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Tag: Nyesom Wike

  • Wike pledges peaceful LG poll in Rivers

    Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers says he has received assurances from heads of security agencies in the state that adequate measures are in place to ensure a peaceful local council poll.

    A media aide to the governor,  Mr Simeon Nwakaudu, in a statement on Thursday quoted Wike as saying that government  would “hold the security agencies professionally accountable should insecurity be experienced in the state in the course of the election.’’

    The News men reports that there are 23 local government areas, 319 electoral wards and 4,442 polling units in Rivers.

    The governor also urged community leaders and members of the public to be alert and report suspicious characters and movements in their neighbourhoods  to law enforcement agencies.

    “Also, the security agencies have definite instructions to strictly enforce the restrictions on human and vehicular movement on Election Day and arrest any person or group of persons that violate this order.

    “All those who have no official business with conducting the election should therefore stay away from the polling units after casting their votes or risk arrest and prosecution,’’ he said.

    According to the governor, there is no legal instrument stopping the conduct of  Saturday’s election in the state.

    “As things stand now, we have no other choice but to conduct the local government election and allow democracy to settle and thrive once again at the grassroots and drive the development of our communities.

    “I can confirm to you that the election will take place as scheduled in all the 4,442 units, 319 wards and 23 local government areas of the state as there is no legal obstacle significant enough to warrant otherwise.

    Read Also: Wike: Fed Govt plans to frame me

    “Let me therefore appeal to all registered voters to turn out in their numbers to vote for the candidates of their choice.

    “This is a civic responsibility you must exercise in order to rekindle the touch of democracy, good governance and accountability in the local government system.

    “I am very pleased with the information that 67 out of the 68 registered political parties have fielded candidates for the election  and are therefore participating,’’ Wike said.

    He expressed happiness with the assurances by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission ( RVSIEC ) that it would conduct free, fair and credible election on Saturday.

    “For us, this is an irreducible minimum and we demand nothing less as government will hold the commission strictly accountable for any act  or omission  that compromise the integrity of both the process and the election,’’ Wike said.

    In a broadcast to the people of  the state,  the governor  had given  reasons for the delay in the conduct of the election.

    “After three years of legal vacillation,  it is now clear that the subject matter or fundamental interest of the claimants in that case has practically been wasted by effluxion of  time.

    “ And whatever remedies derivable by the parties, if any, can only be nominal.

    “While the legal challenge continues, the people of Rivers State are denied their rights to freely elect officers to run the councils democratically.

    “However, as things stand now, we have no other choice but to conduct the local government election and allow democracy to settle and thrive once again at the grassroots and drive the development of our communities,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • PDP decries alleged threat to Wike

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has drawn the attention of Nigerians and the international community to what it described as “threat to Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, by  Federal Government.”

    Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP National Publicity Secretary made the call while condemning the development in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

    He noted that recent statement by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that the Federal Government would have dragged Wike to court, but for his constitutional immunity, had confirmed the fears that government wanted to silence the opposition.

    “PDP condemns in strong terms the further threat against Wike by the Minister of Information and Culture,´´ he said.

    He said rather than dismissing the governor’s allegation that there was a plot by the federal government to assassinate him in a crowd, the matter should be investigated.

    Ologbondiyan recalled that the PDP had earlier raised an alarm over plot to harass, intimidate and implicate opposition leaders and members, adding that the party was not prepared to leave anything to chance.(NAN)

  • ‘Rivers APC do not need to rig to kick Wike out’

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has stated that members of the main opposition party in the state do not need to rig to kick Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) out of Government House, Port Harcourt next year.

    He also described as most unfortunate, disgraceful, misguided, witch-hunting, vicious, incredible, wicked, unacceptable and sad that Wike could set aside N500 million of Rivers state’s funds to sponsor smear campaign against the Commander of Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) in Rivers State, Mr. Akin Fakorede, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP).

