DELTA COMMISSIONER, NNAMDI SURVIVES FATAL ACCIDENT, AIDE CONFIRMED DEAD (PHOTO)

The Commissioner representing Ndokwa in Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Hon Nnamdi Ezechi has survived a fatal auto accident, Delta Decides can authoritatively report.

It was gathered that while Hon. Nnamdi was lucky to have survived the accident, his police escort, Sergeant Sunday Victor, alias Ojukwu however died.

Although information about the accident was still sketchy at the time of filling this report however, sources revealed that the white TOYOTA HILUX which they were travelling in somersaulted severally and squeezed into flat sheet.

The survival of the Commissioner was by the grace of God, a source disclosed

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"Okowa Remains The Worst Governor Delta Has Ever Produced" - PDP Chieftain

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Isoko Federal constituency, High Chief Paul Olotu Eriri assessing the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa administration in Delta State in the past two years came out with his damning verdict: “It is a disaster.”

Eriri spoke while fielding questions from a community newspaper. He stated: “If you ask me about my assessment of Okowa’s administration within the last two years, I will answer this way, it is a disaster. He is the worst governor this state has ever produced. In fact, Okowa is the worst governor Africa has ever experienced. Nothing has been done; no achievement of anything.”
Eriri who described himself as a member of the PDP, a chieftain and a leader of the same party with the governor pointed out that his assessment would not be based on the fact that he belongs to the same political party with the governor. “I will be sincere, honest, professional and patriotic in my assessment,” he declared.

He began: “The way to start assessment of Dr. Okowa’s administration for the period of two years is to read his own personal assessment which has been published in the State newspaper, The Pointer. If you read several editions of The Pointer from December 30th, 2016 to the middle of January 2017, you will get a lot of information about his own personal assessment as it has been published Ministry by Ministry, Directorate by Directorate, Agency by Agency.
“If you go through the whole page, then you can now match it with the realities on ground. You can subtract publicity and image making from partialities and realities on ground. When you read the assessment in those editions of The Pointer, you will first ask yourself a question: Where are we going? In one of the publications, you will see that the Ministry of Information, some of the achievements so listed include the servicing of a generator. In other words, one of the achievements of the Governor is to service a generator that was not working before.What an achievement!
“And they went further to list other achievements that are completely ridiculous, talking about provision of smart phones to directors as an achievement. I just said, is anything wrong with this guy as a Governor? The Governor that is supposed to develop the State, provide infrastructure, provide facilities and you are talking of distribution of Smart Phones to Directors of Ministry of Information as achievement.

“You go to the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources and others; you see that one of the achievements is testing of bore holes and others as an achievement. Frankly speaking, that a governor who could not provide water for the citizens of the state would go ahead and ask people that have boreholes under the pretense that he is testing the quality of water. It is unthinkable, it is unimaginable, but it is real. It was even published. “
Asked as an economist if the shortfall in revenue accruing to the state is accountable for the slow pace of development in the state, or is there enough revenue that His Excellency can use to develop the state as expected, Eriri responded this way: “As an economist and with my understanding of the economy of Delta State economy in particular, I can tell you that Delta State has more than enough resources and have no reason to shy away from their responsibilities claiming that there is down fall in income.

“You have to compare what comes to Delta State and what goes to other states. Go to Cross River and see wonders, go to Akwa Ibom and see miracles, go to Rivers and see projects that are going on. What is the difference in terms of Federal Allocation, what is the difference in terms of internally generated Revenue? The last time I read, according to their board, they are generating over six billion in a month in Delta State. So, it is not a question about resources,” Eriri declared.

He accused Governor Okowa of killing and burying the Delta state Oil Producing and Development Commission (DESOPADEC). He said: “I can tell you right away that Okowa deliberately killed and buried DESOPADEC. DDESOPADEC is dead and buried. The problem we have here is that, Okowa, since he came to power has never provided funds for the running of the commission. That is why no project is going on anywhere in the oil producing communities because Okowa has starved the whole Commission of funds.

