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Tag: Amaechi

  • Rivers lawmakers back Amaechi

    The Rivers State Caucus in the House of Representatives has pledged its solidarity and support for Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    Its leader, Asita O. Asita, the lawmaker representing Ahoada-West and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Federal Constituency, spoke yesterday during a visit to the Government House, Port Harcourt.

    Other members of the delegation include: Sokonte Davies (Bonny/Degema); Betty Apiafi (Abua/Ahoada-East); Andrew Uchendu (Ikwerre/Emohua);; Hon. Dakuku Peterside (Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro); Ogbonna Nwuke (Etche/Omuma); Pronem Morris (Khana/Gokana); Blessing Nsiegbe (Port Harcourt II); Ken Chikere (Port Harcourt I); Gogo Bright (Okrika/Ogu-Bolo); Dawari George (Akuku-Toru/Asari-Toru) and Barry Mpigi (Eleme/Tai/Oyigbo).

    The caucus congratulated Amaechi for his courage in giving the state its face-lift and speedy development.

    “We are here to declare our support and appreciation to you on how you have successfully managed the affairs of the state.

    “In the past five years and four months, we are satisfied with the level of implementation and vision that you have shown.

    “We are indeed thankful to God for giving you to our state at such a time as this.

    “We wish to congratulate you for the show of uncommon courage and statesmanship in the face of uncovered hostilities towards your person,” Asita said.

     

  • Amaechi congratulates new NGE president

    Rivers State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, has hailed the emergence of Mr. Femi Adesina as the new president of the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE).

    Speaking through his chief press secretary, Mr. David Iyofor, Amaechi commended Adesina on his sterling attributes and wished him a successful term at the helm of affairs of the guild.

    The governor expressed confidence that the leadership of Adesina, who is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Deputy Managing Director of the Sun Newspapers would take the guild to greater heights.

    He said, “I believe that his tenure would well represent the Nigeria Guild of Editors and cause an increase in professionalism in the field and among its members.”

    The governor also congratulated other members of the newly elected executive made up of seasoned professionals in the media industry.

     

  • Jonathan’s tactical error on Amaechi

    Jonathan’s tactical error on Amaechi

    There is hardly a better way to justify the saying that no condition is permanent. Six years ago, he gnashed his teeth in the cold after he was shut out by the powers that be in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Today, Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, is not just the beautiful bride, he holds the ace as far as the party’s survival is concerned.

    After his tenure as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, he threw his hat in the ring for the governorship primaries of the party in the state in the build-up to the 2007 general elections. He won the primaries, but with the culture of impunity that prevailed in the party while Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo held sway as President, he was shoved aside by the party’s hierarchy and his cousin, Celestine Omehia, was handed the party’s flag.

    Amaechi remained stoically calm as Omehia and other PDP stalwarts embarked on vigorous campaign for the governorship seat. But no sooner was Omehia declared the governor-elect than Amaechi headed for the courts to file a case against the PDP for wrongly substituting his candidacy with Omehia, and to ask that he be declared the elected governor of Rivers State. After a protracted legal battle, judgment was declared in Amaechi’s favour and Omehia had to vacate the seat for him.

    But he had hardly settled down in office when his first adversary emerged in the person of former Minister of Information and prominent Niger Delta leader, Chief Edwin Clarke. The two had got along well until 2008 when Clarke’s clamour for amnesty for Niger Delta militants became their point of disagreement. Amaechi, known for being principled, vehemently opposed the clamour for amnesty. He believed the only motivation behind Clarke’s push for amnesty was the fact that most of the militant youths were Ijaw like him. The smouldering feud would later extend to Clarke’s political son, President Goodluck Jonathan. But it was not fanned into a flame until sometime in October last year when the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission (RMFC) ceded some of Rivers’ oil wells to Bayelsa, Jonathan’s home state.

    The development resulted in widespread protests in more than 30 communities in Rivers State and even in Abuja where some indigenes of the state also protested. Before long, verbal assaults began to fly between Amaechi and the governor of Bayelsa State who claimed that the 11th edition of the administrative map of Nigeria had given the oil wells to Bayelsa. Insinuations that President Jonathan had used his office to influence the ceding of Rivers’ oil wells to Bayelsa left him offended and highly embarrassed. A few weeks later, there were reports of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFCC) investigating the Amaechi administration over corrupt practices. There were also reports of attempts by the Presidency to instigate the Rivers State House of Assembly against the governor.

