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Tag: Dr. Peter Odili

  • Rotimi Amaechi @ 54: The anointing of selfless service

    Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi’s foray into public service is charismatically enigmatic, divine and historically rooted like the Macedonian call to spread the gospel of liberation to mankind.

    His first stint at public service began at the University of Port Harcourt where he was elected to serve as the National President of the National Union of Rivers State Students (NURSS) as an undergraduate of the University of Port Harcourt.

    Upon his graduation, his charismatic attributes endeared the young but dynamic Amaechi to Dr. Peter Odili who engaged him as Secretary at Odili’s PAMO Clinic where they built a relationship of confidence and mutual trust.

    The Ubima-Ikwerre born son of a civil servant humbled himself to the political tutelage of Odili. So, when Dr. Peter Odili was eventually elected Deputy Governor of old Rivers State in 1992, like a team united in one accord, Amaechi served as his Special Assistant, a position which further exposed him to new friends and new macro political relationships.

    This relationship between him and Odili blossomed into very cordial relationship between the Executive and Legislative arms of government in Rivers State when in 1999, Dr. Odili contested and won the governorship election of Rivers State, while his political godson, Amaechi, emerged as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, an office in which he served meritoriously for eight years.

    In 2006, the confidence of the political godfather and son soared when Amaechi got the PDP ticket to contest the governorship election in Rivers State.

    Amaechi legitimately won the ticket but was shut out by some political hawks within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who felt that power belonged to man but Amaechi depended on God, being a child of destiny, eventually he reclaimed his mandate through legal means, when the Nigerian Supreme Court, on October 26, 2007, annulled the illegality of wrongful exclusion and consequently inaugurated him as governor of Rivers State.

    While some of Rotimi Amaechi’s supporters basked in the euphoria of victory, a section of Rivers State were pessimistic and expressed misgivings about the new governor whom they metaphorically described as a chip of the old block, obviously referring to his relationship with Odili.

    This was hinged on the spate of cultism and politically related killings in Peter Odili’s administration when militancy held sway, while night life associated with the garden city suddenly disappeared due to insecurity occasioned by activities of dare devil men of the underworld.

    Love him or hate him, Amaechi is a man that cannot be ignored. He is ever determined to achieve a goal if he is convinced that it is in the best interest of the people. He is altruistic in disposition, selfless, highly principled and above all, God fearing.

    His landmark achievements during his tenure as governor left an indelible mark in the lives of all Rivers people, prominent among these was the restoration of peace and security in Rivers State.

    The criminal gangs and cultists who were literally known as ”bad boys”, who held the state to ransom took to their heels as they had no hiding place in the new order of peace, security and prosperity during Amaechi.

    Burdened with the quest for development and peace, Ameachi quickly set up a peace and reconciliation commission, headed by a revered and retired Honourable Justice of the Supreme Court, Hon Justice Koyade Esho, to unearth the remote and immediate causes of cult clashes in the state and identify perpetrators and victims with the hope of pursuing prosecutions and granting compensations.

    A man passionate about the welfare of his people, Amaechi built over 110 health centres in virtually all wards in the state and constructed referral facilities such as Prof Kelsey Harrison Hospital at Mile 2 Diobu, Dental Maxillo Facial Hospital at Garrison, General Hospital at Etche and Khana Local Government Areas and commenced the construction of the Mother and Child Hospital which was over 50 percent complete at the end of his tenure as governor.

    Over 7,000 health workers were employed and over 600 medical doctors were also employed with each doctor receiving an official car.

    Not satisfied with the level of food sufficiency in Rivers State then, Amaechi embarked on direct agricultural intervention programme by acquiring 200 hectares of land in Tai Local Government Area, for the cultivation and export of Banana in partnership with a Mexican firm, San Carlos Nigeria Ltd.

    At Buguma community in Asari Toru Local Government Area, the Buguma Fish Farm was constructed to produce 1,000 tonnes of fish annually.

    Songhai farms located at Bunu-Tai/ Ban-Ogoi in Tai Local Government Area was set up with over 314 hectares of land. This farm had livestock, arable farming, snail farming and poultry. It served as a resort for visitors and citizens of the state.

