President Muhammadu Buhari has consoled with the people of Bauchi State over the windstorm and fire disasters that ravaged parts of the state, including mysterious fire that razed Azare market.
In a statement by the President’s senior special assistant on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, Buhari described the windstorm disaster as the country’s worst occurrence in recent time, adding that Nigerians stand with the people of the state as they struggle to manage the fallout of the double tragedy.
“President Buhari extends deepest sympathies to the victims and families of devastating windstorm and the fire incidents. The President says that the “Nigerians stand in solidarity with their fellow countrymen in this difficult time as they face the devastation with courage and fortitude.
“As a fellow human being, I understand your pains and inconveniences as you struggle to pick up the pieces and rebuild your lost houses, schools, markets and places of worship. This is not something you bargained and we are powerless against the fury of nature.
“On behalf of myself and my administration, my heart goes out to the victims of this disaster and I pray to God to replenish their losses.”
An outbreak of cholera has been reported in Bida, Bida Local Government Area of Niger State, killing no fewer than 10 people while 60 others have been hospitalized.
The local government, in an official statement confirmed the outbreak, even as the residents of the town claimed that the community has been thrown into panic and fear as a result of the outbreak.
The residents blamed the outbreak on the consumption of unhygienic water as the town has been without pipe borne water for some time. Some of the victims were admitted at either the Federal Medical Centre or the Abdulmalik Ndayako General Hospital in the town.
An official letter from the Bida Local Government, signed by the Council Secretary, Suleiman Sheshi for the chairman, dated 18th June, 2018 and addressed to the state Commissioner for Health, which also confirmed the outbreak said: “the council had no capacity to contain the outbreak.”
The letter expressed regrets that as at the time of the outbreak yesterday, Sunday: “only one medical doctor was on call at the hospital due to manpower shortage.
“The General Hospital is lacking medical consumables and adequate facilities to cater for the present ’emergent’ health challenge. Over ten (10) infected with the disease have been confirmed dead.
“The present situation at hand cannot be handled by the Bida LGA alone, part of the reason why this letter is written is to request for superior intervention from the state government. Prompt action from your part will, without any doubt, save a lot of lives presently at critical points of survival.”
Meanwhile, the council had in a separate letter titled “announcement” advised the people of the council to maintain the “highest hygiene in order to avoid the spread of the outbreak”.
The council warned against drinking of unhygienic water which was capable of spreading the disease in addition to telling residents “to be careful on the consumption of fruits already sliced for re-sale by grocers, and herbal concoction prepared under poor hygienic conditions”.
“Person or persons suspected to have contacted cholera should be rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment without delays,” the statement said, adding that: “On no account should home treatment be used as an option.”
This second statement also signed by the council secretary, Suleiman Sheshi warned: “whoever handles or has any form of contact with cholera patient should properly wash their hands with soap and detergents. Where these are not available, ashes should be used to wash the hands thoroughly.”
All efforts to get the confirmation of the incident from the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mohammed Jibrin, were abortive as at 6:20pm today, Monday.
An Owerri high court in Imo State has sent the founder of the Movement for the actualization of a Sovereign state of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruioke to one month jail term for disobeying a court order.
The presiding judge, Justice Kemakolam Ojiako made the order in the civil case, HOW/265/2013, between Uwazuruike (plaintiff) and Barr. Chigozie Iheama and others over a land dispute.
Uwazuruike was sentenced for disobeying a directive to appear in court for a case in which he is a plaintiff.
Counsel to the defendant, C.K. Okorie, in a motion on notice, had prayed the court to commit the plaintiff/contemnor to prison for disobeying the order of the court.
In his ruling, Justice Ojiako said: “the plaintiff, Chief Raphael Uwazuruike, is hereby found guilty of contempt/disobedience to the said order of court made on April 2, 2017. That the plaintiff, Chief Raphael Uwazuruike, is hereby committed/sentenced to prison custody and shall be so detained for a period of one month from the date of his commitment to prison.”
Uwazuruike, his agents, privies or servants were also restrained from entering the land.
