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Tag: Rivers State

  • Supreme Court judgements are celebration of impunity – TMG

    Supreme Court judgements are celebration of impunity – TMG

    The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) has described the various Governorship elections judgement being churned out by the Supreme Court as a celebration of Impunity.

    The group in a statement issued in Abuja Friday and signed by its Chairman, Ibrahim Zikirullahi also described the various judgements as a slew of verdicts.

    He said what the supreme courts now give judgments and not justice.

    The TMG said in the face of unrepentant attempts to subvert the will of the people in a good number of the cases, the court has curiously turned a blind eye.

    TMG said, “For us, it is absolutely shocking that the Supreme Court has decided to act as if it exists in another planet.

    “TMG is perturbed by the strange legal reasoning that has informed the blank cheque that the court has given to election riggers.

    “We make bold to say that while the legal premise behind these judgments is best known to the apex court, the open reward for electoral impunity does not resonate with the Nigerian people.

    “As the foremost election observation coalition in the country, we see the Supreme Court judgments as clear cut attempts at legalising electoral robberies.

    “These judgments, particularly on Rivers and Akwa Ibom States, have merely given judicial imprimatur to the damaging mind set of rapacious politicians who would stop at nothing in their bid to subvert the will of the people.

    “What these judgments have effectively done is to ridicule Nigeria in the eyes of the international community, while diminishing our country’s stature in the comity of lovers of democracy around the world.

    “Painfully, the biggest losers are the ordinary people in the states who have been denied their democratic choices on account of the violence and impunity that characterised the polls in those states.

    ” In the end, what the Supreme Court has succeeded in doing is to spit on the graves of all those innocent Nigerians who lost their lives as a result of the activities of those hell bent on subverting the will of the people.

    “On behalf of the scores of Nigerians, whose lives were cut shut by the activities of election riggers, we take solace in the fact that even beyond the justice of the Supreme Court; there is the justice of the Almighty.

    “And in due course, those who wilfully killed and maimed in the desperate bid to capture power, would be held to account on state governorship elections recently handed down by the Supreme Court.

    “The disturbing trend in these judicial pronouncements is in the fact that the apex court has elected to give judgments, and not justice.

    “In the face of unrepentant attempts to subvert the will of the people in a good number of the cases, the court has curiously turned a blind eye,” the statement said.

  • Ateke: Supreme Court verdict averted bloodshed in Rivers

    Ateke: Supreme Court verdict averted bloodshed in Rivers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Why execution of projects is priority – Wike

    Why execution of projects is priority – Wike

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Lassa Fever: Three dead, 200 under observation – Rivers Commissioner

    Lassa Fever: Three dead, 200 under observation – Rivers Commissioner

    The Commissioner for Health in Rivers, Dr Theophilus Odagme, has confirmed that three persons have died, while more than 200 others are currently under observation, following the outbreak of Lassa Fever in the state.

    Odagme made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Saturday.

    He said that up to 50 people who had contacts with the first reported two cases could be out of observation because they had not shown symptoms of the disease.

    The commissioner said that the medical doctor, who died after contracting the disease, had been buried after consultations with the family.

    He said the doctor died at a hospital outside Port Harcourt and that contacts he had hours before his death were among those under observation.

    According to the commissioner, government has set up a special centre to manage new cases of the disease, noting that no new case has been reported.

    Odagme also said that the State Government was working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Federal Ministry of Health to tackle the disease.

    “We have been working with WHO and the Federal Ministry of Health. They are with us in ensuring that their supports come on board.
    They are with us.

    He advised people with symptoms of the disease to report to the nearest health centre for test and treatment.

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

    Pro-Biafra protest: Wike orders arrest of unruly agitators

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Lassa fever: Over 60 under surveillance in Rivers

    Lassa fever: Over 60 under surveillance in Rivers

    Over 60 people have been placed under surveillance following the outbreak of lassa fever in Rivers State.

    A nursing mother and her two weeks baby died between Wednesday, December 30, 2015, and January 1, 2016, from the contagious disease.

