File photo: Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma addresses residents of the state in his Easter message at the Government House in Owerri on April 12, 2020.
In fulfilling his promise of initiating a dedicated empowerment package to address the needs of youths in Imo state, the state Governor, Hope Uzodimma has approved the immediate release of a takeoff fund of two billion naira out of the six billion naira earmarked for an accelerated youth empowerment programme.
The Governor disclosed this in a statewide broadcast in Owerri the Imo state capital on Saturday.
Governor Uzodinma said the two billion naira will be deployed for the training of the first batch of beneficiaries of the scheme known as the Imo State Special Youth Empowerment and Intervention Programme which will commence next week.
He added that an estimated number of 500,000 Imo youths in different skills acquisition will be given start-up capital.
While also assuring Imo indigenes that the security operatives are on the trail of those that masterminded the carnage and destruction of properties in the state, he noted that the 24 hours curfew earlier imposed in all parts of the state has been reviewed.
According to him, the curfew will now be between 6 pm and 6 am.
A section of the multi-million naira Trauma Centre Project at the Federal Medical Centre Owerri, still under construction.
The Senate Committee on Health has promised to use the instrumentality of the 2021 budget to support and increase resource allocation to ensure speedy completion of the multi-million naira Trauma Centre Project embarked upon by the Federal Government at the Federal Medical Centre Owerri.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Health Ibrahim, Oloriegbe disclosed this when the Senate Committee on Health visited the Federal Medical Centre Owerri to inspect some ongoing projects.
A section of the multi-million naira Trauma Centre Project embarked upon by the Federal Government at the Federal Medical Centre Owerri.
While also speaking of the strategic importance of the Trauma Centre to Imo state and the entire southeast, the Medical Director of the FMC Owerri Kingsley Achigbu, noted that the trauma centre which is equipped with emergency services and medical evacuation services will help curb medical tourism and reduce travelling abroad for medical treatment.
FMC Owerri is one of the major health care facilities in the state as well region.
More than 10 families living on Trinity street in Akwakuma community in Owerri North local government area of Imo state are trapped in their homes following an erosion that prevented the individuals from running to safety.
Residents say the situation took a new dimension after a heavy downpour which lasted all through the night on Sunday till the early hours of Monday.
Some residents who spoke to Channels Television urged the government to come to their aid as a matter of urgency, so they can have good access roads to go to work, buy foodstuff, and do other daily activities.
Youths and indigenes of Orlu town in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo state staged a protest Thursday following a report that a police officer killed a young man identified to be a commercial motorcyclist.
The officer who is said to have been on duty at the popular banana junction in Orlu town allegedly shot the motorcyclist for failure to use a face mask and refusal to give a fifty naira (N50) bribe.
The Imo state police command in response to the report said the officer, Sergeant Awusu Henry has been arrested and taken into custody.
Youths in Imo State on Thursday protested the killing of a commercial motorcyclist who refused to give a bribe.
Command spokesman, SP Ikeokwu Orlando, stated in a communique that one other person was injured in the riot that ensued following the killing.
He revealed that the State’s Commissioner of Police, CP Isaac Akinmoyede has ordered a full-scale investigation into the matter, with a view to unraveling the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate incident.
According to SP Ikeokwu, the command while regretting and condemning the “unethical and unprofessional infraction”, is assuring members of the public that justice will be done in the matter.
Aggrieved members of the public, especially the people of Orlu and its environs, were urged to remain calm as “no stone will be left unturned in the quest to ensure that justice is done”.
The Imo State House of Assembly has been shut down for the next two weeks following the announcement that a lawmaker has tested positive to the coronavirus disease.
The chairman of the COVID-19 taskforce in the state, Professor Maurice Iwu disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Owerri the state capital on Tuesday.
He said samples of all other lawmakers and their aides have been taken to the laboratory for testing to be able to ascertain the number of people who might have come in contact with the lawmaker who tested positive.
The Imo state police command has arrested 82-year-old Theophilus Okere a retired Director General of Imo State Broadcasting Corporation for allegedly killing his wife Mrs Beatrice Okere in Imerienwe community within the Ngor- Okpala Local Government Area of Imo state.
Confirming the incident, the Imo state police command public relations officer Orlando Ikeokwu disclosed that preliminary investigations revealed that after killing his wife, the 82-year old ran away until he was arrested by the officers of the command after a tip off.
