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Tag: Amaechi

  • 2nd Edition Of Gov. Amaechi’s Street Football Tourney gets underway

    2nd Edition Of Gov. Amaechi’s Street Football Tourney gets underway

    The preparations for the second edition of Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s street football tourney are underway, says the Rivers state sports boss, Fred Igwe.

    Speaking during the inauguration ceremony of the Port Harcourt Township sports facilities management team, Igwe said it was the desire of the Rivers state government to ensure that the numerous sports facilities that have cost the administration several billions of naira to put in place be well managed.

    He also enumerated the benefits that have accrued to the state through the building of the sports facilities within the state especially in arresting youth restiveness, citing the numerous discovery of football talents from the first edition of the Governor Amaechi’s street football tournament that was hosted by number six field.

    “If we say we maximally benefited from the street football competition, it is an understatement. Moses Awala, the central defender that was invited to the Flying Eagles camp was discovered there, and just for one or two shortcomings, he would have been in Germany now. Many of them are plying their trade currently in the Nigeria Professional Football League.

    “From our last checking, some are in Sharks, two are in Dolphins, they were not imposed, and even outside Rivers state, one is in Kwara and another is in Enyimba. Therefore, it should be a continual thing. It will be repeated again this year,” he said.

    Igwe went further to note that the Diobu and D-line axis in Port Harcourt will be hosting the next phase of the Port Harcourt street football tourney. He therefore encouraged the committee members to ensure effective management of the facilities entrusted to them.

    Responding, the Chairman of the committee, Sovens Okari thanked the state government for the heavy investment in sports noting that the “edifice at Omagwa (Chief Adokiye Amiesimaka Sports Complex) is one of its kind in Africa”.

    He also appealed for the development of more sports facilities within the old Port Harcourt township due to the acruing benefits. To this appeal, Igwe noted that plans for it are underway.

    Other members of the committee include: Edwin Amadi as secretary, Eldred Abbey, Chike Ohaka, Fubara Fibika, Johnson Abbey, Tony Wonodi, Mark Yelanfra, Christian Odogu and Ngei Chu as members.

  • Wike’s group tackles labour leaders over visit to Amaechi

    Wike’s group tackles labour leaders over visit to Amaechi

    The Grassroots Democratic Initiative (GDI), a group backed by the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, has condemned the labour leaders in Rivers State, for visiting Governor Rotimi Amaechi and allegedly taking sides in the deepening crisis.

    GDI alleged that the labour leaders: Chief Chris Oruge, Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Rivers chapter; his counterpart of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Chika Onuegbu and the Chairman of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC), Rivers chapter, Chukwu Emecheta, were acting Amaechi’s script.

    The President-General of the GDI, Bright Amaehule; its Secretary-General, Samuel Nwanosike; and the Chairman of the GDI in Obio/Akpor LGA of Rivers state, Collins Onunwon; yesterday at a news conference in Port Harcourt, accused the trio of playing to the gallery.

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Rivers chapter, through its Publicity Secretary, Jerry Needam, also yesterday distanced the main opposition party from last week’s solidarity visit and pledge of support by opposition parties in Rivers state to Amaechi.

    GDI said: “Oruge, Onuegbu and Emecheta, who claim to be the mouthpiece of the NLC, TUC and JPSNC members in Rivers state, are all relatives of Andrew Uchendu (a member of the House of Representatives from Rivers state), who is a known supporter of Amaechi.

    “It is not surprising that the relatives of Uchendu are acting the script of their master, Rt. Hon. Amaechi and some members of the Rivers House of Assembly.

    “It is indeed shameful and an apparent show of hypocrisy and incompetence on the part of the trio, that in October, November and December 2012, when the monthly allocations of Obio/Akpor LG council were seized by Governor Amaechi, without due process and in clear breach of the law, the self-styled labour leaders did not make any comment.

    “The sole and flimsy reason for the seizure of the allocations was that the Obio/Akpor LG council did not participate in the monthly environmental sanitation exercise of September 2012. The labour leaders kept quiet, when the affected workers were NLC members and worst hit financially.

    “It is clear from the acts and actions of the self-styled leaders of the NLC, TUC and JPSNC in Rivers state that they are engaging in partisan politics, which the civil service rules abhor.

