The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Governor Rotimi Amaechi

  • Rivers prepares new teachers

    At the end of one-month induction for the 13,301 teachers recruited by the Rivers State government next month, the Commissioner for Education, Dame Alice Lawrence-Nemi said they will be fit for the kind of teacher-learner interaction that the state seeks to make its standard.

    Speaking at a ceremony to begin the training at the Port Harcourt Technical/Vocational Training Centre on Monday last week, Mrs Lawrence-Nemi said they would learn multiple skills that will aid their work.

    “The aim of the one-month induction course is to improve the effectiveness of the teachers within the school environment, promote positive interpersonal relationship between stakeholders and improve delivery and organisation,” she said.

    The Commissioner said that the employment of 13,201 teachers was an indication the state’s desire to make education accessible to all, which cannot be achieved without sufficient number of teachers. To this end, she said the government has made huge investments in education since 2007 when Governor Rotimi Amaechi took over the mantle of leadership.

    She said: “In the last six years of this administration, Governor Rotimi Amaechi has taken giant strides in the education sector in Rivers State like no other government before him. Since the biggest thing we can give our children and the future generation is the chance to realise their rights to education, this government is resolved to do it right. Governor Amaechi has continually declared that his administration will make sure that every one child in government schools has access to trained teachers. This is because without trained teachers education for Rivers students will never be a reality. Without trained teachers a school is just another building. Without trained teachers schooling will never become education.”

    Charging the new teachers to be committed, Amaechi, who was represented by the Secretary to State Government George Feyii, said they should give their best to justify the government’s spending on their remunerations, which would cost about N1 billion monthly.

    “Quality teachers lead to quality education. Do not to let the state down by giving your best and helping to produce generations of well educated students. The wages for the newly recruited teachers will cost the state government about one billion naira monthly,” he said.

    In his remarks, Prof Joe Aisuku of the BRACED (Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, Edo and Delta) Commission praised the government for organising the induction course, describing it as a well thought out initiative that would have seasoned educationists impart knowledge in the teachers.

    Also, Chairman of the Rivers State Economic Advisory Council, Prof Nimi Briggs likened Amaechi to the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who introduced free education in old western region.

    Briggs said what Awolowo did gave the region an advantage over others in the country. “That is why the Western region, till today remains the most developed in this country,” he said.

    Dignitaries at the event included the Chairman of Rivers State House Committee on Education Hon. Augustine Ngo; the Director-General, BRACED Commission, Ambassador Joe Keshi, and the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education Dr Richard Ofuru, all of who praised the governor for focusing on education.

     

  • Rivers’ lawless five

    Rivers’ lawless five

    The President should call his goons to order instead of denying things that even angels cannot convince Nigerians about 

    How will former President Olusegun Obasanjo be feeling now, seeing the Goodluck Jonathan Presidency struggling to surpass his (Obasanjo’s) record in infamy? That is the question on the lips of many Nigerians who have been watching the nauseating developments in Rivers State. At the speed the presidency of his estranged political godson is travelling on the highway of impunity, it may beat his (Obasanjo’s) record before the 2015 election. President Jonathan has told us he is not Pharaoh; he said he is not Nebuchadnezzar either; but what he has not told us is who the son of man is. Perhaps he wants us to find out.

    Many of us are yet to know him; the best we can say of him is that he is a president who does not give a damn! At least that came, as they say, from the horse’s mouth. We also know him as a president who exalts figure 16 over and above figure 19. That is also a statement of fact. Till tomorrow, many of the our primary school pupils keep asking their parents and teachers about this jigsaw puzzle because, in their innocence, they want to take anything and everything coming from the president as the gospel truth. Poor kids! They are learning fast; even if it is the wrong values that they are being taught by those who should be transforming the country.

    By now, it is clear that the enemies of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State will stop at nothing to remove him. Many times they had missed the ball and went for the leg. Such was the situation on Tuesday when the state house of assembly was thrown into chaos when five members of the house wanted to impeach the Speaker, Otelemaba Amachree, and 26 others who are Amaechi’s loyalists. The personal intervention of the governor prevented the ‘lawless five’ from concluding their illegal mission.

    One might then ask: why didn’t Amaechi and the majority other lawmakers in the House allow the five members to luxuriate in their illegality and then go to court after to challenge their action? The answer is simple: we must have lost our sense of history to do that. Rashidi Ladoja did that and he regretted it; ditto Ayo Fayose, among others. I guess that must have been the reckoning of the five and their sponsors; unfortunately, again, they miscalculated. By now, the authentic speaker would have become history if they had trod that path; perhaps Amaechi too would have ceased to be governor. He would now be busy assembling a retinue of senior advocates that would fight the matter in court; mind you, not in his capacity as governor again but as ‘Simply Mr’. By the time the case is over, elections would have fallen due. Of course, if you remember the case of the two women that threw up King Solomon as a very wise king, you will also see that Amaechi’s opponents have nothing to lose if the five law breakers had been allowed to have their way; as a matter of fact, they would be profiting from their illegality now. And, you know what? They would have gone to church today to celebrate the ‘impeachment’, with some men of God blessing them too, apparently after being ‘blessed’ to conduct the thanksgiving service. The PDP is notorious for such celebrations and thanksgivings.

    That is what the Obasanjo presidency has taught us; and it is what the Jonathan presidency too wants to bequeath to us as legacy. A chip off the old block, you would say? But when a child has learnt the art of dying, the parents too must master the art of burial. That was what has happened in this case. Both Obasanjo and Jonathan have taught governors whose guts they do not like that they (governors) must get wise before and not after the illegal act. So, we are now having a culture of impunity begetting impunity.

