ABIA ASSEMBLY EXTENDS TENURE OF TRANSITION COUNCILS CHAIRMAN

HOPES for local council elections in Abia State have been dashed once more as the House of Assembly, following Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s request, has extended for another six months the tenure of the appointed 17 transition committees.

The Assembly noted that the extension was in line with the relevant section of the state law, which provided for a maximum of two terms of six months each for council transition officials. Announcing the approval yesterday, the Speaker, Martins Azubuike, said the extension was effect from July 1, 2015.
Meanwhile, the House also chose Solomon Akpulonu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Obingwa East Constituency) and Chijioke Nwachukwu of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA, Umuahia South Constituency) as Deputy Majority Leader and Minority Leader respectively. It also constituted various committees.
In another development, the governor yesterday said his administration would employ qualified engineers just as it did for the ongoing rehabilitation of 24 roads in parts of the state.
Ikpeazu, who spoke during the visit of the representative of the South East Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Uche Ukpabi, alongside colleagues, stressed the need for the body to assist in strengthening engineering courses at the state university at Uturu.
He also pledged to assist COREN in its professional practice even as he expressed worry at the increasing incidents of building collapse, sub-standard infrastructures and the imperative to check them.
Ukpabi had told Ikpeazu that COREN controls and oversees all engineering practices in the country. Noting that in Abia a good percentage of the government’s capital expenditure is on engineering projects, he solicited the state’s collaboration in checking quackery in the profession.

Source: Abia Facts Newspaper.

26YR-OLD DRUG DEALER ARRESTED WITH 47.8GRMS OF COCAINE, HEROIN IN ABA

A 26-year-old hard drug dealer, Chinonso Onyebuchi, has been arrested by the officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Abia Command.

Bamidele Akingbade, Abia State commander of the agency said that Onyebuchi was caught with 20.3 grams of cocaine, 27.5 grams of heroin and some wraps of cannabis.
Onyebuchi, an indigene of Enugu state, had claimed to be an intra-city bus driver on the Ariaria-Faulks road route.
Akingbade said that the suspect was caught with over 100 small wraps of cocaine and heroin which he sells at N100 and N50, respectively.
The commander said that Onyebuchi will be charged to court this week but would appear before a judge at the end of their vacation.
“For us to process his trial, we have to file a charge now. The courts are open with the other officials but the judges are not there at the Federal High Courts because they are on vacation.
“So they are going to take the charge and we can now hold him in custody until the courts resumes. But as soon as the courts resume, he will be arraigned with 17 other drug suspects in Abia.
“We are going to use the services of the vacation judge in Port Harcourt to start their trial process and to remand them pending the resumption of the Federal High Courts,” Akingbade said.
Onyebuchi said he was forced by hardship to return to selling hard drugs for an Aba-based drug courier named Agbo after quitting the business which took him to prison in 2008.
“I used to sell drugs but I left it since for a long time now. I have been arrested before and the person I was selling for left me to go to prison in 2008.
“When I was freed from prison in 2010, I left the business. I came here because last two months Agbo, a drug courier in Aba, called me to come to his place and sell market for him.
“So he said he will beat me up when he sees me and today he saw me with his henchmen along Ohanku road and they started beating me with machete.
“I ate the money last two months and ran away. He was the one who called me to come and sell drugs for him.
“They came today and beat me and handed me over to the NDLEA. It is Agbo that sells the drugs,” he confessed.
Agbo, who admitted taking the cannabis, had white foam in his mouth while talking with the NDLEA officers.
‪#‎Source‬: Newsmall

BREAK NEWS: PDP PLANS DEMONSTRATION IN ABIA STATE AGAINST APGA

Tension is gradually building up in Abia state concerning the planned demonstration by PDP tomorrow against APGA.

Information reaching us now states that PDP members have concluded plans to stage a massive demonstration tomorrow against the allegation by APGA that they burnt Obingwa INEC office.
Our informant further stated that the secret purpose behind the demonstration is to swerve the public mind away from PDP as been the masterminds of the Obingwa INEC office burning to APGA.
We are informed that the demonstration will hold in Obingwa and then move to Aba, Umuahia and other localities. We also heard that they plan to attack business premises of well known APGA members and Non Ngwa's in Aba.
Security authorities in Abia state and other prominent Abians should Please intervene to avoid escalation of Abia state security issues by miscreants.
Source:  Abia Facts Newspaper