Photo of The Week…Irukwu goes the way of all mortals… “Lagos is not Igboland”…plus South East Digest…

Photo of The Week

 

Irukwu goes the way of all mortals

He was Mr Insurance!  He wrote The Book!!

Joe Irukwu, a former President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, is dead. He was 89.

Harrison Eze Okorie, president general, Amaokwe Item Welfare Union, announced Irukwu’s passing in a statement on Saturday. 

“The Amaokwe Item Welfare Union on behalf of the entire Amaba Ukwu kindred and the immediate family hereby announce the glorious but painful demise of our great patron, father, grandfather, son and brother, Prof (Chief)Joseph Ogbonnaya Irukwu, SAN, CFR,” the statement reads.

Irukwu was the founding managing director of Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation, a government-owned business established to increase the local share of reinsurance premium income.

He founded the African Development Insurance Company thereafter, which was later sold to Diamond Bank. 

“Lagos is not Igboland”

President General of apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, was in Lagos for a three-day visit last week during which will met with Igbo leaders and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and addressed issues affecting Igbo in the economic capital of the country. 

Dr Iwuanyanwu spoke on issues around his emergence as Ohanaeze leader, his agenda for Igbo, the blowing wind of insecurity in the South-East and how the Federal Government can arrest it among others

“Where am I today? I am on my first official tour to South-West Nigeria. I have come to meet Igbo in the South-West. I met the elders last night (Tuesday) in what we call Ime-obi, which is where we meet in Igbo culture to make far-reaching decisions. We had a meeting in the house of one of our elders, Cmdr. Ebitu Ukiwe, retd. It was a very successful meeting.

“As I arrived at the airport, my people gave me a wonderful reception. All the Ezes and town union presidents lined up. I have just finished a meeting with the Ezes because we have a system that demands that we organise ourselves wherever we are. Every success that Igbo have achieved over the years is because we have the capacity to come together at a short notice. The town union is part of our structure,

“The people I have met here today are very important people in the lives of Igbo. Wherever I go, I meet with these people, and they whisper the condition of things to me. I am here essentially on my first official tour to South-West and I have been very well-received. I am very happy because my people have shown a lot of trust and confidence in me. I have made up my mind and I pray to God Almighty to give me the capacity to serve them and to help me so that I do not fall below their expectations.

“Before 1914 when Nigeria was amalgamated, Igbo had started coming to Lagos. When Igbo started coming to Lagos, there was no Ikoyi, most of Ikoyi was riverine. There was no Victoria Island, there was no Lekki.

“Igbo are part of the development in Africa and Lagos. Right from the time the first railway lines were built, Igbo were here. There is no way anybody can talk about the development of Lagos with all honesty and exclude Igbo. 

“When you talk about Lagos, some Igbo have lived in Lagos since their grandparents began living here, which is as far back as 1914. The truth about this thing is that we have a character in Igboland which makes us different. We know that we have a home and our home is in Eastern Nigeria. Wherever we go, we know we are visitors, and we have never gone anywhere to claim their land. Every Igbo man who owns a property in Lagos does so legitimately.

“We have not come to preach a sermon that God gave us the land in Lagos. We paid for it. People from Igboland have not only developed lands, they have built houses. If you go to Lekki, Victoria Island, Lekki, everywhere, these things were built by humans. Lagos is Lagos because people, like the Igbo, came and invested. They include northerners and those from other tribes. Igbo came, invested and developed the place without forgetting the fact that they are visitors. Every Igbo man is told from home to obey the law of his host community and Igbo have done that all through history…”

Authentic UTME Highest Scorer gets N2.5 million Cash Gift

Dr Eric Umeofia, Chief Executive Officer and President of Erisco Foods Limited., has gifted N2.5 million to Kamsiyochukwu Umeh, who was confirmed by Joint Admission and Matriculation Board as the best UTME candidate.  Umeofia made this known in an interview with journalists on Friday, July 7.

Umeh, a Deeper Life High School student in Mowe, Ogun State, emerged as the best candidate in the 2023 UTME, scoring 360.  The brilliant girl is said to have scored 99 in Chemistry, 98 in Mathematics, 97 in Physics, and 66 in English in the said examination.

She was recently interviewed by Arise TV, with many Nigerians noting that she was well-composed and had good oratory skills.

(A digest of latest reports on the Economy, Industry, Politics, Sports, and developments around the South East of Nigeria)

ABIA STATE

Abia launches new digital tax system for transporters, traders

The Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, last Monday launched a new digital tax system that would help the state eliminate fraud and intermediaries in revenue generation.  The new system, which integrates free medical insurance scheme for all commercial vehicle drivers and riders of Keke and Okada, will see the State also maximise its revenue potential, according to the state’s Chief Executive Officer.

