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Tag: Chief Felix Obuah

  • ‘There must be stiffer sanctions against hit-and-run drivers’

    ‘There must be stiffer sanctions against hit-and-run drivers’

    The Sole Administrator of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA), Chief Felix Obuah, has stated that there must be stiffer sanctions against hit-and-run drivers.

    He described the death of Mary Udong James, a road sweeper, who was killed in the early hours of last Saturday by a hit-and-run driver, while performing her duties opposite the Rivers State government-owned Pleasure Park on Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway in the state capital, as quite tragic and very unfortunate.

    Obuah, who doubles as Rivers Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), stated these yesterday when officials of the agency paid a condolence visit to the members of the family of the victim at their residence in Rukpakolusi, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers, regretting that the woman lost her life less than four months after the death of her husband.

    RIWAMA’s sole administrator, who was represented by the agency’s Director of Administration, Mr. Ian Abraham Gobo, told members of the victim’s family that even though the late road cleaner had passed on, her services to RIWAMA were very well appreciated.

    In the delegation with Gobo on the visit to the family of the late James, who lived in a shanty with five children, included the Personal Assistant to the Sole Administrator, Mr. Ike Anslem Chukwu.

    Obuah described as heinous, the act of killing a human being and running away, while calling for amendment of the laws to give stiffer punishment against offenders, even as he prayed that God would continually protect and provide for the children the deceased left behind.

    He wondered why incidents of hit-and-run driving would still occur in Port Harcourt, when Governor Nyesom Wike had graciously provided street lights in all major streets in the city, noting that the development accounted for the reduction in incident of accidents against road sweepers at wee hours.

    The RIWAMA chief admonished drivers to always be cautious, particularly in the early hours of the day, urging them to look out for road sweepers, who usually put on reflective vests, while on duty.

    He also pleaded with the members of the public to continually assist the police in their investigations by obliging information that could lead to the arrest of the runaway driver.

    Obuah added that even though the killing happened around 5 a.m., it was possible that someone might have witnessed the tragic incident.

  • PDP chief sad over absence of tangible FG’s projects in Rivers

    PDP chief sad over absence of tangible FG’s projects in Rivers

    The Rivers State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Felix Obuah, has expressed sadness over the absence of tangible Federal Government projects in the state.

    He alleged that two years into the administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led, Muhammadu Buhari’s government, the Niger Delta state had not benefitted from capital-intensive and people-oriented projects of the Federal Government.

    Obuah, on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, said the ruling party in the state frowned on the alleged obvious indifference towards Rivers.

    The PDP chairman cited the Port Harcourt International Airport, which he claimed had remained abandoned by the Federal Government.

    He alleged that the APC-led Federal Government had failed to complement the efforts of Governor Nyesom Wike in the execution of capital projects,  which he said would have improved the wellbeing of the people of the state.

    Obuah claimed that the APC-led Federal Government deliberately abandoned the Rivers and also accused the Buhari’s administration of treating the state badly, despite all the support Wike was giving to the Federal Government.

    He mentioned the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, as projects completed in record time, whereas the Port Harcourt International Airport remained allegedly abandoned.

    Rivers PDP chairman also urged the APC-led Federal Government to have a rethink, by giving deserved attention to the state, described as the treasure base of the nation.

  • APC, PDP disagree on Wike’s defection plan

    APC, PDP disagree on Wike’s defection plan

    The leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State have disagreed on the move by the state governor-elect, Chief Nyesom Wike, to join the APC.

    The Rivers State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Chris Finebone, on Thursday in Port Harcourt, disclosed that there was a subterranean move by Wike to jump defect to the party.

    The Rivers Chairman of the PDP, Chief Felix Obuah, however, dismissed the APC’s claim, describing it as malicious, baseless and a mere wishful thinking of propagators of such falsehood.

    Wike, a former Minister of State for Education, was declared winner of the April 11 governorship election in the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), while the governorship candidate of the APC, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, has concluded arrangements to file a petition at the state’s election petitions tribunal in Abuja.