    Eze noted that the Rivers governor was showing desperation to remove Fakorede, after his failed attempts through the failed #endSARS campaign to blackmail the Rivers commander of F-SARS.

    He stated that members of APC in Rivers would not fold their arms and leave a professional police officer, who is desirous of a better Rivers state, to be run down by a misguided governor.

    Read Also: Wike is enjoying immunity, says Fed Govt

    The APC chieftain said: “For Wike to budget such a whopping N500 million for a programme to run down an innocent police officer, who is doing his work diligently and satisfactorily for the people of Rivers State, at a period when Wike can neither pay the salaries of the civil servants in the state nor the pensions of our retired civil servants, is really unfortunate. Rivers governor is also unable to create jobs or engage any of the thousands of unemployed Rivers youths.

    “Wike, after sponsoring series of campaign of calumny against Fakorede, he has gone further to place advertisements on the front and inside pages of major national newspapers to sustain the blackmail against the Rivers commander of F-SARS.”

    Eze also lauded the Inspector-General of Police (IGP),  Ibrahim Idris, for exonerating Fakorede of all the allegations levelled against him and for authorising the police officer to sue Wike and the Rivers government over the false, malicious and libelous publications against him.

    He added that the Rivers governor is well known for his notoriety for rigging elections and felt that everybody would do the same thing.

    The APC chieftain urged Wike to apologise to the Rivers commander of F-SARS, retract the damaging advertisements and pay the N2 billion damages.

  • Wike is enjoying immunity – FG

    The federal government said on Wednesday it could not probe the assassination allegation made by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike because the governor enjoys immunity.

    Minister of Information Lai Mohammed told reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja that for the fact that the he is enjoying immunity, he would have been invited over his allegation that the Federal government was planning to assassinate him.

    Read Also: Wike needs help, say Amaechi’s men

    Mohammed said: “As for the question about the allegation by the governor of Rivers that he has information that he will be assassinated by the federal government in a crowd., “I think that is one of the beauty of being a governor is that you enjoy immunity from prosecution and arrest.  Because I remember a couple of years ago when I made similar allegations, I was invited to Force Headquarters.”

    But Wike in a statement accused the federal government of caring less about human lives especially when people are being killed daily across the country.

    Wike said because the Federal Government had relegated the sanctity of human lives, that is why they give conflicting reasons for the security challenges that have led to wanton killings in different parts of the country.

    “They don’t care about the issue of the protection of lives and property. That is why people are killed in their numbers every day.

    “But I will not be slaughtered easily. They will not succeed in their plot”, Governor Wike said.

    The governor expressed shock   that rather than say that this weighty intelligence report will be duly investigated; the Minister of Information is struggling to trivialize the matter.

    He said that there are laid down constitutional processes of handling weighty issues of this nature, pointing out that it is unfortunate that the Federal Government has deliberately refused to follow the  constitutional path.

  • Lawmaker calls on Speaker RSHA to resign

    The Lawmaker representing Ahoada East constituency 1,  in the River State House of Assembly,  Martins Mannah has called for the resignation of the speaker of the Rivers state house of Assembly Rt. Hon Ikuinyi Uwaji-Ibani for alleged poor leadership qualities.

    Mannah also reportedly made the call for the alleged failure of the Speaker  to pay the assembly staff salaries for almost two years.

    He made the call on Tuesday in Port Harcourt,  the state capital.

    He lamented  the absence of adequate training and workshops opportunities for the state lawmakers, which according to him,  has  affected negatively the performances of Legislatures and legislations in the state.