    This is rather unfortunate. And to think that the presidency is being (even if remotely) associated with this makes it the more disheartening. The office of the president is an exalted one. But that office cannot be dignified more than the occupier wants it to be. It is sad that everything happening in the state now had been predicted; that is people want to cause enough chaos to warrant the imposition of a state of emergency in Rivers. This is a reflection of the desperation of people who truly do not give a damn. What is most annoying is the Presidency’s serial denial of involvement in the developments. Perhaps it is apt to let the presidency know that Nigerians feel more and more insulted when such denials are made; and this in turn diminishes the prestige of the presidency.

    Those who have ears and know that they hear with them should listen to the voice of wisdom. The crisis in Rivers State is one (as I have always said since it became a public issue) no one can predict its end. Those who are after the state governor and think they can remove him by hook or crook might all end up rendering themselves jobless and throwing the entire country into crisis, if history is to be our guide. We all know how governors can be removed because it is stated expressly in our constitution, which is the grund norm. Jonathan’s presidency is culpable in this matter because it provided the impetus for the ‘lawless five’ who wanted to impeach a lawful speaker and replace him illegally. They would not have been that emboldened to embark on such a shameful voyage if the president himself had not given his failed candidate in the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) election, Jonah Jang, a heroic welcome after the defeat. If the president said 16 is greater than 19, how come those who see themselves as doing his bidding will not take the joke too far by wanting to impeach their speaker with only five in a 32-member house of assembly?

    This Rivers matter is particularly distressing because the common man cannot reap any tangible benefit from all the troubles being caused in the state. Here was a state where all manner of hoodlums once held sway but Amaechi reined them in. Now, in Port Harcourt, the ancien regime has returned, with people now having to raise their hands on the streets to show they are no criminals. If lives have not been lost yet, it is certain lives will still be lost in the course of this crisis with the audacity of the desperadoes to have their way, backed by the ‘federal might’. How then are they and their sponsors different from the ‘political’ Boko Haram that the government is fighting, because the fight in Rivers is all about political power just like that of the ‘political’ Boko Haram?

    Rivers State is sitting majestically atop enormous resources. The PDP, because of the way it has mishandled the crisis is probably afraid Amaechi might dump the party and is therefore bent on being in charge of the resources, with the 2015 election in view. Whatever PDP spent to prosecute the 2011 election is going to be a child’s play with what it would require to prosecute the 2015 polls. The election that brought President Jonathan in in 2011 was a walk-over; for sure, the next won’t be. That much is clear with the handwriting on the wall.

    But the president must be careful. It is a powerful statement that his side could not muster the simple majority required to win the 36-member NGF election, even though that was none of its business until he joined the fray. How then can a presidential side which lost at the national level hope to make it at the state level? The president should resist the temptation to use brawn where brain would have been sufficient because the result may be catastrophic. The fact that Obasanjo got away with that is no guarantee that President Jonathan will.

  • Rivers crisis: Amaechi writes Jonathan, Mark, Tambuwal, PSC

    Rivers crisis: Amaechi writes Jonathan, Mark, Tambuwal, PSC

    Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State yesterday tabled before the Police Service Commission (PSC) a catalogue of ‘sins’ allegedly committed by the Commissioner of Police, Mr.Mbu Joseph Mbu, in the political crisis in the state, and why the security chief must be posted out of Port Harcourt.

    The governor in the petition, copies of which were sent to President Goodluck Jonathan, Inspector General of Police Mohammed Abubakar, Senate President David mark and House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, accused Mbu of openly taking sides with those who are out to bring down his (Amaechi’s) government.

    He also said the security situation in the state has been on a free fall since Mbu assumed office last February. The result, according to him, is the erosion of public confidence in the force.

    He told the Chairman of the PSC, Sir. Mike Okiro, that the only way to restore the confidence of the people of the state in the Police is to remove Mbu from the state.

    The petition, dated July 9, 2013, came 48 hours ahead of the setting up of a police panel by IGP Abubakar to probe the involvement of police personnel in last Monday’s fracas on the floor of the Rivers State House of Assembly and his warning to political actors to seek civilised and decent means of resolving their differences.

    On the same day, President Jonathan, in a statement from China, denied involvement in the crisis and asked all PDP members in the state “irrespective of their current affiliations or loyalties,to comport themselves with greater restraint while efforts continue to resolve exisintg differences and restore internal harmony to the state.”

    Amaechi , in his petition, said: “On February 13, 2013, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu was posted to Rivers State as the 31st Police Commissioner in the State. His predecessor, Mr. Mohammed Ndabawa, had served in the state for barely nine months before his replacement with Mr. Mbu.

    “I was sworn in as Governor of Rivers State on October 26, 2007. I have worked with four Commissioners of Police prior to Mr. Mbu’s posting to Rivers State, during which period Rivers State witnessed a steady decline in insecurity and a gradual return of peace to our state.

    “Mr. Mbu is the fifth and present Commissioner of Police in Rivers State since I became Governor. Prior to him, I had worked with Mr. Felix Ogbaudu, Mr. Bala Hassan, Mr. Sulaiman Abba and Mr. Mohammed Ndabawa.

    “Regrettably, since after his assumption as Commissioner of Police in February 2013, the security situation began to deteriorate due largely to his approach to the discharge of his responsibility as Commissioner of Police.”