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Otti, who was flanked by some senior members of his cabinet, including the Chief of Staff, Dr. Caleb Ajagba; the Special Adviser on Internally-Generated Revenue, Mr. Chimereze Isaac Okigbo; and Special Adviser on Policies and Interventions, Rev Father Christian Anokwuru, said that the introduction of the new digital system will not only strengthen the state’s tax collection but would also promote economic growth and entrepreneurship in the State.

“By simplifying tax compliance procedures, we have removed barriers for businesses, encourage formalisation, and stimulate investment. This initiative empowers entrepreneurs, enabling them to focus on their ventures' growth and expansion, ultimately leading to job creation and economic prosperity for our State.

“By eliminating fraud, intermediaries, and introducing the digital platform to block leakages, we will unlock the true potential of our tax system to maximise revenue for development projects.

“The digitalised tax regime ensures that every business, large or small, contributes its fair share towards the growth of our state. With the expected increased revenue, the government can invest in infrastructure development, education, healthcare, and other essential sectors that will uplift the lives of all Ndi Abia,” Governor Otti affirmed.

He declared that the free medical insurance scheme component of the new digital tax payment system is a fulfillment of his campaign promise to create an affordable health care delivery “for our people across all sectors and segments” of the society.

The new digital tax system essentially aims at sanitising revenue generation in the transport sector and the markets. While the Permit to Operate Tickets targets those in the transport business, the Innovative Traders Tax Payment aptly targets traders in the market areas. 

“Unlike in the past where revenue agents abused these daily tickets with all manner of collectibles, now, we are promoting Transparency and Ease of Compliance in our commitment to making tax compliance simpler and more accessible. The digitalised tax regime introduces enumeration and easy paying platforms which includes the use of USSD and wallet services.

“The Permit to operate Tickets for Transporters has been designed in bouquets which gives the commercial transport operators options to choose among the daily, weekly and monthly scheme.  This has eliminated all forms of middle men that have been meddling on our revenue collection space. We are also optimistic that this model will eventually eliminate and reduce the risk of extortion, promote transparency, increase tax compliance, strengthen ease of doing business in Abia state and empower these businesses to operate within a legally defined framework and environment,” the Governor said.

In the same vein, the Abia Governor said the new framework for Innovative Traders Tax Payment “is the first of its kind in our state”. According to him, it was carefully designed within the ambit of the principle of convenience and fairness.

“This model gives the traders in all our major markets the benefit of prorating their annual Market levy in a Monthly, Quarterly, Bi-Annually or Annually.   A thorough consideration was made to accommodate this model so as to cushion the effect of economic hardship and business cycle volatility. This was our promise to ndi Abia during our campaign and we are keeping to that,” he explained. 

ANAMBRA STATE

Soludo Agricultural Revolution gets massive boost

The Adani-Omor Zonal Staple Crops Processing Implementation Unit of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme Phase-One (ATASP-1) has empowered 13 communities in Anambra State with farming equipment worth over N21m.

Speaking during the equipment presentation at the flag-off of the 2023 farming season, the Deputy Governor, Dr. Onyeka Ibezim, expressed confidence that the items would turn the beneficiaries to employers of labour and major contributors to food supply in the state and Nigeria at large.

He said that five farmers’ cooperative groups among the benefiting communities will be empowered with different agricultural enhancement equipment estimated at N21m, including Mobile Thresher, Rubber-Mill, Rice Destoner, Dryer machines, Handheld Planter, Cassava Grater, Knap Sack Sprayer and Hammer Mill. 

Ibezim advised the beneficiaries to ensure they make good use of the equipment, pointing out that the multiplier effect of the empowerment is in line with the Prof. Chukwuma Soludo administration’s agricultural agenda.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Forster Ihejiofor explained that the equipment were provided with loans from African Development Bank (AfDB), which could be paid back by Federal and state governments over time. 

Ihejiofor disclosed that the equipment are not free, but were funded with public money, even as he counseled the beneficiaries to work hard and produce food in abundance at cheaper prices for the public.

In his address, the ATASP-1 Adani-Omor Zonal Programme Coordinator, Mr Romanus Egba disclosed that the 13 beneficiary farmer groups were selected based on needs assessments.

Egba urged the benefiting farmers to use the equipment to boost their livelihood and income, as well as create employment along the value chain of rice, cassava and sorghum, which are major objectives of ATASP-1.