“There is a monthly allocation from Federal; the 13 percent derivation is not given to the commission. Where is the money? Okowa should tell the state where the money is.”

He said the oil producing communities have been destroyed in terms of development, claiming that there is nothing happening in those places.
Eriri also said he was holding the governor responsible even for the 13 months non- payment of salaries to local government workers, with “all the France Club refund money.”

“So, I hold Okowa responsible; that we have never never seen anything like this in my entire life, and I said it and I am repeating myself, Okowa remains the worst governor Delta has ever produced,” High Chief Eriri exclaimed.

The PDP chieftain also took a swipe at the the administration’s SMART agenda. Pointing out that that there is nothing smart in the acronym SMART, Eriri said: “It think that is the least intelligent thing in the world. I want to give you the challenge, as any of the government officials you come across; ask the governor, His Excellency, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa when you meet him that, Sir, what is the meaning of SMART. It will take Okowa the next one hour to explain the meaning of SMART. In other words, there is nothing smart in that word SMART. There is nothing smart about the agenda.

“The programme is a failure. It is just a way of siphoning money, and I will give a practical example right away. Recently, I read in the newspaper, and of course, The Pointer because it is the voice of Okowa, that he distributed 40,000 fingerlings to farmers. A fingerling sells for N20 now, that is N800,000 for 40,000 fingerlings. I am very sure if they check the account for the amount for the supply, you will see N8 million or more, but the actual cost of a fingerling is N20 per one because I am a farmer, I know the cost.

“Forty thousand fingerlings are not enough for an average farmer, one farmer. Again, when you distribute 40,000 fingerlings to farmers and you think you have you have done wonders in the world, if they are not lucky they may not get 10 percent of those fingerlings to eatable size because they will not be able to manage it.,” Eriri stated.

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"Nigerian Man Who Woke Up After Being Declared Dead By Doctors" Shares His Story

A Nigerian man who was declared dead by medical doctors in Australia and resurrected in India - has shared his ordeal. Identified as John Samuel, he was said to have suffered from a heart related ailment which led to his death on Wednesday, June 13, by 4pm in Australia but on Thursday, June 14, the young man was said to have resurrected around 8am in India.

How did it happen?

In a chat with Ika Weekly, Mr. Samuel Anayo Ugwute recounts his experience at the cruel hands of death, and how God saved him.

Please can we meet you? 
I am Mr. Samuel Anayo Ugwute, an indigene of Ebonyi State, born and brought up in Owa-Alero Delta State.

Can you share with us your experience? 
About four months ago, I was diagnosed of in ventricular center defect that is a hole within the walls of my ventricle. It is a serious cardialogical problem said to be common with infants. After several cardiological examinations which proved positive, the doctors said my heart was already condemned and the only solution was to go for a heart transplant.

The initial minor surgery carried out to cover the holes proved abortive. So, I was asked to go for an orthopedic heart transplant which cost 24 million naira including other expenses. There was no money. We wrote to the state government who assisted with a little sum. My church assisted me; friends and family contributed too, my surgeon Prof, Tamson, a consultant cardiologist who has worked in India for over 20 years before coming back to Nigeria took up my case because he said in over 200 cases he has done in cardiology, my case was different and rare. He spent huge sums of money on my case; he used his influence to attract many Heart Foundations to subsidize the cost of the operation.

The surgery was scheduled to take place 4 weeks ago, but because I could not come up with enough money for flight, and other expenses, the schedule was aborted. Unfortunately, more complications arose because I was unable to meet up after hundred days time frame of carrying an artificial heart elapsed.

Finally I gathered enough money, and I left for India on Friday, June 9, 2017, but the doctors turned me back because I was four weeks late, and there was no way I was going to survive. So my doctor through his influence contacted a friend in Australia who had a private jet, and I was flown straight to Australia in a flight which lasted for 12 hours. On getting to Australia, the doctors there said there was 80 percent chance of death, and 20 percent of survival. When I heard this I turned to my family for prayers. Before going into the theatre, I prayed to God and reminded Him of my covenant of life with Him.

