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By Madu Obi The Anambra State government has instituted a panel of inquiry to probe allegation of forgery of UTME score of 362 by Miss Mmesoma Ejikeme. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has declared Mmesoma's score as fake, The state Commissioner for Education, Professor Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, while speaking on the issue in Awka, described the development as very embarrassing. She regretted that the unfortunate incident happened at a time the Professor Chukwuma Soludo - led administration was repositioning and getting education right in the state. According to her, security agencies are already investigating the allegation of falsification of result levelled against Miss Mmesoma Ejikeme, who had earlier been showcased in the social media as having scored the highest in the examination. She, however, said that the state government has continued to celebrate Miss Nkechinyere Umeh, an indigene of the state, who was declared by JAMB as scoring the highest in the UTME. The Commissioner said the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, at the 2023 policy meeting for tertiary institutions in Abuja, disclosed that Nkechinyere Umeh scored 360 marks to emerge the best in the examination.

By Madu Obi Anambra State Commissioner for Education, Professor Ngozi Chuma-Udeh has saved the state from what could have resulted to a scam if she had gone ahead to honour Miss Mmesoma Ejikeme, the girl whose alleged 362 JAMB score went viral. Mmesoma, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi, became an instant celebrity after her alleged 362 score was said to be the overall best score in the 2023 UTME. However, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which conducts the UTME, on Sunday, declared Mmesoma’s 362 UTME score as fake following inquiry by the Anambra State government. According to the examination body, the girl's score was manually inflated, adding that her original score was 249. Commissioner Chuma-Udeh said she was the one that raised the alarm after discovering that the girl's score was not directly from the JAMB printout. She said that after Mmesoma's result was published online, she invited her for the purpose of a recognition by the state government, adding that when Mmesoma brought her result, she observed the anomaly. The Commissioner said she became suspicious, which made her to get in touch with JAMB to confirm the result, stating that she was surprised when JAMB told her that what Mmesoma was circulating was not its result. In the meantime, the chairman of Innoson Motors, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, who earlier announced N3 million university scholarship award to the 16-year-old Mmesoma shortly after her result went viral, has said that with the latest development, the girl cannot access the fund until investigation into the matter is concluded. According to Chukwuma, “the little girl I saw looked so innocent and I can’t believe that she could manipulate her score," adding, “If I find out that she deliberately faked her result, I will cancel the scholarship because I can’t encourage a criminal as such a person cannot be useful to the society." He, however, said that if he finds out that she did not have a hand in the manipulation and that the score was given to her in error or that someone manipulated the result for her without her knowledge, he would not cancel the scholarship. Chukwuma said he was excited when he heard that the young girl came tops in the UMTE because he found out that she studied in a public school. He said: “When I was told that a student of a public school recorded the highest score in the JAMB examination, I sent for the principal of the school and the principal confirmed to me that it was true that the girl scored the mark. “I said to myself that such a brilliant girl, if properly educated, will be beneficial to our country and the world at large, so I decided to award her scholarship so that nothing will stop her from attaining a university education. “When I awarded her the scholarship, I deposited ₦3,000,000 in a dedicated bank account and told the principal that the money is strictly meant for Mmesoma’s education in the university, which means that any time she needs to pay any fee in the school, they will let me know so that I will sign for withdrawal of the money from the account. "I made the arrangement so that nobody, including the girl’s parents, can divert the money to another thing. "I didn’t know the girl before. I heard that she hails from Enugu State, but studied in a public school in Anambra State, so my interest is to make sure that I support her to realize her potential in education and be useful to our nation, as well as encourage other younger ones to take their education very seriously.”