    Some may accuse him of arrogance but those who are close to him dismiss it as an unfair remark affirming his sense of honesty and humility in service. According to one Mr. Igoniboyefe Martin, ”Rotimi Amaechi is a phenomenon. He’s being misunderstood by people who don’t understand him. He’s humble, honest, fears God and prays as if he is the General Overseer of a Pentecostal Church. Unlike some public officers, Amaechi has self-discipline. I think these are virtues that keep him ahead of his adversaries such that they say he’s arrogant, which is a fallacy.”

    Little wonder, when he was appointed Minister of Transportation in 2015, the appointment was received with great celebration, despite the attempts to stop him at the senate.  Amaechi received the news of his appointment with humility and told his supporters to go on their knees to appreciate God, rather than engaging in what he called self-glorifying celebrations.

    When he took over as Minister of Transportation, he was already aware of the importance of the ministry as a critical focal point of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration’s plans towards its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    Addressing journalists during a media parley, Amaechi revealed that; ”The transport sector is the second most important sector of the economy after oil and gas. This sector is the one that affects all sectors, including oil and gas”.

    In line with his transformational principle of leadership, who does not entertain excuses but results, he swung into action by fashioning out what the  minister described as a ”Multimodel Approach” in reviving and  restructuring the long abandoned rail system in Nigeria.

    It is in the light of the new vision, he said, ”We are currently upgrading all modes of transport, including rail, roads, sea and air”.

    Over N4trillion have been earmarked for rail projects under the Buhari’s administration, which is an unprecedented investment in the history of the transport sector.

    These railway projects include the Abuja-Kaduna railway and the Lagos-Ibadan railway cutting across Ogun State to mention a few.

    Until he left office a few days ago, the ministry had also embarked on the construction of rail lines passing through Itoro, Awowo and Wasimi communities all in Ekwekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State.

    So far, the Kaduna-Abuja railway has been completed. It started with one locomotive but now runs with two locomotives. In addition to that, the Itakpe-Warri rail project has been completed and is currently in use with 17 coaches.

    Furthermore, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, an agency under the supervision of the Minister of Transportation, initiated several reforms which resulted in an exponential increase in the internally generated revenue of the agency amounting to over N20 billion.

    Apart from commencing work this year, on the Port Harcourt and Lagos to Calabar rail projects, the ministry has also started work on the river ports at Onitsha, Baro and Lokoja. Interestingly, the river port at Onitsha and Baro are ready while that of Lokoja would be ready soon.

    The ministry, according to Amaechi, ”has opened talks with Chinese companies to see how we can capitalise on Nigeria’s internal water ways and use them as a means of transportation”.

    The construction of two, deep-water ports are also underway in Lekki, Lagos State and another one at Ibaka in Akwa-Ibom State.

    These projects are critical to reviving the transport sector, especially in boosting transportation of goods and services across the country as well as accelerating economic growth among countries in the West Africa Sub-Region.

    The vision of the Ministry of Transportation under Amaechi is to ensure that all the state capitals in Nigeria are connected by rail. This is indeed in line with the campaign promise of President Muhammadu Buhari to connect every state by rail.

    Humble and goal oriented, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is a most valuable asset, not just to the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, but to the nation at large.

    – Prince (Engr.) Aganaba (MNSE) wrote in from Port-Harcourt

  • Behold ‘Resource Control’ hat clan

    See what our rich and famous: ex- President Goodluck Jonathan, Seriake Dickson, Bayelsa State Governor; Chief Timipre Sylva, ex- Bayelsa State gov; Dr Peter Odili & more are doing with ‘Resource Control’ hat!

    The Niger Delta is home to several of Nigeria’s ethnic groups and a variety of bold, colorful cultures. Its bustling communities and  diversity has gifted Nigeria some of the best memories in music, fashion and style. From the Ijaws to the Isokos, to the Urhobos and the Esans, the Efik, Annang and Ikas, the people of the Niger Delta proudly wear their culture and sartorial elegance on their sleeves. But one fashion item seems to unite all these groups as one and is now seen countrywide as one of the region’s biggest headwear exports.

    We are talking about the tall, circular and distinct round caps, now popularly known as the ‘Resource Control’ caps, worn by men. Although this fashion item originated from the Ijaw ethnic group, it is now widely worn by all the groups of the Delta and even by Nigerians who are not from the Niger Delta.

