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Friday, October 12, 2012
Meet Africa's Sexiest Man. Adonis O'Holi
UNIPORT Killings: Policemen said they should burn them alive - Tekena’s sister
A sister of one of the four University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) students brutally murdered last Friday in Umuokiri village, Aluu, Rivers State, has narrated how her younger brother and his friends were lynched. Miss Ibisobia Elkanah, elder sister of Tekena Friday Elkanah (both pictured above), revealed yesterday that policemen visited the scene where the students were burnt to death after they
were severely injured and that one of the law enforcement agents told the perpetrators of the dastardly act “to burn them alive” The murdered students,
OMG!! 6 Million Nigerian School Age Girls Are Not In School - Report
As the world marks the International Day of the Girl Child with the theme ‘Ending Child Marriage’, the Action Aid Group in Nigeria is advocating the ratification and full implementation of the Child Right Act in all 36 states of the federation.
Deputy Country Director, of the Action Aid Group, Mrs Ifeoma Charles-Monwuba said the weak implementation of the Child Right Act which was enacted in 2003 has encouraged the continued practice of child marriages in Nigeria. Only 23 states of the federation have ratified the Act while 12 states especially in the northern region are yet to. A recent report by Action Aid says that 36 million girls of school age are not in school globally
A 36-year old woman, Ngozi who was arrested kidnapping
A 36-year old woman, Ngozi Onuonwu who was arrested in Lagos for her alleged involvement in kidnapping has opened up and said that frustration led her into it because she did not see any man to marry her. The remorseful Ngozi said if she had married like her mates she would not have lived with her younger brother, Chibuzor who got her involved in kidnapping.
She narrated how the youths in her community at Umuleri in Anambra State engaged in a communal war with their neighboring community, Aguleri which lasted for several years.She said many youths died and this affected many girls including her as they could not get married.She said her fiancée died in the war and she did not get another man and so she had to move to Lagos and started living with Chibuzor.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Biden, Ryan squabble in vice-presidential debate
“That is a bunch of malarkey,” the vice-president retorted after a particularly tough Ryan attack on the administration’s foreign policy, the Associated Press reports.
“Not a single thing he said is accurate,” Democrat Biden declared after Ryan said U.S Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, had been denied sufficient security by administration officials.
Stevens died in a terrorist attack on the U.S Consulate in Benghazi on September 11.
REST IN PEACE ALUU 4. A MUST READ
From a handful of young men shouting and throwing questions at us, it escalated to a crowd of angry mob. There was no way we could escape this one, so we calmed down.
They pushed us around and then stripped us all. These men pulled us pants down, we were more than embarrassed, the whole community watched, I recognized few faces from the crowd. Obviously they were so afraid to say "stop" then the beating started, I wished it to be just a nightmare....
But it was real! These men were determined. They dropped heavy rocks on our heads, they pounded our faces wit largeplanks, blood covered our eyes, they matched and kicked us right on our nostrils, we couldn't breathe."Bring tire" one of the men repeated, until they brought the tires.
Fish out perpetrators
Pastor David Sadiq, Royalpriestofjesus@yahoo.co.uk: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr once said that, “Through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can’t murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can’t establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can’t murder hate. Darkness cannot put out darkness. Only light can do that…”
The people that brutally and in such a inhumane manner, murdered the four university students in Aluu, Rivers State have done nothing to ward off evil but in their callous and barbaric jungle justice have demonstrated that they are nothing but harbingers of death.
Taking lives of fellow human beings in such a calculated coldness and alacrity can only confirm what the scripture says that in the end “the love of many shall wax cold.” Matthew 24:4-12.
A full inquest must be carried out by the Nigeria Police to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice.
Let us all rise and pray for our youths that our tomorrow shall not plunge into dark oblivion.
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Why we embarked on evaluation of NTI study centres –NCCE boss
| credits: http://nationalmirroronline.net
Court remands petroleum magnate, others in police custody
Ubah and other senior officers of the company – the Head of Trading, Nsikan Usoro; the Depot Manager, Godfrey Okorie; the General Manager, Operations, Chibuzo Ogbuokiri; and the Executive Director, Operations, Orji Joseph Anayo – are being held for alleged diversion of fuel subsidy payment by the Federal Government, Eagle Online reports.
