The Governor of Enugu State, Barr Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah has described the death of former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Chief Dubem Gideon Onyia as a monumental loss to not just Enugu State, but Nigeria as a whole.

Gov Mbah in his condolence message on his social medial handles described Late Onyia as a distinguished leader, fine diplomat, patriot, consummate public servant, and quintessential intellectual, who shone more than a million stars in the service of his community, Enugu State, and Nigeria as a whole

“Ndi Enugu received with a deep sense of grief and loss, the passing of statesman and former Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Chief Dubem Gideon Onyia, aged 73.

“Chief Onyia was a distinguished leader, fine diplomat, patriot, consummate public servant, and quintessential intellectual, who shone more than a million stars in the service of his community, Enugu State, and Nigeria as a whole.

“His demise is, therefore, a monumental loss to not just Enugu State, but Nigeria as a whole,” Governor Mbah said on Tuesday

A former Member of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Late Onyia was appointed by former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to serve as Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs between 1999 and 2003.

He later went on to serve Nigeria in other high-profile capacities, holding the position of Chairman, Nigeria Economic Joint Commission; Chairman, Sao Tome and Principe Joint Boundary Commission; and Chairman, International Technical Commission for the National Boundary Commission, among others.

He contributed immensely to Nigeria’s constitutional and political development as Member, 1988/1998 Constituent Assembly in Abuja, Secretary General of the Eastern Mandate Union, National Secretary of the Peoples Consensus Party as well as founding member and later as national officer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), among others.

“He was indeed a fine gentleman, philanthropist, promoter of peace, justice and equity, and indeed a colossus in all ramifications, whose selfless service, wealth of experience, deep knowledge, and local and international reach will be highly missed.

“On behalf of the Government and good people of Enugu State, I send heartfelt condolences to his immediate family, the people of Ngwo, and indeed millions of Nigerians whose lives were directly and indirectly touched by the distinguished service of this great patriot.

“Importantly, I pray God to grant his fine soul eternal repose,” Mabh concluded.

Chief Dubem Gideon Onyia died on Monday after a brief illness, surrounded by his loved ones

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In continuation of the bid by Governor Peter Mbah Administration to revive and convert Enugu State’s dormant assets to productive industries, the government has signed a ₦100 billion deal with Pragmatic Palms Limited, a subsidiary of Diamond Stripes Limited, to resuscitate the moribund Enugu State United Palm Products Limited, UPPL.

The partnership will see Pragmatic Palms transform UPPL, one of the agricultural and agro-industrialisation initiatives of the late premier of the defunct Eastern Region, Dr. M. I. Okpara, which had lain fallow for many years.

Speaking during the signing of agreement at Government House Enugu, Governor Peter Mbah said the move was in line with his administration’s determination to grow the state’s economy exponentially from $4.4 billion to $30 billion, assuring the investors that his government would play its own part.

“This is a moment we must all be very proud of because it represents a major leap in our quest towards the revival of our dormant assets in line with our vision and the promises we made to our people.

“This investment outlay of over N100bn is very significant because we also see agriculture beyond food security. We see agriculture as business.

“I want to assure you that the government you are dealing with is business-facing, and given my background as an entrepreneur, we understand what it means to have the ease of doing business. So, we are going to ensure that this is going to be an experience that you will use as a reference point. We will be very responsive, and we are going to make sure that this partnership works for the benefit of the company and also that of Enugu State. So, what we are doing here today will mark the beginning of great things ahead,” Mbah stated.

Fielding questions from newsmen, the Enugu State Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Industry, Adaora Chukwu, described the deal as a milestone, listing its many socio-economic benefits to the state.

“Today, we witnessed a remarkable milestone. Recall that before His Excellency came on board, one of the first promises he had made to the people of Enugu State was to revive our non-operational assets and United Palm Products Ltd is one significant asset that has been dormant for years. And what we did today was the partial handover and the contract signing of UPPL to a company called Pragmatic Palm Ltd, which is a subsidiary of Diamond Stripes Ltd.

“The economic significance of what we did today is huge: The number of jobs it will create, the multiplier effects in terms of increasing production in the oil palm industry. You know that oil palm is an export commodity. We are not talking about the forex earnings into the state and also the building of capacity in-house, technology transfer, as well as skills and knowledge transfer to the people of Enugu State,” she said.

Also speaking, the Managing Director/CEO of Pragmatic Palms, George Nwangwu, said that palm products were in high demand, noting that United Palm Products Limited was capable of kick-starting the economic transformation of Enugu State.

“We have to realise that agriculture is a business. We are going to bring in a lot of equipment, and we are going to process the palm. Not just the palm, the palm kernel is an export commodity. If you go back and look at the biggest import over the years, palm is actually number five on the list. So, it is a significant product, and we tend to make sure we optimise its potentials here.

“The idea is to kick-start the economic transformation of the state. For instance, if we produce enough, people will come and set up their soap factories and then employ more people. It has a multiplier effect.

“Also, just to give you an example, to get the one at Oji River running, you are talking about close to 500 people because we need people to weed, to operate the plants and process it. So, you are also creating direct employment. If you put all these together, you can see that it runs into thousands of jobs,” he explained.

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The Enugu State Governor, His Excellency, Dr Peter Ndubisi Mbah has appointed Professor Chris Ngwu as the Chairman, Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission, ENSIC.

The appointed was contained in a public announcement on Thursday, March 28, signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Chidiebere Onyia.

A professor of Mass Communication in the Department of Mass Communication, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, Prof Ngwu is bringing his wealth of experience, expertise and charisma to chart a new path for the electoral body in the state.

He replaces Dr Mike Ajogu in the stead.

Professor Ngwu’s major assignment, immeniently, is the conduct of the 2024 Enugu State Council Elections slated to hold on October 5, 2024.

Previously scheduled to hold on February 24, 2024, the local council polls were postponed to October 5 following a court order requesting the Commission to adjust its original guideline and timetable published in the official gazette of Enugu State on Sept. 26, 2023.

The nine-member board of ENSIEC has Barr. Ifesinachi Umeobika as secretary

Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) Members:

• Professor Christian C. Ngwu, Chairman
• Solomon Edeh, Member (Re-appointed)
• Chinenyenwa A. Ogbu, Member (Re-appointed)
• Barr. George Obiora Ani, Member (Re-appointed)
• Arthur Ifeanyi Ede, Member
• Barr. Paully Eze, Member
• Emmanuel Ogbodo, Member
• Emeka G. Ukwuaba, Member
• Barr. Ifesinachi Umeobika, Secretary

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Barely two months after her 19^th Convocation Ceremonies held on November 18, 2023, the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Esut has fixed date for her 20^th Convocation ceremony slated to hold later in the year.

ESUT Monitor can exclusively report that the 20th Convocation Ceremony will hold on Saturday, November 23^rd, 2024 at the university’s Convocation Ground, Ebe Ano City, Agbani in Nkanu West Local Government, Enugu State.

The approval of the date by the Visitor to the University, His Excellency, Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, the Executive Governor of Enugu State, followed a proposed submitted to him by the management of the institution.

This paper further gathered that a date for the Special Honorary Convocation in honour of the Founder of the University, His Excellency, Chief Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo is currently being considered.

It could be recalled that the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Aloysius-Michael[u1]  Okolie disclosed that the management will organise a special convocation ceremony in honour of the founder of the university.

 The Enugu State University of Science and technology, ESUT was established in 1980 during the administration of Jim Nwobodo as the Executive Governor of Anambra State.

 [u1]

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