    Commissioner for Health, Dr. Theophilous Adangbe, told journalists, in Port Harcourt, Thursday, that 12 medical personnel that attended to the victims, at a public health centre, have been placed under observation.

    He stated: “We have placed the health personnel who attended to the woman and her baby that died last week under surveillance. We have also placed some secondary contacts that had contacts with the deceased during the naming ceremony of the baby who died two days after the death of the mother under surveillance.

    “Over 12 of the staff at the primary health care centre who managed and attended to the mother and the baby have been placed under surveillance. The husband of the deceased woman has been asked to draw up a list of those who attended the naming ceremony of the baby and had contact with the mother and child.

    “The list from the husband of the deceased woman is also being generated and that will be over 50. We already have some of them under observation. We are searching for all those who have had secondary contacts with the health personnel, including family members and friends who had primary and secondary contacts with the victims”.

    According to Agangbe the primary health centre where the victims were admitted have been decontaminated, he added, “the victims have already been buried in keeping with the principles of managing the corpse of those who die from lasser fever and other hemorrhage diseases.

    “For now, we do not have any symptomatic case. What we are doing now is to check the temperature of all those who are currently under observation. Any of them who develop the symptoms of lasser fever will be immediately quarantined.

    The Commissioner counseled members of the public not to panic over the outbreak of the contagious disease, emphasising: “We have taken all necessary precautions to prevent the escalation of the disease.

    “I was promptly informed about the condition of the victims by a micro-biologist at the primary health care facility were the victims were being treated.

    “Members of the public should increase their level of hygiene and make sure they keep rodents out of their homes as well as their food. It is our collective responsibility to report any symptoms of lasser fever to the nearest health facility so that health personnel can promptly take over such situations and apply necessary treatment,” he stated.

     

  • Lassa fever kills two in Rivers

    Lassa fever kills two in Rivers

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    Two people have been confirmed dead in Rivers state following the outbreak of the Lassa fever virus in the state Tuesday.

    The state commissioner for Health Dr. Odagme Theophilus confirmed this in a statement issued in the state Tuesday.

    He said the government is making efforts to trace where the disease broke out from with the view to stall further spread.

    Theophilus urged residents of the state to step up their hygiene and environmental sanitation, just as they should be weary of all forms of contact with rats and other rodents and their droppings to avoid being infested.

    Lassa fever is a fast killing communicable disease found in a species of rat with eight breasts instead of the normal two breasts.

    Some of the symptoms of the virus include swollen face, nose bleeding, high fever, nausea, swollen mouth among others.

    The virus was first reported in Taraba state, where one person was reportedly dead and two quarantined.

  • Nullification of my election a temporary setback  –  Wike 

    Nullification of my election a temporary setback  –  Wike 

    Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has described the nullification of his election as a temporary setback,  saying  that  God’s will and the  mandate of  the  people will prevail at the end of the day.

    Addressing thousands of Rivers State people who thronged the Port Harcourt International Airport to receive him on Thursday, Governor Wike urged the people to remain peaceful   as the state remains PDP despite the contrived situation  at present.

    He assured the people that his lawyers have already started the process of Appeal to the Supreme Court, noting that after the Supreme Court, the PDP will work with whatever judgment emanates from the apex court.

    The governor said the PDP is ready for the National Assembly elections as ordered by the Appeal Court, but warned that the people will resist any attempt by the Federal Government to use soldiers and policemen  to manipulate the elections.

    He said: “I want to warn, let nobody attempt to do what happened in Bayelsa State here. Since they said   they have annulled the elections, let them come and conduct fresh elections. Let nobody think that they can use soldiers and policemen to intimidate us. We will resist any such attempt.  We have maintained our cool for a long time.  Our calmness should not be mistaken as a sign of weakness “.

    He said that Rivers people are peace loving, but they hate injustice and intimidation.

    He advised  all PDP  members  in  the  state  to commence  unit to unit and ward to ward campaigns  for  the  National Assembly elections.

    “We shall return all our National Assembly members as a way to disgrace those who think they will snatch the mandate of the  people,” he said.