Entering the theatre, I gave up the ghost as the first knives cut to get the position.

Having given up the ghost, I was told they recorded the death time as 4am of the fateful, my family was contacted and my corpse was taken back to India in another 13 hours flight; on getting back to India, my corpse was deposited in the mortuary, but after some minutes I woke up and I felt cold so I started shouting and when one of the nurses heard me, instead of coming to my rescue she ran away out of fear. My surgeon heard me and came to bring me out from the mortuary. Coming out I discovered that my whole body was covered in formalin, a preservative used on dead bodies.

At this development, my family was contacted telling them I am alive. After having a warm bath to wash off the formalin, I saw everybody dancing and rejoicing at the hospital in India, I was speechless, the only word that came out from my mouth was take me home. All through the period I was pronounced dead, all I could see were doctors on white performing a surgery on me. I ended up not having the surgery I went for, and after another round of cardiological examination, the doctors found out that there were no longer holes in my heart, everything disappeared, and that I was perfectly, okay. I kept on insisting to go home, and after my doctor in Nigeria was contacted to tell him I was perfectly okay, they took me to the airport and I boarded my flight to Lagos.

People in India were rejoicing, calling my situation a miracle. “My surgeon received me in Lagos amidst tears; he was the one who told me the news of my death had circulated. In a bid to actually confirm the report of the doctors in India, he took me into the lab for examinations, and he arrived at the same conclusion. I came back to Agbor yesterday being June 14, 2017 totally okay and fine.

I thank God, because I know He heard the prayers of my father when the surgeon told my father I was dead, he rejected the news, his faith kept me going, the prayer of my Pastors as well as that of my father, Pastor John Ugwute brought me back.

- To God be the Glory! 

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Three Female N-power Volunteers Establish Mini-laboratory in Delta

Three female volunteers in the N - Health programme have established a mini laboratory at the Primary Health Centre, Otokutu , Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta.

The volunteers are Jennifer Angese ( 2013 Pharmacology graduate of Delta State University); Mary James ( 2011 Microbiology graduate of Unijos); and Harriet Azurundu ( 2001, BSc Microbiology – Imo State University – and 2008 MLSc –UPTH ) .

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the trio contributed money to purchase the equipment and establish the laboratory in April , barely four months of their deployment to the PHC to provide medical outreach to the rural community .
Narrating their experiences when the Monitoring and Evaluation team of N -Power visited the centre , James said they felt pity for the community which had the centre for long but travelled far to access medical facilities.

She said that rather than seek deployment they made contributions from their token to purchase the equipment in bits in order to make meaningful impact in the community.
According to her , the equipment comprising both electrical and manual types , are worth about N 100, 000 but that some tests are delayed in the centre due to epileptic power and lack of alternative power source.

She said that her colleagues were teaching in private schools and receiving pittance prior to the N -power job, but noted that the scheme had offered them the opportunity to practice their profession and gain experience.

James said the community was excited about the development but had not made additional input due to poverty , “ but we hope someone , someday will do that for the sake of the rural people’’.

She said that due to epileptic power the lab always concluded the sample tests , and issued the results the same day of collection.

She said some patients were referred to bigger facilities if they had to wait for the results for more than a day , “ but we work for as long as possible to make patients ’ results ready ’’.

Azurundu, another volunteer , added that since the provision of the laboratory no fewer than 70 patients including pregnant women, the aged and children had their blood, urine and other samples tested for proper diagnosis and treatment.

“ We assumed duty in February and since we discovered that there was no laboratory section here we decided to set up one to assist in proper diagnosis and treatment of patients.

“ The lab has been of great help; it has improved the services of the health workers in the health centre.

“ Since we started lab tests we have had almost 70 patients benefitting but we have attended to others without actually putting them in our records , ’’ Azurundu said.