    He said,  “Over  80% of Lawmakers in this (8th) Assembly are green horns,  and as  legislatures we are expected to go for seminars, workshops and conventions to improve our capacity, but unfortunately since we resumed, this is our third year, we have only travelled once for the commonwealth parliamentary association CPA meeting, we have only gone for only one seminar, whereas other states that produce only onions and water melon are able to sponsor their lawmakers to all seminars, workshops and CPA meetings even to foreign countries ”

    “The speaker has failed to deliver all this trainings to members, now as new members how do we contribute on the floor of the house when we have not been adequately trained , some members do not even know how to move motions”

    “For 17 months staff have not been paid, our staff have literally turned to beggars, this edifice was built by former governor Peter Odili, yet cannot be maintained by the speaker, even when the present governor Nyesom Wike  gave him N600m to renovate both the quarters and the complex, the speaker never did it, look at how the complex is in a mess, everywhere is smelling, then someone would ask us not to talk.” he lamented.

    Speaking further said,  “Today I felt that why we are talking about the protection of Rivers people against the Federal Government, there is also need for us to remove the worm in our own eyes before removing the one in other people’s eyes.

    “If this is what we have to offer, I want to dissociated myself from this kind of assembly, this is not a proper assembly, we have three arms of government, the executive is functioning very well, the judiciary is functioning very well but look at the Rivers State House of Assembly, is this actually an assembly, most people don’t even know their left from their right, we have kept quiet for so long and now the tenure is ending, nothing has been achieved, the only thing we know how to do is when the governor sends bills, we deliberate on the governor’s request and that is all, so it is bothering me.

    “If the speaker knows that he is not competent to lead the house, because we cannot come here and fail because of one man’s lackadaisical attitude, if he know that he cannot pilot this house, he should honorably resign let another man takeover.” the Lawmaker concluded.

    The drama however started at plenary Monday,  while the debate on  the damages done by irate Rivers youths at the judiciary complex was going on.

    The aggrieved lawmaker had been reorganized by the Speaker to make contribution in support of the motion to petition the United Nations (UN),  President Muhammad Buhari and European Union(EU), for assistance, but to the chagrin of the Speaker,  Hon.  Mannah deviated to the topic earlier stated but was consistently over-ruled by the Speaker who maintained he was speaking out of order and must sit down.

    He later obeyed after much efforts and another Lawmaker was already on his feet talking.

    Efforts to get the reaction of the Speaker as at press time failed,  his media assistant when contacted on phone promised to send it the Speaker’s  reaction but to no avail.

  • Wike ‘stop interfering in our affairs’

    RIVERS State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief Davies Ikanya has urged Governor Nyesom Wike to stop interfering in the affairs of the party.

    He also urged Wike to stop  insulting President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Ikanya, yesterday in Port Harcourt, warned that Wike should not take the President’s silence on his uncouth remarks as weakness.

    He wondered what is giving Wike the courage to boast that he will fight Buhari to a standstill, and that if the President dares touch him, Nigeria will collapse.

    Ikanya, through his Public Affairs consultant, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, noted that the utterances of Wike on Nigeria are those of a drowning man, after allegedly participating in looting the nation with impunity.

    He, however, said his clownish nature would not stop the judgement day fast approaching.

    He urged the governor to face governance, if he still has anything to offer.

    “Why will Wike be meddling in the affairs of APC in Rivers State, instead of busying himself with how to retire from the Government House, Port Harcourt, and what will be his fate after 2019 general election?”

  • Rivers APC crisis: Abe seeks Buhari’s intervention

    Embattled All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Abe, on Monday appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly call warring party members in the state to order.

    Abe who spoke at a press briefing in Abuja also said that they were forced to go to court when it became clear that “all internal conflict resolution processes within the party had been compromised at the alter of individual power.”

    The Rivers South East senator noted that it was at the point of the realization that the internal conflict resolution within the party had been allegedly compromised that a decision was taken to advise aggrieved members of the party to head to the court and seek the intervention of the court.

    He noted that the need to appeal to President Buhari to intervene in the crisis became necessary in order to ensure that the party was not surrendered to “men without conscience.”

    The APC, he said, must distance itself from “the show of shame that is currently going on in River State.”

    On accusation that he was working with Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, to destabilize APC in the state, Abe noted that it was public knowledge that his dealings with the governor has been in the open and in the best interest of the APC to help douse tension in the state and minimize violence.

