News
Another Mystery Helicopter Causes Stir In Benue
By Toryilo KAJO, Makurdi
A helicopter, said to have immediately went up shortly after descent has triggered suspense and security concern in Opialu Village in Edemoga District of Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State. The security panic may not be unconnected with the widely held belief that the appearance of a similar helicopter preceded the recent mayhem in Agatu, also in Benue State.
Two occupants of the helicopter which barely touched the ground of the St Theresa’s LGEA Primary School, Opialu about 5 pm on March 10th, 2016, waved at on-lookers, mainly pupils playing football on the mission school ground. But it did not land, although it was close enough for the observing pupils and others who ran towards it to observe, said one of the pilots wore an orange dress. There were only two persons in the helicopter.
An eyewitness account said it tried to land twice. It came so close, and then zoomed off, went as if to one of the nearby villages before coming back. It was at this point that the pilots waved to the pupils. But there was no consensus about the colour and registration number of the helicopter. While Chief Emmanuel Onuh, the Chairperson of the Opialu Community Development Association, told the Divisional Police Headquarters at Okoga that ash was the colour reported to him, other members of the powerful youth association insisted it had navy blue colour.
There has been an obvious confusion over the colour among the observers in the same way as the registration number was unclear. While the pupil mature enough to take any such number sticks to AB/ANA, one person who is though more educated claims it was written AB-ANA. No one reported seeing any number on the registration, prompting speculations that the helicopter must be one of the de-commissioned aircrafts, either of the Nigerian Air force, or one of the charter companies.
Daniel Ojo, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Okpoga, the headquarters of the Okpokwu Local Government Area did not pick his phone, despite that it rang twice, even several attempts on Sunday afternoon did not yield result, but police sources at Okoga confirmed a report to the station on the strange helicopter. The police said it had put the community on the alert while warning against taking the law into their own hand. It was learnt that the police had specifically drawn the attention of the community to anything strange and which could be a bomb on the farms, or within it, asking the local chief to, in such instances, alert the police for action.
Chief Emmanuel Onuh confirmed the police instruction although it was also learnt that following the Agatu incident, mobilisation around the area, stretching from Ojapo up to the railway districts in Idomaland such as Utonkon, Igumale, Ulayi might have reached frightening levels in anticipation of plausible attackers. Given the strong reservoir of retired soldiers and angry youths in the region, analysts speak of the need for the government and the police to do more to avert violence of staggering proportions should there be a bloody clash of any type. A recent similar scenario at Effeche Aiona was described as a fierce and successful resistance although there is authoritative comment on whether the repelled forces were herdsmen or sundry entrepreneurs of violence.
The helicopter incident at Opialu is a bit complicated. Although vast, with over 3000 registered voters, which does not include children, Opialu could attract electoral attention of politicians. It is, however, not a homogenous voting community as to say it is being put under surveillance for voting against any particular interest. There is also no such regular pattern of herdsmen movement into the area previously.
The Federal Government is currently probing the Agatu mayhem where the police said no helicopter actually appeared on the eve of the violence even though that is what is widely believed. No official comments could be obtained on the state of surveillance of aircrafts, particularly into the rural areas. But some security analysts express the fear that Nigeria might be experiencing a deliberate programme of keeping it under fear, thereby imposing a siege mentality. Analysts still make reference to the online article by Gordon Duff, a somewhat repentant mercenary in 2011 claiming that Nigeria was targeted for destruction. The claim is that some of what he listed as scheduled to befall Nigeria have been playing out. The article in question was re-published in some Nigerian newspapers.
Zimbabwe’s justice minister introduced to parliament Tuesday a controversial constitutional amendment bill that would extend the term of the president, but faces fierce opposition and court challenges.
Parliament has to vote on sweeping changes to the constitution approved by the cabinet in February that include a provision that would extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term until 2030.
The measures would also do away with general presidential elections, giving parliament the power to appoint the president, and extend the terms of lawmakers from five to seven years.
The amendment has become one of the most contentious political issues in Zimbabwe, where Mnangagwa’s Zanu-PF party enjoys an overwhelming majority in parliament.
After introducing the proposal, Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told journalists the government was determined to push the measure through a parliamentary debate.
He said a 90-day public consultation process was successful and widely supported.Related News
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Opponents say the consultations were marred by intimidation and violence, with anti-amendment activists assaulted by suspected state agents or arrested.
Several legal challenges seeking to stop or invalidate the amendment process are before Zimbabwe’s courts.
Critics say the bill would entrench the Zanu-PF, which has governed the resource-rich country since independence in 1980, overseeing crippling economic crises and accused of corruption and repression.
Mnangagwa came to power in 2017 in a military-backed coup that ousted Robert Mugabe, president for 30 years.
He was elected for two five-year terms, in 2018 and 2023, which is the constitutional limit for a president.
AFP
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Top 10 Performers:
- Kaduna State 73%
- Delta State 70%
- Anambra State 65.5%
- Niger state 65.1%
- Ekiti State 64.5%
- Akwa Ibom State 64%
- Lagos State 64%
- Oyo State 61%
- Enugu State 56.5%
- Borno state 54%
Middle 10 Performers:
- Kwara State 53.5%
- Abia State 52%
- Ondo State 51%
- Nasarawa State 50.5%
- Osun State 49.5%
- Ogun State 48.5%
- Kano 48.5%
- Kogi State 48%
- Edo State 47%
- Jigawa State 46.8%
Worst 10 Performers:
- Bauchi State 44%
- Ebonyi State 42%
- Katsina State 41.5%
- Gombe State 40%
- Kebbi State 34%
- Plateau 33.5%
- Rivers State 30%
- Benue State 25%
- Yobe State 22%
- Taraba State 20%
These rankings are based on the CIAPS Governance Performance Index (CGPI) report, which evaluates states’ performance in areas like e-governance, transparency, and accountability.
The CIAPS Governance Performance Index (CGPI) is an initiative of the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies, CIAPS. CGPI was conceived as a catalyst for benchmarking, documenting, measuring and encouraging good governance in Nigeria.
Following the conclusion of party primaries, Rising Up for a United Nigeria (RUN) as a civil society group championing the cause of all youths and middle age citizens has congratulated His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his landslide victory in the presidential primaries recently held.
RUN also congratulated Senator Godswill Akpabio for emerging unopposed and the wild jubilation that greeted his victory as the Senator representing his constituency, the good people of Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria at large.
In a press release signed by Amb. Solomon Adodo and made available to journalists, a copy of which was sighted by our correspondent, the group described the win of the duo as beam of hope for Nigeria beyond 2027.
According to him, “the win of Asiwaju and Akpabio signals a beam of hope for Nigeria that beyond 2027, we shall be consolidating on the gains of synergetic partnership between the legislature and the executive as a precursor for rapid development.
“The support extended to Mr. President by the Senate President has yielded significant strides in fasttracking development across all parameters that affect national productivity”
The group therefore called on all Nigerians to come out in their numbers to support the president while outlining series programs with potentials to foster national unity across regional and religious lines.
“As a group representing the interests of Nigeria youths, we are determined to key into the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President towards improving the skill set of Nigeria youths towards increased productivity and an end to unemployment”, the release stated.
The group expressed confidence in the possibility of a new Nigeria of our dreams with the victories of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Godswill Akpabio who will definitely be handed a second term as the Senate President “to continue synergizing with Mr. President for a better Nigeria”.
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