By Dorcas Jonah

Residents of Apo Resettlement Area in the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) have decried the poor state of link roads and other social amenities in the area.

The residents, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja, said they always pass through a lot of difficulties accessing their homes.

The residents further said that accessing critical facilities such as schools and hospitals was also a major challenge due to lack of link roads.

Elder Babayinka Ojo, a resident of Apo, said that all link roads leading to the markets and some estates had remained inaccessible by both motorists and pedestrians over the years.

”Our city roads are full of potholes some of which have become craters.

”These potholes are hazardous to motorists and pedestrians alike as they increase the risk of accidents, falls and possible injuries.

“Driving at night is incredibly challenging and unsafe because of the dreadful roads and dilapidated link roads.

“The alternative road that is supposed to connect Agaba Estate junction to Main Market to decongest the excess traffic leading to the market is not accessible to both motorists and pedestrians,” he said.

He said that some abandoned structures in the area have been occupied by criminals and drug addicts who pose serious danger to the residents.

”The Sen. Zephaniah Jisalo neighbourhood roads are an eyesore.

”The worst is a cashew plantation in the area called Agwa TV, which Indian hemp smokers have turned to a ‘no go area’ between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily,” he alleged.

Ojo said that the road linking Lokogoma, Apo Mechanic, Shoprite/burial ground was another death trap to motorists.

Another resident, Mrs Esther Ekong, appealed to the Minister of FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, to come to their aid by fixing the bad roads in the area.

Ekong urged the minister to use his office to assist the community by allocating funds for the construction of roads in the area.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Abiemwense Moru

By Awodi Eneh

Some residents of Ado, One Man Village and Masaka in Nasarawa State, have commended President Bola Tinubu’s efforts in fixing the nation’s economy.

The residents made the commendations in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Mararaba.

While some residents hailed Tinubu for what he had done in his one year in the office, others urged him to do better in repositioning the country.

One of the residents, Mr Okoronkwo Okechukuwu, Chief Executive Officer of Okeson Industrial Chemicals, said Tinubu’s first year has been a ‘mixed bag’.

According to him, it is too early to judge his leadership, because he is still trying to correct past mistakes, so we should pray for him and his administration.

”The challenges faced by the President are enormous, and the fluctuation of the dollar is critical to the Nigerian economy, this has also affected business.

”My business is something we buy with the dollar, and as the dollar increases the prices of goods go high which affects the business badly,” he said.

Okechukwu said that in spite of these challenges, Tinubu has the potential to do better and therefore sought prayers for the President.

“I believe he can do better. His leadership will be better than the last leadership, therefore, fellow Nigerians, I urged us to pray for the government and those in authority and for President Tinubu.

”This is because if he does well, it is for the betterment of us all,” he said.

Similarly, Mr Graham Eberechukuwu, a resident of Masaka, said that Tinubu’s first year had been a tale of two halves.

Eberechukwu, who expressed concern over the price of fuel that has gone higher than it was before now, acknowledged the progress made by the President in reducing terrorism.

“As a country, the rate of terrorism has reduced, and this is the area that President Tinubu has impacted well,” he said.

He advised Nigerians to be self-reliant saying,” We cannot rely on the government alone. We need to be self-sufficient and find ways to overcome our challenges.”

Also, Mr Tosin Owolabi, a resident of Ado and a dealer on second-hand clothing, expressed optimism in spite of the challenges.

“We are still keeping the faith, in spite of the challenges. Tinubu promised to improve the livelihood of Nigerians and we are waiting to see the results,”

Owolabi, who acknowledged the difficulties faced by the citizens, urged them to exercise patience as things would be better soon.

Meanwhile, Miss Patience Abraham, a fashion designer, lamented that the economic hardship was caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.

“The first month Tinubu assumed office as the President, the first thing he did was to remove fuel subsidy, and that caused a lot of economic breakdown.

”This however, led to the increase of price of commodities in the market,” she said.

Abraham said the economic situation had affected her business seriously, adding that it called for an urgent action to fix the country.