The Chief of Staff to Governor Muhammad Umar Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa State, Alhaji Abdurrahman Abba Jimeta died in the early hours today, Monday18, in Makkah the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the observance of Umrah (the lesser Hajj) and the remains buried within the same vicinity of his death in Makkah according to Islamic rites.
The Adamawa State Government which announced the death of Abdurrahman Abba Jimeta, said that the governor had declared three days of mourning in the State, starting from today, Monday 18.
“The Governor calls on the people of the State to pray for the peaceful repose of the soul of the late Chief of Staff.”
In a statement, the state government called on workers to be more committed to the progress and development of the State as they resume from Sallah breaktomorrow, Tuesday, June 19, adding that workers dedication to their duties will be a good tribute to what late Abdurrahman Abba Jimeta stood for in his over three decades of public life.
The statement hinted that the late Chief of Staff would have been 60 years old at his next birthday in November 2018 even as it said that he is survived by an aged father, one wife and eleven children.
The current global security environment is increasingly becoming complex and dynamic due to the activities of non-state actors who have become the major source of conflict all over the world. Add to this is the upsurge in intra-state crisis and conflicts as well as the entanglement between domestic and international threats which have compounded the security challenges.
Africans are containing terror and terrorists, in addition to the rise of repetitive civil conflict in such desperate African countries as Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Sudan, dangerous depredations of Islamist terror continue to shake Somalia, Kenya, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Nigeria is currently facing multiple security challenges that are spread across the major regions of the country. None of the regions in Nigeria is insulated from one crisis or the other. For instance, there are the lingering challenges of terrorism, cattle rustling, armed banditry, kidnappings, arms and IED proliferation and other sundry crimes such as armed robbery in the North East Region.
There are also the threats of armed robbery, insurgency, ethno religious disturbances, cattle rustling, kidnappings and political crisis among other menaces in the North Western part of Nigeria.
Incidences of militancy, arms proliferation, illegal oil bunkering, sea piracy, oil thefts, kidnappings and pipeline vandalization/sabotage, armed robbery, cultism and political violence are serious security challenges in the South-South Zone and the Delta Region. So also are the challenges of farmers-herdsmen clashes, cattle rustling, ethnic tension, and the influx of mercenaries and arms flow in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States.
Here in the South Eastern Region, we have security threats such as kidnappings, armed robbery, communal crisis, cultism, herdsmen-farmers clashes, the proliferation of arms, political disturbances and the disturbing activities of MOSSOB and the outlawed IPOB groups.
Recently, we are witnesses to the emerging trend of the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) in pursuit of political objectives.
In the midst of these challenges, the Nigerian Army (NA) has a constitutional duty to effectively checkmate these complex national security threats. While in the South East, the NA through the 82 Division, in conjunction with other security agencies have contained these threats to manageable proportion, in the North East and other parts of Nigeria, the NA is fully involved in far more complex security threats such as insurgency, terrorism, cyber threats, militancy, arms and IED proliferation and ethno-religious conflicts.
The relevant security agencies must, therefore, continue to seek new ways and means to consistently mitigate the new challenges and provide an effective deterrence. Consequently, the NA under Lt Gen TY Buratai proactively and consistently appraised the numerous security threats across the nation, initiated and conducted several Field Training Exercises and Operations with the major aim of containing the threats.
These exercises were deliberately initiated and conducted with an overarching aim of checkmating identified security challenges in the regions where they were carried out. In this regard, Exercise SHIRIN HARBI, for example, was originally staged from 17- 19 April 2016 in 3 Division Area of Responsibility to take care of the insurgency, cattle rustling and armed banditry common in parts of the North Eastern Region. In the same vein, Exercise HARBIN KUNAMA was held in 1 Division Area of Responsibility from 9-15 July 2016 to rid the general area of the North West Region of banditry, insurgency, religious insurrection, armed robbery and cattle rustling among other menaces.
Also, Exercise CROCODILE SMILE was conducted originally from 5-10 September 2016 in the Niger Delta Region by a combination of 2 and 82 Divisions with the major aim of reducing incidences of illegal bunkering, piracy, the influx of arms, pipeline vandalization, kidnappings and other criminalities across the entire region.