    Amaechi said Mbu, soon after he assumed of office, “began to withdraw police security attached to principal officers of the state for reasons that were different from those given by the Assistant Inspector General of Police of Zone 6 during a visit to me.

    “Police security attached to the Governor, the Speaker, the Attorney General and key judicial officers were withdrawn without prior notice or justification.

    “This was followed by a daily redeployment of divisional police officers and heads of department who understood the security dynamics of the state and had held their offices with great commendation.

    “A review of the posting and deployment of Divisional Police Officers in Rivers State within the last three months, can attest to this fact.

    “Mr. Mbu then proceeded to undermine the security structure which the State Security Council had put in place and which had proven to be most efficient in the last six years. “Specifically, he immediately terminated the joint police/army patrol, which had been used as a formidable strategy to check violent crime of kidnapping, armed robbery and car snatching in Rivers State.

    “All efforts to make him understand the peculiar security challenges in the state that had necessitated the integrated approach to security were rebuffed by him.

    “While still making efforts to persuade Mr. Mbu to appreciate the peculiar challenges of the state and adopt a cordial working relationship, which the state had enjoyed with his predecessors, Mr. Mbu began to exhibit conducts consistent with partisanship in the discharge of his official duties.”

    Amaechi then proceeded to ask for Mbu’s redeployment from Rivers State, saying: “The Nigerian Police is a people’s police and should not be seen to be partisan. One of its ideals is to show respect to constituted authority and support the Chief Executive’s effort to protect lives and properties.

    “The actions and comments of Mr. Mbu have shown that he is unwilling to support me to protect lives and properties of everyone in Rivers State. He has compromised our regular Security Council meetings, leading to reluctance on the part of other members to speak up during the meetings and therefore rendering the meetings ineffective.

    “Besides his disparaging comments and discussions of security matters with scant regard for decorum, he has destabilised the security apparatus in the state, thereby supporting the return of some of the key actors in the cult wars that engulfed the state from 2004 up till 2007.

    He itemised Mbu’s partisanship as follows:

    15/4/2013:

    Justice Ishaq U. Bello of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory gave the most talked about and challenged judgment where he assumed jurisdiction and declared Bro. Felix Obuah as Chairman of PDP Rivers State.

    15/4/2013:

    The same day, the Commissioner of Police (COP), Mbu Joesph Mbu, dispatched five (5) troopers and over 25 policemen to takeover and seal the State PDP Secretariat and prevented Chief G. U. Ake and other members of his Executive Committee from entring the building, even to take their personal effects.

    (Note that the police was not a party to the suit and was not specifically charged to enforce the judgement, not being the Sheriff of Court)

    19/4/2013:

    The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu, addressed a press conference/briefing where he said, among others: “We are supposed to obey the court judgment. We are here to enforce the law. For now, judgment has been given and we stand by that judgment until there is a contrary order. Anybody or group of persons that attempts to cause tension in the state will be dealt with ruthlessly.”

    Note: The Police were not party to the suit.

    22/4/2013:

    Rivers State House of Assembly suspended Obio/Akpor Local Government Council Chairman and councillors based on a petition bordering on allegations of financial impropriety and other fraud related allegations. The suspension was in accordance with the Rivers State Laws.

    23/4/2013:

    The Caretaker Committee led by Mr. Chikaodi Dike was constituted and sworn in.06/05/2013

    Groups of hired thugs and ex-militants, wielding and brandishing dangerous weapons, invaded the Rivers State House of Assembly and sacked the members from the premises, preventing them from sitting.

    Note that the Rivers State Police Command Headquarters is almost opposite the Assembly Complex. The Commissioner of Police and his officers were in the police headquarters and were unperturbed, allowing the thugs and hoodlums to conclude their actions. The Policemen attached to the Assembly watched, unconcerned until the siege was over.

    22/4/2103 and 07/5/2013

    On both dates, the Okirika Local Government Chairman, Barr.Tamuno Williams, appeared on Channels Television in Lagos to talk about the PDP judgment and the crisis in the state.

    09/05/2013

    Two days after the television programme, the Commissioner of Police ordered the withdrawal of the Mobile Policemen attached to the Okirika Local Government Council and the orderly attached to the Chairman of the Council.

    Note: Okirika LGA is one of the most volatile LGAs in the state, and is a security flash point. Peace had returned to this LGA but in recent times, there have been renewed cult activities and a couple of cult related killings

    10/05/2013

    The Commissioner of Police addressed a press conference in his office at Moscow Road, Port Harcourt , where he accused me of bribing and paying The Nation newspaper to attack and cast aspersions on him, and demanded an apology from me and the newspaper.

    11/05/2013

    The security details attached to Chief G. U. Ake were withdrawn by the Commissioner of Police, following solidarity visit to Chief Akeby, the LGA PDP Chairman.

    12/05/2013

    Two Civil and Human Rights groups – the Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (IHRHL) and the Human Rights Alliance – demanded Mr. Mbu’s immediate removal for lying against the media organisation, The Nation newspaper, and for accusing it of slanting its reports against the Rivers State Command on the crisis in PDP, Rivers State. Anyakwee Nsirimovu, IHRHL’s Executive Director and Ken Atsuwete, a Port Harcourt-based lawyer, spoke for the groups and called on Mr. Mbu to apologise to The Nation newspaper and to me over the allegation.

    12/05/2013

    Hon. Justice H. A. Nganjiwa of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt ordered the Police to vacate the barricade at the Obio/Akpor Council Headquarters to allow the Caretaker Committee members and Council workers access into the Council and to provide security for the Council. The Commissioner of Police publicly announced that the Police wiould not withdraw from the Council, making it clear that he would pick and choose which court orders to obey.

