Kennedy Njoku resigned as Abia Speaker after 24 hours in office

Abia Speaker Martin Azubuike

Honourable Kennedy Njoku has resigned as Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, just 24 hours after he was elected into office.

Njoku was elected on Thursday following the impeachment of Chief Martins Azubuike over alleged gross financial misconduct and autocratic leadership style.

He cited personal grounds as the reason why he was stepping down.

Njoku announced his resignation at the resumption of plenary at about 2.50pm on Friday and thanked members for the confidence they reposed in him by electing him as Speaker.

He also promised to continue to provide effective representation to his Osisioma-Ngwa State Constituency.

Mr. Chikwendu Kalu, who is representing Isialangwa South Constituency, has been elected the 10th Speaker of the sixth Abia Assembly.

Imo State Government Intervenes To End Artificial Fuel Scarcity

The artificial fuel scarcity experienced on Friday in all parts of Imo state seems to have been resolved following the intervention of the Imo State government.

This was after hours of dialogue between the men of the Nigeria Security And Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), members of the Imo state Independent Petroleum Marketers and the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association, Imo State chapter.

The news came as a shock to residents of Imo State as they woke up on Friday morning to discover that petrol stations across the state were under lock and key.

The artificial scarcity was said to have been as a result of the alleged harassment and intimidation of tanker drivers by the NSCDC officials which recently led to the accidental shooting of a tanker driver.

The tanker driver is purportedly lying unconscious at the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Abia state.

Most of the petrol stations visited in the Owerri metropolis were locked, as people were seen gathered at entrances of the petrol stations waiting for positive news.

Commuters were also seen stranded at various bus stops within the city.

Solidarity Protest

It was also gathered that the Independent Petroleum Marketers Of Nigeria Imo state chapter, had gone on strike, as a solidarity protest following the continuous harassment of tanker drivers by the NSCDC officials.

This according to the Chairman of the Independent Marketers Association in the Southeast, Bobby Ebere Chidick, is a regular occurrence.

“This is not the first time this will happen, it’s been happening, intimidation and harassment of our drivers, we had to take this step this time around because it’s pertaining to life and death.

“One of our drivers has been shot by the Civil Defense, he’s lying unconscious at the Federal Medical Centre Umuahia,” he said.

In justifying their actions, he further stressed that “it is a solidarity protest to try to notify the government of the activities of the Civil Defense”.

He said the duty of the NSCDC was to secure pipelines rather than monitoring trucks. He insisted that the matter must be resolved once and for all.

Confirming the incident, the Zonal Coordinator, Zone E of the NSCDC, Ben Dikuro, explained that the it happened accidentally in the course of discharging their primary duties.

He however debunked allegations of intimidation and harassment by his men, saying that the NSCDC will continue to discharge their duties as regards transpiration of petroleum products.

According to him, “we got an intelligence report about illegal diversion of petroleum product around Okigwe axis.

“My men swung into action and in the course of doing their duty, there was a misunderstanding and accidentally a driver was shot in the leg”.

In defense, he explained that it wasn’t intentional, adding that he had sent a team to the hospital to look after him.

Meanwhile, the state government immediately called for a meeting between both parties to resolve the issue and avert any harsh effects it might have on the masses.

The outcome of the meeting with the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Eze Madumere, was however positive as both parties resolved the issues amicably and the petroleum marketers promised to re-open as soon as possible.

“Thank God the Imo state Deputy Governor has intervened, we have been in a meeting since the last 4 hours and we have resolved to reopen our business”

The chairman of the Independent Marketers Association said.

Ikpeazu wins first appeal

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has won the first appeal delivered by the Court of Appeal in Abuja with respect to the judgments of the Federal High Court in Abuja June 27 removing him from office.

Ikpeazu’s appeal was with respect to the ruling delivered by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 8 in which the judge insisted that he had jurisdiction to hear a motion for stay of execution of his earlier judgments delivered on June 27 even after the appeals against the judgments had been entered.

The Justice Helen Ogunwumiju-led five-man bench unanimously agreed in their judgment that Justice Abang erroneously assumed jurisdiction to hear the motion and adjourned it till a later date.

Justice Philomina Ekpe, who read the lead judgment, held that what Justice Abang ought to have done in line with time-honoured doctrine of “stari decisis” was to have transferred the motion to the Court of Appeal for determination.

She also held that the Justice Abang wrongly interpreted the provisions of Order 4(10) and (11) of the Court of Appeal rules when he held that the said provisions were only applicable to an interlocutory ruling of the lower court and when a final judgment in a suit had been delivered.

She also held that Justice Abang lacked jurisdictions to interpret the provisions of the Court of Appeal being the rules of a superior court.

In her contribution, Justice Ogunwumiju, held that the trial judge “deliberately stood the law on its head” by justifying his jurisdiction to hear the motion when appeal has been entered.