    “The members of GDI are calling on the members of the Rivers House of Assembly to immediately rescind the suspension of the Chairman of Obio/Akpor LG, Prince Timothy Nsirim; his deputy, Solomon Eke; and the 17 councillors, to make for law, peace, tranquility and development of the area.

    The Wike-backed group called on the police in Rivers state, not to be deterred or distracted by the cheap blackmail of the Speaker of Rivers House of Assembly, Otelemaba Dan Amachree, but to continue to do their constitutional duties, especially of protection of lives and property.

    The ACN said: The members of the CNPP have jettisoned their role and appear to have given in for a pot of porridge. Participants in the visit are members of parties already deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    “ACN believes that rather than act in a manner that showcases them as a frustrated lot by these already-deregistered political parties, leaders of the group would have demonstrated a better posture by calling on the Rivers state government to put its house in order, to forestall the rascality of the officials.

    “It is important that we state in clear terms that the ACN, as a responsible and focused party, was not part of the delegation to the Rivers State Government House, to declare support for Governor Rotimi Amaechi, in PDP’s internal crisis in the state.

    “We state clearly that we (the ACN) will not and never associate ourselves with any of such moves that negate the essence of our corporate existence in the democratic dispensation in the state.”

     

  • Amaechi, Shema: Who is next NGF chair?

    Amaechi, Shema: Who is next NGF chair?

    Tension is rising in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) as the body prepares for its chairmanship election. AUGUSTINE EHIKOYA writes on the contenders, the outside forces shaping the contest and the future of the association.

     

    The 36 governors may converge on Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), this month to elect the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF). Obviously, there is a crack on the wall. Unlike what it used to be, this time, the forum is not united. There are crises and tension. The chairmanship election of the forum, the intrigues, power-play and last minute calculation by the two contenders and their camps have reached the peak.

    The race between the incumbent NGF Chairman and Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi and Katsina State Governor Ibrahim Shema has not only divided the forum, but it is also heating up the polity.

    Since its inception in 1999, what is playing out now is viewed by many as the intrigue of the highest order. Expectedly, the contest has generated a bad blood among the governors.

    Lamenting the present rowdy and dangerous scenario, a serving governor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “What is happening now is really worrisome. This is the first time the Nigeria Governors’ Forum is experiencing this type of crisis.

    “Change of leadership has always been done in a matured and smooth manner. Since 1999, the baton has changed smoothly from the first NGF Chairman, former Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Adamu to former Akwa Ibom State Governor Victor Attah to former Edo State Governor Lucky Igbinedion to former Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki and to Rotimi Amaechi, the incumbent.” he recalled.

    Amaechi, who was declared winner of the Rivers State governorship election in 2007, was re-elected governor in April 2011, and now wants a second tenure to lead the 36 state governors.

    But his party, the People Democratic Party (PDP) and the power-that-be, seem not to be favourably disposed towards his ambition, and particularly, the plan of the opposition governors in the Forum. The governors in the opposition parties, partiuclarly those of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), are allegedly supporting Amaechi because he is believed to have operated an open-door policy in his first tenure, where he allowed the interests and decisions of the majority of governors to prevail on any particular issue.

    Amaechi has the support of the majority of the governors. He is loved by the opposition governor and they are mobilising their PDP colleagues to back him. Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, who belongs to the ACN had declared that: “Forget the noise you are hearing out there. When election for Governors’ Forum Chairman comes, you will see.”

    While Katsina State Governor Ibrahim Shema is aspiring to unseat Amaechi and occupy the NGF Governorship seat this what he has going for him is the blessing and support of the PDP leadership.

    Though Shema is believed to have what it takes to lead the forum, some Northern leaders believed that, should Shema win the NGF chairmanship it would be a gambit to prevent the North from getting the ticket to run for the 2015 presidential election under the PDP platform.

    The PDP leadership is believed by stakeholders to be willing and ready to mobilize the PDP machine toward the success of Shema.

    The creation of the PDP Governors Forum, chaired by Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, is seen as a plot by the PDP leadership to break the ranks of the governors in order to ensure smooth ride by Shema.

