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Tag: Governor Nyesome Wike

  • Rivers CJ releases 55 persons from Port Harcourt prison

    Rivers CJ releases 55 persons from Port Harcourt prison

    Rivers Chief Judge (CJ), Justice Adama Lamikara, has released 55 prison inmates from Port Harcourt maximum security prison.

    She released them on Thursday during Goal Delivery programme in the prison premises.

    Out of the 55, three were armed robbery suspects that had spent between 12 and 14 years in custody without trial.

    One out of the 55 released persons was an under aged person, who spent about one year in custody, while one was released on bail.

    Addressing the released persons at the end of the exercise, the CJ warned them to be of good behaviour or face the full wrath of the law if brought back to prison.

    She advised the people to seek employment and engage in meaningful ventures, rather than involving in crimes.

    “Don’t go back to crime. Don’t come to Port Harcourt to constitute problems to innocent persons,” she said.

    About 90 per cent of the offences committed by the freed persons was stealing.

    “Most of them confessed to the crime and pleaded with the court to forgive them, and promised not to steal again.

    Some of the freed inmates from the northern states said that they would leave Port Harcourt immediately they were set free and never to come back.

    The CJ had in her opening remarks assured that she would not treat cases that were on-going in courts.

    She said that she would collaborate with Rivers Attorney-General (AG) and Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to release those  Gov Nyesome Wike had earlier granted pardon.

    Lamikara assured that she would conduct the Goal Delivery exercise more regularly.

    The CJ had on Nov. 14, released 21 awaiting trial inmates from Degema prison bringing the total of released persons to 76.

    Port Harcourt prison was built 100 years ago by the colonial government to house about 100 inmates, but today houses 1,106 inmates.

    Some prison officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were happy that the prison population was reduced by 55, making their management less challenging.

    NAN

  • Rivers re-run: Panel recovers N111m from 23 INEC officers – Chairman

    Rivers re-run: Panel recovers N111m from 23 INEC officers – Chairman

    The panel constituted to investigate the electoral and other offences perpetrated during the Dec. 10 Rivers Parliamentary re-run election, has alleged that it recovered N111 million from 23 INEC officials.

    The Chairman of the panel, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Damian Okoro, made the allegation while presenting the team’s report to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, in Abuja on Tuesday.

    He alleged that three senior electoral officers collected N20 million each out of the N360 million given to them by Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers, while the remaining officers received N15 million each.

    Okoro further alleged that there were some cases of misconduct on the part of some electoral officers, who were compromised in the line of duty.

    “By this investigation, this panel has diligently unraveled what went wrong with the re-run election in Rivers, the details of which are contained in the report.

    “We discovered that failure of leadership and followership rather than law enforcement was responsible for the political upheaval in the state,” he said.

    He added that the task given to the panel was challenging because of the tense political and security atmosphere in the state.

    The chairman said that lawless elements targeted political opponents of their sponsors, and law enforcement agents, especially the police.

    He attributed some of the violent acts to inflammatory statements by some narrow-minded politicians.

    “Apart from their utterances, politicians in their desperation for power, also armed thugs who unleashed terror on their opponents,” he said.

    He said that six police officers, who were indicted, had been tried and dismissed from the force.

    Speaking, the inspector-general of police, said that a report and recommendation would be forwarded to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice for his advice.

    He said appropriate action would be taken against indicted persons to serve as deterrent.

    “We are going to take appropriate action in conjunction with other security agencies to put an end to this problem,’’ he said.

    He urged Nigerians to have confidence in the security agencies and believe the panel report.

    Idris alleged that Wike refused to cooperate with the panel even when the team visited him in Port Harcourt.

    He said that the investigation would go a long way toward ending electoral malpractices in the country.

    “We will be failing in this country if we allow this to continue,’’ he said.

    He said that the money recovered would be paid into government coffers.

    It will be recalled that the I-G on Dec. 22, 2016, constituted a 15-man special joint investigation panel to investigate electoral and other offences in respect of the Dec. 10, 2016 re-run election in Rivers.

    The membership comprised 12 police officers and three officials of the Department of State Services.

    The panel was, among other things, mandated to thoroughly investigate the various infractions, incidents and violence that marred the election.

  • Buhari, Wike meet in Aso Rock

    Buhari, Wike meet in Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met briefly with Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The governor, who arrived around 2 p.m only stayed for about twenty minutes at the President’s office area.

    At the end of the meeting, he declined to speak with State House correspondents as he quickly walked past the journalists that wanted to know the purpose of his visit to the Villa.

  • No Party can beat PDP in Rivers – Wike

    No Party can beat PDP in Rivers – Wike

    The governor of Rivers State Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has said it would be very difficult for any political party to win the People Democratic Party (PDP) in the state considering that the state is a PDP state and coupled with his achievement within his short period in office.