Four Nigerian farmers sue Shell
THE HAGUE (AFP) – Four Nigerian farmers take on Shell in a Dutch court on Thursday, accusing the oil giant of destroying their livelihoods in a case that could set a precedent for global environmental responsibility.
The civil suit, backed by lobby group Friends of the Earth, alleges that oil spills dating back to 2005 by the Anglo-Dutch company made fishing and farming in the plaintiffs’ Niger Delta villages impossible.
The case was initially filed in 2008, demanding that Royal Dutch Shell clean up the mess, repair and maintain defective pipelines to prevent further damage and pay out compensation.
Bad spot causes gridlock on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway
A bad spot at NASFAT junction on the inward Lagos side of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway has been identified as the cause of daily gridlock on the busy highway.
The bad spot comprises some flooded potholes at the intersection and has reduced the inward Lagos side from two lanes to one.
An abandoned container, which fell off a truck some weeks ago, is also sitting at a conspicuous spot on the right side of the highway, a few metres from NASFAT Campground.
The gridlock usually stretches for over two kilometres from the intersection to Mowe junction, causing agony to road users.
Federal Road Safety Commission officials sometimes help to direct traffic at the bad spot.
The gridlock usually stretches
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Man arraigned for allegedly stealing computers from church
The police on Thursday arraigned one Paul Ogor before a Kubwa Senior Magistrates’ Court in Abuja on a two-count charge of house-breaking and theft.
Police prosecutor, Sandra Oparaugo, told the court that one Immalusi Silas, a security man at St. Bartholomew Anglican Church, Kubwa, reported the case to the police on October 1.
Oparaugo said that on the same day, the accused allegedly broke into an office in the said church and stole two sets of computer valued at N150, 000, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
“He was arrested while trying to escape from the crime scene,” Oparaugo said, adding that the offence contravened Sections 346 and 286 of the Penal Code.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The prosecutor, however, requested for an adjournment to enable the police to prove their case.
The presiding Magistrate, Mrs. Simisola Adeniyi, adjourned the case to October 19 for hearing and granted the accused bail in the sum of N100, 000 with two sureties in like sum.
She ruled that both sureties must reside within the jurisdiction of the court while one of them must be a civil servant.
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Hong Kong woman dies after beauty tretment as three others fall ill
A 46-year-old woman has died in Hong Kong and three others are fighting for their lives following a beauty parlour treatment that involved blood transfusion, highlighting a lack of regulation in the city’s cosmetic industry.
The cases have prompted an investigation by the police and medical authorities, and renewed calls by health experts for tighter
regulation of Hong Kong’s beauty industry.
“Yes, the woman aged 46 died on Wednesday of septic shock,” a government spokeswoman said, Reuters reports.
Three other women, aged 56, 59 and 60, were in hospital with the eldest in critical condition.
Septic shock is normally caused by bacterial infection and can result in respiratory and organ failure, and even death.
The four had recently undergone a complicated blood transfusion procedure at the DR beauty chain, according to government statements, in a treatment that was meant to boost their immune system and appearance.
The women paid about Hong kong dollars ($6,400) for the procedure, which experts say is at best an experimental treatment for cancer patients and which has not been shown to have any aesthetic application so far.
DR said in a statement on Wednesday that the procedures were carried out by a doctor who was not employed by the parlour.
The procedure required their blood to be taken to isolate and culture certain types of immune cells.
These cytokine-induced killer cells were then injected back into the women together with their own blood plasma.
The four quickly fell ill with fever, dizziness and diaorrhea.
In an earlier blood sample taken from the woman who died, health officials found Mycobacterium abscessus, a superbug that is notoriously difficult to kill.
Although the direct cause of the woman’s death has yet to be confirmed, experts say it is likely to have been bacterial infection.
“They now have to find out where the bacterial contamination occurred in this whole process.
“Did it happen when the blood was drawn, during the culture process or when it was re-injected into the body?” William Chui, president of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists in Hong Kong said.
The cases raise fresh questions on how governments in many places in Asia regulate doctors’ conduct and sale of medicines, but exercise little or no control over what goes on in beauty parlours or what goes into “healthcare’’ products.
In Singapore in 2002, 15 women developed liver problems and one died after consuming Chinese-made slimming pills that were
later found to contain two undeclared ingredients.
