The governor who spoke in a statement by his Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Tony Nnacheta, said there would be no hiding place for mischief makers and anyone who would wish to distort the prevailing peace in the state.

Obiano maintained that he would implement the decisions of the southeast governors to the letter in Anambra State .

He enjoined the people of the state to be vigilant, adding that the security and welfare of the people the area were paramount to his government.

The governor said maximum security cover would be provided for places of worship of all faiths; for housing settlements of non-indigenes, motor parks and all other public places to guarantee the peace and safety of all.

The statement read in part,”Sequel to the decision of the South East Governors forum which met on the 15th of September , 2017, at Enugu, where amongst other decisions, was the proscription of the activities of Indigenous People of Biafra, the Government of Anambra State wishes to state as follows: Government aligns itself with the clarion call from the South East Governors advising all persons with grievances and anxiety to transmit their position through prescribed channels of elected representatives to the forum.

“Government is also firmly in support of the restructuring agenda as announced by the Governors Forum and encourages Ndi Anambra to articulate their thoughts to follow through on this issue.

“The safety of Ndi Anambra and all residents in Anambra, the security of their lives, properties and environment are cardinal priorities of the Willie Obiano Administration which has ensured that everyone goes about freely within our environment without let or hindrance.”

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The President-General of Ohanaeze, Chief John Nwodo, announced this while addressing the members of the Anambra State House of Assembly at the Legislative Complex, Awka, Anambra State.

Nwodo, who was particularly embittered by IPOB’s call for the boycott of the Anambra State governorship election scheduled for November, said Kanu had breached the undertaking he took before him (Nwodo) when he was released from detention.

He said, “I’m just being paternal. The way I commended them as my children, is the way I have the right to chastise them when they go wrong. We don’t need this heating up.

“News that reached us in the past few days that Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, has declared that there will be no election in Anambra State in November is shocking and disturbing. I hereby countermand that declaration as President-General of Ohanaeze.

“Whereas Ohanaeze understands the marginalisation and unfair treatment of Igbo which have given rise to self-determination movements in Igboland, leaders of these movements must not arrogate to themselves the supreme leadership of Igboland.

“Statements of the kind credited to Nnamdi Kanu are provocative, misleading and unproductive. Why should Anambra people be denied the opportunity to choose their own leader? Why should any of us who are not from Anambra, no matter how highly placed, descend into the arena and dictate for the Anambra people when to vote, whether to vote or who to vote for?

“Anambra, nay Igbo, are still part and parcel of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Yes, we are not happy with our treatment in Nigeria. Yes, some of us want Biafra. Yes, some of us prefer a restructured Federal Republic of Nigeria. But the fact remains that we are still part and parcel of the present Federal Republic of Nigeria, bound by its laws, no matter how repressive or unjust.

“Our approach to reforms of our laws, even if it leads to self-determination or restructuring, must be lawful. We must convince other Nigerians of our point of view, we must strive to make others share our convictions.

“Our language must be civil, respectful and lead to consensus building. We must resist any attempt to turn division amongst us, as to which way we must go, become a source of altercations between us.

“As we speak, very many of our people living in northern Nigeria are in complete awe and consternation regarding how safe they will be after October 1st. Other northerners living amongst us are also worried.

“The Inspector-General of Police has taken public notice of Nnamdi’s comments inviting a possible invasion of Anambra by the Nigeria Police, increasing the already existing siege of our people which lead to daily extortion on our highways. All these developments have arisen out of unguarded utterances.

“I find no venue more suited for the statements I make here. Every constituent part of Anambra is represented here. I believe that the honourable members here are competent enough to carry the Ohanaeze message to every nook and cranny of Anambra State.”

Nwodo, who said the organisation would visit other Houses of Assembly in Igbo-speaking states, said, “We are happy with the peace that exists here. We are happy with the steady progress that Anambra has registered over the years. The next election can only improve not retard it.”

Earlier, the Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, who was represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Legislative Matters, Chief Chiedozie Ezeugwa, had said the state government was committed to the Igbo cause and would continue to do everything to support the Ohanaeze in protecting the interest of Igbo.

In their speeches, the Speaker of the Anambra Assembly, Mrs. Rita Mmaduagwu, and a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Chief Victor Umeh, said the Igbo should avoid disunity in whatever cause they would pursue in the prevailing circumstance, adding that the time to listen to the Igbo had come.

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The choice of the topic is based on the fact that recurring internal security crisis has been one of the major challenges that has plagued the Nigerian State in its quest for nationhood.

In the last 100 years, the country has witnessed violent internal security crisis which predates its independence in 1960 including Tiv rots and Aba women riots of 1929. The latest security threats manifest in the form of Boko Haram insurgency, separatist Independent People of Biafra, Niger Delta militancy and the farmers/herdsmen brouhaha and other sundry criminalities.

As Nigeria seeks its place in a modern interconnected global community, it is clear that security is one of the major challenges facing it as was predicted that it could disintegrate in 2015. Although this has failed to happen, the social dynamics that could make the prediction come true is still very much with us. With this in mind, one can see that security is one of the factors to focus on in our dream for nationhood.

Security is critical for growth and investment and economic prosperity and the outcome of these include greater employment, poverty reduction, social progress and peace, tranquillity and stability.

It would appear that one of the key elements that predisposes Nigeria to endless violence and crisis is its plural nature. Nigeria is undoubtedly an amalgam of many nation states that have different cultural and political antecedents. In our quest to create a nation state called Nigeria, we believe that security is the most important issue to address in 2016 and this should be done against the background of national development needs in the contest of a plural and democratic society.

