Ten persons from the same family died on Sunday when their small plane slammed into a commercial district in the city of Gramado in southern Brazil.

The country’s Civil Defence officials told AP that the plane, a Piper Cheyenne 400 turboprop, was being flown by a businessman named Luiz Claudio Salgueiro Galeazzi.

Police also confirmed that the passengers were all family members of the businessman.

The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from the nearby city of Canela, striking the chimney of a building and then a house before falling onto a furniture store, the Rio Grande do Sul state security secretariat said in a statement.

An inn was also damaged, it added.

“There are no survivors of the plane,” Cleber dos Santos Lima of the state civil police told AFP.

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has banned ministries, departments and agencies from giving awards of any kind to internal government officials.

The Governor said such awards and recognitions given by ministries and agencies to internal officials have the tendency to promote mediocrity, adding that henceforth, only awards and recognitions from outside the government can be accepted.

According to a statement by Christian Aburime, Press Secretary to the Governor, which was sent to Nationwide Reports Sunday, Soludo said the directive is with immediate effect.

The statement said- “Following a due directive by Mr Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, please be advised that the Anambra State Government has issued a strong warning against the idea and practice of government organs, departments and agencies or its affiliates presenting merit, honour, or recognition awards to officers within this same government.

“As an ethical leader who abhors undue self-promotion, Mr. Governor particularly frowns on any attempt at self-recognition awards in this administration.

“While recognising and appreciating the hard work, excellence, and dedication of government employees is crucial, such accolades should ideally originate from external, independent organisations.

“Also, while internal appreciation is commendable, it is important to emphasise that awarding of merit awards by government agencies or its affiliates to their own officers can create a perception of impropriety and abuse of privilege. True excellence should be recognised objectively and impartially, and external validation from independent bodies carries greater weight and credibility.

“The government encourages all relevant bodies to prioritise, if necessary, external recognition opportunities for deserving officers. These could include awards from professional bodies, civil society organisations, and other reputable institutions that conduct independent evaluations and adhere to rigorous selection criteria.

“Therefore, as this directive aims to uphold the highest standards of transparency, merit, objectivity, and integrity within the Anambra State Government as always advocated by Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, all organs of the state government and its affiliates are enjoined to comply accordingly.”

Anambra people magazine

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo said his administration would begin to document all the native doctors practicing in the state, as part of the strategies to combating the alarming rate of insecurity in the state.

Soludo declared this on Friday at the 2024 Public Service Day celebration in the state, which held at the Jerome Udorji Secretariat Complex, Awka, Anambra State capital.

Themed “Ensuring Safety and Health at Work in a Changing Climate”, the event, which is an annual ceremony to celebrate the public servants in the state, also attracted top government functionaries and public servants from different MDAs in the state.

He highlighted the various giant strides and achievements recorded by his administration in different sectors and different parts of the state and lauded the state’s workforce and its leadership for giving their best, and for their exceptional support, efforts, and inputs which, he said, had contributed significantly to progress of the state.

Soludo reiterated the administration’s commitment to its vision of making Anambra a livable and prosperous homeland, emphasizing that his administration’s projects, policies and programs are usually targeted in such a way that they can benefit everyone, irrespective of class or social status —all in the spirit of Onye Aghana Nwanne Ya (Leaving No One Behind). These projects, policies and programs, the Governor noted, have contributed in massive influx of people into the state, as a destination hub it’s envisioned to be.

While acknowledging that Anambra used to be a home for all, Soludo, however, emphasized that the state should be home for all law-abiding citizens, and not for anyone who would come to distort the peace and progress of the state.

The Governor, who said that over 70% of the hoodlums and criminal elements so far arrested in Anambra are non-indigenes, also recalled that his administration recently briefed the citizens on the security situation in the state, where he also rolled out some kinetic and non-kinetic mechanisms and strategies towards combating the situation, one of which is the launching of a new security force, known as “Udo Ga-Achị.”