    The cap became to be known jocularly as ‘Resource control’ around 2005 when the Niger Delta people were agitating for the total control of the oil revenue from their region and most of the Niger Delta delegates wore the cap to the 2005 National Constitutional Conference. Not quite long, others joined the wagon and you will always hear people call those who wear it ‘Resource control’!

    These caps come in different shapes and sizes and they may be worn on both simple and complex menswear. On a typical day in the region or in Lagos and Abuja, men can be seen wearing these caps while decked in casuals and dinner wear.

    Over the years, some of our politicians and fashionable men have used the resource control cap to create a distinct image for themselves.  Some have turned themselves into brands by wearing exotic, trendy and classic caps to functions.  Politicians and showbiz personalities, ex-President Jonathan, Bayelsa State Governor,  Dickson-; ex- Bayelsa State governor  Sylva; x-Governor of Rivers Dr Odili; Senator Ben Bruce, Pa Edwin Clark and even musician, Tunde Obe, who is Yoruba, are examples of famous people who have created unique styles with caps.

  • Rivers: Three friends in fierce battle

    In Rivers State, a fierce political battle among three friends will help to shape the battle for the ticket of APC’s governorship ticket, reports Southsouth Bureau Chief, Bisi Olaniyi

    Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, is a former boss of current Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and the lawmaker representing Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, Senator Magnus Abe. But today, the three are at loggerheads ahead of the September 29 primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Amaechi, an Ikwerre from Ubima in Ikwerre Local Government Area, was Speaker of Rivers House of Assembly between 1999 and 2007. Abe was the House of Assembly’s Minority Leader from 1999 to 2003, prior to his appointment by the then Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, as Rivers Commissioner for Information. While in the Assembly, Abe was a member of the All Peoples Party (APP), which later became the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

    Wike, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also an Ikwerre from Rumueprikom-Port Harcourt in Obio/Akpor LGA, was a two-term Chairman of Obio/Akpor LG council of Rivers State and he had his re-election as the council’s helmsman made possible by Amaechi as Speaker, when most Ikwerre people in his LGA kicked against his candidature, because of alleged poor performance and lack of respect for elders.

    Amaechi became Rivers governor on October 26, 2007, following the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court the previous day, which sacked Sir Celestine Omehia, from the same Ubima hometown.

    Shortly after his inauguration as governor, Amaechi appointed Wike as Chief of Staff, Government House, Port-Harcourt, while Abe, a lawyer, emerged as Secretary to Rivers State Government (SSG).

    In order to ensure hitch-free re-election in 2011, Amaechi appointed Wike, aka High Tension, as the Director-General of his campaign organisation and subsequently recommended him to the then President Goodluck Jonathan for a ministerial appointment, while Abe was elected into the Senate.

    Right from 2011, especially shortly after Wike’s ministerial appointment, he started nursing the ambition to be Rivers State governor on the platform of the PDP in 2015, which he got through federal might, while Abe was a governorship aspirant on the platform of the APC in Rivers in 2015. However, a former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, got the ticket, with Abe returning to the Senate.

    The senator (Abe) started his 2019 governorship activities very early, but disclosed that Transportation Minister visited him in his Abuja house, warning him in the presence of his wife, not to vie for governorship next year, which Abe said he was not comfortable with.

    Amaechi wants the governorship candidate of APC next year in the multi-ethnic Rivers to be a riverine person to ensure even development, equity, justice and fairness, in view of the fact that the state’s governors since 1999: Dr. Peter Odili, Omehia, Amaechi and Wike are from the upland part of Rivers.

    On August 30 in Lagos, stakeholders of APC in Rivers endorsed a co-founder of Sahara Group, Pastor Tonye Cole, as the governorship aspirant of the party in the state, but Abe stated that he was not aware that Cole was a member of APC, insisting that he would vie for Rivers governorship on the party’s (APC’s) platform.

    Ironically, Amaechi’s impact in the political life of Abe cannot be denied, which made the Senator (Abe) to proudly and openly state recently that the Transportation Minister had invested so much in his political career, making him to become the highest political investment of Amaechi in Nigeria.

    Abe, however, inaugurated a parallel secretariat of APC at Waterlines Bus Stop on Aba Road in Port Harcourt, with the former Deputy Chairman of the party, Prince Peter Odike, emerging as the Acting Chairman.