    Jonathan’s loyalist and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe reached into his verbal armoury and launched a missile against Amaechi, accusing him of disrespecting the President. “He (Amaechi) sees himself as the governor of governors, and he begins to feel that he is even bigger than the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I want to make him know that God is still God. He must have respect for the Presidency. He must have respect for the President of this country. In America, even within the same political parties, they struggle and they fight over positions. But once a President emerges, everybody will hold his tongue and support the President to succeed so that Americans can get the best. But is that what our President is getting? It is sad, it is unfortunate that people from the South-South, even governors, particularly Governor Rotimi Amaechi, has no respect for the president of this country. I think this is the right time we should let him know,” he said.

    Determined to reduce Amaechi’s influence as the chairman of the highly influential Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Jonathan and his loyalists last week formed a parallel PDP Governors’ Forum with the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, as the chairman. With his utterances since he was named the helmsman of the new forum, Akpabio, who only last year predicted that the PDP would remain in power for 50 years, has not hidden his desperation to crush any perceived threat to Jonathan’s second term ambition and PDP’s continued hold on power. “What the PDP is trying to do now is to cleanse its house; to try to identify the ones they call Judases and say to them ‘go out, the train is moving’. We will ask them not to remain standing otherwise we will crush them,” Akpabio told members of the National Working Committee of the party, including the party’s National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur in Abuja on Tuesday.

    Yet many would see the confrontational stance of the President and his loyalists against Amaechi as a tactical blunder. Whether they know it or not, there are more loyal governors to Amaechi than there are to Jonathan at the moment. The reason is simple. Majority of the governors believe their ego was badly bruised with the Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur’s decision to dissolve the executive committee of the PDP in Adamawa State against their protestations. Now they are waiting for an opportunity to take their pound of flesh from Jonathan for failing to call Tukur to order. By implication, therefore, every move against Amaechi is a move against the governors, whose grip on their constituencies can only be underestimated at the President’s peril.

    If Amaechi was a mortar, he has become a pot since the face-off between Tukur and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. He is now far more delicate to roll. Like a mosquito that perches on the scrotum, his case requires much more diplomacy than the aggression being adopted by Jonathan and his men. Even if, like a leper, he is not endowed with enough fingers to milk a cow, he definitely has all it takes to spill the milk. Jonathan and his loyalists ought to have acted on the saying that if you cannot get a man to become your friend, you should make it impossible for him to become your enemy. But all that appear to be too late in the day as the feuding parties have crossed the Rubicon. Happily, however, the ordinary Nigerian could be the ultimate beneficiary. You know what I mean?

     

  • Governors reject Jonathan’s bid to remove Amaechi

    Governors reject Jonathan’s bid to remove Amaechi

    Forum’s election put off till May

    It was a simple gathering of governors to elect their forum’s chairman.

    But the Abuja meeting turned out to be more – a verbal war between two governors and a retreat by President Goodluck Jonathan – backed opponents of Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) chairman.

    All was tense. After four hours, the governors postponed the election till May.

    The bad blood generated by the Presidency’s move to oust Amaechi and the insistence of his supporters to ensure he continues defined the meeting.

    Faced with a defeat of its bid to remove the Rivers State helmsman, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) formed its own Governors’ Forum on Sunday night under the leadership of Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio.

    It was learnt that anti-Amaechi forces proposed the postponement for time to restrategise.

    The anti-Amaechi forces secured only 16 signatures out of the 36 governors at the start of the meeting. They needed 24 signatories for two-thirds or 19 for simple majority.

    Reading the communique at the end of the meeting, Amaechi said: “We, the governors of the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at our 3rd meeting of the year held on Monday 25th February, 2013, at the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja, deliberated on a number of issues and resolved as follows:

    “Members reviewed the affairs of the Forum in the past 21 months, detailing activities, achievements and challenges experienced during the period.

    “After exhaustive deliberation of the issues regarding filling vacant positions, the Forum resolved that election in this regard be postponed until May when the Chairman’s initial two-year tenure will expire.”

    Akpabio said: “We thought that the election should be held in May so that by that time, the new leadership will start functioning immediately after they are selected, elected or by consensus they are brought into office.”

