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  • Abe: APC winning 2019 polls in Rivers needs more efforts

    Abe: APC winning 2019 polls in Rivers needs more efforts

    The senator representing Rivers Southeast, Magnus Abe, has said the possibility of the All Progressives Congress (APC) taking over the Government House in Port Harcourt in the 2019 election from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will require the efforts of all stakeholders.

    The senator urged councillors elected on the platform of the APC in 2015 and other critical stakeholders to ensure that the party’s candidates win the 2019 elections.

    Abe spoke when members of the Rivers Councillors’ Forum (RCF) of the 8th Assembly from the 319 wards of Rivers state on APC’s platform, visited him in Port Harcourt yesterday to congratulate him on his victory at the poll.

    He sympathised with the councillors on their plight, adding that the only way their neglect could be addressed was for APC to take over the seat of power in Rivers.

    Abe, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), accused the Nyesom Wike administration of short-sightedness in the distribution of the state’s resources.

    The senator said the state’s resources should not be the exclusive rights of PDP members only but for every Rivers indigene.

    He said: “The APC is not just a political party; it is an idea and the idea of the APC is justice. It means what you can do in another setting will be difficult to do in the APC. The party is a vision that Nigerians of all works of life, from every social and economic standing, came together in pursuit of its common vision. The vision was to have a better country, a fairer country, a society in which there will be justice for all. Isn’t that what we came to look for in APC?

    “We were running away from injustice. We were running away from the impunity that existed elsewhere. We decided and we felt that in coming to the APC, we would escape all those things. We cannot come to the APC and see more than what we saw before. It will not work.

    “I thank those who tried to stop you (councillors) from coming because if they did not try to stop you, half of you would not have been here. You are here principally because you want to show that you cannot be stopped and you have shown the world that you cannot be stopped. So, let me thank those who tried to stop you for making this meeting a most successful political gathering of grassroots politicians of the APC.

    “Let me say there is nothing that is going on that is so strange. I have confidence in the ability of our leadership to resolve whatever challenges or problems that may come up in the party. Those who think that if there are issues in the party, it means the party will scatter or anybody will leave, do not understand how hungry and angry we are.

     

     

  • Abe releases guidelines for free JAMB forms’ scheme

    Abe releases guidelines for free JAMB forms’ scheme

    The representative of Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, Magnus Abe, has released guidelines for his free Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB’s) Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) forms’ scheme for 2017/2018.
    Abe, in a statement yesterday by his spokesperson, Mr. Parry Benson, urged prospective candidates from Rivers Southeast to liaise with principals/heads of secondary schools in their respective local government areas for possible nomination.
    He urged the principals/heads of schools to forward names of only the best students among the applicants, to benefit from the scheme.
    The senator said: “The principals/heads of secondary schools shall forward the name(s) of only their best students to benefit from the scheme.
    “The applicants should also liaise with stakeholders in their respective wards/communities for onward screening and shortlisting among the best students.
    “I enjoin the screening authorities to be fair to the applicants and consider candidates who are computer literate, as JAMB’s examinations are computer based, to avoid waste.”
    JAMB, on Monday, commenced the sale of forms throughout Nigeria, for admission into tertiary institutions.

  • Abe, Peterside mourn Rivers police chief Odesanya

    Abe, Peterside mourn Rivers police chief Odesanya

    The senator representing Rivers South East, Magnus Abe, has marred Police Commissioner Francis Odesanya.

    In a statement yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, by his spokesman, Parry Saroh Benson, the senator said he was shocked by the death of “the fine and gallant police officer”.

    The Chairman of  Senate Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) said the late police chief was a professional ,who carried out his duties with a high sense of responsibility, commitment and diligence. He condoled with  his family for the loss of its bread winner as well as the government and people of Ogun State.

    The Director-General of Nigeri Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside,  also mourned  Odesanya.  He described his death as “shocking” and coming at a time the state and Nigeria needed his professional competence and managerial capability.

    Peterside said death had robbed the nation of a fine officer and gentleman, who rose through the ranks before his posting to Rivers State to curtail criminality.

  • NIMASA’s DG hails Abe

    The Director-General of Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has lauded the leadership of the Senate for appointing Magnus Abe chairman of the Senate Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA).

    Peterside spoke with reporters in Port Harcourt at the weekend.

    He said: “The people of Rivers Southeast Senatorial District and indeed the state will now see what representation is all about. We all know what Senator Abe can do. He has been there before and his records are still unmatched. We, in the Rivers Southeast remain proud of him.”

    The NIMASA boss expressed delight that the appointment camebarely one month Abe was re-elected to represent Rivers Southeast in the National Assembly.

    He said: “I have always said that All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has men of character, integrity and sense of responsibility. Senator Abe is one man you can be sure to perform any task given to him to the best of his ability.”

    Peterside, the governorship candidate of APC in Rivers State during the 2015 election, condoled with the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, on the death of his first wife, Ruth Dalung.