    The three friends (Amaechi, Wike and Abe) have now turned to foes, because of the politics of 2019 elections.

    Amaechi, on Sunday, September 16 this year, at Rumueme Civic Centre, Port-Harcourt in Wike’s Obio/Akpor LGA of Rivers State, at the LGA’s mega rally of the APC to receive over 5000 defectors from the PDP, declared that his successor (Wike) was panicking and had stopped shouting, but he must go in 2019, in spite of his sponsoring unnamed members of APC to cause confusion.

    At the well-attended rally were Senator Andrew Uchendu (Rivers East), the endorsed governorship candidate of APC in Rivers, Tonye Cole; the state Chairman of APC, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree; and leader of the party in Obio/Akpor LGA, Chikodi Dike, among other top politicians.

    Amaechi, who is also the current Director-General of Buhari/Osinbajo Re-election Campaign Organisation, said: “Nothing is greater than God. I closed my mouth for nearly three years, to enable Wike to do his work. Instead of doing his work, he was busy going everywhere, talking and stealing our money. Wike stole N117 billion belonging to Rivers State, as revealed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    “Wike is sponsoring people in our party (APC) to disintegrate the party. Now, I have come out. The way to go about it is to let the party at the national and to let the country know that we are ready for elections. All these people distracting us inside the party, under the sponsorship of Wike, we will ignore them, because Wike must go in 2019.

    “This is not a campaign rally, but it is a rally to show the world that we are in Wike’s village. Just five minutes trek. I walked from there to this place. When I was running for governor, if you entered Ubima (his hometown in Ikwerre LGA) and you come out alive, then you are a good man. We have entered here (Rumueme Civic Centre), we will enter again and again.

    “I am very impressed with the quality of people who are defecting to APC. Wike has stopped shouting. I told you he would stop shouting. I told you we would go underground, we would work and seeing our work, Wike would panic. Now, Wike is panicking and I am enjoying it. Do not be afraid anymore. Wike does not have the monopoly of killing.”

    “I want to know the membership of APC in Rivers State. Get registered in APC and also get your Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). I will come, ward by ward, to meet you. If our membership base is 796,000 as at now, we have won the elections.”

    The former Rivers governor (Amaechi) also called for the setting up of prayer groups in APC across the 23 LGAs of the state, assuring that members of the party would pray and vote, to end Wike’s bad governance next year.

    Cole, while also speaking at the rally, assured that APC would win in all the wards of Rivers State during the 2019 elections, while declaring that Rivers belongs to APC.

    Leader of APC in Obio/Akpor LGA (Dike) stressed that with PVCs of members of the party and other Rivers residents, Wike would be voted out in 2019, ‘to end impunity in Rivers’.

    While speaking on behalf of the defectors, Solomon Ademola, who was Obio/Akpor LGA’s Coordinator of Wike’s Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), described PDP as dead in Rivers State, with the defections from PDP to APC across the 23 LGAs of the state.

    Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, Chief Emma Okah, while reacting on behalf of Wike, however said that his boss has no basis to panic, as alleged by Amaechi, who he described as “a dictator, with oppressive style.”

    Okah said: “Amaechi is the person sponsoring opposition against Governor Wike and the Rivers State government. Amaechi should look inwards and solve his problems, rather than blaming the focused and performing governor of Rivers State.

    “Governor Wike is solidly on the ground in Rivers State. His administration has enough development projects across the 23 LGAs of the state to justify his re-election next year. Amaechi should tell Rivers people the development projects he has attracted to Rivers State, as the Minister for Transportation.”

    Rivers Information Commissioner also admonished discerning minds to ignore Amaechi and APC’s propaganda and to continue to support Wike’s administration.

    Abe, on September 17, at an interactive forum with members of 26 notable organisations within the old Port Harcourt Township, popularly called Town, which took place at an event centre on Aggrey Road in the Rivers State capital, stated that Wike was not sponsoring him.

    The interactive forum, with theme: “The possibilities of restoring the economic prospects of Rivers State, a case study of the old Port Harcourt Township,” was also attended by the Director-General of Freedom House, Abe’s campaign organisation, Worgu Boms, a lawyer; and the representative of Ikwerre/Emohua Constituency in the House of Representatives, Elder Chidi Wihioka; among other APC chieftains.