    It is also believed that the recent troubles coming the way of Amaechi were pre-arranged and meant to destabilise and prevent him from retaining the NGF chairmanship.

    Kicking against the politics of imposition, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) had called on the PDP and the power-that-be to allow the governors a free hand to elect the person they desire to lead them.

    The body also believes that the PDP leadership was behind crisis in the Forum. Spokesman for the Northern Elders Forum Prof Ango Abdullahi said: “The problem we now have is that the President wants to exercise excessive control over the governors and all other party members and organs.

    “He wants to take everything and that is what is responsible for the conflict between the President and the governors, individually or as a group. As far as we are concerned, this conflict needs not be there.

    “What is wrong with the governors getting together under a forum to discuss common problems and issues that can help them to serve their people and Nigerians better? What is wrong with that?”

    But the elder statesman and former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark said that the governors were constituting and acting as an opposition party to the Federal Government, with some of their activities driving the country to chaos.

    He accused the PDP governors in the NGF of exerting over-bearing influence on the party and damaging the party’s supremacy.

    In the next 48 hours, it is hoped that democracy will, at the end of the day, be allowed to dictate the proceedings at NGF chairmanship election. This is the only way that the true will of the governors can be expressed.

  • ‘Why Presidency, Wike are persecuting Amaechi’

    ‘Why Presidency, Wike are persecuting Amaechi’

    A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Prince Chima Nnokam, in this interview with Bisi Olaniyi in Port Harcourt, speaks on the current political crisis in the state

     

     

    What is the cause of the deepening PDP crisis in Rivers State?

    I have worked with the two main dramatis personae in the crisis- Barrister Nyesom Wike and Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and I can say categorically that the root cause of the problem is greed on the part of the persons fighting the governor. These people are those who have benefitted tremendously from the governor. They are his products.

    To which of the camps do you belong?

    Obviously, there are two camps. But I belong to the camp being victimised for standing up in defence of injustice from power mongers, which is that of Governor Amaechi.

    What do you make of the joining of forces by a former governorship candidate in Rivers, Chief Sergeant Awuse, and an-ex Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Austin Opara, with Chief Nyesom Wike in fighting Governor Amaechi?

    These are highly respected elder statesmen, who have brought themselves low by their actions. Should we now refer to them (Awuse and Opara) as Wike’s boys? To say that I am very disappointed in this show of shame is to put it mildly, but I am certain that they will soon realise and distance themselves from this charade.Governor Amaechi is not new to betrayal of this sort from his brothers and sisters.

    You said you have worked with Wike, what kind of man is he?

    I worked closely with him at the Government House, Port Harcourt, when he was the Chief of Staff. He is regarded as a desperate, covetous and smart political gladiator, who will go to any length to achieve his selfish desire. Wike is somebody who has denied the Ikwerre people a lot of things despite the fact that the governor gave him a free hand as the Chief of Staff.The irony of the issue is that most of the people now rallying round Wike were the same persons Wike decimated and disconnected from Governor Amaechi’s government in his first tenure. When Wike was the Chief of Staff, no Obio/Akpor person could get close to the gate of the Government House, Port Harcourt, without his consent. Those who did, did so secretly.

    How will you react to the problem between President Jonathan and Governor Amaechi?

    Governor Amaechi has denied having any quarrel with President Jonathan. What offence did Governor Amaechi commit as the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) when he presented the governors’ views and decisions to the President, especially on the issues the governors had unanimously agreed on?

    On the issue between Governor Amaechi and Dame Patience Jonathan in Okrika, did the governor commit any crime, when he merely pointed out actions that affected his good plan for the people? On the oil well issue, do we expect Governor Amaechi to just keep quiet, while injustice is being meted out to Rivers people? Governor Amaechi was right in concluding that President Jonathan backed the payment. I also do not see any wrong doing in calling the attention of the Federal Government to the problems occasioned by the delay in the completion of the East-West Road.

    Where will these problems lead us?

    I see the present problem as a way God wants to expose those who do not mean well for the state. God will put them rightly where they belong. As a lawyer, I expect Wike to ponder on the implication of his action on his people. It is also rumoured that he is using the platform to advance his governorship ambition, believing that it is the turn of Ikwerre South since Governor Amaechi is from Ikwerre North.