    Abe who titled his briefing “The APC must distance itself from the show of shame going on Rivers state.” Stated in part: “I have decided to address you this afternoon because it has become clear that my party the All Progressive Congress has reached a point where it must take a decision either to live up to the core values of our leader President Muhammadu Buhari and do the right thing or abandon our values and destroy our soul in other to please man.

    “You will recollect that I briefed the press before the ward congresses in Rivers State where I stated publicly, that the confusion that was deliberately being set in Rivers state was nothing other than an attempt to display the raw power of man, to destroy and exclude all those who have expressed disagreement with the leader of the party in the state.

    “The South South caucus of the party had met at the home of the Minister of Transportation, (Chibuike Amaech) in Abuja and directed that certain steps be taken by the leaders in the states to build confidence in the process before the congresses should begin.

    “First it was agreed that an all-inclusive meeting be called between Thursday and Friday preceding the ward congresses.

    “The meeting was to include all tendencies in the party and the modalities for congresses be discussed and agreed upon. It was also directed that the congress committee from Abuja should equally meet with all stakeholders on arrival and be briefed on the arrangements and agreements already reached in the state.

    “None of this was done in Rivers State rather a faction of the party led by the Minister proceeded with the exercise in total disdain of the rights and privileges of other members. Party members who paid money to the party were blatantly disenfranchised. All protests and appeals fell on deaf ears. After the purported failed exercise

     “Another South South caucus meeting was called this time at the home of Minister of State for Petroleum and it was agreed that the rules were not followed in Rivers State and the exercise in Rivers State was not acceptable.

    “However in other states where such conclusions were reached the caucus gave clear directives on what should be done to remedy the situation before the local Government congress.

    “In the case of Rivers State however it was decided that because it is the home state of the President’s DG of campaign the President should be briefed before any further action can be taken.

     “We all knew of the President’s planned travel and the Local Government congresses were set to proceed using the flawed ward congresses as a base.

     “At that point it became clear that all internal conflict resolution processes within the party had been compromised at the alter of individual power.

    “It was at this point that a decision was taken to advise aggrieved members of the party to head to the court and seek the intervention of the court.

    “Members went to court, the state legal adviser who had earlier with some other members of the state working committee held a press conference to say they were not aware of whatever was going on was in court and attested to this facts.

    “At this point the other faction now proceeded to circulate a document purportedly suspending the state legal adviser.

    “I am a member of the State executive committee no meeting of the state executive committee of the APC has ever been held in Rivers State. When how and by who was he suspended?

    “When all this failed, there was a bizarre decision by the same faction of the APC to blockade the judiciary complex in Rivers state and physically prevent the court from giving its ruling.

    “Physical force and arms were mobilized to shut down the judiciary complex, housing over 40 courts including the chief judges court, the NBA offices, and others, thousands of people, workers, litigants, were shut out.

    “It took a gun battle which has gone viral on social media to reopen the state judiciary. As if this was not enough, after the order was granted and was duly received by the state deputy chairman of the party, the national legal adviser sent one Barrister Tuduru Ede to the court.

    “National body was duly informed and the announcement of the order by the deputy chairman was on every radio station in Rivers state every hour.

    “The state publicity secretary of the party went one air to give legal reasons why the APC will not obey the order of the court.

    “This cannot be APC; this party cannot trade its soul to massage the ego of any individual. An order of the court is an order of the court. There must be a limit to which we can descend in obeisance to power.

    “I respectfully call on our president not to surrender our nation to men without conscience, this party must distance itself from the show of shame that is currently going on in Rivers state.

    “Finally to those who have accused me of conniving with Governor Nyesom Wike to cause crisis in the APC, let me say publicly that all my dealings with the governor has been public and in the best interest of the APC to help douse tension in the state and minimize violence.