    Representative of Rivers Southeast Senatorial District declared that the Minister for Transportation, who is also the leader of APC in Rivers State and Southsouth zone, would not be able to stop him from participating in the party’s primary election and emerging as the standard bearer of APC, in spite of August 30 endorsement of Pastor Tonye Cole by Rivers stakeholders of the party in Lagos.

    Abe, a lawyer, early this year, had electoral victory thanksgiving reception at Polo Club, new Government Reservation Area (GRA), Port-Harcourt that was attended by Wike and other top officials of Rivers State Government.

    A chieftain of APC in Rivers (name withheld) later alleged that Wike supported Abe with N30million, thereby ensuring the success of the thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Garrison Bus Stop, Aba Road, Port Harcourt. But that alleged financial assistance has been denied.

    The governorship aspirant (Abe) said on September 17: “I have the capacity, I have the knowledge, having been to every part of Rivers State, and I have the understanding of the challenges of our state. If you give me the opportunity to lead this state, I can lead the state in a different direction. I can do things differently. I can bring our people together, in a way that we have not been together in a long time and be able to get the best out of every Rivers man and woman.

    “In this political season, I have decided that I will offer myself as a governorship aspirant of my party, the APC, to be given an opportunity to challenge Rivers people that we can do things better and differently.

    “Rivers State needs unity. The politics of hatred, bitterness and acrimony that has characterised our state in recent past cannot move us anywhere. It will destroy the state. We need to bring people together. We need to learn how to tolerate one another and accommodate divergent views, thereby bringing out the best in us.

    “When I was Commissioner for Information to Dr. Peter Odili, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (the then Speaker of Rivers House of Assembly) was aspiring to be governor of Rivers State, and it caused a big problem in the politics of that time, between him (Amaechi) and Dr. Odili, but I stood with Amaechi. At a point, I was practically the only person in Odili’s government that Amaechi was still talking to. I chose to stand by my friend (Amaechi). Whoever God has said will be governor of Rivers State will be governor of Rivers State and there is nothing Amaechi can do about it.

    “I am not being sponsored by Governor Nyesom Wike. I decided to fight for my right, not only as a citizen of Rivers State, but as a member of the APC. Amaechi also fought for his right up to the Supreme Court to be governor in 2007 and we stood by him. The then Governor Odili never accused Amaechi that he was a betrayer or being sponsored by anybody.

    “I am fighting for my right. I want to be governor of Rivers State. I will fight in any way that is constitutionally allowed, both by the party (APC) and our Constitution. Whatever God says at the end, I will accept in good faith. Nobody can deny me the right to fight for my right.”

    The senator also stated that he would continue to refer to Amaechi as the leader of APC in Rivers, especially as the only member of the party that is a former governor and a member of the caucus of the party.

    Abe stressed that referring to Amaechi as APC leader in Rivers was also to send a signal to all members of the party that no matter how aggrieved they might be, they should be ready to work with him (Amaechi), anytime he decided that it was appropriate to allow justice to prevail in the party, adding that he had never abused the Transportation Minister publicly and he would never allow any APC member to do so, but to continue to respect his former boss.

    Wike-led Rivers State Government has however asked Amaechi to account for the  $308 million (about N112 billion) proceeds of the sale towards the end of his administration of the state’s gas turbine power stations to Sahara Energy, belonging to Pastor Tonye Cole, the endorsed governorship aspirant of the APC in the state.

    Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, Emma Okah, alleged that the sale of the power stations and diversion of the proceeds to fund political activities of APC was responsible for why Amaechi’s government abandoned so many uncompleted projects and owed salaries and pensions to workers before he left office in 2015.

    Okah claimed that besides the power assets which Amaechi sold to Sahara Energy, the same company also bought the Olympia Hotel in the old Government Reservation Area (GRA), Port Harcourt and other high-value state assets, under suspicious circumstances.

    He said: “The Justice Omereji Commission of Inquiry investigated the spurious sales and indicted the Minister for Transportation. Instead of refunding the money, the minister rushed to court to set aside the findings of the commission. He lost at the High Court and at the Court of Appeal. His appeal to the Supreme Court has been abandoned, because for over a year, he has failed to file a brief of argument,” he said.

    Responding, the Publicity Secretary of APC in Rivers, Chief Chris Finebone, declared that the state’s Information Commissioner’s allegation was a classical display of the fright that had gripped Wike and his government since the possibility of Cole, an Architect, flying the governorship flag of APC in Rivers State, became public knowledge.