    It is being insinuated that Governor Amaechi has not done much for his people, the Ikwerre. What is your reaction?

    Why will anybody say such a thing? It is good to use this medium to set the record straight. Governor Amaechi in this state lobbied for an Ikwerre man to become the Commissioner for Education during the Chief Rufus Ada-George’s era. Governor Amaechi also lobbied and produced the first Ikwerre man to be appointed an ambassador. He also nominated and secured a space for an Ikwerre man to be appointed as a Resident Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Amaechi nominated and supported the first Ikwerre man to be appointed Vice-Chancellor of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt, Rivers State. It is also on record that the incumbent governor of Rivers State lobbied and positioned the first Ikwerre man as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.It is undisputable that Governor Amaechi is being vilified by persons who had greatly benefited from him. He appointed an Ikwerre man as the Chief of Staff, Government House (Wike), with enormous power, unprecedented in the history of Nigeria. It is common knowledge that he nominated an Ikwerre man, who was made a minister of the Federal Republic, who eventually became the Minister of State for Education (Wike). It is also not in doubt that Governor Amaechi was instrumental to the appointment of an Ikwerre man as the President of the Customary Court of Appeal. All the persons you see around Wike now are all contractors carrying out various projects in the Federal Ministry of Education. That is their only reason for supporting this act of treachery and shameful betrayal of trust. Rivers people are aware that this whole thing is not about the good of the average Rivers man, because none of them has accused Governor Amaechi of poor performance or financial recklessness.

    How will you describe police’s sealing off of the secretariat of Obio/Akpor LG?

    The Speaker and members of the Rivers House of Assembly would have saved the state the present problem and crisis if they had not acted in a hurry to suspend Obio/Akpor Chairman, Prince Timothy Nsirim; his deputy, Solomon Eke and all the 17 councillors. All the lawmakers failed to do was to exercise patience for another 24 hours, within which the said petition would have been presented to the House in plenary and the Speaker, given his powers, would have referred the petition to a joint committee comprising the Public Complaints and Petition Committee and the Local Government Administration Committee. Given that the pro-Amaechi lawmakers in the Assembly are in the majority, delaying the process would have yielded the same result and there would not have been the need for all the happenings. I also condemn the invasion of Obio/Akpor LG secretariat by policemen. It as an affront on the Nigerian Constitution.

     

  • Rivers PDP crisis: Speaker’s, CoS’s security detail withdrawn

    Rivers PDP crisis: Speaker’s, CoS’s security detail withdrawn

    The Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Otelemaba Dan-Amachree, has alleged that the Commissioner of Police, Mr Mbu Joseph Mbu, has “unceremoniously” withdrawn his police orderly and escort.

     The withdrawal came barely 48 hours after Dan-Amachree raised the alarm that Mbu was planning to withdraw his security detail.

     In a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday, the speaker recalled that sequel to his letter informing President Goodluck Jonathan about plans by some persons to unleash mayhem in the state, Mbu withdrew the security detail.

    Dan-Amachree also recalled that in his letter to the President, he expressed fears “about plans to withdraw security operatives from the Governor and top officials of the Rivers State Government, including me, making us vulnerable to attack by hoodlums”.

    He said his fears had been worsened by the murder of Mr Eric Ezenekwe, an aide to Chief Godspower Ake, the former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), at his Erema, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area home town.The speaker reiterated his earlier call that Mbu be redeployed from the state.

     Similarly, the security details of the Chief of Staff (COS) to the Governor, Chief Tony Okocha, were yesterday withdrawn – on the allegation that they harassed officials of the Port Harcourt Club where the Chief Felix Obuah –led PDP state executive was to hold a thanksgiving service on Saturday.

     According to a Government House source, the security detail to the CoS were withdrawn despite his repeated denial that they were not involved in any fracas with any official of the Port Harcourt Club.

    Police spokesman Angela Agabe said she was yet to confirm the withdrawal of the security detail attached to the Speaker and the COS.