    “Let others who belong to the same socio cultural and tribal association with the governor be bold enough to open up to the world the position of their elders, and the various interventions that form foundations for their actions in the APC in Rivers state. In politics sometimes the more you look the less you see.”

    Those at the briefing included Senator Wilson Ake, one of the senators who defected to APC during the 7th Senate, Hon. Chidi Frank Wihioka, Ikwere/Emohua Federal Constituency Rivers State and Hon. Maurice Pronen representing Khana/Gokona Federal Constituency Rivers State.

     

  • Peterside urges Wike to pay salaries of workers in Rivers

    The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has urged Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, to pay salaries of workers and entitlements of pensioners in the state.

    He also lauded Rivers workers for their sacrifices and productivity towards the growth and development of the state.

    Peterside, on Tuesday through his media team, in a message to mark this year’s Workers’ Day, was particularly full of praises for the workers, who he said had endured difficult times and harsh labour environment under the Wike’s administration and had soldiered on, in spite of obvious challenges.

    He maintained that Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had only succeeded in paying lip service to the issue of workers’ welfare, without any tangible result in the last three years, declaring that despite receiving huge allocations, workers are not better off.

    The NIMASA chief said: “The working environment in Rivers State has been made hostile and there is absolutely no consideration for the average worker by Wike’s administration.”

    Peterside, who was the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2015 elections in Rivers, also lamented that many workers were being owed salaries for months, while pensioners had been turned to beggars, over the inability of the Wike-led administration to pay them their legitimate entitlements.

    He said: “I really sympathise with workers in Rivers State. I have heard a lot of complaints from them. Go to the state secretariat and see how so desolate the place is. Workers are really trying to give their best in difficult circumstances. No payment of arrears, no promotion, no pension, nothing.

    “Since Wike became governor in 2015, how many times has he conducted biometric exercises for workers, under the guise of all manner of things? Many workers are still being owed from the last exercises. For how long will he continue this?”

    The NIMASA chief also tasked Rivers workers not to relent in their efforts to make the state better, while assuring them that an APC-led government in Rivers state in 2019 would better their lot and make them fulfil their hopes and aspirations.

  • Gov. Wike chairs task force on illegal road trading

    The Rivers State Executive Council has set up a Special Task Force chaired by the State Governor Nyesom Wike to clear illegal traders from major roads and streets  in Port Harcourt and its environs.

    In a press statement issued today after the State Exco meeting, the Commissioner for Information and Communications Mr Emma Okah said the decision to set up a high powered task force and chaired by the Governor   is to demonstrate the irreversible determination of Govt to rid major roads in the State of the environmental hazards and sanitary embarrassment and nuisance which the activities of illegal traders are inflicting on the State and her people.

    The Government notes with sadness the recalcitrance of these street traders who have continuously dared the efforts of government to keep our roads and environment clean. Sadly, they mess up the environment, litter the roads, cause disorder and contribute nothing by way of tax or otherwise to clean their mess.

    “As a government, we owe a duty to those we serve to protect the environment, enhance sanitation and promote order in our state, Okah said, noting that illegal traders in our major roads are on the wrong side of the law and will face the right music.

    Consequently, from Thursday 12th April, 2018 the Governor of Rivers State will lead members of the Special Task Force,  in the first phase of their mandate, to flush illegal traders from the roads and affected streets and restore nomalcy. The exercise will be a continuing one until the ugly situation is reversed.

    However, it is necessary to warn that in the course of this exercise, traders caught by the special task force may lose their goods, suffer arrest, face prosecution and possible jail term upon conviction.  If this happens the consequences may be unpleasant and unattractive for anyone to test the will of the special task force.

    Major roads and spots to be cleared by the task force in the first phase of this exercise include Bishop Okoye Street in Diobu, Garrison, Nitel near Garrison, GRA 2 junction,  other parts of GRA Phase 2 where illegal tradings are going on, Old GRA, Ikwerre Road, Wimpey Junction, Trans Amadi, etc.