    Finebone said: “It will be an unthinkable and unimaginable mismatch to have Architect Tonye Cole and Nyesom Wike debate the economy, politics and development, among others, on the same platform. What will Wike say? Nothing!

    “Wike is a drowning man who is being abandoned by reasonable people. His case will be made worse if he has to square up with Tonye Cole in 2019. We truly understand his dilemma.

    “Tonye Cole is one of the governorship aspirants of the APC in Rivers State. Should he get the party’s ticket, Wike is finished; hence the frenzied fear that has enveloped Rivers governor and his men.

    “On the matter of Cole’s businesses that cover energy, power and oil and gas within and outside Nigeria, it is absurd to talk about his company buying a single facility in Rivers State. Let those talking about it be informed that Cole’s organisation bought  a wide range of power plants from the Nigerian Federal Government, such as Egbin Power Plant, Afam Power Stations and others. The power plant sold by the Rivers State government to his company pales into insignificance, even if his company had to pay twice the amount the company bought that of the Federal Government during the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, because of the competitive negotiation of the state government under Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

    “Wike and his Commissioner for Information will be sorry for themselves, if they had an idea that Tonye Cole’s company paid higher for the Rivers State-owned power plant, almost twice what it paid for all the Federal Government power plants the company bought. The facts are there.”

    Rivers Publicity Secretary of APC also asked the state’s governor to quickly recover from his fright and be ready to face the so-intelligent, well-travelled, highly-experienced and very brilliant Cole or anybody APC fields in 2019 and stop behaving like a village coward at the wrestling arena.”

    APC guber ticket

    To slug it out for APC’s governorship ticket in Rivers State are Cole, an indigene of Abonnema, the headquarters of Akuku-Toru LGA: Abe, who hails from Bera-Ogoni in Gokana council; and a former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Dawari George, an indigene of Buguma, the headquarters of Asari-Toru LGA.

    Other APC governorship aspirants in Rivers are an oil magnate, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, also from Abonnema; and a renowned environmental and human rights activist, AkpoBari Celestine, an Ogoni man.

    Abe and Celestine are from the upland part of Rivers State, while the other governorship aspirants are from the riverine part.

    Keen observers say APC leaders must put their house in order, in order to present an acceptable and popular candidate that will be able to dislodge Wike in 2019, considering the fact that APC leadership wants the governorship running mate to be from Ogoni and Speaker of the House of Assembly to be an Ikwerre person from Wike’s Obio/Akpor LGA or Port Harcourt City LGA with the highest voting strength.

  • Violation of rights: Blind man threatens legal action against Odili’s clinic

    Violation of rights: Blind man threatens legal action against Odili’s clinic

     

     

    A man with disability, Thompson Iroulo, has threatened to drag Dr. Peter Odili’s Pamo Clinic and Hospital Limited for alleged violation of his human rights .

    Iroulo, a former staff of the hospital who spoke Friday in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, alleged that the management of the clinic has refused to pay attention to his health condition, as well pay all his outstanding arrears since 2014.

    Addressing newsmen, Iroulo lamented that his family has been facing hardship since he lost his sight.

    He appealed on the Director General of the hospital, a former governor of the state, Dr. Peter Odili to intervene in the situation.

    He claimed that he had accident while in active service in the hospital resulting to his sight impairment and expressed pain that the hospital abandoned him when his health situation worsened.

    However, a Human Rights Advocate, Barr Higher King, who had already written to the clinic, condemned the alleged violation of rights and called on the state government and management of the Pamo Clinic and Hospital to quickly look into the matter.

    King advised the hospital to immediately take the victim to India for medical treatment, pay N50 million damages to him (Iroulo) and all his outstanding salaries from 2014 till date.

    The rights advocate recalled that the victim was employed into the hospital in 1987 and that he (the victim) encountered the accident that led to his loss of sight in 2002.

    He revealed that the company had in February 2009 directed him (Iroulo), through a letter to sit-at-home and that the clinic would be paying his salary, but worried that the agreement had since been breached.

    Meantime, in a swift reaction, the Managing Director of the Hospital, Dr. Oluchi Nzinwa has described the allegations as untrue, stating that the victim had developed the eye problem before been employed at the hospital.

