News

Corpses must be buried within 3 days in S’East —IPOB …threatens to shut down mortuaries in Igbo land

Published

9 months ago

August 24, 2022

“Keeping our dead ones for so long is contributing to the major problems of Ndigbo”, says IPOB

The Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB) has compelled people in the south east to bury their dead ones within 3 days as against longer days spent in committing them to earth.

A statement by the spokesperson of IPOB, Emma Powerful has attributed the problems facing Ndigbo in recent times to the longer days spent before burying their love ones.

Consequently, the group has warned all mortuaries in the south east to abide by the directive even as it has proposed shutting down morgues in the zone.

According to Powerful, he said IPOB has viewed spiritually the problems of Ndigbo and discovered it was caused by this norm. He noted that the new practice negates the ancient culture of Ndigbo where their dead ones were buried within three days.

He said “The global movement and noble family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) under the command and leadership of Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu KANU wish to announce to all Biafrans, friends of Biafra and lovers of Biafra freedom that it is high time Biafrans start burying our dead within three days as it was in ancient times.

“IPOB has gone too deep in the spiritual and finds out that keeping our dead ones for so long is contributing to the major problems of Ndigbo in this present times.

“Our ancestors were burying their dead ones within three days and that is our culture and it helped our ancestors spiritually. Igbos have very rich and spiritually based culture which our ancestors maintained from the beginning of time.

“The present habit of keeping dead bodies more than three days and even months and years in the mortuary have had dire effects on our land and contributed to the spiritual weakness of Igbo Nation and of the entire Biafraland, moral decadence and all manner of evil that have taken root in our land.

” Now that IPOB has come to realise that this alien practice of keeping the dead on land rather than committed to mother earth has had a very negative impact on our people and upon our land. It has therefore become very imperative to urge our people to revert to the old practices that has very positive effect upon our wellbeing both spiritually and otherwise,” Powerful said.

Given further explanation Powerful said: “After some thorough investigation we have come to the realization that all the reasons given by our people which cause the unnecessary delay in burying our dead within a short period are neither cogent nor important enough.

“These reasons are all man-made mostly monetary conditions from the bereaved families, traditional rites, churches and Umunna. Some of these reasons were self imposed while others are just to punish the deasead families and make money from the dead.

“We therefore, beg our people, religious leaders, traditional rulers and mostly the Umunna both men and women to stop tasking bereaved families as a condition before they are allowed to commit their departed loved one to mother earth. Some of our people have turned burial as a carnival and asking families to pay levies or debt for their dead ones is an abomination and must be stopped forthwith.

“As it was in past, bereaved families should be allowed to commit their dead ones to mother earth while a date for the burial ceremony is fixed for a later date as well as whatever levies that need to be collected.

“But using reasons of non payment of burial levies to stockpile dead bodies in the mortuaries is what IPOB don’t want again in our territory. Our people should revert to our old healthy tradition of burying the dead and do the needful at specific times within their reach,” the IPOB spokesman stated.

However, the group has vowed to engage church leaders, town unions and traditional rulers and Umunna on the issue.

“We are advising them to prepare their minds on this clarion call because IPOB will develop strategy of curtailing the excessive use of mortuary in our Region. This strategy may include compelling the shut down of so many mortuaries littered all over our land. The only dead bodies that can be allowed to stay longer in the mortuary are those in the court or under police investigation.

“Igbos are shrinking in life because we dishonour the dead by keeping dead bodies in mortuaries for too long than necessary in these mortuaries. Any nation, tribe or family that keeps the dead without putting the corpse into the dust is causing a disservice to themselves.

“IPOB has gone too far in our work to restore our dear Nation of Biafra and we cannot loose the opportunity because of unburied people littered in various mortuaries. Some corpses have been left in the mortuary for one, two and three years because of self gratification, levies or bills from families, churches and Umunnas.

“We are advising the families, Church Authorities and Umunna to reverse this unhealthy and wicked trend before IPOB begins to implement this new policy. The unburied has turned into zombies and having negative consequences on our peace and survival as a Nation.

“The most disturbing aspect of this practice of keeping dead bodies in mortuaries that is our people who died in other parts of the country even outside the country are brought down to Biafraland and deposited in mortuary for months and years before burial.

“Alaigbo have been turned into a gigantic mortuary where dead bodies are dumped with the accompanying dire consequences to our land and this attitude and practice must stop forthwith.

“Owners of mortuaries in our land must start planning for another business. We are not against those engaged in mortuary business but we are against keeping dead ones longer than necessary because we are planning to march and we cannot keep dead bodies unburied before we match.

“IPOB is encouraging our people on the need to accord respect to our departed beloved ones by burying them immediately. In olden days our ancestors embalmed the dead in the house and bury within three days. Ndigbo were not cowards and lazy but today our land is devastated and destroyed completely by unknown gunmen and IPOB will not allow that to continue,” Powerful further stated.

News

Fuel queues hit Abuja, other cities after Tinubu suspended subsidy

Published

6 hours ago

May 29, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

File: Motorists on long Fuel queues at NNPC Petrol station at CBD Abuja

• Subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources, says Tinubu

Fuel queues returned to Nigerian cities Monday as many motorists scrambled to get petroleum products hours after President Bola Tinubu announced that the government will put an end to the fuel subsidy regime.

Tinubu on Monday in his inaugural address at Eagle Square, Abuja, declared that there would no longer be a petroleum subsidy regime as it was not sustainable.

He said the current 2023 budget only has provision for the fuel subsidy till June, adding that the funds meant for subsidies will be diverted to creation of public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs.