  • Wike’s N22b for Neighbourhood Watch, misplaced priority, says Peterside

    The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has described the N22 billion voted for the controversial Neighbourhood Watch in Rivers State by Governor Nyesom Wike as a misplaced priority.

    He noted that Wike was yet to create any employment since he assumed office on May 29, 2015, but rather took more Rivers people down the poverty line, stressing that the N22 billion to procure arms and ammunition for his private militia would have ensured that many qualified youths of the state were meaningfully engaged.

    Peterside, who was the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2015 election in Rivers, yesterday through his media team, stated that the Rivers governor was not prepared for governance.

    At a time the British government issued an advisory for its nationals to be wary of visiting Rivers state, the NIMASA chief insisted that Wike lacked the vision and ideas to run a progressive and purposeful government.

    The Rivers governor, while assenting to the neighborhood watch corps bill, maintained that operatives of the outfit would work with security agencies to provide intelligence, with a former Rivers police Spokesman, Dr. Uche Chukwuma, appointed as the Acting Director-General of the Neighbourhood Safety Agency.

    Peterside, however, insisted that it was illegal and ran contrary to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, for the operatives of the neighborhood watch to bear arms.

    The APC chieftain said: “Resorting to Neighborhood Watch is about Wike going back to his comfort zone and his old path. He will fail like all other areas where he has failed. He has not created a single job since he came to office. Every effort by his predecessor that created jobs has been abandoned.

    “We will not allow Wike to return us to the dark era, when Rivers people were placed under curfew, due to the activities of criminals and cultists, an era where Rivers people were daily living in fear of the unknown, where guns were freely used on innocent citizens of the state.

    “Our recent history does not suggest that the wrong people would not be recruited as Wike’s private militia. Already, the man appointed to lead the organisation has been accused of being a sympathiser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Wike’s government. Why will a governor want the state to be in anarchy? What does he stand to benefit and who is beating the drum for him?”

    Peterside, a former member of the House of Representatives, also advised the Rivers governor to follow the path of honour, listen to Rivers people and suspend the activities of the neighborhood watch, pending when all the grey areas had been sorted out.

    Read Also: Amaechi, Obaseki, others celebrate Peterside

    He admonished Wike to perish the thought of buying arms for the neighbourhood watch corps’ members, warning that any attempt to put arms in the hands of Rivers youths would be lawfully resisted.

    The NIMASA chief hinted that Wike planned to sack three hundred persons from the Rivers Internal Revenue Service (RIRS) for no reason, other than the fact that they were engaged during the administration of former Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    Piqued by the Rivers governor’s seeming lack of policy direction on the economy, agriculture, power, health and ICT, Peterside, a former Rivers Commissioner for Works, said: “It is obvious that Wike was only desperate to become governor, in order to acquire wealth for himself and not for the overall benefit of Rivers people.

    “The Rivers State governor has shown to be a man of short vision, who does not see beyond the present, while some of his brother governors are busy laying the foundations for economic prosperity and legacy initiatives.

    “Ask anybody in Rivers what is the vision of the governor, nobody knows. He has no clear-cut vision on education, health, economy, power and agriculture, among others. Little wonder, no serious investor has come the way of Rivers State in the last three years. In all of these areas, the state is yet to experience any single improvement. The government Wike leads has failed in virtually all sub-sectors, thus leading to pushing more youths into frustration.

    “Rivers State is listed among the rice belts in Nigeria. Our state is rich in palm oil, cassava, rubber, banana and plantain, but what has the governor done to galvanise our youths to positive action and invest heavily in agriculture?

    “Is it not laughable that with all the potential of Rivers, the state is high on misery index and unemployment rate? At every economic and investment programme I have attended, it is always shocking that the state is not listed among the top states, due to lack of policy direction by the governor.”

    The NIMASA chief also stated that Rivers people would no longer allow lawlessness, mis-governance and misleading of the youths into engaging in criminal activities, through the due process of law.