One of the patents, an actress, survived only after a liver transplant.
Felice Lieh Mak, a leading medical expert in Hong Kong and former chairman of the Medical Council, said, “We hope that this tragedy will result in some attempt at making a legislation, or at least working towards legislating and defining what medical treatment is.”
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Four Nigerian farmers sue Shell
THE HAGUE (AFP) – Four Nigerian farmers take on Shell in a Dutch court on Thursday, accusing the oil giant of destroying their livelihoods in a case that could set a precedent for global environmental responsibility.
The civil suit, backed by lobby group Friends of the Earth, alleges that oil spills dating back to 2005 by the Anglo-Dutch company made fishing and farming in the plaintiffs’ Niger Delta villages impossible.
The case was initially filed in 2008, demanding that Royal Dutch Shell clean up the mess, repair and maintain defective pipelines to prevent further damage and pay out compensation.
In a landmark ruling, the Dutch judiciary in 2009 declared itself competent to try the case despite protests from Shell that its Nigerian subsidiary was solely legally responsible for any damage.
“I inherited the fishponds from my late father. I lost my income due to the oil spill. Now we are struggling to make ends meet,” plaintiff Fidelis Oguru, the head of Oruma village, was quoted as saying by Friends of the Earth.
Oil pollution has ravaged swathes of the Niger Delta in the world’s eighth largest oil producer, which exports more than two million barrels a day.
Shell is the biggest producer in the west African country, where it has been drilling for over 50 years.
Environmental groups accuse Shell of double standards and treating spills in Nigeria differently from pollution in Europe or North America.
“The scale of the pollution is enormous: twice as much oil has been spilled in Nigeria than was in the Gulf of Mexico. Only there (Nigeria) it’s never been cleaned up,” Friends of the Earth Netherlands spokesman Geert Ritsema told AFP.
The 2010 explosion and sinking of BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig led to around five million barrels of oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico in the biggest ever marine spill.
Shell says that spills in Nigeria are well below five million barrels and that the company cleans up whenever there is a leak, many of which it says are caused by sabotage.
Environmentalists want the Netherlands, and other Western nations, to pass laws forcing companies to enforce the same environmental responsibility standards abroad as at home.
If the Nigerians’ suit succeeds, it could lead to a flood of similar cases being brought before Dutch courts.
Shell operates in over 90 countries, according to its website.
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UN Secretary-General commends Nigeria, Cameroon on Bakassi
By Nnamdi Ojiego
The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon has commended the commitment of the governments of Nigeria and Cameroon to honour the obligations of the ruling of International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the border between the two countries.
The commendation was contained in a release issued by Olajumoke Araba, Reference Assistant, United Nations Information Centre, Lagos, Nigeria on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the ICJ ruling on the Bakassi Peninsula.
The statement reads: “the Secretary-General commends the commitment of the governments of both countries to honour the obligations of the ruling. He also congratulates the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission for the commendable efforts it has made in implementing the ICJ ruling.
“The success of the Commission is an embodiment of an innovative approach to conflict resolution. By peacefully resolving their border dispute, Cameroon and Nigeria have provided a positive example for countries around the world facing similar challenges.
“The Secretary-General stresses the importance of addressing the socio-economic, humanitarian and security needs of the populations affected by the demarcation process, including in the Bakassi area. He also highlights the importance of implementing confidence-building measures and fostering cross-border cooperation.
“Finally, he encourages both countries to reach an early agreement on the remaining 200 kilometres of land boundary in order to conclude the demarcation process. The Secretary-General reiterates the commitment of the United Nations to continue its support to Cameroon and Nigeria in implementing the ICJ ruling through the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission and the Follow-up Committee on the Greentree Agreement related to the Bakassi peninsula, both chaired by the United Nations.”
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Flood: 25% of Nigerians displaced, says Jonathan as Dangote committee targets N100bn
President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday regretted that no fewer than 25 per cent Nigerians had been displaced by the flood ravaging most parts of the country.
He said since those saddled with the responsibility of compiling data on the victims were still working, there was possibility that the figure might be more than that.
He said his major concern was therefore how to resettle the displaced persons immediately after the flood receded.