    He said that the administration  will continue  to  work for the people  of  the state and deliver good governance  and  projects  to  the  people.

    Wike  was welcomed  by the speaker  of the  Rivers State House of Assembly, members of the State Executive Council,  former National Assembly members,  PDP  leaders, Local  Government Caretaker Chairmen,  women and youth groups.

  • Wike: Rivers APC hails Supreme Court’s verdict

    Wike: Rivers APC hails Supreme Court’s verdict

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers on Tuesday hailed the Supreme Court’s verdict on Governor Nyesom Wike’s application challenging the relocation of the Rivers Election Petitions Tribunal from Port Harcourt to Abuja.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Apex Court had dismissed Wike’s suit challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal to hear the petition of APC’s governorship candidate in the April 11 poll, Dakuku Peterside.

    Mr. Chris FineBone, the State Publicity Secretary of the party, said in a statement in Port Harcourt that the apex court had affirmed that the tribunal’s sitting was moved to Abuja because of insecurity.

    “As a party, the APC is grateful that all seven eminent jurists of the Supreme Court unanimously agreed that there was sufficient violence before, during and after the elections to justify the relocation of the tribunal to Abuja.’’

    It also commended the reason for the relocation of the tribunal to Abuja which was to safeguard the lives of the tribunal chairman, members and witnesses.

    The statement said that the party was happy with the observation of the court that Rivers State was “a theatre of war’’ and as such protection of lives of members of the panel and interested parties was paramount.

    The APC also noted with satisfaction that the justices for once again re-affirmed that they were always ready to dispense justice without fear or favour.

    “The significance of all seven eminent justices of the Supreme Court speaking in one voice in today’s judgment is that the faith, hope and confidence of the ordinary Nigerian to get justice is assured in the Nigerian judicial system.’’

  • Rivers tribunal judgement, an embarrassment – Mimiko

    Rivers tribunal judgement, an embarrassment – Mimiko

    Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko has criticised the judgment of the Rivers State Election Petition Tribunal which nullified the victory of Governor Nyesom Wike.

    The tribunal sitting in Abuja on Saturday sacked the Rivers State Governor of the PDP and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct fresh election in the state in the next three months.

    Mimiko, who is also the Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governor’s Forum faulted the three-man tribunal on the grounds that its judgment was too hasty as it came less than 48 hours that both parties submitted their written addresses.

    He added that the tribunal did not wait for the judgment of the Supreme Court over the issue of its jurisdiction before passing the judgment.

    He said, “Our mindset is that tribunal judgment can go either way, but the Rivers own is particularly embarrassing. We all know the circumstances surrounding the Rivers State tribunal. You recall now that for unjustifiable course that tribunal was not allowed to sit in Port Harcourt, it was taken to Abuja, and somewhere along the line the chairman of the Tribunal got changed.

    “Now we challenge the jurisdiction of the Tribunal and it has gotten to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will give judgement in the next few days. The Abuja Tribunal continues to sit. On Thursday, nine written addresses were adopted.

    “The adoption of the written addresses was done at 1pm on Thursday. In the course of that trial, the litigants; both plaintiffs and defendants called more than 100 witnesses, documents that were presented as exhibits were more than 1,000.

    “We are talking of more than 100 witnesses and 1,000 documents were admitted, we are talking of nine written addresses. None of the addresses were less than 40 pages.

    “The adoption was on Thursday, around 1pm and Friday around 2pm, barely under 24 hours, notice had been issued that judgement was ready, that judgment was given on Saturday. This sequence and turn of event assault the sensibilities of lawyers that really believe in justice.”

    “Remember the issue of jurisdiction which is fundamental is bound to give judgment this week. The question is why could the tribunal not have waited? Wait for the Supreme Court judgment which would naturally impact on their own outcome. Let the Supreme Court rules that they do not have jurisdiction ab initio.”

    He expressed confidence that the PDP would get favourable judgement at the appeal court.

    Mimiko said the party would soon meet to deliberate and take position on the election matter.

    “However,  if elections are held 100 times in Rivers State, PDP will still win, it is PDP’s territory,” Mimiko said.