    Governor Wike spoke Monday while answering questions   as a guest in Channels Television morning Programme viewed from Government House Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.

    Answering questions in some of the issues affecting the state and the recent conduct of the rerun election, the governor said the people of the state were determine to vote for PDP in all the constituencies in the state because of his achievement in the past few months in office.

    He said in spite of the poor allocation to the state, he was able to handle some of the road projects and completed some even when there were a lot of distractions that could made him to abandon his campaigns promises to the people.

    He noted that the internally generated revenue (IGR) of the state have increase from 4 billion to N9-N10 billion, adding that if there were high rate of  insecurity in the state as being  reported  the IGR wouldn’t have increase because the investors would have run away.

    Governor Wike said:   “Why it is difficult for anybody to win us in Rivers State is because the projects I have done in my short stay in office coupled that the state is a PDP state. The civil servants are happy with us, nobody will be happy when at the end of the months they cannot take their wages home.

    “We have done a lot to fulfill over campaign promises, If you go to Borokiri where the former governor was living  at Okaki street, everybody was afraid to go there because of bad roads  but today we have fixed the road and the people are happy.

    “In Diobu axis we have a lot of bad roads before now, today we have fixed them. All the general hospitals are death, some of the health centres are not functioning.  What we are trying to do as a matter of policy is to pick one hospital each in the three senatorial districts and equip them.

    “We are also going to train and retrain our doctors, for now we are focusing on health and education. We don’t want to carry all at the same time. We received 4 Billion as allocation when our salary wage is N5. 5 billion.  How do make up to pay salaries, when we took over I have IGR of 4-5 billion but I speak to you we have improved in our IGR to   N9-N10 billion.

    “Which means nobody is running away from the state, because if people were leaving the state our IGR would not increase. And  if the insecurity is much as is being claimed, why is our IGR increasing yet if you read on the pages of newspapers people will say Rivers of blood.”

    Wike who vowed not to venture into completion of the monorail project said Rivers people and stakeholders have told him to forget about the project and focus on the project that has direct meaning on the lives of the people of the state.

    He said the monorail project which he claimed has no meaning on the lives of the people have consumed over N45 billion, stressing further that he does not want to have headache speaking on monorail issue which he described as an elephant project.

    On the issue of insecurity in the state, governor Wike accused the Minister of Transportation Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of trying to destabilize the state through his desperation to capture Rivers State even when it is clear to him that his party cannot win PDP in the state.

    He said if President Mohammadu Buhari supports him there is no reason why he cannot achieve peace and stability in the state.

    But he regretted that continue changing of his security chiefs would jeopardize his plan to tackle the security challenges in the state because there was no time for security chiefs to strategize and plan on how to deal with the pressing issue.

    “The continue removal of the Commissioner of Police (CP) the Director of State Security Service (DSS) and other security chiefs in the state is to frustrate our effort. Of course, the Minister is behind this, and people are saying we should reconcile, in what way?

    “That means if I reconcile with him they would not be removing my security chiefs that was why I said we are personalizing this, it shouldn’t be.  If there is need that we should come together to talk, but we should not be desperate to take over the state.  As far as I am concern, I don’t want to assert that kind of responsibility.

    “But the issue of security  is not political, we are fighting to stop this situation and  there is a system trying to desterilize the state by removing the Commissioner of Police at all time, this is man who has serve as governor for eight years and speaker for eight years what has the state not done for him.”

    “As far as I am concern the Federal government should support me by leaving the security chief for quite some time to strategies and plan for the security problem in the state.  The only problem we have with the election is for the umpire to say we must be fair to all. Security people should not be use to manipulate the process.

    “INEC should stop employing those who in one way or the other have interest in political party that is the way we can maintain peace. The security should always protest the people and the materials and not to involve in the manipulation of the process.”

    “For me what I see is the desperation to take over Rivers. There are certain things I shouldn’t say because it has to do with security but it must not be business as usual. We are telling the security personnel to go all out against the cultists and kidnappers that is why I don’t think there is any state that is investing what we are investing in security in Rivers State.”

     

  • PDP leaders should be blamed for Ogoni crisis – Senator Abe

    PDP leaders should be blamed for Ogoni crisis – Senator Abe

    The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Rivers Southeast Senatorial District in the March 19 rerun, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, has stated that the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should be blamed for the crisis in Ogoni land.

    Abe, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) in the 7th National Assembly, stated this Friday  in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

    The APC chieftain said: “It is important that I make this statement with regard to the crisis arising from  the military’s attempt to effect the arrest of Solomon Ndigbara (aka Osama bin Laden, an ex-militant leader), at Yeghe-Ogoni in Gokana Local Government Area, which led to the hoodlums burning down my Senatorial Liaison Office in Bori-Ogoni, Khana LGA.