Jonathan spoke at the Presidential Villa, Abuja while inaugurating the National Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation which he set up to raise fund to augment government’s efforts at mitigating the pains of the flood.
The committee has businessman, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; and a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association as its co-chairmen. Chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr., who was absent at the inauguration is the Chief Fund Mobiliser.
The President regretted that some states of the federation, including
his home state Bayelsa, are currently about 80 per cent submerged.
He said his government was sad that Nigeria was facing what he called its unfair share of the global phenomenon.
He tasked members of the committee to ascertain the impact of the flood on the people, raise fund to complement or augment government’s efforts to mitigate the pains and advise government on other things incidental.
He said he expected the job to be completed in 12 months.
He said, “When people face this kind of flood devastation, it is no longer a national issue, it is an international issue because of the magnitude of refugees.
“This is a country of 167 million as at November last year’s projection. It’s almost a year since that figure was released though the Commission is yet to release fresh figures, we are definitely more than that now.
“And when you consider the fact that about 25 per cent or so of these communities are impacted by that, though the actual figure of the land and area affected is yet to get to us, have been affected by the flood.
“I spoke to my governor yesterday, he was so desperate because he said people do not even have food because all the channels of communications to Bayelsa State has been blocked by water.
“So you have enormous responsibility but we believe you are equal to the task.”
The President said members of the committee were carefully selected because the assignment needed people with empathy and human kindness.
Jonathan assured stakeholders that his government is up to the task as it will do everything possible to ameliorate the pains.
“Let me also use this opportunity to assure Nigerians again that the present administration will do everything possible to ameliorate the impact of this devasting flood on our people.
“We will do everything to cushion their pains, and we have put up a strong team made up of credible men and women who will also help government to achieve this,” he added.
Dangote, in his remarks, said he and other members of the committee saw their selection as a call to service.
He regretted that the floods came at a time the nations was battling with other challenges.
He, however, commended the President for responding swiftly to the situation by allocating funds and materials and materials for the relief and rehabilitation of the victims and also the setting up of presidential technical committee and the fund-raising one.
He said the committee would reach out to relevant organisations and individuals nationally and internationally to join them in mobilising resources and ideas to complement government’s efforts.
He also promised that the committee would be accountable and transparent in carrying out the assignment in such a way that both donors and beneficiaries are given account of the judicious application of funds and materials donated for the purpose.
“Be rest assured that we will not only rise to your expectations, but indeed, we will exceed them,” he said.
Dangote later told State House correspondents that there was no limit to how much the committee intends to raise.
He, however, added that a minimum of N100bn would be raised.
He said, “Our target is as much as we can think of and I am sure lot of Nigerians will donate something including yourselves.
“We are targeting N100 billion minimum, we do not want to look at it as a government issue.
“For some of us, when there were disasters in other countries we helped and so we expect people to help us.”
Members of the committee inaugurated by the President include Alhaji Karami Isiaku Rabiu, Alhaji Mohammed Indimi, Ngo Hannatu Cholum, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, Prof. Dora Akunyili and Mr. Tony Elumelu.
Others are the Secretary-General, Nigerian Red Cross, representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, UNDP, European Union, DFID and USAID.
Permanent secretaries of the Ministries of Environment, Water Resources, Works, Agriculture, Health, Finance, National Planning and the Ecological Funds Office are also members.
Other members are the Director-General, NEMA; acting Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Chairman, Senate Committee on Special Duties, Chairman, House Committee on Environment , representatives of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, National Council of Women’s Societies, Mr. Tunde Lemo, (representing the Central Bank of Nigeria), Ms. Fatima Wali, Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr., and Senator Florence Ita-Giwa.
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VIDEO: UNIVERSITY OF PORT HARCOURT STUDENTS BRUTALLY BEATEN AND BURNT ALIVE- VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVICED
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Nigerian soldiers kill about 30 Boko Haram members in gun battle
Nigerian soldiers on Sunday killed about 30 suspected members of the Islamic sect Boko Haram, including a close associate of the group's leader during a gun battle in northeastern Yobe state, an army spokesman said.
"About thirty suspected Boko Haram terrorists were killed in the battle which lasted several hours," army spokesman Lieutenant Eli Lazarus said in a statement.