    He said Ruth died at a time her husband was on national duty and working with President Muhammadu Buhari to restore the glory and prosperity of Nigeria.

    The director-general of NIMASA prayed for the repose of the deceased’s soul, while calling on the sports minister to bear the irreparable loss with strength and perseverance required in losing a loved one.

  • Ogoni’ll be glad they voted for me, says Abe

    Ogoni’ll be glad they voted for me, says Abe

    The senator representing Rivers Southeast in the National Assembly, Magnus Abe, has assured the Ogoni that they will soon feel the impact of voting for him in the December 2016 legislative rerun.

    In a goodwill message by his spokesperson Parry Saroh Benson to the ethnic nationality during this year’s Ogoni Day celebration, Abe said he was happy for the support the people gave him, especially during the election.

    The senator said he had started the initiatives to actualise his campaign promises.

    He added that the Ogoni made him proud by their support and the vote cast for him in last December 10 rerun.

    Abe said by their votes, the Ogoni have made a statement about their principled stand to go to the centre.

    The former Secretary to the State Government (SSG) hailed them for reposing confidence in him to deliver dividends of democracy, adding that their votes would be rewarded.

    He noted that some people caused a crisis in Ogoni communities to break their unity.

    Abe urged the Ogoni to unite and resolve inter and intra-communal crises that had bedevilled their community.

    The senator said plans were underway to end the bloodshed in Ogoni communities, adding that they should not allow external interference with fellow Ogoni brothers and sisters.

    He advised them to ensure that peace prevailed in Ogoni land to enable people have an enabling environment for the $1 billion clean-up of their community.

    Abe pledged that the Federal Government has the political will to implement the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report.

  • Rivers rerun: PDP chair, Abe disagree on petition

    Rivers rerun: PDP chair, Abe disagree on petition

    The Rivers State chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Felix Obuah, and the senator representing Rivers Southeast, Magnus Abe, have disagreed on the plan of the party’s candidate to approach the Election Petitions Tribunal over the outcome of the December 10 last year’s legislative rerun.
    Obuah, yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, hinted that the party would challenge Abe’s declaration as the senator-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
    Abe, a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG) in the previous Rotimi Amaechi’s administration, said he had nothing to fear about Obuah’s decision and the party’s candidates to challenge the outcome of the rerun at the tribunal.
    The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate said it was PDP’s right to challenge the result, if it had legal grounds to do so.
    But he said the challenger would fail again, since the electorate in his senatorial district massively voted for him and other APC candidates.
    Obuah said: “The declaration of Abe as winner in the purported election was a grave error, as available records show that the military, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) personnel and other security agencies massively rigged the election in Rivers Southeast Senatorial District on December 10, 2016, in favour of Mr. Abe.
    “The right of the people of Rivers Southeast Senatorial District to select the candidate of their choice, through the ballot box, is sacrosanct and must not be toyed with. The PDP will never rest until this injustice against the people is addressed and the opportunity to have a candidate of their choice given to them, as of right.
    “The PDP has sufficient evidence to show that what happened in the Rivers Southeast Senatorial District on December 10, last year, was nothing but a display of military bravado against the PDP and the Ogoni as orchestrated by the combined forces of Abe and Barry Mpigi (an APC chieftain) on one hand and SARS operatives, policemen and soldiers on the other.”
    The Rivers PDP chairman also said he was optimistic that members of his party would have the last laugh at the tribunal.
    According to him, Abe is only a caretaker senator of the APC who was allegedly smuggled into the Senate with the connivance of INEC, SARS, the Army and the police.
    Obuah said his tenure in the Senate would be short-lived.
    The PDP chairman urged residents of Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, especially the party’s candidate, Olaka Nwogu, to remain calm and hopeful.
    He said anything taken through the backdoor would not stand.
    Obuah expressed optimism that Nwogu would reclaim his mandate.
    He said: “Abe’s desperation for power will soon be exposed as evidenced by his recent clandestine activities. Abe has, in the past weeks, been concocting results in his private home, just to ensure that they tally with the figures manufactured for him by INEC.
    “This is part of the measures being taken by the caretaker senator on his fraudulent declaration by the INEC, being challenged by the PDP.”
    But Abe, a lawyer, who was the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) in the Seventh National Assembly, described Obuah as a liar.
    The senator-elect said he never concocted any result, adding that since his people loved him, he would always win elections in the senatorial district.
    He said: “My problem with PDP, his Rivers Chairman and Wike is that they do not want the people to exercise their freedom in the choice of their candidates. Rather, they prefer to intimidate the people and select winners.
    “My election shows that the will of the people will triumph, if only the Nigerian state will protect and guarantee their right of freedom against enemies of democracy.
    “Nigeria is a democracy and the main ingredient of democracy is freedom. People must be free to do what they want to do. People cannot be threatened over what they believe. People cannot be killed over which political party they choose to associate with.”
    The APC chieftain also expressed optimism that he would still emerge victorious at the tribunal.
    He advised his teeming supporters and other Rivers residents to ignore what he called the lies by Wike, Obuah and their supporters.

