The Imo State Governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the ongoing governorship election, Hope Uzodimma, has won in all the 27 Local Government Areas of the state.
At the state collation centre of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Owerri, the state capital, Uzodimma won in all the LGAs in the state as announced by INEC.
At the final collation of the results of the LGAs in the state on Sunday morning, the state Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Abayomi Fasina, who is the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, announced an hour break to enable him to compute the final result and declare the winner of the election.
Earlier, the state agent of the Labour Party, Callistus Ihejiagwa, was beaten and thrown out of the collation centre after he objected to the results announced by the LGA returning officers.
The Peoples Democratic Party’s state agent, Kissinger Ikeokwu, immediately left the collation centre.
The PDP candidate in the election, Samuel Anyanwu, had on Saturday night, called for a total cancellation of the election.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has said it will mobilize its members to storm Imo State on Wednesday, November 1.
Briefing journalists at the Labour House on Sunday in Abuja, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, accused the Imo State Government of violating the rights of the Nigerian workers in the state.
Accusing Governor Hope Uzodimma of neglecting workers’ welfare, Ajaero lamented that many of them have died because of the alleged lack of payment of their salaries.
He outlined some of the infractions against workers by the Imo State Governor including the alleged refusal to implement previous agreements especially the accord reached on January 9, 2021, outstanding salary arrears of about 20 months, unjust declaration of workers as ghost workers, declaration of pensioners as ghost workers and unsettled gratuity arrears among others.
According to him, approximately 10,000 pensioners have been wrongly labelled as ghost pensioners resulting in over 22 months of unpaid pensions while about 11,000 workers have been branded by the Imo State Government as ghost workers.
The NLC President also lamented the non-compliance with the national minimum wage by the state government, adding that Governor Uzodinma has resisted the use of social dialogue and collective bargaining to resolve the issues.
Meanwhile, The National Industrial Court sitting in Owerri the Imo state capital has issued an extended interim injunction restraining the organized Labour from embarking on any kind of strike in Imo state.
Both the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress are further ordered not to embark on OCCUPY IMO, as planned, until the next adjourned date.
Justice Nelson Ogbuanya gave the order after hearing the submissions of the Attorney General of Imo State, Cyprian Akaolisa, who approached the court to grant an extended interim order against the defendants in view of their fresh threat to embark on strike through occupy Imo.
The defendants are Nigeria Labour Congress and the Secretary General, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja and the Trade Union Congress and its secretary General, Comrade Nuhu Toro.
In the suit No NICN/ OW/41/2023, in which the Attorney General of Imo State and the Imo State Government are applicants, they prayed that since there is a subsisting order restraining the defendants from going on strike, the order should be extended.
Their argument was hinged on an affidavit by which the first defendant (NLC) by a letter dated 16th October, 2023 is currently mobilizing its members from the South East and South South for a strike to occupy Imo from November 01,2023.
After hearing from both counsels in the suit, the court granted the order of extended interim injunction restraining the defendants from embarking on any strike in whatever guise.
The court warned against the disobedience of its order, saying that it will attract consequences.
The Court adjourned the matter to November, 03,2023 for either hearing or report of settlement.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed satisfaction with the performance of the bimodal voter accreditation system BVAS ahead of the November 11 governorship election in Imo state.
The INEC National Commissioner in charge of South East, Kenneth Ukeagu stated this while speaking with newsmen after monitoring the mock accreditation exercise held in select polling units across the state.
He explained that the ease at which the eligible voters who came out for the exercise were accredited was a clear indication that the people of Imo state would witness seamless voting during the poll.
Similarly, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof Sylvia Agu said she was impressed with the exercise noting that it took seconds for the BVAS to accredit the prospective voters..
Kogi
INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu says that the Commission will deploy Eight Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS fo easy Accreditation at Ganaja village polling unit in Ajaokuta area of Kogi State
Professor Yakubu stated this in Lokoja, Kogi State when he visited the area to assess the progress of the Mock Accreditation exercise taking place in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States ahead of the November 11th Governorship elections.
He said the reason for deploying the eight machines was that Ganaja polling unit was the largest polling unit and most densely populated in Nigeria with 13,000 registered voters.
He explained that after the governorship election, the Commission would redistribute the voters to other approximate locations.
Professor Yakubu who said one of the challenges facing the location was flooding, pointed out that an alternative arrangement had been made incase there was flood.
He said they were taking proactive measures to ensure that voters had a pleasant voting experience on election day.
Professor Yakubu said to reduce crowd on Election day at Ganaja polling unit with over 11,000 voters, the Commission set up several desks with many voting locations on election day.
The INEC electoral officer, Datchan Manchan said they had all the non sensitive materials for the election and that preparations are going on well ahead of the Governorship election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is conducting a mock accreditation in the three States where the Governorship elections will take place on November 11th, 2023.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu is on his way to Lokoja to monitor the progress of the exercise.
Earlier, Professor Yakubu made a brief stop at INEC Kotonkarfe Local Government Office.
The Electoral Officer, Alhaji Hassan Musa told the INEC Chairman that they had received all the non sensitive materials for the election.
He also said they were collaborating with the security agencies to ensure a hitch free exercise and therefore solicited for more security personnel on the election day.
INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu promised the staff that all they needed would be provided but advised them to be of good behaviour on November 11th.
Professor Yakubu later inspected the materials and also mandated the Electoral Officer to ensure that polls are opened b 8AM on Election day.
Ogochukwu Okoronkwo and Chinazo Ilechuckwu; Editing by Oluwaseyi Ajibadeand Annabel Nwachukwu
The Imo State Police Command has arrested an Inspector of Police seen in a viral video assaulting a young man.
The incident, which happened in Owerri, the state capital, had elicited reactions as many condemned the inhumane act meted out to the victim.
Responding to a call for the arrest of the erring cop, the state Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Barde, ordered the immediate arrest of the unnamed officer.
In a statement issued by the spokesperson for the police in the state, Henry Okoye, on Wednesday, the CP condemned the cop’s unprofessional behaviour.
He ordered that the cop be identified and arrested immediately, saying that the officer’s act was unacceptable.
The statement read, “The attention of the Imo State Police Command has been drawn to a viral video with a caption, ‘Nigeria Police can never be your friend, especially the ones in Owerri’, where a Police Inspector alleged to be serving in Imo State was seen forcefully removing the cap of a young man and slapping him several times in his face.
“The Commissioner of Police, Imo State, CP Mohammed Barde, psc(+), condemns this irritating act in totality as it highly contradicts the professional ethics and code of conduct of the Force. The Nigeria Police Force is a highly disciplined organisation and will never tolerate the misconduct of the officer seen in the video.
“To this effect, the CP has mandated his monitoring team to investigate and identify the officer for necessary disciplinary action. Moreso, the victim is encouraged to call the PPRO in Imo or come to the Police Public Relations Department Owerri and make his complaint.”
In an update a few hours later same Wednesday, the police spokesman announced that the erring cop had been identified and arrested.
Okoye said the cop was currently undergoing an orderly room trial.
The police spokesperson said, “The irritating incident happened in Owerri. The recalcitrant Inspector has been identified; he is currently undergoing an orderly room trial after which necessary disciplinary action will be taken against him.”
Governor Hope Uzodimma has described Imo talents as resourceful to the nation.
He made this known while receiving Super Falcons of Imo origin: Chiamaka Nnadozie, Desire Oparanozie, Osinachi Ohale and Tochukwu Oluehi at the Government House Owerri.
The Imo governor commended the Super Falcons of Nigeria for their outstanding performance at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which was an impressive outing. He, therefore, urged them not to be deterred by the outcome of the competition.
As an encouragement to the quad, the Governor graciously approved the allocation of one plot of land to each within the city of Owerri. According to the Governor, this is the little way by which the Government shows appreciation for their patriotism and support for their career.
Imo state governor, Hope Uzodimma, yesterday ordered the workers in the state, to stay home from Monday next week till further notice, ahead of the festive period.
The governor in his state-wide broadcast to Imo people in Owerri, said that the reason was that due to the expected influx of people coming home for Christmas that there could be a surge in the cases of covid -19.
Uzodimma while wishing his people fruitful Christmas celebration noted that the wearing of facemask would be compulsory and that mobile courts would be deployed to within the state, to enforce the order.
He continued: “My dear good people of Imo State, it is with a great sense responsibility that I address you on this auspicious season of Christmas.In normal times, with just a few days to Christmas, I should be saying a very happy Christmas in advance to you. But the times are far from normal. The dreaded Coronavirus pandamic, otherwise known as Covid 19, is back in town at full speed.
“Since October the number of cases in the country, which hitherto seemed to be reducing, has been on a rapid rise. From 225 confirmed new cases in October, the number has risen to a frightful level of 77,933 in December. Yesterday,19th December alone 920 new confirmed cases were recorded in the country, with 6 deaths.
“In Imo State the situation is no less frightening. Recent PCR-Based tests carried out in the state in accordance with the guidelines of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), reveal a frightful upward surge in the confirmed cases curve. As of last week, no less than 32 persons were confirmed positive with covid 19.” He was not happy that,
“Sadly, while the grim realities of increasing Covid 19 infections continues to confront us every day, a general complecency and false sense of safety amongst our people to Covid 19 safety protocols remain the order of the day. This trend must be reversed in the interest of everyone. The time to do so is NOW. The imminent danger posed by the human traffic surge occasioned by the season, makes immediate and drastic steps in this direction both cogent and urgent.
“In this respect I want to emphasise that there is absolute need to avoid gathering of crowds of more than 100 people anywhere in the state. Where such crowds must gather, those involved MUST wear face masks. There should be wash hand stands readily available with achohol based sanitisers at such gatherings.
“To further strengthen safety measures, all government workers are to stay at home from tomorrow, Monday, December 21, till further notice, except for permanent secretaries and political appointees. This means that the state secretariat, which is a major crowd puller, will remain closed, from tomorrow, to the public until further notice.” The governor added:
“In addition, wearing of face masks in public is henceforth absolutely compulsory. Mobile courts have been deployed all over the state to try any person caught without wearing face masks.
“Equally, all COVID-19 safety protocols will henceforth be strictly enforced. These include provision of wash hand stands and sanitisers in markets and worship places. Any person or persons caught not observing these safety protocols will be summarily prosecuted in them