According to reports Mrs Beatrice Okere who was in her seventies was taking to an undisclosed hospital by indigenes of the community after the incident happened but due to loss of so much blood gave up the ghost in the hospital.
However, the Imo state Commissioner of Police Isaac Akinmoyede said investigation is ongoing to ascertain if the man committed the heinous crime and should be charged to Court in due time.
The Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, has signed an Executive order which significantly reduces the Right of Way (ROW) of telecommunication companies in the State from N4500 to N145 per meter in tandem with Federal Government policy.
According to Governor Uzodinma, the reduction was a manifestation of the government’s determination to spur the telecommunication companies to further invest in broadband infrastructure and trigger ancillary on-line services, especially in the field of education.
He noted in a statement on Wednesday that his government is hopeful that this drastic reduction from N4500 of the broadband ROW to N145 per linear meter of fibre will accelerate the deployment of affordable and reliable modern high-speed connectivity in the State.
The Executive order urged telecommunication companies to note that the State plays host to vibrant and youthful demography located in many tertiary institutions, who form the bulk of the end-users of their products.
The Imo State government has promised to strengthen efforts towards protecting its people from the COVID-19.
Governor, Hope Uzodinma made the commitment while addressing journalists in Owerri on Friday after noting that the state had recorded an additional four cases of the COVID-19.
He expressed his displeasure over the fact that despite the ban on interstate travels and the directives issued on movement to curb the spread of the virus, there was still a lot of non-compliance.
According to the governor, the four cases are all members of the same family who were infected by one of them who recently returned from Lagos.
“There is now need for us to strengthen efforts towards protecting our people at the villages. Despite the announcements and directives to close all borders, it is surprising that somebody came in from Lagos and has infected four members of his family,” he said.
An eight-story building collapsed in Imo state on April 30, 2020. Photo Credit: Eyitope Kuteyi
At least two persons have died after an eight-storey building collapsed in Imo State.
Located along the Yar’ Adua Drive in Owerri, the state capital, the building was said to have been under construction at the time of the incident on Thursday.
Rescue operations are currently ongoing and so far, Channels Television has gathered that about 25 persons were trapped.
Fifteen persons have, however, been rescued from the rubble while two people have unfortunately been reported dead.
Find more pictures of the incident below:
The original structure of the eight-story building that collapsed in Imo state on April 30, 2020.
Meanwhile, Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, has signed into law the bill on Coronavirus Disease and Other Dangerous Infectious Diseases and Related Matters in the state.
He explained that the legislation was important in the state government’s continuous effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Imo.
The governor assented to the bill at the Government House in Owerri, the Imo state capital.
He stressed that it has become necessary to give legal backing to all precautionary measures put in place by the government as a result of the threat posed by COVID-19 in Nigeria and other countries.
According to Governor Uzodinma, it is now a criminal offence in Imo if anyone is found violating the directives and orders of the state government on the measures put in place to prevent the spread of the disease.
Such measures include violating the curfew and lockdown, social gathering, social distancing, and approved hygiene practices.
See the case summary of COVID-19 in Nigeria as of April 25 below:
In line with the federal government directives on the closure of schools, the Imo state Government has shut down all primary, secondary and tertiary Institutions in the state till further notice.
Governor Hope Uzodinma disclosed this in an early morning state-wide broadcast on COVID-19 on Sunday, urging relevant authorities to ensure strict compliance to the directives.
He said an isolation centre has been set up within the state capital to quarantine any person who tests positive to the virus.
According to him, all arrangements have been put in place, to test all passengers arriving at the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport in Owerri of symptoms of the virus.
The governor explained that any passenger that manifests signs of the symptoms will first be taken to a bay that has been set up at the airport for further examination.
The Federal High Court in Owerri, Imo State has dismissed a suit filed by the former Bayelsa governorship aspirant in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Timi Alaibe challenging the emergence of the state governor, Duoye Diri as the legitimate winner of the PDP primaries held on September 3, 2019.
Mr Alaibe had dragged Douye Diri and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court over what he described as a ‘flawed process’ of the PDP primary.
But the court dismissed the suit for lacking in merit, adding that the PDP followed all the constitutional requirements to conduct the primary and subsequent emergence of Diri as the rightful candidate of the party.
The trial judge, Justice Tijani Rigim also ruled that Mr Alaibe shouldn’t have even approached the court in the first instance since PDP had met all the requirements.
