment of his 2021 Annual Leave.
This was contained in a letter transmitted to the State House of Assembly and addressed to the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Bamidele Oleyelogun.
According to the letter, Governor Akeredolu stated that the leave will commence from Thursday, 1st to Friday, 23rd April, 2021, both days inclusive.
The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Richard Olabode, in a statement, explained that while Governor Akeredolu is away on vacation, the Deputy Governor, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa will perform the functions of the office of the Governor.
The Governor is expected to resume for duties on Monday, April 26, 2021.
The managing director/ chief executive officer of Fidelity Bank Plc Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe has disclosed that the over 50 per cent increase in profit recorded by the commercial bank in the 2020 Financial year is due to the lender’s resilience in the face of serious challenging economic environment. The commercial bank’s chief executive said in a statement that core operating profit increased to N44.9 billion in the 2020 financial year compared to N29.8 billion in 2019.
Fidelity Bank’s Board of Directors has now proposed N6.4 billion at 22 kobo dividend per share to its shareholders.
Onyeali-Ikpe made the comment on the bank of the 2020 Financial Statement released by the bank to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE cited by the magazine.
“We are pleased with our financial performance, which clearly showed the resilience of our business model as core operating profit increased by 50.9% to N44.9 billion from N29.8 billion in 2019.We also saw a significant improvement in our efficiency indices as cost-to-income ratio moderated downward to 65.1per cent from 73.4 per cent in 2019.”
“However, Profit before Tax (PBT) dropped by 7.6% to N28.1 billion as we proactively increased our provisions on risk assets to N16.9 billion from a net write-back of N0.6 billion in 2019,” the bank’s boss said.
The bank, according to the statement posted N28.1 billion profit for financial year 2020 apart from posting 50.9 per cent growth in core operating profits from N29.8 billion in 2019 to N44.9 billion, while profit before tax increased by 7.6 per cent to N28.1 billion from N30.4 billion in the previous year 2019.
The DMB’s net revenue increased by 15 per cent from N111.8 billion in 2019 as customer deposit rose by 38.7 per cent from N1.225 trillion to N1.699 trillion in 2020; the balance sheet contracted as total assets grew by 30.5 per cent from N2.114 trillion in 2019 to N2. 758 trillion in 2020 financial year.
Meanwhile, Onyeali-Ikpe said the bank is happy that customers are taking advantage of the its internet banking by successfully migrating to its multiple digital channels, because “as seen in recent years, the bank’s digital retail banking approach has continued to yield positive results. Though Digital Banking income dropped by 18.8% due to the revised banker’s tariff, it increased by 19.6% quarter on quarter on account of increased customer adoption as more services were migrated to the bank’s digital channels”.
Records indicate that over 52 per cent of customers are now enrolled on the bank’s mobile/ internet banking compared to 47 per cent in the comparing year, while 88.4 per cent of the commercial bank’s customers’ transactions were done on the digital platform products and more than 81 per cent of total transactions were done on digital platforms.
The President Muhammadu Buhari administration is riddled with massive corruption, the United States of America, USA has said in its ‘2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices’. The report, released on Tuesday also accused the government of stifling free speech and waging war against human rights activists.
The US report come after President Buhari medical trip to the United Kingdom which drawn wide spread condemnation from opposition groups and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP who said the president failed to seek medical intervention in the country because the yearly budget to the health sector has not yielded results.
The Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, the umbrella body of medical doctors in the country has also put government on notice of an impending strike over unpaid allowances and infrastructural decay in the health sector.
A huge part of trillion of naira allocated to various sector of the economy, some say, may have been shared or mismanaged by top civil servants and politicians, the US report said, adding that the administration has also failed to secure convictions against corrupt government officials despite the Buhari administration’s quest to fight corruption.
Referring to the enabling EFCC and ICPC laws the US said and other anti-graft agency “the law provides criminal penalties for conviction of official corruption, the government did not consistently implement the law, and government employees frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
President Muhammadu Buhari
“Massive, widespread, and pervasive corruption affected all levels of government, including the judiciary and security services. There were numerous allegations of government corruption during the year.”
Rather than fight corruption squarely, the Nigerian government, according to the report, has shifted focus to clamping down on the media, human rights bodies and others who have been targeted over their views official graft. The President Joe Biden administration slamed the Buhari government for its bad human rights record, citing various government laws used to target media houses and journalists.