    Finebone said Wike’s move to defect to the APC was aimed at obtaining the cover of the ruling party in the state and avoid a judicial dethronement.

    He said: “Wike’s latest move comes as no surprise to those who know his antecedents. Having back-stabbed his mentors like former Senator John Mbata in the past and more recently Governor Chibuike Amaechi, he would only be living true to the unreliable ally that he has grown to be.

    “Wike’s history is replete with sabotage and dual personality, often unstable among peers. So, we are not surprised at his latest move to dump the PDP and join the APC. Such a move portrays him as unstable in relationship, having at several instances, bitten the finger that fed him. He thinks that by hiding under the canopy of APC membership, elders of the APC will prevail on Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, the governorship candidate of the party at the April 11 election, to abandon his quest for justice.”

    Obuah, however, claimed that it was most unthinkable that the governor-elect who is also the PDP leader in Rivers State, was considering dumping the party for the APC, saying doing so was like preferring hell, which the APC allegedly represents, to paradise.

    He said: “Rivers State is a PDP state, as demonstrated in the just-concluded general election and cannot be betrayed by the leader and holder of its mandate, who has given all he has to ensure the party is not killed by self-seeking individuals, the bulk of whom make up the membership of the APC in the state.

    “Rather than do that, the governor-elect, Chief Wike, will do all within his powers to deliver on his electioneering promises to the people to ensure they are not disappointed and to strengthen their support and belief in the PDP.”

     

  • Amaechi, PDP chair disagree

    Amaechi, PDP chair disagree

    Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and the Rivers Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Felix Obuah, have disagreed on the cause of the death of the mother of Dame Patience Jonathan, Madam Charity Fyneface Oba.

    Amaechi, who is also the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), equally disagreed with Obuah on the alleged directive to Rivers commissioners and council chairmen to register with the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Rivers PDP alleged that it had uncovered a plot by the Rivers government to disparage and castigate President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, ahead of Friday’s funeral of Madam Oba.

    Amaechi, however, described the allegations as a clear fabrication and a figment of imagination of Obuah.

  • Injured Rivers lawmaker to be flown abroad for treatment

    Injured Rivers lawmaker to be flown abroad for treatment

    The Rivers State factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Felix Obuah, has said that arrangements have been concluded to fly abroad, for better treatment, the injured anti-Amaechi lawmaker, Michael Okechukwu Chinda, who represents Obio/Akpor II constituency.

    Speaking in Port Harcourt yesterday, he also called for thorough investigation, arrest and prosecution of the lawmakers and others involved in attempted murder in the Rivers State House of Assembly on July 9.

    The Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, Chief Tony Okocha, however, declared yesterday that the “intimidation and madness” in Rivers State must stop forthwith.

    The five anti-Amaechi lawmakers: Chinda, Kelechi Godspower Nwogu (Omuma), Evans Bapakaye Bipi (Ogu/Bolo), Martins Amaewhule (Obio/Akpor I) and Victor Ihunwo (Port Harcourt III), are loyal to the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike.

    The pro-Wike legislators on July 9 attempted to impeach the Speaker, Otelemaba Dan Amachree, to pave the way for the eventual removal of Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), but was resisted.

    The resistance led to exchange of blows by the lawmakers and their supporters in the main chambers of the House of Assembly, with injuries sustained by Amachree; the leader of the House, Chidi Lloyd, a lawyer, who represents Emohua constituency; and Chinda, leading to the breaking of the mace.

    The “rebel” lawmakers hurriedly made Bipi the “new speaker,” and as he was making his acceptance speech, Amaechi stormed the Assembly with Amachree, other loyal lawmakers and their aides, resulting in free-for-all, with the speaker (Amachree) eventually presiding and adjourning sitting indefinitely.

    On July 10, the Assembly was sealed off by the police, when the five anti-Amaechi lawmakers, in a 32-member House, attempted to sit, with the main gate of the expansive premises taken over from 6 am by the governor’s supporters, who were later confronted by Wike’s loyalists, led by Bipi.

