RIVERS State governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has signed the Rivers State Reserve Fund Amendment Bill No. 1, 2014, into Law. The amendment of the law, according to him, is to enable the state government access N30 billion out of the N53 billion saved so far to enable his administration complete ongoing projects. Amaechi disclose this on Thursday when members of the Rivers State House of Assembly presented the bill for his assent at the Executive Council chambers of Government House in Port Harcourt. According to the governor, “The basic reason for the amendment is that the Federal Government is claiming that oil theft has affected our revenue and the allocation is dwindling seriously. I want to add that corruption is also responsible. And because we have numerous projects to fund, I have been consulting with other members of cabinet that there was the need to have access to that fund. We will continue to save when the revenue improves, but for now, I think, it is necessary that we take about N30 billion to fund our projects and also run government. “I had a debate with the State Assembly on the amendment. I didn’t know that the need to utilize the money will crop up in our regime and at this point, it is an emergency and we need to have access to that fund,” Amaechi explained. Earlier, the Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Chidi Lloyd had said that the need to access the funds became necessary due to the daunting challenges affecting the Amaechi-led administration. “We are aware that you (Amaechi) wanted to put a stop to empty state treasury whenever there is transition of government, and critics of this administration have argued that we have not saved any money. Now, in the law, we are told that bottlenecks will make it impossible to access these funds. But, the law has specifically provided that the funds will only be accessed in situations of emergency. And here, members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, in one of the meetings with you, did advise that we unlock this money, so that in the face of the daunting challenges that we have, we can access these funds, nobody saves money when he is hungry. We have bills to pay, we have daunting challenges. We cannot afford to save a whooping sum of N53 billion where there are bills to pay. The House of Assembly went into serious business to review the law to make it possible for your administration to access the funds, and that is exactly what we have done.”
Tag: Amaechi
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Amaechi praises Air Force
Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has lauded officers and men of the Air Force for remaining neutral and apolitical.
Amaechi spoke when the new Commander of 97 Special Operations Group, Port Harcourt, Air Commodore Ajibola Augustine Jekennu, led other officers and men to visit him at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
He said: “Let me welcome you to Port Harcourt. Let me through you thank the Air Force. You have been supportive of government and you have been apolitical. What we would do is to encourage you to continue to distance yourself from politics.
“There is a difference between politics and governance. Politics is when you become a card-carrying member of a party and you are listening to the political party and doing things according to its dictates.
“Governance is when you support the government to execute responsibilities that impact on everybody and serves all interests. I think that the Air Force has played that role here in Rivers State.”
He urged the new commander to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor and ensure that officers and men remain apolitical.
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Amaechi wins again!
There is this saying in Yoruba land that if you pursue someone and you are unable to catch up with him, you beat a retreat. Unless you want to be like the tortoise that said in response to a question as to when he hoped to return from a journey, that he would return when he had been disgraced. The person asking the question could not believe his ears and repeated the question: “tortoise, I say when will you return from this trip”? And the tortoise replied again that he would return only when he had been thoroughly disgraced. Those of us who know the stories of tortoise know that that is its way. It is always clever by half.
Those watching the unfolding scenario in Rivers State must have known that those who want to remove the governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi are only wasting their time. When God installs, no man can remove. Where they should have seen this handwriting clearly except that they believe in wars and chariots, was in the very way Amaechi emerged as governor. Where were the entire Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) top shots, including the incumbent president, when the then President Olusegun Obasanjo wanted to deny Amaechi his right of being the party’s flag-bearer in the state in 2007? Obasanjo had said then that Amaechi’s candidature had ‘K-Leg’? They all sheepishly agreed with the then president, the same way they are blindly following President Goodluck Jonathan in the ‘Amaechi must go project’.
Amaechi single-handedly took up his case and eventually got justice from the Supreme Court. Not satisfied, Amaechi’s enemies went back to the apex court, all in their desperate bid to remove him, but the court affirmed again on Friday that Amaechi is the duly elected governor of the state, thus throwing the camp of those who think today’s world is all about naked power into confusion. It is just the beginning. It is the same way that any non-performing government that is hoping to win the 2015 election by wars and chariots will be greatly disappointed.