Similarly, here in the South Eastern Region, Exercise PYTHON DANCE was initially carried out from 27 November – 27 December 2016. The peculiar security challenges in the region such as kidnappings, armed robbery, cultism, farmers-herdsmen clashes, communal conflicts, traffic gridlock particularly at the Asaba-Onitsha Head Bridge and the violent secessionist agitation among others were the targets of the exercise.
On the whole, these exercises were successfully conducted as the objectives of the exercises/operations were greatly achieved. For that reason, all the exercises are now scheduled NA training exercises which are being conducted annually in the various regions of the nation.
We may recall that despite the initial disinformation, agitation and misplaced apprehension about Exercise PYTHON DANCE in 2016 and now Exercise EGWU EKE 11 in 2017, the record of achievements of the exercise are many and are acknowledged by well-meaning Nigerians up to today.
One major achievement is in the area of peace and security. Due to the intensity of patrols, roadblocks, raids and other activities in the Military Line of Operation, miscreants and criminals were denied freedom of action in the entire South Eastern States of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. The account of peace, law and order and secure environment in the entire South Eastern Region occasioned by the exercise was widely circulated by the media among others and is being enjoyed up to today.
Therefore, in view of the obvious security threats in the South East such as kidnappings, cultism, armed robbery, communal conflict, farmers-herdsmen clashes, political violence and secessionist agitation as well as the emerging dangerous trend of the use of IED as seen in the recent explosion in Ohanaeze leaders’ compound, a catholic church and a popular yam market, there is the need for members of the public especially the media to be more watchful, so as to sensitize the public on the disturbing trend and the necessity for partnership with the security agencies with the view to collectively and effectively contain these challenges.
Finally, in the midst of all these security threats, it is obvious that the South East Zone is the most peaceful region in Nigeria. Major security challenges that could have dramatically disturb the peace; security and stability of the region have been effectively silenced. Consequently, there is the need for the various tiers of government, security agencies, Civil Society Organizations, media and members of the public to collectively cooperate to improving if not sustaining the current security situation.
Colonel Sagir Musa, Deputy Director of Nigerian Army Public Relations, 82 Division, Enugu, gave this remark at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Media Summit, Held in Owerri, Imo State on June 14, 2018.
Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has expressed optimism that despite the defeat the Super Eagles suffered in the hands of Croatia yesterday, Saturday, they can rise to greater height in the ongoing World Cup tournament in Russia.
“I am an optimist. It is not over yet for the Super Eagles in Russia, especially given their traditional resilient spirit. I have no doubt also that they understand that they bear the expectations and hopes of over 180 million people on their shoulders. But, we owe them total support and prayers.”
Senator Ekweremadu, in a statement today, Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu, admitted that the team had made what he called ‘costly mistake’ and that Nigeria is in a tight corner, but said that he is sure that the players and coaching crew have picked some lessons.
“The technical crew might have to rethink the team’s formation.
“Maybe, also, we stand to gain more from the players in their natural wings.”
Iceland, the next team in group D the Supper will meet in the next round, had played a one-all draw with Argentina in their opening encounter
Germany’s defence of their World Cup title started with a whimper as they suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat to Mexico in Moscow on Sunday.
Joachim Low’s side came into the tournament on a run of poor form, winning just one of their six friendlies since qualifying for Russia 2018 with a 100 per cent record.
Those recent struggles were evident from the outset against a vibrant Mexico, who scarcely gave their more illustrious opponents a chance to settle during a pulsating opening.
Their positive approach was rewarded with the only goal of the game after 35 minutes when Hirving Lozano finished off a flowing counter-attacking move with a crisp drive.
Joshua Kimmich and Timo Werner both came close in the second period, but Mexico were able to hold on for a famous victory with something approaching relative comfort.
Low must quickly lift his team for their next Group F game against Sweden on Saturday, while Mexico know a win against South Korea on the same day would give them a wonderful chance of qualifying for the knockout stages.
Manuel Neuer was handed a first competitive start since September and would surely have been called into action inside the first minute had Jerome Boateng not superbly blocked Lozano’s close-range effort.