  • Speaker alleges plot to kill Amaechi, others

    Speaker alleges plot to kill Amaechi, others

    The Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crisis hit a frightening bend yesterday, with House of Assembly Speaker Otelemaba Dan Amachree alleging a plot to assassinate Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and other officials.

    He did not name those behind the plot.

    In an open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, the Speaker said there was a plan to withdraw security personnel attached to the governor, the House, ministries and local government councils.

    This, he said, is besides indications that the governor, legislators and prominent government officials have been marked for elimination.

    The Speaker said the plot was hatched at “nocturnal meetings held in a neighboring state and Abuja”.

    Amachree called for the redeployment of the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Police Command, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu.

    He urged President Jonathan “to intervene in the ongoing imbroglio that is about destroying the very fabrics that hold the society (our state) together”.

    The Speaker said all has not been well since April 15 when an Abuja High Court upturned the election of the state Executive Committee of the PDP, led by Chief G. U. Ake.

    He alleged that “a test run” of the plot to expose the officers to the assassin’s bullet “has been executed, with the withdrawal of police from the Okirika Local Government Council.”

    According to him, the situation is exacerbated by an alleged plan to release 18 notable robbery and kidnap kingpins from detention.

    The detainees, he said, would be freed “to carry out this planned mayhem on the government officials, innocent citizens and residents of the state”.

    Amachree wrote: “Mr. President Sir, we had on 30 April, 2013 alerted the people of the wanton cunning collapse of security apparatus in the state, intended to orchestrate breakdown of law and order, with the aim of bolstering a State of Emergency, by a group of persons …

    “On 3 May, 2013, first stage of their plan had commenced with the sealing off and besieging of the Obio/Akpor Local Government council secretariat and the clampdown on the offices of the council by the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu through the instrumentality of the Divisional Police Officer, Rumuokoro Police Station, without any valid instrument of law and without any security breach or semblance of same.

    “On 6 May, 2013, the Rivers State House of Assembly complex, which is directly adjacent to the Police Headquarters on Moscow Road, witnessed a violent and disruptive takeover by 300 hoodlums under the watchful eyes of the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu.

    “Your Excellency Sir, we fear for the survival of our democratic structures and the freedom to carry out our legitimate legislative duties have been greatly hindered and interrupted.

    “We make bold to say that we now live in uncertain times; security of lives and properties can no longer be guaranteed in Rivers State as a result of these chronicled events in a state that has just regained its peaceful status from the recent past from being the hotbed of cultism and kidnapping.

    “Silence over this planned and calculated destabilisation of security apparatus in Rivers State is an ‘evil wind’ that will blow no one no good and is capable of contributing to fostering anarchy on the Nigeria Stateline, especially when those charged with upholding the law, ignore and conspire to undermine it, unmindful of the implications.

    “Consequently sir, we are left with no other option but to restate our avowed resolve to call for the redeployment of the Commissioner of Police Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu.

    “We equally call on Mr. President to intervene in the ongoing imbroglio that is about destroying the very fabrics that hold the society (our state) together.”

  • I believe in prayers, says Governor Amaechi

    I believe in prayers, says Governor Amaechi

    Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi yesterday affirmed his belief in the efficacy of prayers.

    He said prayers saw him through difficult times in the past.

    Amaechi spoke at the weekend when the Catholic Bishop of Port Harcourt Diocese, Rt. Rev. Camillus Etokudoh led over 100 priests at a prayer session at the Government House in Port Harcourt.

    Amaechi said: “I believe in the Power of Prayers. If you look at my political history, you cannot divorce God and prayers from my political history, if you remember how I became speaker, it was through prayers. Before I became speaker, I was already married to my wife (Dame Judith Amaechi) and she knew how we prayed and fasted together to be speaker. You know the story of the governorship race. What I ask God is that, why should I go through crisis like this all the time, why are people not honest in life?”, Amaechi said.

    Amaechi also vowed that his administration will hinge on his vision of sustaining integrity, transparency, accountability and good governance to deliver dividends of democracy to Rivers people.

    “When I’m asked a question, people expect me to tell a lie or bend it a bit, and suddenly it comes out straight. And when it comes out straight, people don’t like it. And my Catholic Priest told me that it is only me that will account for my soul before God, not even my wife will help me to account for my soul. So if because of you, I bend it a bit, how will I answer to my God?”