    “This is almost a committee of equals. Anybody can be chairman or vice chairman. So, it is not a big deal for us.”

    On the newly-formed PDP Governors Forum, he said: “We are going to ensure total unification of the PDP. This time around, we want to put our house in order.”

    “While the Chairman of NGF can speak for all of us, the PDP Forum will only speak for the PDP governors.

    Anambra State Governor Peter Obi said: “The meeting went very well. The reason why we postponed the meeting is that our Constitution says the chairman must give a detailed account of his activities during his tenure before the election.”

    “And today, that account was presented. The incumbent has the right to recontest as long as our Constitution is not amended,” he said.

    The low point of the meeting was when Akpabio and Niger State Governor Aliyu Babangida engaged in a shouting match over the formation of the PDP Governors Forum.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, said the session was characterised by tension on both sides of the divide. Amaechi was presiding.

    It was gathered that the tension followed a series of caucus meetings attended by the governors preparatory to the session.

    The source said: “Both sides had perfected their strategies, but the atmosphere was war-like for the conduct of an acceptable election.

    “As a matter of fact, discussions on the desirability of the election got to a point that the newly-elected chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom and the chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, engaged in a shouting match at the session.”

    A source, who pleaded for anonymity, said: “The two governors almost engaged in fisticuffs when Aliyu stood up to make his views known on the formation of PDP Governors Forum at the Presidential Villa on Sunday night.

    “The Niger State Governor said there was no basis for forming the PDP Governors Forum. He told his colleagues that there was no problem running the NGF and if anybody has a contrary opinion, he can raise any issue for resolution at the forum. He described the PDP Governors Forum as a deliberate move by the Presidency to split the Nigeria Governors Forum and turn it into a tool to be used.

    “Aliyu repeatedly said ‘by forming another forum within a forum, it means forces from outside are at work. He said he saw that a dictator was going to emerge in President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Akpabio replied: “The PDP Forum was formed with the consent of party leaders in order to keep the party united.

    “There is nothing wrong with it. After all, you are the chairman of the Northern Governors Forum. Is there anything wrong with that? Has Northern Forum divided the NGF?

    “The President or the PDP is not using anybody.”

    “The shouting match between the two governors was so serious that some governors started packing their files, preparatory to leaving the venue of the meeting because they did not want to be part of the mess.

    “At that point, the two governors embraced each other. I think they raised their voices against each other as a carry-over of their irreconcilable positions on Jonathan’s second term ambition.

    “While Akpabio is for Jonathan’s second term, Aliyu recently reminded the President to stick to the one-term pact he signed with PDP governors. So, a minor issue at the meeting led to the shouting march.”

    The source added that the poll shift was at the instance of anti-Amaechi forces who sensed a loss at the meeting.

    The source said: “It was apparent to the forces against Amaechi that they might not secure two-thirds majority or a simple majority to remove the Rivers State Governor.

    “Prior to the commencement of the meeting, they were collecting signatories and they secured 16 out of 36, with only an opposition governor against Amaechi.

    “They also came to the meeting with a joker to make Katsina State Governor Ibrahim Shema the new Chairman of the NGF. All their permutations failed like a pack of cards. The pro-Amaechi governors also had a Plan B to make Aliyu the next NGF leader, in case of worst scenario.

    “In the midst of the commotion, Akpabio stood up to move a motion for the postponement of the election till May.

    Akpabio was quoted as saying: “Why are we in hurry to conduct this election? After all, the tenure of the chairman of the Forum will end in May.

    “The election has heated up the polity, as if we are fighting each other. Let us hold the election in May when this tension would have died down.”

    The source added: “The proposal from Akpabio was seen as an olive branch from the forces against Amaechi and it was unanimously adopted that the election be postponed till May.”

    Asked why the pro-Amaechi governors agreed to the postponement, the source said: “We knew Amaechi’s opponents forces would have staged a walk-out, if we had gone ahead with the election.

    “They did not have the number but they can create a crisis within the Forum and split it. This thing requires tact.”

    Some of the states represented at the meeting are Borno, Lagos, Rivers, Delta, Niger, Enugu, Bayelsa, Zamfara, Ebonyi, Ondo, Anambra and Abia.

    Others are: Plateau, Nasarawa, Ekiti, Benue, Sokoto, Gombe, Kano, Kogi, Adamawa, Jigawa, Imo, Edo, Kwara, Ogun, Osun and Katsina.