”The fabrics I got for as low as N1,000 are now N2,500, and it is making the business unprofitable, and clients are complaining.

”Before, you can make a dress for N5,000, but now you cannot make that same dress for N10,000 because of the high cost of sewing materials,” she said.

Abraham said the high cost of transportation was also a major challenge, adding that it had contributed to the high cost of things generally.

“A common man can no longer feed three times a day now in Nigeria. A ‘mudu’ of beans is now N2,300, as against N800.  Things have not been easy.

”As Tinubu marks his first year in office, I hope for a better future.

”Let us keep praying, work hard and hope that as the years go by the president will try to fix the country,” she said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Dorcas Jonah and Abiemwense Moru

By Rotimi Ijikanmi

Oleh community in Delta has urged the State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori,  to prevail on the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Kingsley Emu, from fuelling crisis in the town.

The appeal is contained in a petition to the Governor by some leaders in Oleh, Isoko South Local Govt, Delta, a copy of which was made available to newsmen on Friday.

In the petition signed by four leaders on behalf of the community, they alleged that the SSG

was unjustly interfering in the leadership succession in Oleh, an action capable of breaching the peace  in the town.

The petition was signed on behalf of the community by Chief Zaakie  Okupa, Hon. Osibi Henry,  Mr Anthony Okeh, and Mr Ayo Ubara.

The SSG, however, in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), denied all the allegations against him in the petition addressed to the governor.

The petitioners wrote: “your Excellency, it has become expedient to write you as a community and peace loving people, reporting the bias interference of the SSG, Dr Kingsley Emu in Oleh matters; an action threatening our peace and survival.

“Sir, it is worthy of note that considering the recently dastardly acts and attack witnessed by the state at the moment, Delta needs relative peace.

“As the Chief Security Officer of the State, it will be too dangerous if your Excellency remains silent as many fingers are already pointing at the SSG who had suddenly developed questionable intentions and vested interest to fight our collective interest in Oleh.

“It is in this context that we respectfully appeal to our governor, Rt.Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, who do not toy with the rule of law to kindly call Dr Kingsley Emu to order.

“The SSG must end this erroneous desperation, stay neutral without allowing himself to be coerced into a matter that could affect us if not well handled.’’

On the succession issue in the community that the SSG was accused of meddling into, the petitioners said the former President-General of Oleh Community Development Union (OCDU), Chief Believe Alakri, refused to relinquish power when his tenure  expired in December 2023.

They alleged that Alakri, hiding under the influence of government paraphernalia, breached the extant law, which stipulates that election shall be conducted at least, three (3) months before the expiration of the tenure of his office.

The petitioners said that rather than conducting the election, Alakri planned to impose stooges as the community leadership

They alleged that Alakri also failed to render an account to Oleh people as required by the constitution after his five years of stewardship.

“He made a lopsided appointment by placing his cousin as the Chairman, Oleh Electoral Committee, his closed ally, Secretary and other members without recourse to equity and traditional spread, thereby breaching the constitution.

“This unhealthy appointment was carried out for the reason that a sinister plan was in the offing to plant a surrogate as a successor,’’ they alleged.

The petitioners said following the infractions and to avert crisis, the aggrieved members of the community secured a valid order of a Delta State Chief Magistrate’ Court to right the wrongs.

Specifically, they said Chief Magistrate B.O. Williams ordered that an interim body should take over the leadership of the association, in line with the provisions of the constitution of OCDU.

They said the court directed the interim body to hold the annual conference of OCDU and conduct election into the leadership of the association within three months as stipulated by the constitution.

The petitioners said rather than obey the orders of the court, Alakri and one Chief Joe Arausi introduced a narrative that the leadership crisis in Oleh town had political colouration.

They alleged that the duo of Alakri and Arausi made the government to believe that the leadership infraction in Oleh had party affiliation.