According to the report, “Security services detained and harassed journalists, sometimes for reporting sensitive problems such as political corruption and security. Security services including the DSS (Department of State Services) and police occasionally arrested and detained journalists who criticised the government.’’ .
“On at least six occasions, journalists were charged with treason, economic sabotage, or fraud when uncovering corruption or public protests.Numerous journalists were killed, detained, abducted, or arrested during the year (2020). Citing violations of amendments to the sixth edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code in August, the NBC fined local radio station Nigeria Info 99.3 FM for comments by the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Obadiah Mailafia, on insecurity in the country.
“The NBC also sanctioned private television stations Africa Independent Television, Channels TV and Arise News during October’s #EndSARS protests, alleging their reportage of the nationwide protests relied on unverifiable video footage from social media handles. In their prosecution of corruption cases, law enforcement and intelligence agencies did not always follow due process, arresting suspects without appropriate arrest and search warrants,’’ the report said.
It cited the October 20 Lekki tollgate #EndSARS protest in Lekki, Lagos where protesters were believed to have been shot at by soldiers and other human rights abuses by security forces against civilians , though the US said it has not confirm fatality on the EndSARS matter.
‘’Several unofficial military detention facilities continued to operate, including the Giwa Barracks facility in Maiduguri, Borno State. Although conditions in the Giwa Barracks detention facility reportedly improved, detainees were not always given due process and were subjected to arbitrary and indefinite detention.
“There were no reports of accountability for past deaths in custody, nor for past reports from Amnesty International alleging that an estimated 20,000 persons were arbitrarily detained between 2009 and 2015, with as many as 7,000 dying in custody,’’ the report said.
The federal government has yet to respond to the report.
Former Central Bank Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, was on, Wednesday, March 31, attacked by gunmen.
The attack, sadly, took the lives of three Policemen attached to him.
Reports indicate that even though Soludo survived the attack, his whereabouts is not known. He seems to have been ferried into thin air, a source familiar with the attack told this magazine.
Remarkably, the gruesome attack happened in Soludo’s community, Isuofia, in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The perennial Governorship aspirant was holding a meeting with the youths of his community when the fearless gunmen stormed the venue.
It is not known if the attack is political, but Soludo, as has been the case every four years since he joined politics, is poised to contest for the Governorship of Anambra State under APGA.
However, the insecurity in the State has badly deteriorated in recent weeks.
The former CBN Governor is said to have the backing of the Governor, Willie Obiano. As a confirmation of the affinity between the two, unconfirmed reports indicate that the Anambra Commissioner for Public Utilities, Emeka Ezenwanne, was at the meeting with Soludo, and was whisked away by the gunmen.
Weeks ago, reports which claimed that Soludo has been adopted by APGA as its sole candidate caused a ripple in the party. It was later denied, but a source told this magazine that Soludo would fly APGA’s flag.
He has been talking confidently on his chances, and promises to transform not only Anambra State, but the whole of the South-east if elected the Anambra Governor later in the year.
DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, the State Police Spokesman, confirmed the attack on Soludo but was economical with details.
If the findings of the Judicial Panel On Land Use And Other Related Matters set up by the Imo State Government, and the Whitepaper therefrom are anything to go by, former Imo State Governor, and now Senator, representing Imo West, Rochas Okorocha, will be in more trouble. The Whitepaper was very indicting of Okorocha, his family members and cronies.
Already, the Government has seized and recovered a couple of things from them, including the Eastern Palm University, now Kingsley Mbadiwe University, owned by the Okorocha family through his Foundation, the multi-billion Naira Royal Palm apartments and Hotel, owned by Okorocha’s wife, Nkechi, about 96 plots owned by Okorocha’s sister, Geraldine, and the acres of land meant for the quarters of the old Imo Broadcasting Corporation’s staff.
Now, to recover things faster, the Imo State Government has set up a committee charged with the responsibility of fully implementing the recommendations contained in the Whitepaper.
According to a statement by Oguwuike Nwachuku, Chief Press Secretary/ Special Assistant to the Imo State Government, the decision was taken at the Executive Council Meeting of Wednesday, March 31, 2021 presided over by Governor Hope Uzodimma.