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Omehia again loses bid to unseat Amaechi
The final bid by the sacked governor of Rivers State, Sir Celestine Omehia, to unseat the incumbent, Rotimi Amaechi, collapsed at the Supreme Court yesterday.
His lawyer, J. Ezike, also drew the ire of the apex court which took offence at his alleged use of abusive language against Amaechi’s counsel, Mr.Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
Accordingly, Ezike will be recommeded to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for appropriate punishment.
In its judgment, the apex court set aside the order of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, which granted Omehia leave on December 20, 2011 to be joined in an appeal before the appellate court against the judgment of the Federal High Court Abuja which held that Amaechi’s tenure would end on May 29, 2011.
The case at the Supreme Court was initiated against the Court of Appeal’s decision, making Omehia a party in the appeal filed against the Federal High Court decision.
Amaechi had argued that the Court of Appeal erred in law when it opened the door for Omehia to come in as an interested party when he was not a party to the main proceeding.
The Supreme Court held that Omehia ought not to have been made a party in the suit challenging when Amaeechi’s tenure would expire.
A chieftain of the people’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Cyprian Chukwu, had approached the Federal High Court, Abuja, to determine when Amaechi’ first tenure would end.
Justice Abdulkadir Abdulkafarati of the FHC had given judgement in favour of Chukwu to the effect that Amaechi’s tenure ended on May 28, 2011.
Amaechi appealed Justice Abdulkafarati’s judgment.
While the appeal was on, Omehia applied to be joined as a party. His application was granted.
Amaechi headed to the Supreme Court to challenge the appellate court’s decision
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Supreme Court validates Amaechi’s election
The Supreme Court on Friday validated the election of Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.
The apex court dismissed the petition filed by the defeated candidate in the Rivers State governorship election, Celestine Omehia, who vied for the Peoples Democratic Party’s ticket alongside Amaechi.
In his petition, Omehia had contended that there was no vacancy in the Rivers State Government House when Amaechi was elected.
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Nyako, Amaechi, others reject wrong service in suit by PDP
FIVE governors, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), rejected yesterday the wrong service of processes in a suit filed against them by the party.
The PDP, in the suit instituted in December, seeks to sack the five governors, who joined the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The governors are Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara).
Yesterday, lawyers representing the governors criticised the pattern of service of court processes on their clients.
Former Attorney General of the Federation Akin Olujimi, John Baiyeshea, Lateef Fagbemi, Awa Kalu and Yusuf Ali(all Senior Advocates of Nigeria) told the Federal High Court in Abuja that they appeared in protest.
Baiyesha (for Nyako) said his client had not been served and that his appearance in court was based on the hearing notice he saw in two newspapers as ordered by the court.
“We have not seen all the processes, including the originating summons filed by the plaintiff, and that was why I said earlier that I appeared in protest.
“We have filed a motion reacting to the purported notice of hearing,” Nyako’s counsel said.
Fagbemi (for Amaechi) told the court that he filed a notice of conditional appearance dated February 5.
He said he also appeared in protest due to the non-service of processes on his client by the court’s plaintiff.
A similar case was made for Wamakko, Kwankwaso and Ahmed by their lawyers.
Olujimi told the court presided over by Justice Gabriel Kolawole that the defendants served the plaintiff’s lawyer with their motion challenging the “purported” service of hearing notices.
According to Olujimi, “It is a threshold issue and we pray the court to hear us”.
The defence lawyers said they rejected the service because it was improper.
The defence team also rejected the suggestion by plaintiff lawyer Alex Iziyon (SAN) to hand the processes to them in court for their clients.
Justice Kolawole had on the last date ordered the PDP to serve hearing notices on the five governors at the APC national headquarters in Abuja.
Iziyon said even when the court bailiff served the defendants with hearing notices as ordered by the court, “we were served with memoranda of conditional appearances by the second to the sixth defendants (the governors), except that the third to sixth defendants this morning filed and served us with a motion seeking the court to set aside the hearing notices.