By Madu Obi THE leadership of the South East zone of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), insisted yesterday that its members are not kidnappers, but merely herders who look for ideal grazing land for their cattle. The statement by the South East zonal chairman of MACBAN, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki followed allegation in some quarters that some of the herdsmen are sometimes involved in kidnapping and other vices. Siddiki said in Awka that because of that impression, some members of the association were wrongly arrested, adding that they have been languishing in prison custody without trial for the past five years. He said: " We are here for our business, which we are all aware of and that is ranching of cows in the bushes and not for kidnapping. "Many of our people have been in the prison for more than five years without the government looking into their case files or try them. "On behalf of MACBAN in the South East, I am appealing to the state government through the Ministry of Justice and the Prison authority in the state, to look into the matter, so that our people that are in the prison custody will either be prosecuted, freed or sentenced according to the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, after trial. "The association stands on its position that any Fulani herder who is caught in any criminal act in the cause of discharging his legitimate business will be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the association. "MACBAN, under my watch in the South East, will continue to support the social-economic development of the region."

I By Madu Obi Worried by the activities of kidnappers and unknown gunmen in the state, the Anambra State Vigilance Group, AVG, says it is set to recover all the illegal firearms in circulation. Director of media and publicity of AVG, Nweke Nweke said on Sunday that the first thing the group intends to do is to identify legal and illegal possessors of firearms and then recover those held by illegal users. According to him, the use of pump action gun was prohibited from non-AVG members, with the exception of private security guards registered with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, or known to the state government. Nweke said: "Only the AVG is allowed to bear firearms like pump action in Anambra State. It is a prohibited device, but you can see some unidentifiable individuals and groups using them. AVG with other joint security teams, will embark on mop-up action to identify people or groups using prohibited firearms and recover them from the public. Genuine users will be checkmated. "It has been discovered that most of these hoodlums who are causing security challenges in the state and all over Nigeria, acquired firearms illegally. "We are calling on the public to assist the security with relevant information. We are also calling on individuals or groups with genuine reasons to possess arms to identify with relevant authorities for better." Nweke commended the efforts of Governor Chukwuma Soludo to make the state a haven for both local and foreign investors, liveable and prosperous to all, assuring that the AVG and other security agents would leave no stone unturned by securing the environment as envisaged by the current administration. "Our governor is not relenting on his campaign promises to make Anambra State liveable and prosperous. We are solidly behind the administration's resolve to secure the environment for investors, residents and others", he added.

By Madu Obi A section of the ever -busy Onitsha- Owerri expressway has been cut off at Oba, Idemili South local government area of Anambra State by a major landslide. As a result, only one lane of the road is being used by motorists. Apart from cordoning off the affected area, officials of the Federal Ministry of Works are yet to begin the reconstruction. The slide is about 100 meters deep and about 400 meters in length. The concrete culvert earlier used to control gully erosion in the area was buried by the landslide, while cracks were seen about one kilometer along the road from the popular Oba junction. Many buildings in the newly developed estates in the area are already being threatened by the slide. Some property owners were seen inspecting the extent of damage with a view to deciding what action to take. With the rainy season getting to its peak, there are fears that the landslide might claim more land in the area. An Onitsha- based businessman, Chief Francis Nnaka who said he has a two- storey building close to the affected area called on those responsible for controlling gully erosion to intervene without further delay, other many buildings and land already acquired for development, would be lost to the slide. He said: "Government cannot say that it did not know that gully erosion was developing on this spot for over one year. If they had controlled it at that level, this massive slide would not have occurred. Now, hundreds of millions of naira would be spent to handle it. "And if nothing is done immediately, both lanes of the expressway will be affected, which might lead to a complete closure of the Oba section of the road."