     

  • Governors to give special attention to polio eradication

    Governors to give special attention to polio eradication

    The Nigeria Governors Forum has affirmed its solidarity with the governors and people of Borno, Yobe and Kano States in their resolve to continue with the polio eradication programmes.

    The NGF Chairman and Governor of Rivers, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi, stated this at the end of the forum`s meeting on Thursday in Abuja.

    According to him, the forum expresses deep concern and condemns the recent killing of health workers in the three states.

    The News Agency of Nigeria says the forum had earlier resolved to institute a monthly polio campaign to be headed by state governors in a bid to promote routine immunisation and healthy environment in the 36 states.

    Accordingly, the governors resolved to meet with the Presidential Task Force on Polio Eradication to identify funding gaps and challenges against polio eradication in the country.

    Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo, who also spoke to journalists at the end of the meeting, said the issue of polio was becoming embarrassing to the nation.

    According to Okorocha, Nigerians who are travelling to Saudi Arabia in particularly are now being subjected to some kind of disinfectants.

    In a communique issued at the end of the meeting, the governors resolved to ensure that all organs of the forum would be made functional at the next meeting.

    The forum also resolved to fill some key positions in the forum and make them functional to enhance its activities.

     

  • Governors’ Forum represents the masses – Amaechi

    Governors’ Forum represents the masses – Amaechi

    Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers on Saturday said the Nigeria Governors’ Forum represents the interest of the masses.

    The governor stated this in Port Harcourt at a stakeholders meeting held as part of the National Good Governance Tour of Rivers.

    According to him, actions taken by the forum are in the interest of the Nigerian masses.

    “The governors are people-oriented. The governors defend the interest of the masses and will continue to stand by the people.

    “No matter how much they (detractors) sponsor articles in the newspapers we do not listen.

    “We can only listen if these things are coming from the people. The moment we hear the people’s voice, the governors will listen,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the governor as saying at the forum.

    Amaechi said a peer review mechanism had been set up by the forum.

    “We are going to Anambra and Ekiti very soon because they are ready and we have a committee chaired by Justice Mohammed Uwais that will first do all the necessary work before the governors will go there.

    “There are governors who do not receive as much as we receive. There are governors who do not receive enough to pay salaries,’’ he said.

    The governor said his administration had built schools and hospitals in various communities in the state.

     

     

  • Rivers 2015: Who succeeds Amaechi?

    Rivers 2015: Who succeeds Amaechi?

    Ahead of the 2015 general elections, politicians have returned to the drawing board. Can the proposed All Progressives Congress (APC) dislodge the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State? BISI OLANIYI examines the intrigues and power-play by members of the ruling and opposition parties competing for the Government House, Port-Harcourt.

     

     

    The Brick House, Port-Harcourt, is an enviable seat of government. For 13 years, it has been occupied by the governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But the four political parties that have formed the All Progressives Party (APC) are now challenging the ruling party to a duel. Will power shift to the opposition in 2015?

    Following the birth of the new party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) have swung into action. They have been sensitising their members to the significance of the merger and its implications for the 2015 general elections in the state.

    However, governorship aspirants from the four parties will now the eyeing the number one seat under one party. Thus, the leadership of the new party may have to contend with a fairly large number of governorship aspirants.

    To the ACN, the merger would end misrule and disregard for the rule of law in Nigeria. The Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Jerry Needam, noted that ahead of the 2015 general elections, said the new party has ended one-party system in Nigeria.

    The politician also believed that APC will install a credible leadership and foster prudence and accountability in governance.

    “The merger will further bring about healthy political competition in Rivers State that will produce exceptional office holders and end PDP’s style of handpicking mediocres and political jobbers as government officials.

    “The merger family in Rivers State, which constitutes 75 per cent of the population of the state, shall swallow the inconsequential number of opportunists, who have been mismanaging the state’s economy,” he said.

    However, PDP chieftains disagreed with him. Its Publicity Secretary, Mr. George Ukwuoma-Nwogba, said that the ruling party had nothing to fear, in view of the impressive performance of Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    He went down memory lane, saying that mergers, alliances, and fusion of parties are not new. Ukwuoma-Nwogba said that efforts by the opposition to unseat the PDP have failed since the begining of this political dispensation.