"In the battle, the notorious, one-eyed Bakaka, the field commander of Boko Haram in Damaturu and a close associate of Abubakar Shekau was killed," he added.
Troops of the Joint Task Force "engaged in a gun battle with the suspected terrorists" during a search and cordon operation on Boko Haram's hideout in Kandahar and around the cemeteries of Damaturu, the state capital, the statement said.
Ten suspected members of the sect arrested during the raid are helping investigators to track other senior members of the group, added the statement.
Six rifles, 90 rounds of ammunition, several telephone sets were recovered during the raid. Knives, bows, arrows, daggers and three cans of Improvised Explosive Device, which were detonated, were also confiscated, Lazarus said.
Yobe state police boss, Patrick Egbuniwe, said earlier Sunday that troops shot dead four suspected members of the Islamist sect following a raid on their hideout in Kandahar.
Islamist extremists have been blamed for more than 1,400 deaths since 2010 as part of their insurgency in northern and central Nigeria.
How Kwankwaso, Babangida foiled impeachment plot against Tambuwal
By Iheanacho Nwosu, Abuja
But for the intervention of Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and his Niger State counterpart, Babangida Aliyu, purported plot to impeach the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Tambuwal, allegedly spearheaded by two northern lawmakers would have thickened, Daily Sun can authoritatively reveal.
Meanwhile, the House leadership has stepped up surveillance over those suspected to be behind the impeachment plot even as it weighs the option of moving against them. House committee chairman on Finance, Jibrin Abdulmumuni (PDP Kano) and son of former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Hon Sani Kutigi (PDP Niger) were believed to be the arrowheads of the purported move which also had the backing of 97 lawmakers. The duo had since denied their alleged role in the plot.
A dependable source revealed to Daily Sun that Govs Kwankwaso and Aliyu, last month, had to intervene on behalf of the speaker before Mumuni and Kutigi agreed to cease from going ahead with the move. Kwankwaso, it was also learnt convened a meeting between Tambuwal and Mumuni where the latter expressed his grievances against the speaker. He told the Governor that while the leadership of the House was financially stable, other lawmakers were struggling.
He decried a situation where close allies of Tambuwal were not considered for contracts or privileged to enjoy other benefits. According to the source, Mumuni had disclosed that the meeting which was christened ‘Operation Clean Up’ was not targeted at unseating the speaker but to call his attention to their plight. “ In the meeting, he (Mumuni) gave reasons for their meeting but denied that it was a plot to remove the speaker”, the source who is a northern member of the House told Daily Sun. The source said further that Tambuwal had expressed his disappointment with the position of Mumuni. the Speaker noted that his leadership would not go the way of former speaker Dimeji Bankole, hence the decision to ask the National Assembly management to handle all contract matters.
According to the source, “the speaker agreed that members deserve to get more money but said that he had learnt some lessons from the Bankole experience and would not want to tread that path. He said he would not dabble into contract matters, that the National Assembly Management is in charge of contracts,” Tambuwal insisted. Daily Sun further learnt that Kwankwaso had told Mumuni to stay off the plot and give Tambuwal total support. He told him that he ran the risk of jeopardising his chances of succeeding him as governor if he failed to heed the advice.
Mumuni, who is on his first term in the lower chamber of the National Assembly, before the alleged plot was considered Tambuwal’s strong ally. It was further gathered that he apologized to the speaker and Kwankwaso for his alleged role in the plot and promised to retrace his steps. Similarly, Governor Aliyu was said to have taken Kutigi to Tambuwal where a deal to discontinue every impeachment move against the speaker was struck. “Gov Aliyu did not only call Kutigi to order, he also convinced others who were involved in the plot to support the speaker”, the source revealed. Despite the peace deal, Daily Sun learnt that the leadership of the House had been keeping watch over the activities of Mumuni, Kutigi and other lawmakers suspected to be involved in the plot.
A principal officer of the House told Daily Sun: “We are monitoring them closely, they have made some promises but we don’t want to rest on our oars. We know that these plots are coming from outside and they are merely using some gullible members among us”. He spoke further: “ We know the quarters where the attack is coming from but they will not succeed because the speaker has not committed any offence”. However, spokesman of the House, Hon Zakari Mohammed denied knowledge of mounting of surveillance over any member. He also said that the alleged plot against Tambuwal was a hoax, arguing that nobody was plotting against the speaker. Mohammed, who is the House committee chairman on Media and Public Affairs also laughed off a report in the media that the House went on a two week recess to starve off impeachment moves against the speaker.