“I have read through their applications, their complaint is that contrary to the order of the court made on January 27, that hearing notices be served at the national headquarters of the APC at 6, Guinea Bissau Street, Wuse Zone 6, the bailiff instead took the court processes to 40, Valentine Street, Wuse 2, the PDP lawyer stated.
Iziyon said the bailiff got to the APC national headquarters on No. 6 Guinea Bissau Street, Wuse Zone 6, to learn that the party has relocated to 40 Valentine Street Wuse 2.
“The bailiff should be commended because he had to use wisdom to take the documents to the place the party said it moved to,” Iziyon said.
In view of the defence team’s refusal to accept service on behalf of the defendants, the judge adjourned to a further date for the issue of service to be sorted out.
Justice Kolawole held that the issue of service of processes in relation to a case was important because it touches on the court’s jurisdiction.
The judge adjourned till February 24 for a report of service of hearing notices on the governors and for them to also file and serve their responses.
The PDP, in the suit, argued that the governors should be sacked from office on the grounds that, because of their defection, they forfeited their offices, which, as a result, reverted to the party.
In the event that the five governors were sacked from office, PDP wants the court to order the deputy governor or speaker of the Houses of Assembly of the affected states, or any officer next in rank, who is still its member, to assume the office of governor.
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They’re begging Amaechi to return to PDP, says APC leader
The Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Emeka Bekee, said yesterday some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are begging Governor Rotimi Amaechi to return to the party.
Bekee spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt, after monitoring the APC’s membership registration in the state.
He said some thugs attempted to disrupt the registration in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area, where the self-acclaimed Speaker of the House of Assembly, Evans Bipi, hails from and at Degema Local Government Area.
The exercise later took place in Ogu/Bolo, Degema and the 21 other local governments, with the turnout described as impressive.
Bekee said the thanksgiving promised by PDP leaders to celebrate Amaechi’s defection had not been held.
The Supervising Minister for Education, Nyesom Wike, and the PDP State Chairman, Felix Obuah, said an elaborate thanksgiving would be held to mark the exit of the governor, with a committee put in place last year to handle it.
Bekee said: “They boasted last year that they would hold a thanksgiving immediately after the defection of Governor Amaechi from the PDP, which Rivers people are still expecting. The PDP leaders and members in Rivers State are confused and losing sleep over the defection of the NGF chairman to the winning party, the APC.
“If the PDP members in Rivers State are not jittery, why are they attempting to disrupt the APC’s membership registration? They are doing their things. They should also allow us to do our things.
They are now begging Governor Amaechi to return to the PDP and the principled and focused governor said no. They are now worried.”
APC’s State Publicity Secretary Andy Nweye said it uncovered a plot by the leadership and members of the PDP and the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI) to disrupt the registration exercise.
Nweye said: “Rising from a meeting in the house of a PDP/GDI chieftain and a former Chairman of Obio/Akpor, council leaders of the PDP and the GDI were instructed to ensure that all units of the registration centres are attacked.
“The APC in Rivers State is calling on security agencies to take serious note of this information and do the needful, to avoid the recourse to self-help by members of the APC.”
Nweye also called on the APC’s registration officers and the supervisors to carry on with the exercise, without any fear, while urging the police to provide them with adequate security.
But the PDP, through Pastor Jerry Needam, Obuah ‘s Special Adviser, Media, described as false, the APC’s claim that PDP members were planning to disrupt its registration.
“We have no plan to disrupt APC’s registration. We will not disrupt it and cannot disrupt it. If Rivers people have shunned the registration, they should not blame the PDP.”
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Non-indigenes to join Rivers APC
Thousands of non-indigenes in Rivers State have stormed the office of the All Progressives Congress (APC), seeking registration and promising to mobilise 800,000 non-indigenes to APC.
The coordinator of non-indigenes in Rivers State, Uchenna Okokoba, said this yesterday in Port Harcourt, when he led non-indigenes to visit the APC interim executive.
Okokoba said they came to APC secretariat to assure the party that thay would register as members.
He said he would mobilise 800,000 non-indigenes in Rivers State at the party’s registration, which starts today.