    “I am happy that Governor Nyesom Wike, as the Chief Security Officer (CSO) knew and approved the military operations in Yeghe, Ogoniland. There is nothing wrong if he, as the CSO and after appraising the situation in Ogoni, approves that the military should raid the area of criminal elements and maybe recovers arms.

    “The person who stands to be blamed squarely for the crisis is Solomon Ndigbara and his group, who chose to engage the military in a shootout. Information available to me points to the fact that there was a deliberate attempt by the PDP to incite the people against my person and the APC.

    “PDP leaders know pretty well that we are innocent, but in their desperate attempt to exploit the situation for their political gain, they want to hang it on us. It is sad that this type of politics is being played by people who hold responsible positions.

    “It is unfortunate that the governor (Wike) visited the home of ex-militant leader, Solomon Ndigbara, in Yeghe community, but did not deem it fit to visit my burnt senatorial liaison office building at Bori, which is less than two kilometres away from Yeghe. Yet, this is the CSO, who visited areas affected by the crisis. As leaders, we should be sincere to ourselves and show good examples to our followers.”

    Abe, a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), who hails from Bera-Ogoni in Gokana LGA, also pleaded with Ogoni people to eschew violence, lawlessness and ensure that they maintain peace.

    He admonished Rivers people not to play politics with the military operations in Ogoni, since the victims of the crisis could have been people from any of the political parties and religion.

    Abe, a former Rivers Commissioner for Information, noted that the sad reality of the destruction of his liaison office showed that all was not well and could discourage prospective investors to invest in the area.

    The Senator called on his supporters to remain calm, in the face of provocation.

    Wike, a former Minister of State for Education, during his visit to Yeghe and Bori on Thursday, accused leaders of the APC of being behind the violence and killings in Ogoni, by allegedly inviting the soldiers, declaring that as the CSO, he would not allow lawlessness and impunity.

    Rivers APC Chairman, Chief Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, however, insisted that the violence in Ogoni was planted, watered and nurtured by the incendiary remarks made by Wike at the 50th birthday of Senator Lee Maeba of the PDP at his Luuwa hometown in Khana LGA of Rivers state last Saturday, where he declared that the re-election bid of Senator Abe must be stopped at all costs.

  • Ogoni crisis: Residents criticise Wike’s visit to Yeghe      

    Ogoni crisis: Residents criticise Wike’s visit to Yeghe      

    The residents of Rivers State Friday criticised Governor Nyesom Wike’s visit to Yeghe, and other communities in Ogoni without visiting the burnt senatorial office of Magnus Abe. They wanted the governor to show concern to all parties affected in the crisis as a leader.

    It would be recalled that Governor Wike on Thursday with the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Musa Kimo visited Yeghe community in Gokana Local Government Area, affected communities in Bori and Mortuaries without visiting the burnt Magnus Abe’s senatorial office.

    In a statement sent by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor on Electronic Media, the governor accused some politicians of deliberately instigating crisis in the state to create room for the evil declaration of state of emergency.

    Some of the residents who spoke to The Nation said the governor should have use his visit to make peace and calm down the youths of the area by visiting every parties involved especially those who were affected instead of accusing some politicians.

    Mr. Paul Onyedi, business man, said he was unhappy that the governor visited Ogoni as politician and not as the governor of Rivers.

    “What happen has happened the kind of statement credited to the governor of Rivers State would only worsen the situation in Ogoni. I was expecting him to visit the place and also try to visit the burnt senatorial office of Magnus Abe, not as Party man but as governor of Rivers State.”

    Chief Akwubi Mathew, a community leader said, “The only way out is to forget about politics for now, the killing that took place in Ogoni was between armed militants and the military, for now we don’t know who is responsible for the killing but let there be peace.”

    Mrs. Rita Ndabari, an Ogoni woman said the most important thing is that Governor Wike has accepted to look into the matter and to also compensate the affected families, but she regretted that the governor did not visit affected persons who are not members of his party.

    “Rivers State is one, Ogoni is one, there is no death that is especial, those who are not members of the PDP that are affected were not considered on the governor’s visit. If we really want peace in Ogoni land and Rivers State as whole, then we must see everybody as one.”

    But the National Coordinator of Ogoni Solidarity Forum, Celestine AkpoBari  said his group condemned the killing in Ogoni land, adding that the insecurity in the area was because some politicians  distributed arms to jobless youths during the 2015 election in the area.

    AkpoBari said: “We condemned the killing of innocent Ogoni people; we condemned the attack on Magnus Abe. The insecurity in Ogoni today was because of the arms distributed to youth during 2015 election by some politicians for the purpose of smuggling themselves into the corridor of power,” he alleged.