By Madu Obi Motorists playing the Enugu - Onitsha expressway had a terrific experience along the Awkuzu- Umunya section of the road on Saturday following a road accident there. No fewer than eight persons lost their lives in the accident and men of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, were still battling to clear the road as at 6pm. Recall that vehicles have been using the completed one lane of the expressway, with its attendant risks. Following the accident, vehicles going to Onitsha from the Awka end were diverted at Awkuzu and forced to use the abandoned lane of the expressway, while those traveling from the Onitsha end were diverted at Umunya junction to use the Airport - Nteje road to join the expressway at Awkuzu. At press time, the two trailers, one Jetta car, a Sienna bus and a Toyota car involved in the accident were still there. An eye attributed the accident to speeding by one of the trailers coming from the Onitsha end, which collided with another truck from the Awkuzu end and in an attempt to avoid a head -on collision, hit the other vehicles. Some of the victims died on the spot, while others died on their way to the hospital. The injured persons are still receiving treatment in various hospitals, while the dead have been deposited in the mortuary. The incident caused traffic gridlock on both sides of the completed lane of the expressway, Narrating his experience, one of the drivers, Mr. Philip Odo, said he spent about two hours at Umunya before finding a way to join the abandoned lane of the expressway. He said that what annoyed him most was that the policemen at the checkpoint along the expressway relocated to the Umunya- Airport road, thereby causing more hardship to the motorists.

From our roving reporter. Workers at Eha Amufu now defy collapsed bridge to keep their jobs at the College of Education. The bridge linking the College to the residential area of a good number of workers at the College is in a collapsed state and workers must go to work to keep their jobs. The old bridge needs urgent attention but no one is making any effort to repair the bridge until a disaster occurs at the scene. Pedestrians and other road users grumble as they cross the bridge while some others keep praying for safety while hoping that God will touch the heart of government officials responsible for road maintenance.

Enugu State today witnessed demonstration on the new road leading from Nike lake hotel to Opi in Nsukka. The protesters were seen carrying various placards reminding the government of the state of it's duty to protect the citizens from the nefarious acts of kidnappers, terrorists and brigands from within and outside the state. The demonstration caused a traffic gridlock on the way as the demonstrators wanted all and sundry to feel their pain at the nefarious activities of criminals in the state. Some of those interviewed at the scene blamed the government for abneging on its duty to protect the citizens in the state. From our roving reporter

Iheanyi Chukwudi Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme of Anglican Girls Secondary School (AGSS) Nnewi, has emerged the overall best student in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) organized by Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB). Joy got the crown with an aggregate score of 362. The 2023 JAMB bride scored 98 in Use Of English, 89 in Physics, 94 in Biology, and 81 in Chemistry.

Iheanyi Chukwudi Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah on Friday shunned the order of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu State by refusing to appear before it. The Tribunal led by Justice Kudirat Akano made an order on Thursday for a subpoena to be served on Mbah through his counsel for him to appear before it to clarify issues surrounding the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the March 18 governorship election. When the court resumed sitting on Friday, counsel to the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Alex Amujiogo, reminded the Tribunal of its order and noted that Gov. Mbah was not in court. Addressing the panel he said, “This Honourable Tribunal had on June 22, 2023 made an order that the subpoena be served on Barr Peter Mbah through his counsel. We have since done that for him to appear today. “My Lord, it is obvious that he is not in court under the pretence of immunity. And today is my last day for me to close my case; my hands are tied and I have no choice than to close my case.” The panel asked the counsel to the 1st Respondent to open his defense, the counsel, Humphrey Okoli, applied for a date and when his application was not objected to by any of the parties, the chairman of the panel, Justice Akano adjourned the case to Saturday, June 24 for the 1st respondent to open defense. Speaking to newsmen on his next line of action, Amujiogo said, “It is now left for the tribunal, in the course of this matter to know the next step that they will undertake as regards his (Mbah) refusal or inability to appear today before the Tribunal; let us watch and see what the battle will be like, between the tribunal and the governor “It has two legs, the tribunal can exercise its power of sanctions against the person who refuses his order; you also know that judgment is always at hand; it is the last option. The ball is on the court of the Tribunal to do things one way or the other.” Disagreeing with him, the lead counsel to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Anthony Ani (SAN) said there is no issue of sanction because the petitioner did not comply with the provisions of the law in serving the subpoena, stressing that if the right processes were followed, the Governor would have been in court. He said, “The petitioner has not complied with the mandatory provisions of the law; the default provision, respecting election petitions, is the Federal High Court Rules, which is very clear on service of Subpoena Testificandum or Duces Tecum. “Now when you serve a subpoena, that subpoena should have been filed alongside the originating process that is the petition. And in filing it, you have to comply with the relevant order; I think Order 3, Rule 4 of the Federal High Court Rules and serve the witness you are subpoenaing with what we call Form 1A; that form 1A, will mandate the witness to file witness deposition on oath, and then you also serve the witness you are expecting with your pleadings. “In this case, they should have served the Governor with the petition, to enable the Governor file a deposition on oath, and then come to court to adopt that deposition. “So you don’t serve just ordinary paper, that’s what the Court of Appeal called it, you don’t just serve only the subpoena without the accompanying documents. If they had complied with the provisions of the rules of court, I’m sure the Governor must have been here; “There is no issue of immunity here; if they had done the proper thing, the Governor would have been here, but they didn’t comply with the law, if you comply we will comply, if you don’t, we won’t comply.”