The Committee to be Chaired by the Hon. Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Physical Planning has the Commissioner for Housing as Secretary, while the Commissioner for Works, the General Manager ENTRACO, the General Manager OCDA and others approved by EXCO are members.
Nwachuku: “The Committee is charged with the responsibility of full and total implementation of all aspects of the Whitepaper on Lands and other Related Matters expeditiously.”
Briefing newsmen at the end of the meeting, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Declan Emelumba in the company of Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of Imo State, Barr. COC Akolisa, Commissioner for Transport, Barr. Rex Anunobi and the Chief Press Secretary/Special Adviser (Media), Oguwike Nwachuku, said the Governor also announced further minor Cabinet reshuffle of members of the Executive Council.
According to Emelumba, in the new adjustment, “the Commissioner for Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition, Noble Atulegwu moves over to the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Physical Planning formally headed by Barr. Enyinnaya Onuegbu who, now has been moved to superintend the Ministry of Power while Chief Iyke Umeh, formally Commissioner for Power takes over as the new Commissioner for Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition. All the changes take immediate effect.”
Throwing more light on the essence of the reshuffle, Akaolisa said the Governor deemed it necessary to carry out the exercise as a way of ensuring that the programmes and policies of the administration move on smoothly, noting that “no Commissioner is removed rather it is an attempt to put the right pegs in the right holes.”
Also, it was observed that Exco approved a provisional Uniform for the Imo State Traffic Management Agency (ISTMA) which was accordingly adorned by Anunobi.
On Wednesday, March 24, 2021 Governor Uzodimma carried out the first minor reshuffle of his cabinet when he swore in four new Commissioners and moved others such as former Finance Commissioner to Petroleum, former Health Commissioner to Mines and Solid Minerals, among others round.
“It will be recalled that the implementation of the Whitepaper on Lands and other Related Matters has since commenced with the State recovering the former Eastern Palm University at Ogboko Ideato South Local Government Area (now Kingsley Ozurumba Mbadiwe University) and Royal Spring Hotel and Apartments at Akachi road”, Nwachuku noted.
The Judicial Panel was set up by the immediate past Governor of the State, Emeka Ihedioha, and sustained, to the joy of Imo people, by Uzodinma when the Supreme Court removed Ihedioha from office.
If the damning and disgraceful video which went viral on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 is anything to go by, the Hon. Justice Danladi Umar should resign from office. He should not seat for one more day in an exalted office.
On resignation, there are apologies he must tender- publicly and unreservedly.
He should apologise to his family for soiling the family’s name. He should apologise to the Judiciary and the Federal Government for reducing the high office he was appointed into to a laughing stock. He should apologise to Nigerians for destroying our collective trust. He should apologise to the Igbo race for categorizing and denigrading the people. He should render a public apology to the security guard at a public place who he slapped around in a most humiliating and undignifying manner. And finally, he quietly retire to his house and make peace with God.
Umar, for record purposes is the Chairman of the high profile Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT. I liked his good looks, and feminine voice. On face value, the Judge looks harmless and gentlemanly. But he has shown that those caps do not fit. He is neither harmless nor a gentleman.
Hon. Justice Umar is the one who sits in judgement over men and women of “timber and caliber” for alleged official misconduct which includes lying over their assets. A junior Judge compared to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, but very powerful, this Judge was the one before whom the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Walter Onnoghen appeared. Umar’s judgement was the reason Onnoghen was humiliated out of office.
I remember watching Umar pronounce Onnoghen guilty. He did that with a seeming uncanny, but calm satisfaction for a job well done. As I listened, I shook my head in disbelief at the ironies of life.
It was Umar who, also, for months, made a mockery, almost, of the exalted office of the Senate President, when Dr Bukola Saraki, occupied that office, and appeared before him.
And now, it is Honorable Justice Umar who has betrayed his office, by behaving so dishonourably in public.
How did Justice Danladi Umar descend to this level?
His unravelling started when he went to the popular Banex Plaza Abuja this Tuesday. It was, alleged, that he went to repair his phone. So, you wonder why he had to go there himself for that. But we are quickly told by a stupid explanation from his office that it is a place he had been frequenting for years.
I now don’t know if the Office he holds allows for such frequent visits to such public places. Judges usually live lonely, isolated lives, with extremely few friends, and a near-zero socialization. But I digress.
