Imo : PDP official who opposed Uzodimma charged with terrorism

Mr Ambrose Nwogwugwu who is the Director of Online media of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been arraigned before a Magistrate court sitting in Owerri. He was arraigned on charges bordering on terrorism and defamation.

This is as a result of some of his Facebook posts which are reportedly  "targeted" at Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo state.

In the charge sheet marked 0W/217c/2020, it was alleged that the 29-year-old PDP official accused the governor of constructing a rural grazing area for herdsmen in the state. 

He also accused Uzodimma of planning to rename Imo State University after Abba Kyari, the former chief of staff to the president who died from COVID-19 complications. 

He further accused the governor of planning to divert N5.2 billion meant for pensioners in the state. 

Governor Uzodinma has reportedly denied all the allegations made in the posts shared on Facebook between March and May 2020.

Imo scraps payment of pension to ex-governors

Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has assented to a bill repealing the law that created pension allowances and gratuities for former governors, deputy governors, assembly speakers, and deputy speakers.

Signing the bill into law in Owerri on Friday, the governor noted that the erstwhile law runs contrary to the 1999 constitution as amended, which stipulates that a pensioner must have worked for at least 10 years and must be up to 45 years of age.

He regretted a situation where some of the beneficiaries of such payments also get a huge amount of money as salaries and allowances in other positions they occupied such as serving as senators or members of the House of Representatives.

“Apart from the inconsistency of such a law to the provisions of the ground norm, which is the Constitution of 1999 (as amended), this has led for a very long time a precedence that does not encourage diligence and prudence in service delivery,” the governor said.

He, however thanked the State House of Assembly for rising to the occasion and embracing totally the desire of the government to strengthen the Internally Generated Revenue base of the state.

On his part, Speaker of the Imo House of Assembly, Chiji Collins, said the house of assembly presented two bills for the governor’s assent: the Bill on Imo State University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and Bill on the Repeal of Pensions and Gratuity.

He said that the Bill on Pensions and Gratuity had long been repealed in many states of the federation when it was discovered to run contrary to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Present at the signing of the bill into law were the Deputy Governor Prof. Placid Njoku; the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Amara Iwuanyanwu; the Majority Leader, Uche Ogbuagu and other members of the House, as well as some members of the State’s Expanded Executive Council.

Imo State Governor signs an executive order

The Imo State Governor, Sen. Hope Uzodimma have signed an Executive order reducing the Right of Way (ROW) of telecommunication companies in the state.

The executive order No. 002, 2020 will see the right of way of telecoms operators in the state slashed from N4500 to N145 per meter as stipulated by a federal government policy.

The development is contained in a statement signed by the State Commissioner for Information, Declan Emelumba and made available to DAILY POST.

The Commissioner explained that the reduction was a manifestation of the state 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.

The Imo State government according to the statement said it hopes the drastic reduction from N4500 of the broadband ROW to N145 per line 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 a vibrant youthful demography located in many tertiary institutions, who form the bulk of the end users of their products.