    He commended the Catholic Diocese of Port Harcourt for their solidarity and promised to deliver on his promise to God and man and described the activities of his political opponents as a calculated distraction against his government, urging members of the state Executive council to remain focused in service delivery to the people of the state.

    “The Solidarity you have shown to me and my wife today, we can only take it to God. We thank God for your presence here. One promise I will make to you is that I will continue to deliver on my promise to God and man, that they can’t take away from us. They are just trying to distract us. You know, usually governors begin well and sometimes end badly. If you allow them to distract us, we will end badly. So don’t you ever listen to any body, they can’t do anything, know that God is behind us”, Amaechi stated.

    Worried by the recent power problems in the state, Governor Amaechi said, steady power supply to Rivers people is one of the main target his administration hopes to achieve before leaving office in 2015.

    “the reason why we have total disconnection of power is that the transmission line which brings power belong to the PHCN is bad, so, the directive I gave to the commissioner of power is that, we will look for money and do our state grid, so that, we don’t hear any longer that the transmission line is bad. PHCN is trying to fix the transmission line, and once they fix it, power will improve. But while they are doing that, we have decided that between now, July and August, we will do our own state transmission line, at least around Port Harcourt, so that we can transmit our own power directly from our own transmission line”, Amaechi explained.

    On Education, Governor Amaechi pointed out that, he had directed the commissioner for Education, Dame Alice Nemi to acquire land in Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor metropolis to commence the building of 40 new model primary schools.

    On roads, Amaechi said, his administration will soon complete the Odili road extension to link the East-West road and will temporarily be open to the people of Woji, Elelenwo, Akpajo, and those coming from the Ogoni axis between July and December this year.

    “I think, we have done well in the area of roads. When his lordship talks about being proud of us as Catholics, I assure you that, when we leave office, you will be proud of us”, Amaechi said.

  • Our investment yielding benefits —Amaechi

    Our investment yielding benefits —Amaechi

    Rivers State Governor and Chairman of Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has acknowledged that his administration’s investment in sports is yielding dividends.

    Governor Amaechi disclosed this shortly after receiving the second-place Trophy for the 18th National Sports Festival, ‘Eko 2012’, from the Deputy Governor and Chairman of the Team Rivers Participation Committee, Engr. Tele Ikuru, at Government House, Port Harcourt at the weekend. In the Sports Festival hosted by Lagos State last year, Delta State emerged as overall winner followed by Rivers State. Earlier in 2011, Rivers State which hosted the sports festival – Garden City Games 2011 – also became the overall winner.

    Amaechi congratulated the Team Rivers’ Participation Committee members for making it possible for Team Rivers to get second place, but urged them to work harder for first place in next year’s National Sports Festival billed for Calabar, Cross Rivers State.

    “Let me start by congratulating all of you for winning this trophy. The prize money may not be attractive but at least the honour and privilege of being recognised in the country as the second best after Delta. I honestly thought we would be the first and you know Delta State Governor is my friend, so I had told him ‘you will see that we will retain the trophy and he said it is not possible’, and at the end of the day, he was right, I was wrong but you did well. We were not the last, we were the second. We did well. The victory in Port Harcourt (Rivers State as overall winner in Garden City Games 2011) was not a fluke and we want to thank all of you for being able to show that our investment in sports is yielding benefits”, he said.

  • The fire-eating quartet of Jonathan, Amaechi, Kuku and Asari-Dokubo

    The suspicion in many quarters is that President Goodluck Jonathan actually thinks he has done substantially well enough to justify his party presenting him for re-election in 2015. Kingsley Kuku, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, and Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), a militant group physically but not psychologically repentant, think so too, and have reiterated that fact in very unpleasant and annoying language. While the president has kept prudently but disingenuously silent on his records and 2015 ambition, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State has spoken imprudently loud about his well-known enemies, their Abuja backers, and the subterfuge perpetrated by the presidency in the riverine state.