“We commend the decision of the outgoing administration in phasing out the petrol subsidy regime which has increasingly favoured the rich more than the poor. Subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources.

“We shall, instead, re-channel the funds into better investment in public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions,” Mr Tinubu said.

But hours after the declaration, fuel queues resurfaced in major cities across the country amid uncertainty over the effect of the new policy.

Queues

A PREMIUM TIMES correspondent who visited petrol stations around Abuja metropolis Monday evening found that queues have yet again resurfaced in the city.

Across the nation’s capital city, some filling stations were under lock and key while some were besieged by motorcyclists, tricycle owners, as well as private and commercial drivers.

Many filling stations in the Lugbe area of Abuja sold petrol at prices ranging between N194 and N198. Outside Abuja, residents said fuel stations sold petrol for N230.

On Monday evening, a long queue of motorists was observed at the NNPC filling station along Airport Road, Lugbe.

Shafa, Fynefield and NNPC fuel stations at Apo sold petrol to motorists at prices ranging between N194 and N198, while Mobil, MRS and Ashafa along Lugbe Airport Road were also open to customers.

Some other filling stations were, however, shut against motorists and tricycle riders.

A car owner, Nwekefero Munachi, at the NNPC filling station along Airport Road, Lugbe, said: “As I was driving down from town, I saw a queue at the filling station but I don’t know what the cause may be. So as I approached Lugbe, I noticed another queue. I can’t place my hand on what the queue is all about. But all I know is that there are queues in filling stations.”

The same trend was witnessed in Lagos, Ogun, and Ado-Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti State Lagos, Ogun

In Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, fuel queues surfaced around the Ojodu and Berger axis Monday evening as motorists scrambled to get fuel ahead of resumption of work Tuesday

A commercial motorcyclist, Ibrahim Adeleke, said he noticed the queues about two days ago but things got worse Monday after Mr Tinubu said the subsidy regime has ended.

“People don’t know what will happen and petrol station owners too are not certain of what the new government will do,” he said.

In Akute area of Ogun State, some of the popular fuel stations were shut Monday evening.

Ekiti

In Ekiti, there were long queues at some of the major fuel stations visited. The filling stations were seen dispensing petrol at N230 while many remained shut.

At the Furasat filling station Okebareke, in Ido Ekiti, Tunde Ajayi, a motorist at the station, attributed the fuel queue to subsidy removal.

“This is surprising, people have started panic buying just with the announcement of subsidy removal.

“We used to buy it for N230 per litre before and now it is still the same price but people already believe that with the president’s announcement fuel price might go up,” Mr Ajayi said.

“I’m here to buy and store so I can manage it before the filling station starts increasing their litre price,” he added.

Kenneth Onyebuchi, a civil servant said: “I’m not sure this is because of the subsidy removal announcement, I think this is because of the long holiday. You know tomorrow is work so I just think people are just coming out to fill their cars.

“If it’s because of what the president said we will know within the week,” he said.

A car owner, John-wisdom Nwali, said “As I was driving towards my house, I observed a queue in the filling stations and I decided to stop and refill my tank. Another round of fuel scarcity should not be encouraged in this regime because we have suffered a lot in Buhari’s tenure because of scarcity.

“I heard that this recent queue is caused by the government announcement of removing fuel subsidies but I don’t know how true it is,” he said.

Fuel subsidy

The Nigerian government has, for decades, subsidised fuel and fixed retail prices of petroleum products. The payment has, however, threatened the nation’s fiscal position and impacted the government’s ability to fund developmental projects across the nation.

In November 2021, the federal government announced its plan to remove the fuel subsidy and replace it with a monthly N5,000 transport grant for poor Nigerians.

But the government later suspended the plan after the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) threatened to embark on mass protests.

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, in January last year said the government had realised the timing of its planned removal of petrol subsidy is “problematic”, and will worsen the suffering of Nigerians.

She said the government will retain fuel subsidy indefinitely and will work on amending the 2022 budget to provide funds for that purpose. The government added that it would spend N3 trillion on subsidies in 2022.

In the first quarter of 2023, Mrs Ahmed said that it will be more appropriate for the government to begin the implementation of its fuel subsidy policy in the second quarter of the year. She noted that the country needs to exit the fuel subsidy regime because it is a very significant contributory factor to revenue loss.

As concerns were raised over the sustainability of the subsidy regime, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) also announced that the country was spending over N 400 billion monthly on petroleum subsidies.

The government subsequently said that it will phase out the subsidy regime by the end of the first half of the year.

But in April, the National Economic Council (NEC) suspended the planned removal of subsidy on petroleum products by the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Mrs Ahmed said that the council deliberated on the matter and resolved that the subsidy cannot be removed for now.

On Monday, Mr Tinubu announced that the subsidy regime has ended because it’s not sustainable. (PREMIUM TIMES)

News

How Dokpesi died – DAAR management

Published

6 hours ago

May 29, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

Late Chief Raymond Dokpesi

The Management of DAAR Communications Limited on Monday cleared the air surrounding death of its founder, Raymond Dokpesi.

The media mogul breathed his last on Monday in Abuja.

While confirming his death in a statement, the DAAR Communications Group Managing Director, Tony Akiotu, said the late businessman had been ill prior before his death.

He, however, explained that he was on his journey to full recovery before he fell and died during routine exercise on Monday.

“He had been ill in the last few weeks but was on his way to full recovery.

“He had a fall off his threadmill during routine gym exercise.

“Further announcements as regards to burial arrangements will be made by the family,” the statement read.