She said that apart from the help that the people needed it had been her dream to be able to touch lives in one way or the other and “ N -Power has given me that room and opportunity to touch lives’’.

On her part, Angese noted that the patients were often tested free or charged only 50 per cent of the cost of the examination to encourage others to access adequate medicare due to poverty.

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Npower Selection Test 2017 ( A Case Study of 2016 Kaduna Npower Interview)

The process of selecting Npower applicants into  the various  program of  the federal government  social investment programme in kaduna  State  is different from the selection procedure in other states in Nigeria.

In 2016 all shortlisted Npower applicants wrote a test before the final selection was done  and then  they were deployed  to their various state of residence to serve under the control and organization of 
their various state government.

However, the kaduna Npower candidates were subjected to write a 100 questions attitude test again by the state government in order to identify the appropriate  program each candidate fit in.

The Aptitude test was  about 100 questions  comprises of English, mathematics and  questions from applicants  selected programme (N-agro, N-health and N-teach) and the pass Mark was set at 50, any applicants that applied for N-health and  N-teach that score below 50 were moved to N-agro.

The process of the 2017 selection of kaduna state NPower  Applicants  I believe will not be different from the 2016 selection procedure. So therefore my suggestions to all Npower 2017 registered applicants residing in Kaduna is to get ready to write a 100 aptitude test questions.

The aptitude test Questions are Graduate Measurement Aptitude Test (GMAT) such as:

1. Numeric aptitude test 
2. Data interpretation  
3. Verbal aptitude test 
4. Sentence correction  
5. Critical reasoning
6. Reading comprehension 
7. Abstract reasoning and  
8. selected program related questions.

So if you applied for 2017 NPower and you reside in kaduna then start preparing for the test.

Good Luck

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Asaba Township Stadium To Host 2018 Senior African Athletics Championship - Okowa

It was a feeling of excitement and anticipation on Saturday in Asaba, the Delta State Capital as Governor Ifeanyi Okowa told residents of the area at a town hall meeting of government plans to prepare the Asaba Township Stadium to host the 2018 Senior African Athletics Championship. 

The stadium project which have gulped hundreds of millions of naira yet remained uncompleted would be fixed before the championship through a Public-Private Partnerships, (PPPs) programme, Okowa said. 

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James Ibori Facing Another 170 Charges From EFCC

Looks like the game is not over for a former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori, who still has 170 charges against him pending before a Federal High Court.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is said to have opened his corruption file and set to arraign him on charges of "massive looting! of Delta State, running into Billions.

Ibori arrived Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

According to eyewitnesses, the former governor came into Abuja using a British Airways flight that touched down at the airport around 5.30am.

Family members and well-wishers were at the NAIA to receive the former governor.

He travelled to Oghara, his hometown, through the Benin airport while his family, friends and associates waited in vain for him at the Osubi airport, near Effurun in Delta State, where he was expected to land directly from Abuja.

A source, who confided in Punch, said the former governor would still answer questions from the EFCC and that the commission would soon invite him.

Following his conviction in the United Kingdom, there were criticisms against the Nigerian justice system, especially an Asaba High Court which had struck out 170 charges which the EFCC had brought against Ibori.

However, the EFCC took the matter to the Appeal Court where a three-man panel of justices on May 15, 2014, at the Benin Division of the Court of Appeal, ruled that the ex-governor, who is currently serving a 13-year jail term in a London prison, has a case to answer.

The Appellate Court panel led by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa ordered that the case be reassigned to another judge of the Federal High Court for continuation of trial.

The EFCC subsequently said in a statement in 2014 that the ex-governor would be rearrested upon the completion of his UK prison sentence.

It was also gathered that Ibori was told that he could be summoned to appear at the DSS office at anytime for further interrogation.

PDP not excited about Ibori’s return Meanwhile, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party was said to be weary of associating with the former governor.

A highly placed member of the party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it would be wrong for them to start celebrating Ibori, a man who went to prison for stealing public money.

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