    14/05/2013

    The Commissioner of Police ordered a complete withdrawal of policemen from the Council, contrary to the order of court which clearly stated that it should provide security to the Council. This paved way for criminal activities in the council. His decision to withdraw the policemen was communicated to neither the Caretaker Chairman nor the Council.

    Same day, within 30 minutes of the withdrawal of the policemen, the power generating house at the Council was set on fire while policemen attached to Rumuokoro Police Station watched unperturbed. It is important to mention that this Police Station shares boundary with Obio/Akpor Council Secretariat.

    As soon as the power house was set on fire and documents carted away from some offices, the Police returned and sealed up the premise. The Obio/Akpor Council remains sealed up to date with the police in occupation of same, notwithstanding the order of the Court.

    On the same

    14/05/2013, an aide to Chief G. U. Ake was murdered at Erema, in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA.

    Note that both Chief Ake and Bro. Obuah hail from the same LGA as the murdered aide.

    17/05/2013

    The Commissioner of Police summoned the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon.Otelemaba Dan Amachree, to appear before him on Monday,

    20/05/2013. This was following an open letter written by the Speaker to President Goodluck Jonathan to wade into the political crisis in Rivers State. The Commissioner of Police said the Speaker and Tony Okocha, the Chief of Staff, Government House, were invited for further questioning following their outcry about a plot to assassinate me and my principal supporters in the State.

    He stated that no court would save them.

    20/05/13

    Mr. Mbu addressed a press conference during which he referred to me as a tyrant and a dictator. His specific comments were “Our Governor is very tyrannical; he is a dictator. He wants everybody to say ‘yes sir’ to him and I said I would not say so. I am a professional.”

    22/05/13

    Government House and major streets of Port Harcourt were invaded by a group led by prominent militia leaders, Ateke Tom and Solomon Ndigbara, wearing branded T-shirts and openly displaying weapons led to a blockade of Government House. In consequence of this invasion, a visiting team of distinguished senators, led by H.E. Ike L. Ekweremadu, Deputy President of the Senate, were unable to leave the Government House through the entrance and had to leave through an alternative exit.

    26/06/13

    Mr. Mbu directed his men to restrain over 500 people from the Orashi region from paying a courtesy call and solidarity visit to me at Government House. Port Harcourt, which led to a near crisis.

    09/07/13

    “Following intelligence reports, security was enhanced within and around the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex. At about 09.00 hours, Mr. Mbu invited some of the personnel and directed that the security formations should be demobilised. In consequence of this failure of security at the instance of Mr. Mbu, hoodlums invaded the premises and chambers of the House of Assembly. The attendant fracas led to injury to persons, including members of the House. Upon the receipt of this information, I went to the Assembly Complex with my security details to rescue members of the Assembly. Thereafter, the House proceeded to sit and conduct its business for the day. Further information reaching me in the presence of Mr. Mbu necessitated my inviting him to accompany me to the Assembly Complex, which he declined. On the advice of my security, I stayed back and directed that they should monitor the situation.”

    Amaechi said Mr. Mbu is “not desirous of assisting us in our quest for a crime-free and peaceful Rives State. It is also evident that he lacks the appropriate mien and disposition required of such a highly placed officer of the law and is unable to appropriately perform his functions as Commissioner of Police in Rivers State.

    “I would therefore wish to respectfully request for his re-deployment from Rivers State in the interest of the people of the State and to restore the confidence of the people of Rivers State in the impartiality of the Nigerian Police.”

    The governor expressed fears that the state might slide back into the 2003-2007 security challenge if the current situation is not reversed.

    His words: “The problem that engulfed the Niger Delta region between 2003 and 2007 has its root in the crisis in parts of Rivers State in 2003/2004, which pitted leaders of several local militias and cult groups against one another in a supremacy battle.

    “The turbulence was such that residents of the state could not move from one community to the other or from one part of Port Harcourt to another for fear of becoming victims of the needless carnage between the warring groups.

    “Despite the intervention of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in October 2004 in what became known as the ‘first Amnesty programme, the crisis eventually spread to other States of the Niger Delta and assumed a different dimension that took the ‘second amnesty programme’ and the determination of the Rivers State Government insistence on the enforcement of law and order to bring it under control.

    “One of the major casualties of the 2003/2004 mayhem was the Nigeria Police Force whose officers and men suffered death, humiliation and lost morale because at some point during the crisis, the police failed in the discharge of its duties and eventually became victims of their inactions.

    “With this benefit of hindsight, I have since assumption of office as Governor of Rivers State treated the security of lives and property as priority.

    “The Rivers State Government under my watch invested massively in training, equipping and providing logistics support for the Nigeria Police and other law enforcement agencies to enhance their capacity to discharge their duties.

    “It is in furtherance of this that I write to bring to your attention certain developments in Rivers State that are undermining the security of lives and property of residents, dwellers and businesses.”

    Amaechi explained why Rivers State’s security should not be allowed to degenerate.

    “It is the largest on-shore oil producing State and the headquarters of Nigeria’s hydro- carbon industry. It is also home to Nigeria ’s only Oil and Gas Free Zone as well as several Off- shore oil and gas fields. In addition, Rivers State hosts multinational Oil and Gas Companies, Shell Petroleum Development Co (SPDC), MOBIL, AGIP, CHEVRON and many others.