     

  • Rivers PDP crisis deepens as members fault Obuah’s leadership

    Rivers PDP crisis deepens as members fault Obuah’s leadership

    •Obuah: ‘It’s cheap blackmail’   

    THERE seems to be no end to the crisis bedeviling the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers state as a chieftain of the party Chief Sara Igbe who was one-time Special Adviser to Dr. Peter Odili on Security Matters has accused the Chief Felix Obuah led-PDP of recklessness and impunity in the running of the party.

    Igbe spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital while reacting to the comment credited to some PDP stakeholders in Ikwerre Ethnic Nationality that there was no zoning arrangement in Rivers State PDP.

    Igbe said: “Obuah is a small boy in the PDP, he does not know how  the PDP came about, he was just brought in to contest council election and his experience ends there. Until the conspiracy that brought him into power is destroyed, he does not know how Rivers State is governed.”

    However the Special Adviser on Media to Felix Obuah, Mr. Jerry Needam while reacting on the allegations said,” the party has expressed confidence in the leadership of the State Chairman, Bro Felix Obuah, and we have assured him of our unalloyed support and cooperation.

    “PDP is for men and women of integrity, we challenge Sara Igbe to show proof of his membership of PDP and also tell the world when he visited the state party secretariat or his ward last. He is only looking for cheap popularity.”

  • The man who would have been president

    The man who would have been president

    The first thing that struck me on opening this 511-page book was that I attended the same primary school – Sacred Heart School, Odoakpu, Onitsha – as the former Governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili.

    Incidentally, Dr. Odili was admitted into the next-door secondary school, the famous Christ the King College, (CKC) Onitsha, where I lived all my early life in the staff quarters with my uncle JO Aginam who was a CKC teacher. So all the names Dr. Odili mentions in the book about his college life, like the legendary CKC principal, Rev. Fr NC Tagbo, and the teacher Nwishienyi who gave the youthful Odili a slap that nearly led to a school riot, were personages who “brought me up by hand” as Charles Dickens put it in Great Expectations. On that familiar platform, Dr. Odili’s story happens to be my story too.

    Dr. Odili would go on in the course of time to live a very public life in Nigeria as Rivers State Deputy Governor, then Governor and nearly capped it all up with becoming the Nigerian President but for some bewildering gang-up and plot that stopped him short at the eleventh hour. In the run-up to the 2007 presidential contest, Odili was without question the front-runner amongst the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aspirants. The bystander that would eventually gain the PDP candidacy, to wit, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was not even in the contest, and the man who was shooed in into the vice-presidential slot, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, was equally not interested in throwing his hat into the ring.

    Odili’s campaign drive, led by the irrepressible Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, was in full rev towards the end of 2006 until, as Dr. Odili writes in Conscience and History, “12th December, a spurious and anonymous petition was posted in the internet from a questionable ‘source’ alleging corrupt practices against the Rivers State Government under me. These allegations were converted into a petition by the EFCC under Nuhu Ribadu’s hand, to the President same day. On the 13th of December, 2006 Mr President directed EFCC to investigate. On the 14th day of December, 2006, EFCC submitted a so-called ‘interim’ report to the then President who promptly minuted (sic) for my response on the same 14th December, 2006, but forwarded to me on 15/12/06, a day to convention vide ref. PRES/44. I assembled what was left of my cabinet team, a few having been arrested and kept at the EFCC office in Lagos within these few days of urgent dramatic action. We submitted our response on the 15th day of December, 2006 by which time it had become clear what the whole exercise was about – ‘Get Odili out of the race for the Presidency, at all cost.’ … This became lucidly clear with the instant release of my staff who were being detained in Lagos by the EFCC as soon as I voluntarily and wisely withdrew from the contest. There was jubilation at the EFCC office immediately the news of my withdrawal broke and all my staff were asked by EFCC to go home immediately.”