So, Justice Umar went to Banex Plaza. And his driver parked his vehicle as the Judge gingerly stepped out. But he parked at a wrong place. A poor security guard drew his driver’s attention to the wrong parking, and asked him to move the car to an appropriate parking lot.
But, as you know, many wealthy and influential Nigerian men/women suffer from what I choose to call the “big man syndrome.” For them, every little thing amounts to an insult. It amounts to a degradation of their power and influence. They need to flaunt it everywhere. That is why even in Churches, I don’t know if it is the same thing in Mosques, they enter with gun-toting security guards who block everywhere. If they have their way, they will block us before God.
I once went to the 40th birthday party of the wife of a colleague of mine (Publisher of a Celebrity Magazine) during the Government of President Olusegun Obasanjo. Midway into the function, the wife of one of Obasanjo’s Special Assistants arrived, herself, one of the so-called celebrity women. That is not the news. The news is that in tow, with her, were six gun-toting Mobile Policemen who, as she walked in, began pushing people around. Yet, it was not a crowded party. But they needed to show us that the wife of a big man has arrived. Thereafter, they cordoned off the area where she sat. Nobody could go near to say hello to the birthday girl or her husband. A number of people left in disgust! And her husband was not even the most influential Special Assistant/ Special Adviser then. That prize at the time belonged to Dr Andy Uba, whose wife was in the background.
But, again I digress.
When Justice Umar’s driver was asked to move the car, the Hon. Justice felt slighted and, disrespected by a common security guard. Instead of allowing his driver to sort out the situation, he decided to flaunt his power and influence in a most disgraceful manner, at an inappropriate place.
First, he started an argument with the poor guard who was only doing his job. Then he slapped the guy, not just once, but a couple of times, for daring to keep to the rules of his work place. He slapped him for not breaking the law and order guarding his work place. And this is a man who is a Judge. He is a man who sits in judgement over others. And there he was, slapping a young man. As if the slappings were not enough, he went to his car and took something, apparently to hit him, but was restrained.
But Umar miscalculated. The Nigerian masses, masses whose one of them he was slapping around, are angry and frustrated. Not only was Umar’s bad behaviour being recorded for public consumption, a commentary accompanied it by a man who kept asking him to leave. “Oga leave. Oga gooooo. Oga comot for here oooo. Oga save yourself ooo!”
The commentator was right. An angry crowd was gathering, a crowd that could bay for blood. Yet, Umar wouldn’t listen He had to be cajoled and literally pushed into his car. I choose to say: smuggled into his car. Because at that time, they had started throwing things at his car. I think a couple of glasses had already been broken.
And when his driver, made to drive out, the angry crowd had locked the gate. I froze, thinking the worst was about to happen.
It is a miracle Umar was not lynched on Tuesday. Policemen who behaved better than him by not releasing any shots or tear gas saved him.
The first time I watched the video, the platform from where it was forwarded to me mis-captioned it. The caption said it was Senator Elisha Abboh – the Adamawa Senator who beat up a sales girl in an adult shop in Abuja when he went to make a purchase.
Where I proudly come from, there is a saying that one does not know when to take, seriously, the cries of child who cries often. We had caught the Senator in a bad behaviour before. So, I believed he was the one. Not only did I forward the video to a couple of my close friends, I was preparing to slam him for another bad behaviour, and tell his zone why he should be recalled, and Adamawa people why nobody should allow him realise his ambition in 2023. The guy, after the adult shop incident, insists he wants to be Governor of his State. Such temerity!
When the correct version affirmed it was Justice Umar, I was diminished as a Nigerian.
Yet, Justice Umar did not still understand the gravity of his bad behaviour. For, even with the viral video, he lied, and insulted my Race, the Igbo.
Instead of burying his head in Shame, Umar allowed an ill-advised statement from his office. He lied that he did not slap the boy. He gave the impression it was the opposite. He gave the impression that he was the one attacked. And worse, he heaped the blame on a Race. “I was attacked by a group of Biafra boys”, apparently, referring to the Igbo! Why Biafra? What brought that jaundiced assertion up?
I have since watched that video a number of times, and listened to the voices. The commentator was not Igbo, and the crowd which witnessed Umar’s descent from the Olympian heights to the gutter, was a mixed crowd. But, to cover his shame, Umar had to insult a race. The guy doesn’t have the temperament of a Judge. No matter the situation, they are calm. They never allow their emotions rule them.