    “ Rivers State is the second largest economy in Nigeria after Lagos State.

    During the inglorious days of the militancy, Rivers State was the fault line and bore the brunt of the Niger Delta militancy wars. Those scars are still very evident. The Nigerian Constitution recognises the Governor as the Chief Executive of the State.”

    •See full text of letter on Page 56

  • NGF: Saraki tackles Obi

    NGF: Saraki tackles Obi

    • Says I didn’t impose Amaechi

    • You can leave forum, Mimiko tells aggrieved govs

    Former Governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki, yesterday, faulted Governor Peter Obi’s claim that he (Saraki) imposed Governor Rotimi Amaechi on the Nigeria Governors Forum ( NGF) as chairman in 2011.

    He said that although he did not mind Obi succeeding him as NGF chairman, PDP governors rejected the Anambra State governor.

    Saraki made the clarification in a statement in Abuja by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Akintoba Fatigun, against the backdrop of Obi’s statement at the weekend that the imposition of Amaechi on NGF started in 2011 when Amaechi was allegedly imposed on the governors by Saraki.

    But Saraki in his rebuttal explained how Amaechi emerged in 2011 as the NGF chairman.

    He said: “Governor Peter Obi was ex-Governor Bukola Saraki’s Vice-Chairman in NGF, and Obi believed he should be the natural successor to the chairmanship position of the NGF after Saraki’s tenure.

    “Although the former governor of Kwara State had no objection to that, there’s an unwritten law that the party in the majority (PDP) should continue to produce the chairman of the forum, because it has always been the tradition even before Saraki came on board.

    “So, it was decided that the chairmanship should remain in the South- East to compensate for Obi’s loss. Therefore, Governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State, who is a PDP governor, was asked to step in as the next chairman, but he rejected the position on the excuse that he had too much to handle.

    “At this point, Saraki, who wanted a South- East Governor to take over from him, did not have an option, since Governor Elechi rejected the offer, than to concede the slot to the South-South reluctantly. The South- South governor in attendance were Governors Liyel Imoke, Timpre Sylva and Rotimi Amaechi. The three governors then retired into a private room to discuss who among them should pick the lot.”

    Saraki’s media aide added that after the closed door meeting, Imoke announced that they had all agreed that Amaechi after consultation with other South South governors has been picked to succeed him. He explained further that Obi was rejected by PDP governors and not Saraki, adding that “it was because he (Obi) was not allowed to take over that it was agreed that he should continue as Vice-Chairman.”

    However, Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State added a new dimension to the NGF leadership tussle yesterday when he said aggrieved governors could opt out.

    Mimiko who is the deputy chairman of the Jang faction of the forum spoke during a meeting at the newly commissioned secretariat of the faction.

    According to him, “The Forum is a voluntary association. We came together as a forum of equals to be able to leverage on issues. So anybody can pull out without consequences on his position as governor of his state.”

    The governor said not one of the governors is proud of the current crisis in the NGF, stating however that “we believe that we must stand for what is right and just.”

    Defending the installation of Jang as the NGF chair, Mimiko said the election that threw up Amaechi as chair of the forum did not meet acceptable standard of election, “not even a village council election.”

    According to him, the result of the NGF poll did not reflect the true outcome of the election. Besides, Mimiko said the emergence of the NGF chair had always been by consensus and that Jang had already been picked as chairman through consensus.

    The governor dismissed the video recording of the election, describing it as a product of manipulation, predetermined and disrespectful. He challenged anyone to show the world where he (Mimiko) was captured casting his vote in the video.

    Jang, who chaired the meeting, said his faction was not aware of the video and described the recording as “morally wrong and corrupt”. According to him, the video was not an official recording of the forum, and, as such, remained untameable.

    “It is like the Abacha video. Who did the video? We are not aware of the video anyway. For Amaechi or any governor to hide a camera somewhere without the knowledge of the governors is morally wrong and corrupt.”

  • NGF chair: South-South govs’ dump Amaechi

    NGF chair: South-South govs’ dump Amaechi

    • We‘re not aware –CPS

    Governors of South South states are set to dump Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State at this week’s election of a new chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF).

    Amaechi is the current chairman of the forum but the Presidency does not want him back on the seat on account of political differences.

    The Presidency, according to sources, is intensifying its mobilisation of support for its anointed candidate, Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State.

    Only Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State is said not to be sharing the position of his counterparts on the Amaechi issue.

    The Nation reliably gathered that the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Anthony Anenih, and the Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Mike Oghiadome, have in the last few weeks, put pressure on PDP governors, particularly in the South East and the South-South to support Shema at the election slated for May 23.

    A source privy to the plan revealed: “Anenih has visited Cross River about three times recently and may have succeeded in convincing Governor Liyel Imoke, who is the Chairman of the South-South Governors Forum, to dump Amaechi.

    “Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has also been cajoled to back Shema, but the Presidency’s foot soldiers have not bothered to lobby Oshiomhole because his position to vote for Amaechi has not changed. For Governors Godswill Akpabio and Seriake Dickson of Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa States, representing, their loyalty to the president is unquestionable.”

    In the South East only Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo is backing Amaechi.

    The Presidency, whose points man in the zone is Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, has been assured of the support of Theodore Orji (Abia); Sullivan Chime (Enugu) and Martins Elechi (Ebonyi).

    The South East and South South governors, at a recent meeting in Asaba, Delta State, asked their colleagues and Nigerians to give maximum support to the Jonathan government in the implementation of its transformation agenda.

    Oshiomhole was absent at the parley.