Iheanyi Chukwudi Niger Delta warlord, Asari Dokubo, has been warned to desist henceforth from attacking the Igbo. Leadership of the Movement for Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) who handed the warning on Thursday said Dokubo should wake up from his unrealistic dreams and face realities. While berating Dokubo for his recent remarks where he called Ndigbo slaves and conquered people by Kalahari and Ijaw tribe, MASSOB asked former Niger Delta agitator to desist from his "unnecessary and unachievable" attacks against Ndigbo, insisting that he will never succeed. MASSOB described Dokubo's statement as a ranting of a drowning man, noting that the unwarranted verbal attack on Ndigbo by him has woken the lion spirit and bravery in Ndigbo. Addressing Dokubo in statement on Thursday, MASSOB Leader, Uchenna Madu said, "In the traditional history of conquest, warfare and bravery, of Ndigbo and Ijaw people, it is on record that Ijaw people with their allies have never achieved seven per cent of the conquest, dominion and domination of what Ndigbo have achieved both in pre colonial era and in this modern era. "Asari Dokubo in his bourgeois stupidity forget that it was Ndigbo that stopped the British colonial rulers from changing and deleting the native names and cultural heritages of Ijaw people during the conquest of the British colonial adventure. "How can a prodigal son whose known grandfather with some kinsmen from Abam town in Abia state of Igbo land conquered Dokubo Asari"s Kalahari community where he is still claiming his origination will turn and say that the Kalahari community Ndigbo conquered and still dominating their economic and social lives is our master. "Dokubo Asari have once again proved his low mentality and puff puff nature. That Ijaw people are neighbors to Ndigbo and that Ndigbo treat them as brothers and sisters does not warrant competing with Ndigbo in every spheres of life both nationally and globally. Even the Hausa, Yoruba and Fulani generally sees the Ijaw people as extension of Ndigbo from Eastern region." His statement further reads, "MASSOB reminds Dokubo Asari that no amount of his loyalty and errand boyish services to Yoruba, Hausa and Fulani of biased Nigeria will make him a hero or accord him celebrated recognition because the federal government hate Ijaws more than Ndigbo." Madu however, said that Ndigbo, irrespective of Dokubo's irresponsibility, still respect elderly statesmen from Ijaw land including Chief Edwin Clerk and former President Goodluck Jonathan. He added, "We still recognize Ijaw people as our brothers subjected in the same British created artificial entity called Nigeria."