  • Senate swears in Abe, Sekibo, Ideozu

    Senate swears in Abe, Sekibo, Ideozu

    THE Senate yesterday inaugurated Senators Magnus Abe (Rivers South East), George Thompson Sekibo (River East) and Osinakachukwu Ideozu (Rivers West) as senators of the Eight Senate.

    Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki inaugurated the senators, following their victory at the December 10, 2016 Rivers State parliamentary elections.

    After the inauguration, Senator Abe told reporters that without dutiful security agents, it would have been near impossible for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the election.

    He said some people with vested interest attempted to scuttle the election, but for the determination of security agents to see the election through.

    Abe, who was part of the 7th Senate, noted that “having come back to the Senate is a dream come true”.

    “I know that if election is conducted in the Rivers South East any time, I will emerge victorious,” he said.

    Abe promised to continue to promote the interest of Nigeria above personal interest.

  • Abe: I won’t fail Rivers Southeast

    Abe: I won’t fail Rivers Southeast

    The senator-elect for Rivers Southeast, Magnus Abe, has said he cannot afford to fail his people.
    An online statement yesterday by his spokesperson, Parry Benson, said Abe spoke during a church service at St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church at Bera-Ogoni in Gokana Local Government of Rivers State.
    The senator-elect said he was determined more than before to solve the problems of his senatorial district.
    He said: “Rather than for me to fail, it would have been better I did not even win. I cannot afford to fail.”
    Abe, a chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), admonished his people to continue to pray for him for God’s guidance and direction.
    He said: “I want to plead with everybody to pray for me. Do not stop because we have won the election. It is now that I actually need your prayers.
    “We need to pray for people who are not selfish, people who will help us. We need to pray for people who have the grace to advise us properly. We need to pray for strength and health so that we can meet up with the expectations of our people, physically.
    “We need to pray for opportunities so that we do not disappoint the people who have invested so much hope and trust in us.”
    The senator-elect assured his district that he would step up actions to fulfil his campaign promises.
    He noted that what was needed was hard work and clear-cut plans to achieve promises.
    Abe said: “One gift the Lord has given me is that I understand the value of hard work. I know that if you want to succeed in anything, you must work harder. I am going to work harder.”
    The former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG) pleaded for support, encouragement and unity in actualising his promises.
    Abe said he was overwhelmed by outpouring of love from thousands of his people, who he said were streaming in from different villages to rally round and congratulate him.
    He said: “I am grateful to everybody. The kind of outpouring of love and happiness that I saw, honestly, since I woke up this morning, I have been worried, because I said to myself that these people are jubilant and happy. They are happy because they hope one way or another this victory will make a difference.”

  • APC’s Abe wins Senate seat

    APC’s Abe wins Senate seat

    Senator Magnus Abe will return to his seat as representative of the South East senatorial district.

    He was yesterday declared winner after Saturday’s rerun by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

    Returning Officer Prof. Gideon Onuekwusi, said Abe of the All progressives Congress (APC) polled 125,938. His closest rival Olaka Nwogu of the PDP polled 25,394 votes.

    Labour Party candidate Kingsley Okechukwu scored 549. Okey Ude of NNPP scored 96, and Brown Elfreda of UDP scored 99.

    The PDP candidate in Rivers East, Thompson Sekibo, was leading last night based on the results so far released.

    In Ogu/Bolo local government, the APC scored 1,844 votes to PDP’s 4.578.

    In Port Harcourt local government,  APC received 9,618, PDP got 28,305.

    In Okirika local government, the APC scored 1,352 and PDP 2,994.

    In Omuma Council, APC had 3,052 and PDP 5,606 votes.

    In Etche APC scored 1,258, PDP 6,926.

    In Obio/Akpor:  APC 10,630, PDP 29,282.

    However, results for Ikwerre and Emuoha local government areas had not been released as at press time.

  • Abe hails Buhari on Ogoni land clean-up board

    All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Rivers Southeast in the legislative rerun, Magnus Abe, has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for approving a 13-man Governing Council and 10-member Board of Trustees (BoT) for the clean-up of Ogoni land.

    In a statement in Port Harcourt, the state capital, by his spokesman Parry Saroh Benson, the APC chieftain noted that the President demonstrated sincerity and commitment to the project and proved sceptics wrong.

    The senator said the composition of the board was a step towards the implementation of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report.

    The former Rivers State secretary to the state government (SSG) assured the Ogoni that President Buhari had the political will to execute the clean-up.

    He advised the people to resist detractors pushing them to derail the project.

    Abe said there were people who wanted the project to fail to satisfy their political gimmick.

    He said: “When we started this struggle, they called us all sorts of names. We refused to blow up pipelines and presented our case, based on the instrumentality of international laws, environmental justice and the rights of indigenous people. But today, we are a model to Niger Delta communities. History has vindicated our wisdom.”

    Abe urged the people to be patient and support the President, saying preparations were on top gear to realise the project.