    A source disclosed that Okorocha, who had been tipped off on the agenda of the meeting, deliberately came late and only took part in the photo session with his colleagues.

    Before the meeting ended, The Nation learnt that Anenih addressed the governors and impressed it on them on the “implications of allowing the president to be humiliated if Amaechi is re-elected as NGF chair.”

    In his reaction to the claim that South-South governors have decided not to support Amaechi, the Chief Press Secretary to the Rivers State governor, David Iyiofor, in a terse SMS to The Nation simply, said, “I’m not aware.”

  • Rivers pdp: Amaechi, Wike move battle to state assembly

    Rivers pdp: Amaechi, Wike move battle to state assembly

    • Tension heightens as suspended legislators vow to attend session tomorrow

     

    Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, are putting their political strength to test tomorrow on the floor of the State House of Assembly.

    The PDP-dominated Assembly is expected to resume from a recess forced by the crisis in the party.

    The duo are currently locked in a fierce battle for the soul of the PDP in the state with 27 of the legislators, including the Speaker, Mr. Otelemaba Dan Amachree, on the side of the governor and five with Mr. Wike.

    The pro-Amaechi group suspended the pro-Wike legislators only for the Obuah-led State Executive Committee of the PDP to suspend the 27 lawmakers for alleged anti-party activities.

    The pro-Wike legislators who are in the minority have vowed to defy their suspension by the House and attend tomorrow’s session.

    Speaker Amachree claimed last week that the five legislators, with the backing of powerful forces in Abuja, are plotting to impeach the governor and destabilise the state.

    He cited last Friday’s invasion of the secretariat of Obio/Akpor Local Government by policemen as the first stage in the alleged destabilisation plot.

    The police had asked the Chairman of the council’s Care taker Committee, Mr. Dike Chikordi, and other members to leave. The order was ignored.

    The leader of the Assembly, Mr. Chidi Lloyd, said in a radio programme yesterday in Port Harcourt that Amaechi and his group would not be intimidated by anyone.

    According to him, the governor would not chicken out regardless of man-made problems.

    He said: “The times are perilous. On April 30, Rivers Assembly raised the alarm on plot to destabilise Rivers State. Friday’s sealing off of secretariat of Obio/Akpor LG is Act 2, Scene 3. Rivers Police Commissioner (Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu), ordered the invasion. That is why we are calling for his removal, for taking sides.

    “Huge contingent of ferocious-looking policemen invaded Obio/Akpor LG secretariat. Police do not work in isolation. There is institutional collaboration. The caretaker committee chairman is the Chief Security Officer of the LG, but he was not informed of plans by some persons to disrupt activities at the secretariat, which the police command said prompted the sealing off.

    “Policemen invaded Obio/Akpor LG secretariat without legal instrument. Explanation by Rivers Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ben Ugwuegbulam (DSP), that they were doing proactive policing is laughable.

    “PPRO said the police command got information that Obio/Akpor LG secretariat at Rumuodomaya, Port Harcourt was to be attacked and immediately deployed their men, to prevent the breakdown of law and order, without deeming it fit to bring such matters to the attention of the caretaker chairman, who was asked to leave his office, but refused.”

    On the suspension of Mr. Timothy Nsirim, the pro-Wike Chairman of Obio/Akpor LG by the Assembly, he said it followed a petition “by 17 prominent indigenes of Obio/Akpor LG” in which Nsirim was accused of misappropriation of funds and security breach. “The House’s committee submitted an interim report and recommended the suspension of Nsirim and others, with the council’s accounts frozen, pending the conclusion of investigation. The committee members were given two weeks to submit their report, which may be one of the reasons for reconvening on Monday.

    “If found culpable, the suspended Obio/Akpor chairman and others will face further disciplinary action, but if the allegations are frivolous, they will be reinstated.

    “The five lawmakers (anti-Amaechi) who are complaining about the suspension of Nsirim and others should be ignored. When you are part of a legislative decision, you cannot query it. We have not acted outside our powers. There is no faction in Rivers Assembly.”

    Meanwhile, members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Port Harcourt Local Government Area (PHALGA) chapter, have pledged their support for Governor Amaechi and the Godspower Ake-led Exco of PDP in the state.

    Representatives of the party in the 20 wards in PHALGA made this declaration yesterday during a meeting in Port Harcourt.

    The PHALGA PDP chairman, NyeDike Okezi Boms, told members at the meeting not to be deterred by the current crisis in the party in the state, but to support Governor Amaechi : He dismissed as invalid the suspension of the two members of the state House of Assembly by the Obuah/Wike faction of the party.

    Also speaking, the Mayor of PHALGA, Mr. Chim Biko Akarolo, said: “Those troubling the state want to underdevelop us, they want to take us to the dark days, we must be focused, resist them because we are going to win this battle.”

  • Amaechi’s plane barred from flying

    Amaechi’s plane barred from flying

    • NCAA says documents expired April 2, 2013

    • There’s more to grounding of my aircraft –Governor

    • NAMA insists absence of manifest caused Akure airport delay

    The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) yesterday ordered Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s controversial aircraft off the country’s air space.

    The aircraft is said to be operating illegally with expired documents.

    The no-fly order came 24 hours after the Bombardier -BD 700, Global Express aircraft with registration number N565RS was grounded for two hours at the Akure Airport in Ondo State because its pilot failed to produce the manifest.

    The story, however, changed last night with the Director, Airworthiness Standards, Benedict Adeyileka, saying the plane’s clearance approval expired on April 2, 2013.