According to him, “farmers in Umumbo, for instance, have been crying that they have a giant rice mill in their community, but couldn’t access it because they couldn’t afford it.

“We are able to provide them with another smaller rice processing machine, which they can install in their own village. We also supported our farmers in Awa and Awgbu with hammer mill because their problem is their inability to process cassava into flour. We believe this machine will boost their post-harvest processing capacities,” he explained.

He added that farmers were provided with sprayers to use in their farms, in addition to hand-held planters to avoid the pains of bending down to plant seeds in their farms. 

Erosion:  Communities, factories, others may soon be submerged in Anambra

The landslide that cut off one lane of the Onitsha-Owerri expressway at Oba, Idemili South local government area of Anambra State, may soon swallow the popular Rogeny Games Village and the multi-million naira First Choice Plastics Ltd located in the area.   Also threatened are buildings and several acres of land already plotted for development. It was discovered that more cracks have developed on the other lane currently being used by motorists.

The further spread of the erosion menace was noticed when the Senator representing Anambra Central zone, Chief Victor Umeh, led members of the Oba Royal cabinet to inspect the site. 

Although a tractor was seen at the site at the weekend, indications were that palliative measures might not solve the problem considering the magnitude of the landslide.

At the end of the inspection of the landslide, Umeh, said that what he saw required an emergency intervention from the Federal Government.  The Senator said: “There is no guarantee that the other lane will survive another two weeks from what we have seen.  Many factories and houses are already collapsing and people working in those companies have suddenly lost their jobs, unless emergency work is done.”

“This is a major gateway to the Eastern part of Nigeria.  The second Niger Bridge is not far from here and all the vehicles coming from the Western part of the country into the South East and South-South states pass through this road, which is why urgent action is needed.

“Almost every community in the State is threatened by erosion. South East is small in land size and it is regrettable that we are losing even the small land we have, to erosion.

“I will show the video clips of this site to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio by next week because even his people of Akwa Ibom pass through this road and they cannot go home if this road is cut off.

“The East-West road that connects the South-South from Lagos has become a nightmare even after an enormous amount of money was spent on it and so, everyone uses this Onitsha-, Owerri road.”

Umeh advocated for the development of an erosion map for the South East zone to serve as a guide in combating erosion in the zone.

According to reports, there are over 2000 erosion sites in the South East, with Anambra hosting over 1000.

IMO STATE

Senate calls for remedial works on erosion sites in Imo

Senate has urged Ecological Fund Office (EFO) and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to embark on remedial works on Obodoukwu, Urualla, Akokwa, Umumaisiaku, Urachima and Umueshi gully erosion sites in Ideato North and South Local Governments in Imo State.  It urged the agencies to jointly engage geologists, hydrologists, and environmental engineers to conduct assessment and implement measures like stabilisation, gabion installations, and terracing to prevent further losses, and minimise risks to nearby communities.

Senate resolution was sequel to a motion at plenary on Thursday on “Urgent Need to Carry-Out Remedial Work on Obodoukwu, Urualla, Akokwa, Umumaisiaku, Urachima and Umueshi Gully Erosion Sites in Ideato North and Ideato South LGAs, Imo State”.  The motion was sponsored by Sen. Izunaso Osita (APC-Imo).

Osita, in his lead debate, said the total collapse of the Obodoukwu, Urualla, Akokwa, Umumaisiaku, Umuchima and Umueshi gully erosion sites have become treacherous leading to loss of human lives, properties worth over N4 billion and inflicted severe injuries.  He decried the continuous loss of lives, businesses and properties of individuals, non-governmental organisations and the government by the erosion menace.  He said the total numbers of affected communities were 12 and that the two local governments share border with Anambra, Enugu and Abia states.

Senator Izunaso expressed concern that the gullies and floodwaters were now beyond the Imo State Government, hence the need for Federal Government’s presence to urgently undertake immediate remedial work.  This, he said, was to mitigate the risks and prevent further loss of lives, properties, and environmental degradation in the affected areas.

Senate, in its further resolution, urged NEMA to urgently implement a community resettlement plan, where necessary, to relocate residents from high-risk areas, providing them with adequate housing, livelihood support, and necessary amenities.  It further urged NEMA and EFO to establish community-based initiatives to enhance resilience, like emergency response teams, evacuation plans, and formation of local task forces with focused on disaster management.

Senate commended the Imo government on its quick response and intervention which saved some lives and reclaimed many properties.

 

 

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