    “PDP in Rivers State has nothing to fear because we are fully on the ground. Governor Amaechi has done very well and has given Rivers people the cause to be with the PDP. Jerry Needam should concern himself with and dispense his energy on the outcome of the merger, to know whether he will still survive as the publicity secretary of the APC or not, ” he added.

     

    Can APC produce a

    consensus candidate?

     

    With the merger, the opposition politicians in Rivers State are restrategising ahead of 2015. Sources said that they may be compelled to present a formidable front, especially with the “civil war” in the PDP, over who succeeds Amaechi, whose term of office expires in two year’s time.

    In the spirit of the merger, it is expected that many opposition aspirants would have to work together. The main opposition aspirants in the state; Dr. Abiye Sekibo of the ACN and his APGA counterpar, Sir Celestine Omehia, were “defeated” by Amaechi during the April 26, 2011 governorship election. Before the merger, they planned to contest in 2015.

    With the latest development, either Sekibo or Omehia, who is Amaechi’s cousin, will step down. Party sources said this is necessary so that other aspirants can be mobilised to support a consensus candidate.

    Amaechi’s deft moves

     

    Amaechi ‘s deft moves may also affect political calculations. Initially, the governor was said to be warming up for the senatorial contest in his native Rivers East Senatorial District. Sources said that Senator George Sekibo, who is representing the zone, is to be compensated with a key appointment, if he concedes the slot to him.

    The calculation may have now changed as the governor is said to be interested in becoming a running mate to a Northern presidential candidate. In fact, it is being speculated that if the Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, is running for President, Amaechi may emerge his running mate. This may ultimately pitch him against his Niger Delta kinsman, President Goodluck Jonathan, who is seeking re-election in 2015. But, like many politicians would do, the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has denied the ambition.

    Already, Jonathan’s men are turning the heat on the governor. He has been accused by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, of poor performance, misuse of state funds and neglect of the infrastructure battle. But he promptly replied the minister, saying that he is a failed Niger Delta Affairs minister.

    Besides, Amaechi listed some of his achievements in roads.

     

    Can PDP retain power in Rivers?

     

    To many, PDP relies on Amaechi’s achievements to seek the renewal of the PDP’s tenancy in the State House. The party believes that he has briought honour to the state as its former House of Assembly Speaker, two-time governor and Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) chairman.

    Amaechi, observers believe, performed well during his first term, especially in education, health, agriculture and power sectors. But Rivers people now complain that he has relaxed. They said the governor has stopped his surprise routine inspection of projects. Others said that he has been distracted by the NGF assignment and national politics.

    Most of the roads rehabilitated, reconstructed or dualised in Rivers State are now bad, after about six months, especially in Port Harcourt. Contracts are executed by politicians through incompetent contractors, residents college.

    Although he has not said he plans to run for any office, the popuplar thinking is that Amaechi is concentrating on his 2015 ambition because he wants to be relevant politically in post-2015. This posture contrasts sharply with his earlier intention to return to his alma mater, the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), to take up a teaching appointment.

    Amaechi recently told his Ikwerre kinsmen to forget about the governorship in 2015, stressing that it would amount to selfishness. He explained that the position should be filled by another ethnic group, in the spirit of fairness and equity.

     

    Contenders and pretenders

     

    When the governor canvassed for power shift to another ethnic group, it was believed that he was sending a warning signal to the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, an Ikwerre from Rumuepirikom community, who is eyeing either the governorship or the senato- trial slots.

    Wike, a lawyer, was the Chief of Staff in the Rivers Government House. During the electioneering, he was the Director-General of the Amaechi Campaign Organisation in 2011, before becoming the Minister of State for Education on July 14, 2011.

    Wike was elected twice as the chairman of Obio/Akpor council. He was also the President of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) and a member of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Local Governments Forum (CLGF).

    In 2012, his wife, Eberechi Suzzette, was appointed a judge.

    Sekibo is also interested in succeeding Amaechi. But the governor is not supporting his ambition. This has led to a division in the party. Sekibo is said to be relying on his closeness to the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, who hails from Okrika, Rivers State, to get the PDP’s ticket. But the race will be tough for all aspirants.

    Another contender is the 42 year-old chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Dakuku Peterside. He is from Opobo, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area. He was Works Commissioner. Considering the upland/riverine dichotomy, which has often played a role in the emergence of the governorship candidate, he is said to be favoured by the party.