Werner then fired a warning shot across the face of Guillermo Ochoa’s goal during a breathless opening few minutes.
Any thoughts that Mexico would be overawed by Germany’s assortment of superstars continued to be dispelled during a high-octane first half-hour, Hector Moreno heading straight at Neuer from their clearest opening.
Germany looked shell-shocked by Mexico’s verve and vigour, eventually falling behind 10 minutes before the break.
Javier Hernandez’s superb one-two with Andres Guardado allowed him to spin away from Mats Hummels just inside the Germany half and feed Lozano down the left.
The PSV forward then cut inside the wafer-thin resistance offered by the back-tracking Mesut Ozil to crash a shot inside Neuer’s right post.
That deserved lead was nearly extinguished just two minutes later, however, when Toni Kroos’ dipping free-kick arrowed towards the top corner. Ochoa did wonderfully well to deny the midfielder, getting the faintest of touches to push the ball against the crossbar.
Yet any thoughts that Low’s star-studded team would come out for the second half rejuvenated failed to materialise.
Mexico were able to keep them at bay until Kimmich’s ambitious overhead kick and Werner’s instinctive close-range effort both flashed narrowly over in quick succession midway through the half.
After squandering a number of golden opportunities in the closing stages, with Miguel Layun particularly wasteful, Mexico were fortunate to see Julian Brandt’s half-volleyed effort clip the post in a frantic finish to proceedings. (goals.com)
An elected delegate to the national convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, has expressed confidence that with President Muhammadu Buhari as the rallying point for the party, the forthcoming convention will be hitch-free.
He said: “To be honest, in spite of conflicting reports of parallel congresses, one envisages a hitch-free national convention of our great party, APC, on June 23. This is because we have President Muhammadu Buhari, who from every index is the presumptive consensus candidate, come 2019 Presidential election.
“Mr. President is more like a guardian post for our great party. He is the canopy covering us all from bad weather.”
Osita Okechukwu, who spoke to news men today, Sunday, in Enugu, said that the presidential system Nigeria is operating does not make the supremacy of the party less profound, adding that every President in all presidential systems, be it in the United States, “tailors the cloth of the party to his size.”
Okechukwu, who is the Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), said that all the tendencies and factions had a common ground, which is the endorsement of President Buhari.
“In addition, those who lost in the congresses are not only loyalists to Buhari, but are aware of the truism that they were swimming against the tide of the provisions of APC’s Constitution.
“The constitution mandated the National Working Committee, subject to the approval of the National Executive Committee to make rules and regulations for nomination of candidates”.
“Nobody has the right to reverse the national delegates list validly elected during the local government congress,’’ he said.
According to him, with such iconic leader like Buhari, loyalty is enhanced. Loyalty to one leader minimises intra-party conflict. It could have been different if we have two strong presidential contenders.
“Our collective support for Mr. President makes it easy for reconciliation in APC before the 2019 general elections.”
Former Kaduna State Governor and immediate past National Caretaker Committee Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi has declared his intention to contest for Nigeria’s Presidency under the platform of the PDP.
Makarfi who spoke to news men in Kaduna today, Sunday, said that he has consulted widely and arrived at a conclusion that it is okay for him to contest for the Presidency.
“I have been consulting across the country since I left as the chairman of the party. It is just consultations and not endorsement. But it gives you an opportunity to feel the pulse and it will tell whether to go forward or not to go forward. The consultations have been quite positive and I believe it is fair enough to come to the conclusion that one should join other equally capable party men and women who have shown interest in seeking the party’s nomination for the 2019 presidential election.
“At this stage, it is to seek for the party’s nomination. The successful nominees will become the candidate that will stand for the election. But first thing first. If ones party does not put him forward, you can’t say you are contesting for presidency yet. At this stage, I have come to the conclusion that it is okay, based on the consultations that I have had.”
The two term Governor and two term Senator from Kaduna State said he knows governance and has what its takes to govern Nigeria, after successfully governing a complex state like Kaduna for eight years.