Now, the Igbo know. Unless Justice Umar resigns from office, no Igbo should appear before him. He holds the Igbo in contempt. This kind of stupid assumption, and hateful categorization of a Race, is at the root of our crisis in Nigeria.
Finally, I understand that Umar went to report the poor security guard to the Police. I understand that the guy was picked up, and granted bail after the DPO watched the video. I cannot confirm.
But Justice Danladi Umar should not be allowed to get away with this bad behaviour. The Security Guard should sue him for everything he has got.
As for Justice Umar’s office, which he holds in trust on our behalf, he should, if he has any honour left in him, resign. Otherwise, he should be shown the way out.
In more civilised climes, he would have stood down, since that Tuesday, with head bowed in shame, clutching a statement of apology. That is the way to go.
The Freudian slip of Bola Tinubu during his shebang in Kano has, once, again brought to the fore the total unsuitability of this man for public office.
His so called employment scheme that will put 50 million youths into the army is not only incredulous, it betrays a degenerative intimations of thought, a puerile, delusional whistling in the wind .
His unscientific and wild calibration of a 33 percent unemployment rate among the youths and his pop up arbitrary solution that “Agbado”, cassava and yam can merely be conjured to reinforce food production is hardly exemplary.
Tinubu should be advised to take good care of his health, avoid public, unsteady, podium rambling that put him in the mud.
He should find a more dignifying chore of tidying up the wretched coffers of Lagos, removing our state from the swamp of unbelievable indebtedness, rebuild our broken infrastructure, instead of the itinerant Nollywood acting in the name of an elusive presidential ambition that is dead on arrival.
The first Ohanaeze Elders Council meeting under the leadership of Amb. Prof. George Obiozor as President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, held in Owerri, Imo State, on Saturday, March 27, 2021.
The meet was addressed by the President-General, Amb. Professor George Obiozor, who seized the opportunity to once again thank Ndigbo for electing him to preside over their affairs at such a crucial time like this, and the overwhelming support he has gotten so far from the generality of Ndigbo.
The President-General also seized the opportunity to reiterate his determination to tackle the existential threat to Ndigbo but in the context of their social and constitutional relationship with the rest of the country.
The meeting, taking a cue from the President-General’s address, 2 deliberated on a wide range of issues concerning Ndigbo, both as a people as well as in the context of their relationship with their fellow compatriots across Nigeria.
The issues raised, and which were looked into with the needed profundity were in the following areas:
*(1) Security/Insecurity
*(2) Economy/Alaigbo stabilization fund
*(3) Igbo Presidency
*(4) Power sharing/Restructuring
*(5) Education etc.
RESOLUTIONS
The meeting resolved as follows:
*SUPPORT The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Elders Council, satisfied with the comportment, charisma, determination, vision, etc. shown, so far, by Amb. Prof. George Obiozor since assuming office two months ago, has resolved to give him an unalloyed support as he steers the ship of the Igbo nation and urges all well-meaning Igbo to do same.
* 3:SECURITY/INSECURITY Worried by the unprecedented state of insecurity in the country as a whole, the council mandated the Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership to work in close consultation with state governments in Alaigbo to fashion out ways of reducing the vulnerability of those residing in any part of Igboland to the current abysmal state of affairs. The Council was of the opinion that Alaigbo needs a security outfit that will at once address issues that are peculiar to the nature, culture, tradition, topography, etc. of Alaigbo and also give support to efforts by the Federal Government of Nigeria. In addition, the council urged the Ohanaeze leadership to initiate moves that will reduce the victimhood of Ndigbo living outside AlaIgbo each time there is a crisis in their areas of residence.
The council frowned at the current situation whereby Ndigbo become easy targets during hostilities both within the country and even in some parts of Africa, like Ghana and South Africa for example. ECONOMY/ALAIGBO STABILIZATION FUND The Council resolved that Alaigbo can no longer afford to wait for 4 the rest of the country if she must safeguard the future of her youths through the provision of adequate means of livelihood and wealth creation, generally.
The Council noted that it is a matter of regret that whereas the Igbo Economy was one of the best in the world before the Nigerian War, the general lackluster approach in the management of the national economy has dragged the collective aversion of Ndigbo to poverty and deprivation to such all time low that Ndigbo have become economically dependent.