    Senator Magnus Abe, who represents Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, wants to make history as the first Ogoni man to rule the state, since it was created on May 27, 1967.

    Abe stood by Amaechi and remained loyal to him when things were tough for the former Speaker, before the Supreme Court ruled that he should be sworn in as the governor on October 25, 2007. Abe, who was a chieftain of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), was at that time the Information Commissioner in the Odili Administration. Between 1999 and 2003, he was the Minority Leader of the House of Assembly.

    Following his assumption of office, Amaechi appointed Abe as the Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), the position he held before moving to the National Assembly.

    Observers say that if Abe, who hails from Bera, Ogoni, Gokana Local Government, emerges as the next governor, it may be a set back for the agitation for the creation of the Bori State by the people of Ogoni.

    Also in the race is the 2007 governorship candidate of the Action Congress (AC), Prince Tonye Princewill, who defected to the PDP after losing the election. He is very close to Amaechi.

    Princewill is the son of the paramount ruler of Kalabari Kingdom, King Theophilus Princewill, who is the former chairman of Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers. Since the state was created, no Kalabari person has been governor of Rivers State. But the prince said that he will break the jinx.

    Amaechi’s deputy, Tele Ikuru, an engineer, who hails from Ikuru, has been quiet on his 2015 ambition, but he may not be ruled out of the governorship or senatorial race.

     

  • Cash rolls in for Eagles

    Cash rolls in for Eagles

    Super Eagles will get $30,000 each for reaching the African Nations Cup quarterfinal, while sponsors and businessman Aliko Dangote will also splash on the team.

    Nigeria defeated Ethiopia 2-0 in last group game on Tuesday to book a quarterfinal match-up against Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday, MTNFootball.com reports.

    Team secretary Dayo Enebi will hand over the qualification bonus to the players who are still basking in the euphoria of their qualification on Wednesday.

    Officials have already promised more financial windfall.

    Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi who gave the team $100,000 has also told them that Dangote has promised them a huge sum of cash if they advance to the last eight of the tournament.

    Team sponsors Guinness also promised $5,000 for each goal scored by Eagles and so the boys have so far fetched $10,000 after their 2-0 win over Ethiopia.

  • Amaechi, Dangote rally support for Eagles

    Amaechi, Dangote rally support for Eagles

    RIVER State Governor, Rt Hon Rotimi Amaechi, has said the Super Eagles will still go far at the ongoing Nations Cup championship, despite drawing its first two games.

    He made the remarks after donating the sum of $100,000 to the team in Nelspruit on Friday afternoon. Governor Amaechi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, further revealed that he has the words of President Goodluck Jonathan that the team will not lack anything to excel at the championship.

    “Let me also say that Alhaji Alike Dangote has asked me to tell the team that he will donate huge amount to the team, when it reaches the quarter final and he will be here personally to support the team and cheer you to victory”, he said. Amaechi was in the company of the Nigerian Ambassador to South Africa, Amb S.S Yusuf, Consul General Okey Emuchay (MFR), NFF President Alhaji Aminu Maigari and a chunk size of his executive committee members.

    Maigari praised the support the NFF and the Super Eagles have received from Governor Amaechi over the years, while Skipper Joseph Yobo, assured that despite initial hiccups the team will excel at the ongoing championship.

    And on Saturday, it was the turn of the Executive Mayor of Mbombela, Hon (Mrs) Catherine Dlamini, to ginger up the Super Eagles, when she paid a courtesy call on the team during lunch time. Accompanied by a Councillor, Moris Mozibane, she was received on behalf of the team by NFF Vice President, Chief Mike Umeh, executive committee members, Barr Chris Green, Chief Emeka Inyama and Chief Felix Anyansi-Agwu.

    She said she came to boost the spirit of the team ahead of their last group game against Ethiopia, adding that she expects the team to return to Nelspruit for the quarter finals. She thereafter presented the team with gift bags and she was in turn presented symbolically with a Super Eagles jersey by team skipper, Joseph Yobo.

    He assured the Mayor that the team was sure to return to Nelspruit for the quarters and thanked her for her support and the beauty of Nelspruit city.

    Chief Umeh spoke in similar vein, assuring that the team will not let Nigerians and the Mayor down in its quest for honours at AFCON 2013.