The Lecture entitled: “Security and National Development in A Plural Democratic Society” will be delivered by Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, United Nations Secretary General Envoy to West Africa and first former President of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS. The lecture, for the first time, will take place in Abuja at Sheraton Hotel by 10am prompt.

Immediately after the lecture, a panel of discussants will leverage on it to speak on how our security challenges can be tackled to fast track national development. The panellists are Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Alex Cummings, Presidential Hopeful, Liberia, and Ibrahim Idris, Inspector General of Police, Nigeria Police Force, NPF. The lecturer and all the panellists have confirmed their attendance at the event.

The Chairman of the occasion, His Excellency, Chief Willie Obiano, Executive Governor of Anambra State, has also confirmed his attendance.

After the panel discussion and interactive session, there will be an investiture into the prestigious Realnews Hall of Fame, exclusively reserved for only Guest Speakers, Discussants, and Chairpersons at our Anniversary Lecture Series. Our 2015 Guest Lecturer, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo and Chairman, Mal. Mohammed Hayatu-Deen are among the new inductees.

“The induction into the Realnews Hall of Fame is just a token of our appreciation for the honour they did to Realnews Magazine and Publications Limited and the priceless role they are going to play in our Fourth Anniversary Lecture,” said Maureen Chigbo, publisher/editor of Realnews.

Old members of the Realnews Hall of Fame are Professor Maurice Iwu, former chairman of INEC, Roberts Orya, managing director/chief executive officer of the Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Dr. Ngozi Anyaegbunam, President, Media World, Benjamin Dikki, Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises and Professor Joe. I. Ezigbo, Managing Director, Falcon Corporation Limited.

Realnews, a general interest magazine, is an online publication which thrives on investigative journalism debuted November 19, 2012. It focuses on oil and gas sector with its attendant environmental challenges as well as issues relating to business and economy, politics, power, health, women and youth.

Its aim is to unearth exclusive stories about real people and the challenges they are facing in their day-to-day activities. It does this bearing in mind that government can only act to influence the lives of people positively if they are aware of their true situation. Hence, its objective is to use its investigative skills to ferret out information in the sectors it focuses on and produce an unbiased report which will actually influence the government and decision makers to take actions that will make the society better.

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Akabuike said this in Awka on Tuesday while receiving drugs and hospital equipment donated by a pharmaceutical company based in Lagos.

He said that the cholera outbreak recorded in Innoma Community in Anambra West Local Government Area of the state was already under control.

The commissioner said that a team of doctors and nurses were immediately deployed to the area as soon as the outbreak was reported.

“We discovered that it was not a full blown cholera but gastroenteritis common in children under five years.

“Gastroenteritis is an infection of the intestines which causes diarrhoea. In most cases the infection clears within a few days, but sometimes it takes longer,” he said.

Akabuike said the government had also received drugs and hospital equipment worth about $2 billion from many donor agencies and indigenes of the state since the inception of the present administration.

He commended the donors for the gesture and pledged to use the items judiciously for the wellbeing of the people.

Akabuike said the security measures put in place by Gov. Willie Obiano had attracted a lot of investments to the state.

The commissioner said that the government had recently donated N428 million to mission hospitals in the state to boost healthcare delivery.

In her remarks, the Human Resources Manager and Operations of the pharmaceutical company, Ruth Harrison, pledged to partner with the government toward the development of the state.

Harrison said the drugs were for malaria and cholera patients, adding that the donation was part of efforts to be part of the success stories in the state.

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Obiano spoke at the main auditorium of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (Unizik) in Awka, during the 2014 2nd Bi-annual faculty of Education international conference with the theme “professional ethics and innovative practices in Education in the 21st century.”

The Governor, who was represented by his Deputy Dr. Nkem Okeke, said his administration was not sparing any efforts in the fight against criminal elements in the state which he said had held the state hostage.

“We are committed to retrieving our cities from criminals; we must not give them a chance to operate in Anambra State”.

“In doing that, we had to be innovative apart from creating jobs to keep our youth off the streets, we recently formed a c(JTF) made up of all the security agencies that collaborate to ensure a regime of law and order.”

“Their rapid response approach to checking criminal activities compliments the vigilantes who have made a success of the concept of community policing in the towns and villages of Anambra State,” Obiano said.

Furthermore, he said that education ranks very high in the list of what his administration called the ENABLERS.

He described education as a veritable tool for training and moulding the character of the youth, adding that his government was determined to improve upon the good foundation laid in the state by former Governor, Chief Peter Obi.

Again, he said that his administration had given education priority with scholarships up to senior secondary school level, while embarking on what he called special vocational training schemes in the three sensational districts in the state, targeted at empowering the youth in various ventures.

Others who spoke on ethics and values included Mrs. Sarah Jibril who said that most of the challenges being faced today in the country were from the institutions and various homes in the country.

Jibril said that the country was sitting on a gun powder today because the worship centers in Nigeria had become centers of cultism where arms and ammunition were hidden.

The Vice chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (Unizik), Prof Boniface Egboka thanked their guests and visitors for finding time to join in the conference, describing Faculty of Education in the school as one of the strongest academic units in Unizik.

Also, the Dean, Faculty of Education in the institution, Prof Ogo Ibeneme said the 21st century portends great hope, great changes and also possible challenges.

Therefore, he said it was the duty of the experts to generate solutions that could resolve those national challenges, adding that everybody was all concerned about education in Nigeria

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