“Your Excellency, it is sad, worrisome, and quite unfortunate that Dr Kingsley Emu (the SSG) had allowed himself to be brainwashed and misguided

“Regrettably, Dr Kingsley Emu had intentionally midwife several calls, not excluding calls to the late Magistrate, Chief Magistrate B.O. Williams (before she died), threatening and commanding that the conference should be held against our constitution.

“Your Excellency, if Dr Kingsley Emu denies this fact, we will apply to Court to licence the network providers to produce phone calls conversation within this specified time.

“The last time we checked, the SSG has not been assigned the herculean functions of Peace Building and Conflict Resolution in Delta State. The signals are very clear.

“He must end this erroneous desperation, stay neutral without allowing himself to be coerced into a matter that could affect the party tomorrow if not well handled,’’ the petitioners said.

In his reaction in a telephone interview with NAN, the SSG said he was aware of the petition, but the allegations therein were unfounded.

Emu said they waded into the crisis in the community to keep peace, because the state could not afford a repeat of Okuama and Okoloba crisis..

“Although, we are aware of the court cases, we cannot afford to watch and allow this crisis to degenerate

“Without prejudice to the cases in court, we summoned all the parties for a meeting. We did so in order to resolve the crisis through arbitration.

“We have waded into similar cases, such as they had in Isoko, and we resolved the crises amicably and peacefully among warring parties, we will continue to intervene to ensure peaceful co-existence.

“I am the SSG and a peace loving person. I cannot take side with any party. The Governor has his trust in me. I am not frivolous, reckless or irresponsible,’’ he said

According to the SSG, the allegation is coming from a misguided people who want to fan embers of crisis in the community.

“The major cause of the crisis is resources; it is about oil, leadership tussle and boundary.

“We will stop at nothing lawful to ensure peace in the state.’’ (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

By Thompson Yamput

Scores of Iyara people, who were hit by rainstorm  in Iyara community, headquarters of Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi,  could not celebrate the Eid-el-Fitr  events as the natural disaster rendered them homeless.

Already,  the National President of Iyara Development Association (IDA) Alhaji Aliyu Badaki, has cried out to the Federal and state governments for immediate assistance to the victims.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the incident occured in the early hours of Monday.

The rainstorm reportedly wrecked havoc in the community after more than 100 houses had their roofs blown off, rendering them inhabitable.

Virtually all affected households are currently taking refuge with  relations and friends in  neighbouring communities.

Badaki urged the  National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), to assist the victims.

“As we speak, over 1,000 people  have been affected by the disaster, mostly women and children that are in dire need of assistance.

“This is because the destruction was massive,  beyond what the victims can handle, due to the current economic situation in the country.

“This Sallah celebration to them is  bleak, therefore, we appeal to the state government through SEMA and the Federal Government via NEMA, to assist these victims,” he said.

While sympathising with the victims, he  said the disaster” deserved urgent attention and assistance for victims.

The traditional ruler, (the Eleta Oluyara of Iyara) Oba Jacob Meduteni, described the rainstorm as “saddening” and “very unfortunate.

“It’s unfortunate that this disaster came at a time that the people are trying to manage the current economic hardship.

“We hope that both federal and state governments, well-to-do individuals and corporate bodies will assist the victims to ameliorate their sufferings,” he said.

Some of the victims who spoke to NAN,  called for urgent assessment of the level of destruction done to their property for assistance.

Hajia Rabi Ibrahim, a house wife, said her family was asleep  when suddenly they woke up  in a pool of water.

“We ran for our dear lives, not knowing what exactly was happening,  but for persistent thunder storms that registered flooding in our minds.

“”This is a very bad time for us this year. We hope the government and spirited wealthy individuals and corporate organisations will come to our aid, “she pleaded.

Mallam Habib Abdulrazak, a civil servant, described the incident as surprising and disastrous, considering the number of people rendered homeless.

He said that his family was taking shelter in a relation’s house in the next neighborhood and called for government to quickly assist them.

Abdulrazak added: “Life has become unbearable for us due to the prevailing economic situation in the country and we are in  dire need of assistance.” (NAN)(www nannews.ng)

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Edited by Chioma Ugboma/Idris Abdulrahman