“I have known governance for sometimes at state level. I served Kaduna for three years as commissioner for finance and economic planning. I came in from the private sector. I have private sector experience, especially banking. I governed this complex state for eight years. I have legislative experience, having been in the senate for a two term of eight years. I got a bonanza when the party leadership fell on my laps, to know about managing political party.
“If you cannot manage your party, even if you are elected, you will have problems governing. If you can’t manage the legislature and build cordial relationship such that key legislations that can take this country forward are passed, then governance becomes complex for you. If you cannot manage complex society such as kaduna, which is a mini nigeria, you cannot manage Nigeria. God has so designed that one has passed through all these processes.
“These, to me, are advantages but of course it does not mean that it is a forgone conclusion. Somebody who may have not prepared himself in governance at all may find himself in government but the country will pay a price for that. I believe I have these advantages.
“Managing complex security issues is not new to me. Managing complex people of societies is not new to me. If you look at it from that perspective, I am prepared for the job. I served as the Governor of Kaduna state where I was able to mobilise the citizens of Kaduna state, irrespective of where they came from in Nigeria, earned their confidence and they worked with me and supported me and we were able to restore normalcy that people thought was impossible.
“If I am nominated and eventually gets elected, my philosophy will not be to go after opposition. It is to see how I will work with the opposition in any area for the good of all of us while maintaining our independent political opinion over any matter. That is how you can bring Nigerians together. And that is when people will not even have any need to cross carpet. If I get nominated and get elected and I find somebody in APC who can help me do what I want to do, I will look for you without demanding that you join the PDP. I will leave you to make that decision on your own, that is the kind of politics that I want to see happening in Nigeria.”
The Methodist Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Oche Job, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari has successfully checkmated the much talk about cabals in the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.
“There are cabals in Aso Villa till now, but they are no longer well-pronounced like before. At the time of Goodluck Jonathan, every time and then, you hear of cabals. But I think because Buhari makes up his mind and he knows where he is going, he doesn’t listen to people. That’s why the issue of cabal is no longer pronounced like in the past.”
Archbishop Oche Job who spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja today, Sunday, said if Buhari “is a man who fears what people will say, by now, he would have become very nervous.
“For sure, I commend him. You see, Buhari fears no one and that’s why I like him. He makes up his mind and says and does what he thinks is the best for the nation.
“People may not praise him now; but by the time he leaves the seat, and somebody comes in and they begin to do comparison, they will say if it were in the time of Buhari, oh my God, this thing would have been this.”
The clergyman, who stressed that a good leader must have self-confidence, insisted: “if you must rule and have the blessings of the majority, you need to have what is called self-confidence.”
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An Insider’s Account Of South-East Security Challenges, By Colonel Sagir Musa
The current global security environment is increasingly becoming complex and dynamic due to the activities of non-state actors who have become the major source of conflict all over the world. Add to this is the upsurge in intra-state crisis and conflicts as well as the entanglement between domestic and international threats which have compounded the security challenges.
Africans are containing terror and terrorists, in addition to the rise of repetitive civil conflict in such desperate African countries as Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Sudan, dangerous depredations of Islamist terror continue to shake Somalia, Kenya, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Nigeria is currently facing multiple security challenges that are spread across the major regions of the country. None of the regions in Nigeria is insulated from one crisis or the other. For instance, there are the lingering challenges of terrorism, cattle rustling, armed banditry, kidnappings, arms and IED proliferation and other sundry crimes such as armed robbery in the North East Region.
There are also the threats of armed robbery, insurgency, ethno religious disturbances, cattle rustling, kidnappings and political crisis among other menaces in the North Western part of Nigeria.
Incidences of militancy, arms proliferation, illegal oil bunkering, sea piracy, oil thefts, kidnappings and pipeline vandalization/sabotage, armed robbery, cultism and political violence are serious security challenges in the South-South Zone and the Delta Region. So also are the challenges of farmers-herdsmen clashes, cattle rustling, ethnic tension, and the influx of mercenaries and arms flow in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States.