    After withdrawal from the PDP presidential primaries Odili was then summoned to Aso Villa on the morning of December 16, the day of the PDP Convention, by then President Olusegun Obasanjo. The promise Odili got after the morning prayers at the Villa with Obasanjo was that he would be made the running mate of Umaru Yar’Adua. It happened that when Odili went to meet Yar’Adua he ominously discovered that conversation amongst the gathered party wigs such as Chief James Ibori, Chief Lucky Igbinedion, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and Nassir El-Rufai immediately seized. Yar’Adua took Odili upstairs to introduce him to his wife Turai “and assured me of his happiness at the prospect of our working together”. Then Yar’Adua and Odili went together to the Eagle Square, the venue of the Convention, and walked round the square. Odili was even privileged to see the typed copy of Yar’Adua’s prepared acceptance speech where “it was clearly stated that he had nominated Dr. Peter Odili as his running-mate for the Presidential race.” It was in the ungodly hour of around 3.30am that Odili was informed that some fresh information just received from the selfsame Nuhu Ribadu would lead to his dropping as the running-mate.

    In the end Yar’Adua read a handwritten acceptance speech that excluded Odili’s name, only adding that further consultations were being made on the vexed matter of his running-mate. It was later in the evening of December 17, 2007 that Dr. Jonathan’s name manifested as the running-mate of Yar’Adua.

    Odili’s book Conscience and History is indeed momentous given the countrywide angst about governance in the country and the news flying fast and free that Obasanjo had fallen out with President Jonathan. The offering of Odili in Conscience and History is indeed an object lesson in political brinkmanship.

    Even so, Odili’s autobiography transcends politics to encompass love in its natural flora and fauna. Born on August 15, 1948 in Ndoni of the now Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni LGA of present-day Rivers State, Odili showed leadership qualities from very early in life. He was the Senior Prefect and College Captain of the esteemed CKC Onitsha, where he had his secondary school education. According to Odili, “From cradle, through primary school, and admission into one of the best secondary schools of our time, I can say without any shred of doubt that the foundational impact of secondary school education is the fulcrum of anyone’s life later. That’s what CKC did for me. I won’t be who I am if I did not pass through the walls of CKC.”

    He suffered as a refugee during the civil war and had to submit to being recruited as a soldier. He took top position in the army course and was deployed as an instructor in the school of infantry instead of being sent to the warfront. After the war he began schoolwork as an indigent medical student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. A driven lad, he embarked on the holiday trade of travelling abroad to earn some money which immediately turned him into a campus big boy.

    It was fateful afternoon, about 1.30pm, in 1972 that Odili espied the beautiful Mary who became the love and anchor of his life. Three girls had entered a lecture in the bid to “colonize” some seats when the young Peter saw the dashing damsel. When the girls left Peter opened one of the books of the girl of his adoration and saw her name: Mary Nzenwa. He had to wait all of three years before an old CKC friend Papp Alumona fortuitously brought Mary into the young Peter’s world through a birthday party. Peter and Mary got married on August 26, 1977 at Oredo Local Government Council Registry, Benin, whist he was a house officer and Mary was in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme. Odili’s father-in-law, the great HRH Eze (Barr) BSC Nzenwa, who played pivotal roles in the founding of Rangers Football Club of Enugu and Spartans of Owerri, generously waived the expensive Mbaise marriage for a later date which the couple undertook in grand style in 1982. Blessed with four children and five grandchildren, Dr Peter and Justice Mary Odili are the one example of a marriage made in heaven.

    Odili founded PAMO Clinics and Hospitals in Port Harcourt in 1982, growing it in leaps and bounds as the very best in Rivers State despite the sabotage of a trusted associate named Idigo. A Catholic to the core, Odili is a Knight of St. John International and Knight Commander of St. Gregory the Great (Supreme Papal Knighthood).

    Odili’s exploits in politics, notably as Deputy Governor of the old Rivers State in 1992/93; leader of the Rivers State Delegates to the Constitutional Conference 1994/95; Rivers State Governor from 1999 to 2007 etc. stood in him good stead to stand for the coveted Presidency of the country in 2007 which was thwarted through underhand means. He then headed to the courts to clear his name. He won justice against the EFCC through a thorough court trial as documented in Conscience and History as opposed to the “perpetual injunction” against his trial as peddled by his traducers.

    In an uncanny twist of fate, Odili became estranged from his protégé Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, who emerged as Rivers State Governor through a landmark Supreme Court ruling. Governor Amaechi set up the Kayode Eso Rivers State Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which Odili saw as “clearly conceived, designed and programmed to permanently indict and incarcerate Dr Odili.” Once again, Dr Odili went to court and got deserved justice.