According to him the House is currently on oversight of projects across the country. He said, “ we are working as one, there is no plot against the speaker”. Although the leadership of the House has continued to deny claims of moves against the speaker it is yet to explain reason for the seeming stormy executive session a fortnight ago. The House Leader, Honourable Mulikat Adeola-Akande, had moved that the House should dissolve into an executive session which lasted for almost two hours.
The executive session, was seen as a move by the House leadership to douse the tension created by the plots by some aggrieved members who had earlier sent text messages to members indicating their plans. The text message circulated among members which Nigerian Tribune sighted reads: “This is inviting all first term members of the House of Representatives to an urgent meeting and launching of the project ‘OPERATION CLEAN’. Date: 20th Sept. 2012 Venue-Transcorp Hilton, Abuja Time: 11.00 a.m. prompt.”
The allegations made against the Tambuwal-led House leadership was that the finances of the House were now shrouded in secrecy, a situation the plotters said they never bargained for when they were choosing them as their leaders. Those behind the moves also frowned at the manner the House leadership was allegedly awarding contracts and that they were not aware of how the House allocations were being spent.
Youth corps member donates borehole, toilet to community
The corps member, Williams with others during the inauguration of the borehole.
| credits: Segun Olatunji
Imo is a rustic community located within Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital yet its people do not have access to basic amenities such as potable water and good toilet facilities.
This, it was learnt, has been the condition of the area since 1827 when their forefathers migrated from Orile-Imo homestead to their present place within Abeokuta metropolis.
As far as the people are concerned, there is nothing like dividends of democracy.
Concerned by the plight of the people, a member of the National Youth Service Corps, Mr. Igbigbi Williams, from Delta State, donated a borehole and a four-room modern toilet facilities worth N1.3m to the community.
Williams, with service number OG/11C/2554 came into the community last March and saw the need for the community to have potable water and modern toilets.
He said he got in touch with some prominent indigenes of the community and told them about his plan.
Williams, a graduate of Geography and Meteorology from the Enugu State University of Technology told our correspondent that he was encouraged by the enthusiasm exhibited by the leaders of the community when he informed them about his plan.
This, according to him, made him to ensure that the project was completed within seven months through direct labour.
Williams said, “Today marks a very important day in my life because it is a day I have fulfilled a part of my heart desires, which is putting smiles on people’s faces. When I was posted to this community, I took my time to go round in order to find out the most pressing needs of the people.
“In the course of doing this, I discovered that their most collective and pressing needs were modern toilet facility and potable water.
“Immediately I went to discuss my intention of providing these facilities with the head of the community who gladly accepted my proposals and gave me a portion of land where I eventually erected the projects.”
Williams, however, acknowledged that the projects would not have been possible if not for the financial assistance he received from some philanthropists like the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Tunde Lemo, the Baale of Lisa, Chief Nojeem Odugbemi, and the Odofin of Imo, Chief Akeem Adesina.
“So, it was not a surprise when on October 3 the people of Imo community adorned in their best attires, rolled out the drums to celebrate this unprecedented event,” he said.
The community’s monarch, Oba Kolawole Olubiyi, who led other traditional chiefs to the venue of the inauguration could not hide his excitement.
Olubiyi in his speech said it was the first time a project of such magnitude would be inaugurated in the community since 1817 either by an individual or the government.
Olubiyi said, “As a matter of fact, these projects are some of the most important things needed by the people of Imo. This corps member came to me one day and said that he was directed by the local government council to come and site the toilet and the borehole here.
“The corps member is one of those boys I’ve seen fulfilling the objectives of the NYSC and I’ll want the state government to recognise his efforts and give him a befitting award.”
He, therefore, urged the the community to ensure the security and maintenance of the projects for their maximum benefits.
The Odofin of Imo, Adesina, said those proposing the scrapping of the NYSC scheme had been proved wrong by Williams’ gesture.
“I want to assure you that from today, the Community Development Association has taken over the projects fully. They are not government’s projects. they are our own projects and by God’s grace, we’ll secure and maintain them,” he said.
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