The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nwaeke

  • Fubara’s Chief of Staff slams Nwaeke, Channels TV with N2bn libel suit

    Fubara’s Chief of Staff slams Nwaeke, Channels TV with N2bn libel suit

    Dr. Edison Ehie, the Chief of Staff to the suspended Rivers state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has filed a N2bn libel suit at the state High Court sitting in Port Harcourt against the immediate past Rivers Head of Service (HoS), Dr. George Nwaeke and Channels Incorporated Limited.

    Ehie initiated the litigation following the recent allegations of Nwaeke televised by Channels that he was the mastermind of the inferno that engulfed and destroyed the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex among others.

    Ehie in the suit is praying the court to award him N2bn as general damages saying that the defendants on March 29th without cause or occasion made the allegations thereby seriously injuring his credit, character and reputation.

    He said the publication by the defendants brought him into public scandal, odium, contempt of his person, character and integrity and lowered him in the estimation of right-thinking members of the public and society.

    He described the said publication as false and most disparaging of his person to the knowledge and understanding on the defendants.

    Ehie future prayed the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants forthwith either by themselves, agents, privies, workers or however from further publication or from further publishing or from further continuing to publish or circulating either to the general public or to any manner of persons, howsoever the said malicious and libelous document subject matter of the suit and or such similar documents concerning the person of the claimant.

    Read Also: Rivers crisis: Nwaeke has vindicated us, says APC

    He asked the court to issue “an order for immediate retraction of the said publication and an apology to the claimant by the defendants for the said invidious and libelous publication forthwith and same to be widely publicized in the second defendant’s (Channels TV) television network, another television network and two newspapers with nationwide leadership in Nigeria.

    The court presided over by Dr. Jumbo Stephens, had already issued an order of substituted on the defendants.

    The judge granted Ehie the leave to serve the originating and other processes in the suit on the first defendant (George Nwaeke) by pasting same at the entrance of his residence at No 10 Olumeni Street, Old GRA, Port Harcourt.

    The judge also ordered that the originating processes should be served on Nwaeke via publication in a daily newspaper having nationwide circulation including Abuja, FCT.

    The judge adjourned the matter to the 10th of April 2025 for proof of service.

  • Rivers crisis: Nwaeke has vindicated us, says APC

    Rivers crisis: Nwaeke has vindicated us, says APC

    The Chairman of Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC), Sir. Tony Okocha has said the recent revelations of the former Head of Service, George Nwaeke have vindicated the party’s position that suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubura is the architect of the political crisis rocking the Niger Delta state.

    The oil-rich State has been engulfed in series of political crisis which led to the declaration of March 18th State of Emergency  by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the subsequent appointment of former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), as the Sole Administrator of the state. 

    Okocha in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday said the recent revelation by Nwaeke that the governor initiated and authored the bombing of the Rivers State House of Assembly also confirmed the APC allegations against Fubara. 

    According to Okocha, the former Head of Service in his revelation stated categorically that the political crisis in the state was “orchestrated by Fubara himself”.

    The statement reads: “The APC in Rivers State through her State Chairman, Sir (Chief) Tony C. Okocha, have been accusing suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara of being the brain behind what Rivers people woke up to witness on October 29, 2023, the bombing of the Rivers State House of Assembly, an edifice comparable to none in the 36 States across Nigeria.

    “The truth is like broad day light which shines through darkness, and repels darkness, to bring forth daylight. No matter the level of the thickness of darkness, it cannot withstand daylight.

    “It is important to state here for purposes of emphasis, and for clarity, that Dr. George Nwaeke as the Head of Service in Rivers State at the time, was the number 3 man in the State, and as such, his account as stated by him cannot be hearsay.

    ”Tax payers money in Rivers State was wasted in a way and manner that cannot be forgotten in a hurry amidst scarce resources, and global economic crunch.” 

    Okocha alleged that the suspended Governor went a step further in less than 48 hours after the bombing to personally supervise the pulling down of the assembly complex, while his supporters cheered him on.

    ”According to Dr. George Nwaeke, the governor directed his Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie, to carry out the attack on the Assembly complex to prevent his impeachment by lawmakers aligned with Minister Nyesom Wike.

    “Dr. George Nwaeke even went as far as to reveal how he witnessed a cash handover to Edison Ehie for the purpose of the attack.

    “What is most interesting to the APC in Rivers State as a responsible political party, is that Dr. George Nwaeke’s revelations and testimonies of how suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his squad bombed the Rivers State House of Assembly is an eye witness account.

    “Again, it has clearly vindicated the APC in Rivers State as the only visible and viable opposition political party in the State, and has cemented the love for the party in the heart of well meaning Rivers people as the voice of the voiceless, and the hope for a better Rivers State.

    “The revelations made by the former Head of Service in Rivers State has further positioned her (APC) as a political party with high level of integrity, and the hope of Rivers people for a viable alternative to produce the Governor of Rivers State in 2027″ he stated. 

    Okocha called on security agencies to get at the root cause of this whole matter, and make such public.

  • Rivers Mandate Group slams Nwaeke over claims against Fubara

    Rivers Mandate Group slams Nwaeke over claims against Fubara

    The Rivers Mandate Group (RMG) has denounced recent allegations leveled against suspended the suspended governor, Siminalayi Fubara by George Nwaeke, a former Head of the State Civil Service, calling them a desperate and poorly executed attempt to tarnish the governor’s reputation.

    In a statement signed by its president, Pastor Godknows John, the group dismissed Nwaeke’s claims as unfounded and driven by political motives.

    “A viral video that surfaced online has cast serious doubt on the authenticity of Nwaeke’s claims,” the statement read. “In the footage, Nwaeke is seen being handed a prepared script, while a voice in the background instructs him to ‘read from the script I wrote,’ followed by the command ‘Action.’ This exposes the so-called press conference as nothing more than a staged act.”

    According to RMG, the video reveals a carefully choreographed attempt to mislead the public. 

    “This is not a whistleblower’s revelation but a scripted performance by desperate political actors bent on tarnishing Governor Fubara’s reputation,” the group added.

    The organisation accused Nwaeke of participating in a larger scheme to destabilise the state and pave the way for external political interference.

    “Nwaeke remained silent while in office, only to suddenly ‘remember’ these allegations after his resignation. Where was his conscience all this time? If he had genuine evidence, why didn’t he report it to the appropriate security agencies? Why now, and why through a staged performance in an Abuja hotel room?” Pastor John queried.

    RMG also noted a revealing twist: Nwaeke’s wife, Florence, has publicly distanced herself from his claims, disclosing that she lost contact with him after he granted the controversial interview.

    The group called on the public to disregard Nwaeke’s statements, describing them as part of a broader agenda to create instability in Rivers State.

    “Even his wife, Florence Nwaeke, has raised the alarm, saying she does not recognise the man in that interview. She has asked Nigerians to help her find her husband, whose numbers are no longer going through. This is a clear sign that he is acting under pressure,” the statement added.

    The group described the allegations as reckless propaganda, warning that Rivers people would not be deceived by such desperate tactics.

    “This attempt to falsely implicate Governor Fubara is dead on arrival. Rivers people will not be dragged into this scripted crisis. We call on security agencies to investigate those behind this plot and put an end to these political games,” the statement added.

    The group urged residents to remain calm and not fall for what it called an orchestrated political circus designed to mislead the public.