    He spoke to reporters just hours after Governor Amaechi insinuated that the grounding of his plane at the Akure Airport on Friday had political undertones, a veiled reference to the ongoing cold war between him and the Presidency over the 2015 presidential race.

    The National Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) in a separate statement yesterday restated its position that the refusal of the pilot to submit the passengers manifest as required by the new safety regulations caused the Akure Airport saga.

    It said, contrary to reports, the plane was given clearance to fly within 10 minutes of seeking approval.

    The governor’s office dismissed the agency’s position as a cock and bull story, blatant lie and monumental embarrassment.

    Adeyileka, at the press conference, said the plane had been sighted flying in and out of several places including Owerri and Akure with expired documents.

    He said:”The controversial aircraft on the service of Governor Rotimi Amaechi is operating illegally in the country. By our records the last flight clearance for this aircraft was approved for operations on Thursday, March 28, 2013 on Accra/Port Harcourt and Accra to terminate on April 2, 2013. With this development, the aircraft has exceeded the extra two days or 48 hours leeway for it to leave the country.

    “While still operating illegally, the aircraft has been sighted in several places, including Owerri and Akure, the owner of this aircraft according to the certificate of registration is Bank of Utah Trustees of Salt Lake City, Utah United States of America.

    “The clearance for the aircraft was sought by Caverton Helicopters on March 27,2013.NCAA did not ground the aircraft prior to request for start up in Akure on Friday 26, April 2013.Consequently, this aircraft in reference is hereby grounded at any airport that is located right now in the country.”

    Prior to the ban order, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. David Iyofor, had, in a statement in Port Harcourt, said the Friday action of NAMA was premeditated.

    His words: “We had set out from Abuja in the morning of Friday April 26, 2013 to Imo State to attend the funeral rites of the younger sister of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Emeka Ihedioha. Our plane, a Bombardier jet owned by the Rivers State Government, landed at the airport in Owerri. It was in Owerri that the pilot of our plane was first tipped off that there was a plot to ground our plane in Owerri that Friday.

    “Fortunately for us, we took off from Owerri airport and arrived at Akure airport en-route to Ekiti for the burial of the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka without any incident. On the flight to Akure was the Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal who we met in Imo State and was also heading to Ekiti for the burial of Mrs Olayinka. Also on the flight were the Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the Director-General Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) Asishana Bayo Okauru, Kalabari prince and politician Prince Tonye Princewill, some aides of the Governor and me.

    “Once our party left the Akure airport for Ekiti, our pilot went to the airport offices to make statutory airport payments and fees, file his flight plan and declare his manifest. After filing his fight plan and declaring his manifest, our pilot was told to go and see the Controller. The Controller bluntly told him that the Rivers Government plane would not be allowed to leave the airport. In other words, the plane had been grounded! He said that the plane should have been grounded in Owerri. The Controller on duty at the airport in Akure mentioned some vague issues relating to the customs papers of the plane, which has been flying in Nigeria for many months? That didn’t make any sense to the pilot. He enquired on whose orders the plane was being grounded, he was told that it was the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA). And that he should reach the NAMA MD.

    “By the time our party, which now included four House of Representatives members- Mohammed Sani Idris Kutigi, Daniel Rayeineju, Idris Ahmed Wase and Ifedayo Abegunde- returned to the Akure airport, there was confusion everywhere. Speaker Tambuwal, the members and Governor Amaechi and his team, were all stranded at the airport. The plane that brought Speaker Tambuwal and Governor Amaechi to Akure could not leave Akure airport. Calls were being made as these two democratically elected leaders, furious and perplexed, tried to fathom what could have caused this monumental embarrassment to them and their offices.

    “After trying fruitlessly for some time to get the plane released, Speaker Tambuwal then offered to fly Governor Amaechi to Port Harcourt with the plane(another small aircraft) that brought the other four Honourable members to Akure. To accommodate Governor Amaechi in the small aircraft, one of the House of Representatives members offered his seat to the Governor .

    “The pilot of the Rivers State Government plane was already locking up the aircraft for us to leave for Lagos by road when a call eventually came through that the plane could now leave. The Controller received a directive to allow the plane fly out of Akure. The decision to let us go, we later learnt, was due to the pressure brought on the aviation authorities by Speaker Tambuwal.

    “It is indeed most shameful and ludicrous that NAMA and the Aviation authorities are now saying that they grounded the Rivers State Government plane because the pilot did not file a flight plan and declare a manifest. That’s a blatant lie. A big fat one at that. The pilot filed the flight plan and manifest, and paid all the statutory airport fees and charges shortly after the plane arrived at the Akure airport in the afternoon. If the pilot filed a flight plan and manifest at the airports in Abuja and Owerri, where he flew from same day, why won’t he then do the same in Akure? It is instructive to note that all through the traumatic time we spent in Akure, no official of the airport or aviation staff came to tell Governor Amaechi that we were grounded because our pilot “refused to file a flight plan and manifest.” All they kept saying was that they were just obeying directives, it was beyond them and we should call Abuja. Speaker Tambuwal and the other four members of the House of Representatives are living witnesses to that charade.

    “NAMA and the aviation authorities should explain to Nigerians why an aircraft owned by a State government, that flew the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal and a democratically elected Governor of a State who also the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, would be grounded at an airport for no just cause? “ Iyofor, contacted last night to react to the no fly order said there was nothing new to say for now.

    However, NAMA in a statement gave its own side of the story and insisted that it was only enforcing the regulations on air safety.