    Soldiers and policemen had to use teargas to disperse the protesting youths, with some of the teargas canisters landing in the Government House, Port Harcourt, which angered Amaechi, who declared that the state was under siege.

    Soldiers and the two Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) in Government House, Port Harcourt were eventually withdrawn by the Commanding Officer of the Elele Barracks in Rivers State without official communication, and was widely condemned.

    The House of Representatives had to take over the functions of the Rivers Assembly and called for the redeployment of the state’s Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, whom they accused of taking sides.

    Okocha said: “Nigerians need to stand up against this madness of impunity, harassment and intimidation in Rivers State. It is the only panacea for our democracy.”

    Obuah, however, stated that the only way to prevent a reoccurrence of the barbarism exhibited on the floor of the Rivers State House of ssembly on July 9 was to ensure that those indicted in the attempted murder were brought to book.

    He said: “We are calling for the immediate investigation of Governor Amaechi’s role in the saga, the immediate arrest and prosecution of Chidi Lloyd, Governor Amaechi’s Chief Security Officer (CSO) and his Aide-de-Camp (ADC), for carrying out the despicable act to impress their paymaster.

    “Not even in the worst democracies of the world can a lawmaker willfully premeditate and position to hack a fellow lawmaker to death, as Chidi Lloyd did to Hon. Michael Okechukwu Chinda.

    “Up till now, neither Governor Amaechi nor Chidi Lloyd and their blood-thirsty accomplices have been invited for explanation by the relevant security agencies, over the attempted murder.

    “Chidi Lloyd is yet to realise that parliamentary immunity from prosecution over speeches made on the floor of the House of Assembly, does not guarantee a deliberate attempt to kill or cause bodily harm on his colleagues or any other person, within the Assembly complex.

    “Hon. Chinda is lying critically ill in a private hospital in Port Harcourt; where series of surgery have been performed to save his life,stitch his broken head and nose, among other bodily injuries.

    “It is indeed dramatic to see Hon. Chidi Lloyd lying on a hospital bed, pretending to be ill, when indeed he used the House’s mace to hit Hon. Chinda, who doctors are battling to save his life.

    “It is Rivers PDP’s position that the attempted murder, deplorable and barbaric acts of Chidi Lloyd and Governor Amaechi’s personal aides be thoroughly investigated and appropriate sanctions given, if the very basic essence of legislative business in a democracy is not to be undermined.

    “The PDP and Rivers people will no longer fold their arms and watch the rain of terror on the entire state by a few persons, whose inordinate ambition to hold on to power has frenzied them to go berserk.”

    The factional chairman also urged Rivers people, especially PDP members, to remain calm and go about their normal activities without fear.

    He condemned the resolution of the House of Representatives to take over the functions of the Rivers House of Assembly, while describing the call for the redeployment of the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, as uncalled for.

  • Rivers PDP crisis: Obuah’s people deny him

    Kinsmen of Chief Felix Obuah, the new Chairman of the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in his native Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area have said they are pitching their tent with the Godspower Ake faction.

    Ake and his executive council were sacked by a Federal High Court in Abuja which also ordered that Obuah be sworn in as chairman.

    PDP stakeholders from the local government area said yesterday that Ake was duly elected as Chairman at the March 17, 2012 Congress at the Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre, Port Harcourt.

    The PDP stakeholders comprise “all serving and former elected and appointed political office holders at the federal, state, and local government levels, all members of the Elders Forum of the party, all PDP ward executives, members of the 17 wards of the LGA, all women and youth leaders of the party in the LGA and indeed all political activists from the six geo-political zones of the LGA.”

    They expressed support for Ake, Governor Rotimi Amaechi and President Goodluck Jonathan and asked the Chief Justice of Nigeria to “expeditiously salvage the image of the nation’s judiciary which has been so brutally battered by Justice Ishaq Bello of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.”

    The court ruling has polarised the party down the line in the state with members from the various local government areas identifying with one faction or the other.