    Reacting to the massive disapproval that greeted his statements warning of economic sabotage and war if Dr Jonathan was not re-elected, but enjoying every bit of the publicity and attendant notoriety, Asari-Dokubo has goaded the public with yet more boastful and provocative comments. He could not be arrested, he threatened conceitedly, because the last time he was arrested and detained, oil production was cut down by a significant margin. This time, he thundered, his arrest would bring oil production to zero. Such buffoonery! There is no doubt that there are lots of troublemakers in the country, many of them lacking in restraint and sense of proportion, but the many silly remarks Asari-Dokubo made showed him to be a halfwit who should be noted but ignored.

    Hon. Kuku, who also heads the well-funded Presidential Amnesty Programme, was even more loquacious, insulting and conniving. “It is true that the Presidential Amnesty Programme has engendered peace, safety and security in the sensitive and strategic Niger Delta,” he began incongruously. “It is only a Jonathan presidency that can guarantee continued peace and energy security in the Niger Delta,” he concluded. He also managed to attempt to blackmail the United States warning them that if they fail to support Jonathan’s re-election it could threaten national stability and oil and gas exports. Unlike Nigeria, which is being blackmailed into precipitous appeasement of all sorts of malcontents, the US never likes to be arm-twisted. By now, after hearing all the careless talk by close aides and advisers of the president, foreign powers will have taken the measure of Nigerian rulers’ minds. They will not be surprised that Nigeria is embroiled in crisis.

    But much worse is the proxy war between the president himself and the governor of Rivers State. It is a turf war in which two leading politicians are fighting for supremacy. But the war is unsettling the state, promoting animosity, undermining the constitution, and worsening the tension that has enveloped the country from North to South. While the president’s men are fighting for control of the state in order not to lose it in 2015, Amaechi’s men tamely clutch only to the law and the constitution in a desperate struggle to stay afloat. It is not certain how the struggle will be resolved; whether the constitution will be sustained, or whether federal might will destabilise or even overwhelm the state.

    Whatever the situation in Rivers, and however the looming apocalypse in the Northeast, and now North-Central, plays out, the country should prepare for tough times ahead. The president can lower the temperature if he wants to. But there is no proof he knows how to or why he should, or more critically, the consequences of aggravating the turmoil in the country.

  • Rivers youth group pledges support for Amaechi, passes vote of confidence in governor

    Rivers youth group pledges support for Amaechi, passes vote of confidence in governor

    A group known as Rivers Youth Movement (RYM) has pledged support for the Governor of Rivers State, and Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

    The RYM, an association of youths in Rivers State numbering over two million, also passed a vote of confidence in the Rivers State governor for his landmark achievements in the state.

    President-General of the Rivers Youth Movement, Engr. Richard Alete, at a press conference in Port Harcourt on Friday, said the RYM would continue to support good leadership as demonstrated by Governor Amaechi.

    He said: “The Rivers Youth Movement (RYM) worldwide, with a membership strength of over two million Rivers youths, including those in Nigeria and the Diaspora, wish to pledge our unalloyed support to the dynamic, focused and award-winning executive governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (CON).

    “The indefatigable Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), cannot be undermined despite the current political impasse in the state. The Rivers Youth Movement wants to use this opportunity and privilege to salute the governor for his developmental strides in this state, that we are inspired by the people-oriented projects and programmes of the present political dispensation in the state led by Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and therefore express our unflinching support, loyalty and commitment to this administration with benevolent ideologies.

    “We also want to use this opportunity to pass a vote of confidence on the Governor of Rivers State; vote of confidence because he has tried. He has done so much for Rivers people.

    “On that note, on behalf of Rivers Youth Movement worldwide, we stand today to pass a vote of confidence on the Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

    “We want to say that Rivers Youth Movement will continue to support good leadership. We will stand for peace, development and good governance.

    “We want to say that Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has also touched the life of the ordinary man on the street.”

    He noted that the Amaechi-led administration has distinguished itself in massive construction of world-class model primary and secondary schools, model primary healthcare centres, roads, agricultural advancement and human capacity development among other projects.

    The RYM President-General appealed to the political class in the state to pursue political understanding and not cause disaffection in the state. He urged stakeholders to work with the Amaechi administration to entrench development in the state.

    Alete urged the youth to remain peace-loving and avoid criminality, assuring that the RYM would ensure peace and good governance in the state.