Iheanyi Chukwudi The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu, today ordered the state Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, to appear before it tomorrow, Friday, June 23. The Governor's invitation which is through subpoena is for him to come to clarify issues surrounding the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the March 18 governorship election in the state. His invitation is just as the NYSC declined the request to tender the letter of disclaimer that it issued against Mbah's certificate, terming it forged. Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Kudirat Akano, issued the subpoena at the resumed hearing of the petition brought against Mbah's victory in the March 18 governorship election by the candidate of People's Redemption Party (PRP), Elder Christopher Agu. Agu's counsel, Barr. Alex Amujieogu, had told the tribunal that Gov. Mbah was evading service to be subpoenaed and therefore prayed the tribunal to make an order empowering the court bailiff to use substituted means to serve the governor through his lawyer in court. The Counsel to INEC, Mbah and PDP opposed the application, saying that it ought to have come by way of motion, supported by an affidavit during pre-trial session. They were overruled by the Tribunal which granted the application and ordered that Mbah be served through his lawyer, Ikechukwu Onuoma and adjourned the matter till Friday, June 23. However, the NYSC which declined the request by the tribunal to tender the letter of disclaimer that it issued against Mbah's certificate, cited an Abuja High Court order as an excuse. Its legal officer, Aliyu Muhammadu, who was in the court in compliance to the subpoena issued to the DG of the agency, however presented an affidavit of facts of the matter to the tribunal. The tribunal also adjourned to Saturday, June 24, the application brought by the Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate, Chijioke Edeoga seeking for Mbah to appear before the tribunal to answer questions bordering on some of the documents he supplied to INEC before the election. LP's lawyer, Eyitayo Fatogun (SAN), in a motion for interrogatories, said Mbah's presence would help clear the doubts about the issues at stake, which includes place of service and when he was appointed Chief of Staff to the Governor. The application was however, opposed by counsel to INEC, Mbah and PDP, who argued that it amounted to the accuser asking the accused to prove his case. The tribunal adjourned to Saturday to decide whether Mbah should answer the questions or not. Speaking to newsmen shortly after the sitting, PRP lawyer, Amujiogo said, “Our PW2 (Christopher Agu) has already testified before the Honourable Tribunal and he has given a clearer picture, the synopsis of what transpired during the election and we are urging the Tribunal to set aside the purported result in favour of Peter Mbah, the Governor. “We had an issue of subpoena against Barr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, in which the Tribunal is urging him to appear before it to clarify certain issues against him, based on his NYSC certificate and other matters. “Surprisingly, he was not in the Tribunal today and the bailiff informed the Tribunal that he is invading service, he cannot find him, the security cannot allow him to serve Mbah the subpoena. “Then, the Tribunal in its own wisdom, after I have applied, has now permitted the bailiff or myself, to now serve Mbah through his counsel, for him to appear before the Tribunal tomorrow, being 23rd of June, 2023 and clarify certain issues against him before the Tribunal and we have already served him the said subpoena through his lawyer, Ik Onuoma today in court. “So he must obey the summon of the Tribunal by appearing in person tomorrow, Friday.” Also speaking to newsmen one of Edeoga's lawyers, Barr Ifeanyi Ogenyi, said the proceeding was a continuation of the pre-hearing session. He said, “Pre-hearing started on 16th June and continued today; the petitioners brought an application, a motion interrogatories, seeking for answers from the second respondent, that is Mr Peter Mbah. “Interrogatory is a legal questionnaire; it is seeking for answers to those questions. “And some of the questions raised by the petitioners to Peter Mbah which we are urging the Tribunal that he (Mbah) should answer are: when and where did he serve? When was he appointed as Chief of Staff, the date? When was he made commissioner for finance in Enugu State? We want to know the duration he served. “Because in his pleading, in his reply to the petition, he told the Tribunal that he was once Chief of Staff to Governor Chimaroke Nnamani in 2003, we want to know the year and the date he was appointed. “We equally want him to produce before the Tribunal, the letter of appointment as Chief of Staff, the letter of appointment as commissioner for finance under Chimaroke and the institutions he said he attended; we want to have the documents showing that he attended those institutions. “And the court is to deliver a ruling on that on 24th of June, that is on Saturday, whether he should answer those questions or not.” “On their own side, they said ‘No’, they are not going to answer those questions; that answering those questions means that we want him to prove our case for us. “But that is not the position. It is required under the law that where somebody has made volunteered some information, you can seek for further particulars; “What we are seeking for is further particulars; he should clarify the Tribunal and us information on those issues he raised in his own pleadings. “On 24th, we will be here for ruling and possibly conclusion of pre-hearing, and after pre-hearing and report is issued, we can now proceed to substantive hearing."