     

  • Ateke: Supreme Court verdict averted bloodshed in Rivers

    Ateke: Supreme Court verdict averted bloodshed in Rivers

    Former Niger Delta ex-militant leader,  Ateke Tom has said the verdict of the apex court that affirmed  Chief  Nyesom Wike as the governor of Rivers State averted bloodshed and killing that could have taking place during governorship re-run election in the state.

    Ateke who spoke Friday at his family house in  Ngeme-Biri Komju,  Okrika Local government of Rivers State  alleged that killing , rape, intimidation and harassment were ongoing before the supreme court judgment.

    He added that the ruling has reduced tension and averted deaths of innocent citizens of the state.

    He accused some politicians in the state of using the military to intimidate Governor Wike’s supporters in the name of searching for illegal arms.

    He said his house was the next to attack before God used the Supreme Court Judges to stop them.

    “My brother Rivers State was set for another bloody killing; if you look at the security situation of the state you will understand that killing, rape, intimidation injustice and harassment were ongoing before the Supreme Court verdict.

    “They started with Wike Supporters; houses were being raid by military in the name of retrieving illegal arms. A lot of people were killed; you can imagine somebody like me who is a peacemaker in Niger Delta region was targeted. My house was the next; I thank God for what had happened.”

    On the resumed attack on the oil pipelines in Niger Delta region, Ateke said those blowing up pipelines are on their own. He warned Niger Delta youths to desist from any act capable of sabotaging the Nigeria economy.

    He cautioned youths in Rivers State who are planning to hijack the national and state house of Assemblies elections in the state to give peace a chance and allow election to take place under the atmosphere of free and fair election.

    The ex-war lord, also called on Nigerian to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign, stressing that Buhari is a nice man and only need the support of all to succeed if he stays away from wrong advices.

  • Why execution of projects is priority – Wike

    Why execution of projects is priority – Wike

    The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has stated that execution of projects is the priority of his administration, in view of his pledge to the ordinary people of the state that he will utilise their mandate to improve their fortunes.

    He also attributed Rivers state’s “excellent” execution of critical infrastructure to his government’s commitment to his social contract with the people.

    Wike, a former Minister of State for Education, stated these yesterday while inspecting ongoing road projects in parts of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state, assuring that his administration would execute road projects in all the 23 LGAS of the state.

    The governor inspected ongoing work on roads in Eneka-Rukpokwu, Oroigwe, Elimgbu and Rumunduru-OroIgwe.

    Wike said: “In our 2016 budget, we allocated 60 per cent of funds to capital expenditure, while 40 per cent was reserved for recurrent expenditure. Therefore, all efforts are targeted at improving the living standard of the people.

    “This state is different from others in terms of projects’ execution, because we have prioritised funding of projects. We are happy with the results we are getting, because the people are satisfied with the efforts of this administration.”

    The Rivers governor claimed that the Rotimi Amaechi’s administration played politics with construction of roads in the area, allegedly leaving the communities inaccessible, which was described as a blatant lie by the state’s All Progressives Congress (APC), through its Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, who declared that Wike (Amaechi’s former Chief of Staff) and his cronies, got most of the contracts and abandoned them.

    The ex-minister of state for education also stated that he had changed the situation of projects’ construction in Rivers, with regular funding, supported by high-level supervision.

    Wike was accompanied on the projects’ inspection by two chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP): Chief Sergeant Awuse and Prince Emma Anyanwu.

    Hundreds of women at the Oroigwe Market and residents of the communities visited trooped out to sing the praises of the Rivers governor for living up to their expectations.

  • Pro-Biafra protest: Wike orders arrest of unruly agitators

    Pro-Biafra protest: Wike orders arrest of unruly agitators

    Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has directed security agencies in the state to alert and arrest Biafran agitators who have resorted to illegal procession and assault of law abiding citizens.

    Information and Communication Commissioner Austin Tam-George said in a statement in Port Harcourt that some Biafran agitators “have resorted to illegal processions, and have assaulted law abiding citizens and residents of the state.”

    He spoke of Wike’s dislike for “the acts of criminality perpetrated by Biafran agitators by whatever name, in the Oyigbo area of the state,” and warned that government “ has directed all security agencies in the state to arrest and prosecute all Biafran agitators who flout the ban on illegal separatist processions and demonstrations in Rivers State.”

    The government urged all residents in the state to remain calm and law abiding.

    Wike had banned any separatist protest or procession by the Indigenous People Of Biafra, IPOB, calling for the release of Nnamdi kanu, the detained Director of Biafra Radio charged with treasonable felony.

    Some of the arrested over 20 Pro-Biafran agitators arrested over illegal protests in Port Harcourt last year have been remanded in prison custody.