It regretted that whereas Ndigbo were, generally, self-sufficient in food production in the years past, the Igbo woman now depends on even mere pepper brought into Igboland from other parts of the country. It then mandated Ohanaeze leadership to fashion out ways of encouraging governments in the Igbo-speaking states to become more proactive in the pursuit of policies that would boast both agriculture and manufacturing.
The council noted with dissatisfaction, recent national statistical figures that ascribed some Igbo- speaking states as ranking highest in the number of unemployed people, pointing out that a home grown (Igbo made) approach for tackling the unemployment monster should be pursued without any further delay.
The Council, therefore, resolved that in pursuit of a better economic prospect for the entire Igbo land, the Ohanaeze leadership, under Professor Obiozor, should further pursue and implement the ALAIGBO STABILIZATION FUND which was initiated by the immediate administration of Chief Nnia Nwodo.
The meeting seized the opportunity to commend members of the steering committee of the fund, led by Professor Osita Ogbu, for the painstaking effort it made in fashioning out a blue print for the rapid development of Igbo land. The Council further resolved to adopt the resolutions taken by Omeobi- Ohanaeze on the report of the ALAIGBO STABILIZATION FUND’s STEERING COMMITTEE viz:
*1. The setting up of a 9-member Board of Trustees by the leadership of Ohanaeze comprising one member from each of the 7-states of Ohanaeze and two other persons; 6 2. That the 9-member Board of Trustees are authorized to register the two institutions recommended by the report – Ndigbo Foundation and Alaigbo Investment Company; 3. That the trustees understand that the Ndigbo are the owners of the two institutions and that their mandate and tenure are determined by a larger Advisory Council; and 4.
That a Technical Implementation Committee comprising technocrats and seasoned businessmen and women be set up by Ohanaeze and mandated to give all legal and administrative effects to the recommendations contained in the report of the steering committee. The Council then called on all Igbo of all persuasions, both at home and abroad, to support the initiative. IGBO PRESIDENCY
The Elders Council mandated the President-General to work in close consultation with the Igbo socio-cultural-political intelligentia to pursue the task of ensuring that Alaigbo takes its turn in producing the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at 7 the 2023 general elections.
The Elders Council frowned at the sudden rhetoric by some partisan leaders that zoning should be de-emphasized, insisting that even if that would be done, it will be after Ndigbo have taken their turn. The council mandated the Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership to also work in consultation with other ethnic groups pursuant to this objective and urged every Igbo man or woman with the needed capacity to show interest in the 2023 Presidential Race.
POWER SHARING/RESTRUCTURING The council was of the view that more than ever before, there is need for the different components of the Nigerian nation to dialogue on its future. It was of the opinion that there has to be convoked a robust and intellectually fecund national dialogue on the political structure of Nigeria vis-a-vis the existential challenges it is currently confronted with.
The council mandated the Ohanaeze leadership to continue to partner with leaders of other ethnic groups in the country in the current debate on the strategic imperative of a political restructuring of the country. 8 EDUCATION The Council mandated the Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership to pursue a deliberate policy of ensuring a noticeable and measurable improvement in the quality of education in Igboland, while working in concert with state governments and all other relevant individuals, institutions or agencies.
The Elders Council was of the opinion that the Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership should address the issue of increasing cases of out-of-school children, particularly the girl-child. The meeting noted that education has remained the only weapon the Igbo have in pursuit of their collective destiny hence, the need to continue to optimize every comparative advantage Ndigbo might be leveraging on within the context of the overall national aspiration.
SUMMARY
The Council resolved that henceforth, all matters of policy positions concerning the general wellbeing of Ndigbo, outside the constitutional prerogative of individual rights and political parties to canvass for votes for their candidates, must go through the 9 Ohanaeze leadership, as the only authentic Igbo official/authorized spokesman/umbrella organization.
The Council noted that while it recognizes the right of every Nigerian to freedom of speech, nobody, henceforth, has the authority to speak on behalf of the Igboexcept the PresidentGeneral of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
The Council believes that the time has come for Ndigbo to be more reticent and less rumbustious in their attitude to critical national issues, while not losing cognizance of the importance of communication in national dialogue.
Finally, the Council mandated the Ohanaeze leadership to go into direct talks with other ethnic groups and governments at all levels on ways of finding a lasting solution to the myriad of problems facing the nation.