    According to the Managing Director, Nnamdi Udoh, the plane was delayed by the failure of the crew to submit declaration including passengers’ manifest.

    This, he said, is part of the mandatory requirement for operators of non scheduled flight including charter operations.

    He explained that for the Akure Airport, which operates only during day time, there are restrictions on operations that extend beyond the approved time, which would require approval from authorities concerned.

    The NAMA boss said:” You are all aware of the incident involving the Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi alleging that his aircraft was grounded to take from the airport in reference.

    “The aircraft the governor came with is with registration number 5N565RS- Global Express. The pilot called for air traffic controllers clearance at 6.35 pm, he got clearance same time and started taxing by 6.45 pm and departed 6.51 pm.

    “By regulations the manager has no power of to clear any aircraft at this period, except an approval given from the authorities concerned.

    “After due clearance and the provision of the needed logistics, the aircraft in reference was cleared for take- off.

    “But, we need to stress this that we operate by rules and regulations .

    “Aviation is not political and we do not play politics in this industry . We appeal that pilots and operators should comply with the operating rules at all the airports in the country.”

  • Why Amaechi’s aircraft was delayed- NAMA

    The Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has explained why the takeoff of the Global Express aircraft operated by the Rivers State Government was delayed at the Akure Airport on Friday.

    The agency said the aircraft was delayed due to failure on the part of the crew to submit declaration, which includes passengers’ manifest to be submitted with the flight plan.

    According to the Managing Director of NAMA, Engineer Nnamdi Udoh, the submission of a declaration, which includes a passenger’s manifest, is part of mandatory requirements by aviation agencies for operators of non scheduled flight including charter operations.

    He explained that for Akure Airport, which only carries out daylight flights, there are restrictions on operations that extend beyond the approved time, which would require approval from authorities concerned.

    The statement  issued by the NAMA boss on the incident stated as follows :” You are all aware of the incident involving the Governor of Rivers State, Hon Rotimi Amaechi alleging that his aircraft was grounded to take from the airport in reference.

    “The aircraft the governor came with is with registration number 5N565RS- Global Express. The pilot called for air traffic controllers clearance at 6.35 pm, he got clearance same time and started taxing by 6.45 pm and departed 6.51 pm.

    “By regulations the manager has no power of his own to clear any aircraft at this period, except an approval given from the authorities concerned.

    After due clearance and the provision of the needed logistics, the aircraft in reference was cleared for takeoff.

    “But, we need to stress this that we operate by rules and regulations.

    Aviation is not political and we do not play politics in this industry. We appeal that pilots and operators should comply with the operating rules at all the airports in the country.”

     

  • Ogonis hail Amaechi’s leadership

    Ogonis hail Amaechi’s leadership

     

    The  Ogoni ethnic nationality in Rivers State consisting of Eleme, Tai, Gokana and Khana Local Government Areas have expressed their support for the administration of Governor Chibuike Amaechi .

     

    The stated their commitment to the administration and passed a vote of confidence in the governor  when they paid a solidarity visit to the governor at Government House, Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

     

    Led by  King G.N.K. Gininwa, who is also  the chairman of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, the  Ogonis  thanked  Governor Amaechi for his development strides and commitment to the welfare of their community and other parts of  the state.

     

    In the address read by Justice Peter Akere (Rtd), the  Ogonis said they would continue to support and stand by the Amaechi administration and would resist all attempts to short-change the people of the state.

     

    “In the 2011 elections, the people of Ogoni ethnic nationalities delivered an overwhelming vote towards your re-election as the Executive Governor of Rivers State and thereby gave you a mandate to take Rivers State to enviable heights in development. That mandate confers on you the leadership of the people. That mandate is incontestable, incontrovertible and irrevocable. It is in this light that the people of Ogoni ethnic nationalities are awakened by current developments in the polity of this nation to challenge the efficacy and sustainability of the mandate of leadership that the people of Rivers State through God bestowed upon you. We have therefore come to reiterate that the Ogoni ethnic nationalities have resolved to support and stand by you in your pursuit to bring development to Rivers State and Ogoni and resist all attempts to short-change the people of Rivers State and Ogoni.”

     

    They hailed the governor’s efforts to better the lives of Rivers people, supporting the recovering of the state oil wells and called on the Federal Government and Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to expedite action on the East-West Road which traverses some parts of Ogoniland to ease the transportation difficulties in affected areas.

     

    “Today, we are in the threshold of history experiencing state governmental interventions in the life and development of the people in a way that is unique and profound. We are indeed very proud of the tremendous achievements recorded by Your Excellency in Ogoniland and Rivers State so far. The State Model Primary and Secondary Schools are first of their kind in the country. The Songhai Farm in Bunu-Tai and the Banana plantation in Khana are contributing to food security in the state and creating jobs for our youths. We are gladdened by the fact that the model secondary school in Eleme is now in full operation, while the one in Tai is almost near completion. Healthcare has been taken to the door steps of all Rivers people. The Rivers State sustainable Development programme is indeed a success story of youth empowerment and sustainable development which has also benefited the Ogoni ethnic nationalities.”

     

    Responding, Governor Amaechi thanked the people of Ogoni for their solidarity visit and reiterated that he would continue to provide good governance for the people of the state. He urged them to  continue to  support  in monitoring and evaluation of the numerous projects sited in the Ogoni areas of the s

     

    “I have to say that I received massive support from the Ogonis and therefore you need to have me deliver the services that made you ask me to stay in this place. I must thank you for that vote and I thank you for all the support,” Amaechi said.