ASCONET charges FG to open Anambra Airport before November 6 guber polls
Bilton Continental Hotel, an ultra modern hotel outfit located in the World Bank Road area of Owerri, Imo State has suffered vandalism, resulting in the loss of over N9 million worth of property and unspecified amount of cash, Joseph Duruaku, its managing director has lamented.
Already, some members of the Imo State Hoteliers Association(ISHA) have bemoaned the manner and method in which the alleged vandalisation was carried out by alleged officials of the members of the Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA).
An official of the ISHA, who didn’t want his name in print because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said the association has sent people to the hotel to see and take a proper view of the vandalism and give the association feedback.
Duruaku, the bonafide owner of Bilton Continental Hotel decried the loss his establishment has suffered and how it was invaded in a commando style by alleged officials of OCDA.
Acampaign aimed at creating a thorough public awareness for the Imo State Zoological and Wildlife Park at Nekede, Owerri West Local Government Area, Imo State, has begun as the ministry of tourism has flagged off a multimedia awareness campaign for the park.
Mazi Uche Ohia, commissioner for tourism, disclosed this at the Obi Ndieze (Mbari Centre), venue of a well attended Imo Stakeholders forum.
At the flagging off of the awareness campaign, the tourism ministry staff, adorned in the attractive colours of the new brand of the Imo State Zoo and Wildlife Park, added glamour to the occasion, distributing finely printed flyers and folders as well as responding to inquiries by the visitors.
The commissioner for tourism stated that the Imo State Zoo and Wildlife Park is a premier animal conservatory and home to over 500 animals from around the world. According to him, the Nekede Zoo and Wildlife Park is the only surviving animal conservatory of any consequence in the South East geopolitical zone and that Hope Uzodinma, the governor of Imo State, is committed to maintaining the zoo and wildlife park as a model facility for animal conservation, research and recreation.
Mazi Ohia was of the opinion that many residents of the state were unaware that the zoo was active and well stocked with a wide range of animals, saying also that the zone is open for guided tours, horse rides, recreation, with sections for local delicacies, barbecues, animal museum, history gallery exhibitions and gifts/gallery
While conducting newsmen round the hotel complex, the managing director and chief executive officer of the hotel, Duruaku said that, “officials of OCDA on arrival in a commando system went into his hotel and started the vandalisation of items belonging to the hotel without speaking to the hotel management
According to the commissioner, a recent statistical survey of visitors to the zoo indicated that there has been more awareness about the zoo in Abia State than in Imo State where the zoo is actually located.
He noted that it was an irony that Imo people were generally unaware of the rich selection of wild animals in the zoo, including a lion and a lioness that recently delivered lion cubs, Jackals, baboons, crocodiles, turtles, peacocks, ostriches, hyenas, porcupines, assorted reptiles, eagles and other birds, etc.
He disclosed that the objective of the awareness campaign was to
dif ti b tthf .
He listed the items vandalized and carted away by the alleged officials of OCDA to include five flat screen television sets, music systems, standing fans, split unit air conditioners, broken window louvers, six seriatos, broken safe, two air conditioner systems, as well
State Zoo to everyone in the state, as well as prospective visitors in the neighbouring states of Abia Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Delta.
He urged families, schools, clubs and groups to take advantage of the existence of such a facility to give young persons real life experiences of wild animals, undertake practical lessons, or research or to give themselves a genuine wildlife experience.
The Nekede Zoo and Wildlife Park is located close to the Owerri metropolis and in an area close to the hotel and hospitality axis of the city.
The zoo and wildlife park is an exotic tourist attraction and the animals are housed in protected areas which reflect their natural habitats, allowing visitors to get as close as possible to view the animals.
The commissioner informed that in other countries, such facilities are greatly supported by the public because of their significance to the environment and to the development of ecotourism.
He hinted that plans were being made to introduce more exotic animals, to reconstruct the entrance to the zoo and to create leeway for animal lovers and animal charities as some vital documents.
The embattled Duruaku who put the value of the items and cash lost at over N9 million said that he had already forwarded a petition to the commissioner of police in the state and the director of department of state services (DSS) on the matter and that he had as well contacted
Aplatform for citizens and non state actors under aegis of Anambra Civil Society Network, ACSONET, has implored the federal government to ensure that the Umueri international Cargo and Passengers Airport, is opened to public use before the Nov. 6 governorship election in Anambra State.
Chairman of the group, Chris Azor, who doubles as the National Coordinator, Coalition on Improving Service Delivery, NACOISED, while exchanging to newsmen after a monitoring and evaluation exercise said that the terminal building of the airport is finally ready for public use.
Azor recalled that on July 12, the minister of finance, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed and the minister of industry, trade and investment, Niyi Adebayo, flew into the state through the airport, on their way to the inauguration of some projects at Innoson Motors factory, Nnewi.
He said that opening the airport before the upcoming governorship election would address the current security challenges, while assisting INEC in delivering free, fair, credible and peaceful election, through prompt arrival of election materials and sundry logistics.
Azor explained that delivering free, fair, credible and peaceful elections was at the core of good governance and service delivery, which must not be compromised under any guise.
Anambra sate under governor Willie Obiano completed the construction of an airport within 15 months followed with a test run of the facility It is one of the most a lawyer of the company for h necessary action.
He said, “They claimed to hav come from the OCDA but when got in touch with their officials o my mobile phone, they claime knowledge of the incident but th leader of the team who carried ou the operation, Godwin Nwank wo, dropped a letter wherein h (Nwankwo) claimed that his mi sion was to carry out a structur integrity soil notice on the hotel”.
Narrating his ordeal in the hand of the invaders, a security gate ma at the Bilton Continental Hote who gave his name as Dantat Audu, said that the OCDA official having bulldozed their way into th hotel premises, descended on him pushed him down and gave hi the beating of his life and brok the main entrance glass door of th hotel and entered .
Also reacting to the inciden Innocent Ikpamezie, the gener manager of the Owerri Capital De velopment Authority, in a tele phone chat said that the staff wer always guided by the provisions the law in their operations.
Ikpamezie blamed some mem bers of the public for their ofte unwarranted aggression to sta of the authority performing the legitimate duties.
He said: “Let them give yo whatever information they wan and if we visit any hotel and it doe not possess the necessary offici documents for operation, the la permits us to seal it”. kilometers long and 60 metre wid with one of the longest runway in Nigeria.
The terminal is designed to a commodate 400 persons with thre floors fitted with escalators and lif for smooth and easy movement. was designed with the possibil ties of a future expansion in min The Apron measures 300x200 x560mm of reinforced concret that can take six sizable aircra at once.
The Apron is serviced by tw standard taxiways that measur 35m wide with shoulders. It als has three ultramodern firefightin trucks and three 6×6 Crash-tend with 770hp. The car park can com fortably take 400 cars.
The ACSONET chair explaine that the airport is currently bein equipped with an Instrumen Landing System, ILS, which gua antees safe landing for airplane at night, as an outstanding fea ture.
He, however, assured that th organised Civil Society woul ensure regular monitoring, evalu ation and reporting of projects an service delivery, for transparenc and accountability.
“Considering the current secu rity challenges and the need fo INEC, the election manageme body to deliver a free, fair, credib
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