Chief Okokoba said: “You can see the crowd that followed me here, we are seeking APC registration, as the coordinator of the group, we have done it before. And I will do it again, as I said, 800,000 non-indigenes must participate in this exercise.
“We are out to follow Governor Amaechi, who gave us his support since he started ruling this state, he gave us appointment and he never discriminated against our identity or origin. So anywhere he decides to be that is where we will go.”
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Obasanjo, Buhari, Amaechi shun Council of State meeting
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former head of state, Gen. Muhammad Buhari and Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi were conspicuously absent at Tuesday’s Council of State meeting in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Tuesday’s meeting was attended by the former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, former president Shehu Shagari, former heads of state, Yakubu Gowon and Abdulsalam Abubakar and former Head of the Interim National Government, Ernest Shonekan.
The Vice President, Namadi Sambo, Senate President, David Mark, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Muhammad Uwais also attended the meeting.
Governors that attended the meeting are – Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Sule Lamido (Jigawa).
Others are – Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Liyel Imoke (Cross Rivers), Dickson Seriake (Bayelsa), Peter Obi (Anambra), Theodor Orji (Abia), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom)and Babangida Aliyu (Niger).
Also at the Council of State meeting are – Yari Abdulaziz (Zamfara), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Saidu Dakingari (Kebbi), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo) and Idris Wada (Kogi).
The deputy governors at the meeting are that of Kano, Plateau and Borno States.
But there was a mild drama before the meeting started and this centered on the sitting arrangement of two governors.
Because of the ‘A’ alphabet starting with their state names, Abia Governor, Orji (Peoples Democratic Party), Adamawa Governor, Nyako (All Progressives Congress) and Akwa Ibom, Akpabio (PDP) had to sit together.
Before the meeting started, Nyako told Orji that he was not comfortable sitting with him as he could poison him.
Nyako said: “I am telling you don’t poison me here. I am not comfortable with you here. If anything happens to me here, walahi, my people will take you to court.”
Orji replied: “For how many years have we been sitting together? Is it this zero hour that I would poison you?
Nyako countered: “Who knows?”
Turning to Martins Elechi, who joined them during the exchange, Nyako said: “I am just warning him not to poison me. Is there any law that says we should sit down together?
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Amaechi dramatising issues, says Clark
SOUTHSOUTH Peoples Assembly Leader Edwin Clark has accused Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi of dramatising the crisis in the state.
The ex-federal commissioner said it was wrong to have elevated the crisis to a national issue.
The elder statesman also said Ijaw leaders would mediate in the crisis between Bayelsa and Rivers over oil fields.
He spoke on Wednesday at the opening of the expanded National Working Committee of the Southsouth Peoples Assembly in Asokoro, Abuja.
He said: “The Rivers State governor is dramatising the crisis in the state and he just wants support. And some detractors and opponents of this government are using the issue to create crisis in the country.
“What is happening in the state is between two factions and nobody has been killed.
“We have met twice to discuss the Rivers problem. It is a shame that the problem of Rivers State has now become a national issue. It is true that Rivers is part of Nigeria; is Ogun State not also part of Nigeria? “Recently, people were killed even within one party. What happened in Ekiti State where people were killed. How many people have been killed in Rivers State?
“The senator who flew to London, it has been discovered that he was pretending, he was not shot at, he was not injured.”
While commending the people of Rivers for their support for Jonathan, Clark pleaded that the president be left out of the alleged role being played by the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mbu C. Mbu in the crisis.
Clark, who also spoke on the crisis between Bayelsa and Rivers over oil issue, said it should not be another issue for campaign as the Ijaw leaders have decided to wade in.
He said: “After consultations with Ijaw leaders, we have decided as leaders to takeover this matter to call the two sides together. And so I am appealing to the government of Baylesa and Rivers to hands off this problem.”
Clark said President Goodluck Jonathan should be left out of the issue.
“This is not the first time there will be crisis over oil. There have been crisis between Akwa Ibom and Cross River; Akwa Ibom and Rivers; and Abia and Rivers.
“In all this there was never a time the President’s name was mentioned. “So why is it that today the President’s name is being mentioned as if he is the one causing the problem? We are taking over this issue from the government”