Here in the South Eastern Region, we have security threats such as kidnappings, armed robbery, communal crisis, cultism, herdsmen-farmers clashes, the proliferation of arms, political disturbances and the disturbing activities of MOSSOB and the outlawed IPOB groups.
Recently, we are witnesses to the emerging trend of the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) in pursuit of political objectives.
In the midst of these challenges, the Nigerian Army (NA) has a constitutional duty to effectively checkmate these complex national security threats. While in the South East, the NA through the 82 Division, in conjunction with other security agencies have contained these threats to manageable proportion, in the North East and other parts of Nigeria, the NA is fully involved in far more complex security threats such as insurgency, terrorism, cyber threats, militancy, arms and IED proliferation and ethno-religious conflicts.
The relevant security agencies must, therefore, continue to seek new ways and means to consistently mitigate the new challenges and provide an effective deterrence. Consequently, the NA under Lt Gen TY Buratai proactively and consistently appraised the numerous security threats across the nation, initiated and conducted several Field Training Exercises and Operations with the major aim of containing the threats.
These exercises were deliberately initiated and conducted with an overarching aim of checkmating identified security challenges in the regions where they were carried out. In this regard, Exercise SHIRIN HARBI, for example, was originally staged from 17- 19 April 2016 in 3 Division Area of Responsibility to take care of the insurgency, cattle rustling and armed banditry common in parts of the North Eastern Region. In the same vein, Exercise HARBIN KUNAMA was held in 1 Division Area of Responsibility from 9-15 July 2016 to rid the general area of the North West Region of banditry, insurgency, religious insurrection, armed robbery and cattle rustling among other menaces.
Also, Exercise CROCODILE SMILE was conducted originally from 5-10 September 2016 in the Niger Delta Region by a combination of 2 and 82 Divisions with the major aim of reducing incidences of illegal bunkering, piracy, the influx of arms, pipeline vandalization, kidnappings and other criminalities across the entire region.
Similarly, here in the South Eastern Region, Exercise PYTHON DANCE was initially carried out from 27 November – 27 December 2016. The peculiar security challenges in the region such as kidnappings, armed robbery, cultism, farmers-herdsmen clashes, communal conflicts, traffic gridlock particularly at the Asaba-Onitsha Head Bridge and the violent secessionist agitation among others were the targets of the exercise.
On the whole, these exercises were successfully conducted as the objectives of the exercises/operations were greatly achieved. For that reason, all the exercises are now scheduled NA training exercises which are being conducted annually in the various regions of the nation.
We may recall that despite the initial disinformation, agitation and misplaced apprehension about Exercise PYTHON DANCE in 2016 and now Exercise EGWU EKE 11 in 2017, the record of achievements of the exercise are many and are acknowledged by well-meaning Nigerians up to today.
One major achievement is in the area of peace and security. Due to the intensity of patrols, roadblocks, raids and other activities in the Military Line of Operation, miscreants and criminals were denied freedom of action in the entire South Eastern States of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. The account of peace, law and order and secure environment in the entire South Eastern Region occasioned by the exercise was widely circulated by the media among others and is being enjoyed up to today.
Therefore, in view of the obvious security threats in the South East such as kidnappings, cultism, armed robbery, communal conflict, farmers-herdsmen clashes, political violence and secessionist agitation as well as the emerging dangerous trend of the use of IED as seen in the recent explosion in Ohanaeze leaders’ compound, a catholic church and a popular yam market, there is the need for members of the public especially the media to be more watchful, so as to sensitize the public on the disturbing trend and the necessity for partnership with the security agencies with the view to collectively and effectively contain these challenges.
Finally, in the midst of all these security threats, it is obvious that the South East Zone is the most peaceful region in Nigeria. Major security challenges that could have dramatically disturb the peace; security and stability of the region have been effectively silenced. Consequently, there is the need for the various tiers of government, security agencies, Civil Society Organizations, media and members of the public to collectively cooperate to improving if not sustaining the current security situation.
Colonel Sagir Musa, Deputy Director of Nigerian Army Public Relations, 82 Division, Enugu, gave this remark at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Media Summit, Held in Owerri, Imo State on June 14, 2018.