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Tag: Rivers

  • Fed govt vs Rivers: Sheathe your sword, says elder statesman

    Elder statesman and Christian Leader Bishop Friday Nwator at the weekend urged the parties in the Federal Government’s face-off with the Rivers State Government to sheathe their swords.

    He called for the restoration of peace in the state.

    Nwator, who is the Founding President of International Integrity Bishops College and Faithful Minister World Network, played a leading role in quelling the violence that rocked the state a few years ago.

    Speaking to reporters in Port Harcourt, Nwator said: “I have been watching with dismay the way the crisis is going on in the state for some time now and as an elder statesman and father to the state it has given me sleepless nights until recently God asked me to intervene.”

    Calling on all the parties involved to embrace peace, he advised President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi to stop listening to advice that tend to sour the relationship between them.

    The Bishop said: “I want all the people involved in this crisis to know that Rivers State is important to us and it will not be good if we destroy it because we do not have any other state to go.

    “This crisis is capable of causing a breach of the peace which may jeopardise the security of life and property in our state and take us back to that horrible era of violence and lawlessness.”

    He also appealed to the factional Chairman of PDP, Felix Obuah, to use his leader position and reconcile all the aggrieved members of the party by shunning acts that will further escalate the crisis.

    He appealed to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Otelemaba Dan-Amachree, lawmakers, the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, and others who may be secretly fuelling the crisis at the background, “to calm down and sheathe their swords in the interest of peace.”

  • Rivers generates 180mw, says Amaechi

    Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has said the state is safe, adding that he inspected projects with his wife, Judith, in Port Harcourt at midnight on Sunday.

    He said he asked his wife to accompany him so that she would not complain he returned home late.

    The governor said Rivers is the only state that is transmitting power. It generates 545 megawatts and is working on generating 180 megawatts before December.

    Amaechi spoke yesterday at the Government House, Port Harcourt, during the maiden quarterly Business Roundtable with the Government of Rivers State, with the theme: “Charting a New Pathway: Strengthening Partnerships between the Public and Private Sector.”

    The governor, who is also the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), said: “We are working to provide a conducive business environment for investors. Come and invest in Rivers State.

    “At the Greater Port Harcourt City, a plot of land is N10 million. I wanted it to be N20 million, because of the infrastructure we are putting in place there, including 24 hours’ power supply, good road network, underground gas, water and power. Everything is underground. I was advised we should start from N10 million and subsequently increase it.

    “A 1,000-bed hospital will also be built at the new city. No investor yet. We need investors to manage the structures, after my tenure. A conference centre is also under construction.

    “We are opening Port Harcourt and other parts of the state with roads. Between now and the end of the year, you will be able to move freely in Port Harcourt by roads.

    “We are the only state in Nigeria with transmission lines. We challenge you (investors) to come to Rivers State.”

    The NGF chairman also assured of safety of life and property in the state.

    The Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Chuma Chinye, said the roundtable was to highlight existing business opportunities, expand emerging economic prospects and strengthen government efforts to make the state the most business-friendly in Nigeria.

    He noted that the forum was designed to accelerate the development of public-private sector partnerships in business, enhance institutional capacity, towards attracting local and international investment into the state’s economic sector.

    The keynote speaker, Oscar Onyema, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), spoke on “Rivers State Infrastructure and Project Finance: Creating a 21st Century State Economy, Converting Inspirational Ideas to Reality.”

     

  • Rivers State PDP crisis: Caretakers take over council

    Rivers State PDP crisis: Caretakers take over council

    A SEVEN-MEMBER caretaker committee was yesterday inaugurated by the Rivers State Government for Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, following the suspension of the executive and legislative arms of the council by the House of Assembly.

    The chairman of the council, Mr. Timothy Nsirim, his deputy and councillors were asked to step aside to pave the way for thorough investigation of alleged fraud in the local government.

    The inauguration came on a day a political group – New Rivers Alliance (NRA) – hailed the Abuja High Court ruling that removed the Chief Godspower Ake-led Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    In a statement issued yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, the NRA Chairman, Dr Ombo Benibo, praised the political “maturity” of the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, for the immediate inauguration of a new executive committee into office in Abuja.

    The removed executive, led by the Godspower Ake, has appealed the judgment.

    Benibo called on all well-meaning citizens of the state to support the Felix Obuah-led committee, pointing out that what is happening in our great party, the PDP, is a family affair and, as brothers, it will be settled amicably.”

    Also in Port Harcourt, the state capital, Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who is also the leader of PDP in the state, swore in a seven- member Caretaker Committee to pilot the affairs of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.

    The members are: Dike David Chikordi as Chairman, Yellow Ernest Ogbonda as Vice-Chairman, Ihunwo Ovunda, Wogu Chima, Ejims Chinkweru, Stanley Ehoro and Friday Owhor Kinikanwo.

    They were inaugurated shortly after being screened by the Assembly.

    Amaechi, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. George Feyii, charged the committee members to be diligent in carrying out their responsibilities.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • RIVERS FA CUP Dolphins, Sharks through to semis

    RIVERS FA CUP Dolphins, Sharks through to semis

    EX-FA CUP Champions, Dolphins of Port Harcourt strolled into the semi-finals of the 2013 edition of the Rivers FA Cup competition by demolishing Nationwide League side, Gokana Utd by 7-1.

    Dolphins who played in the second quarter-final match scored four goals in the first half and added another three in the second half of the game before the Gokana club managed to grab a consolation.

    Eguma Stanley commended his boys for the win and only hopes the goals harvest gets into the league matches of the club.

    “We all planned to win the game and the most important thing is to win the game. Some days you can get harvest of goals and some days, the goals will be dry. And that we have scored so many goals today does not make Gokana a bad team. It’s just that we are lucky to convert our chances today and we pray that our next League match would yield goals harvest too,” he said.

    In the same vein, Sharks played in the first quarter-final match against rookies, New Gunners FC from Ogoni scored three goals in the first half and one in the second half of the game for a four nil win against their opponents.

    Fortune Omoniwari got a brace while George Amakiri and Chiamaka Madu scored the third and fourth respectively for the Blue Angels.

  • PDP sinks deeper into crisis as Rivers gets new exco

    PDP sinks deeper into crisis as Rivers gets new exco

    The Rivers State wing of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday joined other crises-ridden chapters of the ruling party – no thanks to the inauguration of a factional executive committee at the party’s Abuja national headquarters.

    A 13-member committee was inaugurated to run the PDP’s affairs in the Southsouth state.

    National Legal Adviser Mr. Victor Kwom administered the oath of office on the new committee, chaired by Felix Obua. Mr. Walter Opuene was sworn in as secretary.

    The party’s Acting National Secretary, Onwe Solomon Onwe, said the inauguration was in compliance with the Abuja court ruling which was served on the PDP leadership on Monday.

    He said the party had no choice other than to obey the verdict that sacked the Godspower Ake-led executive committee.

    Yesterday’s ceremony was witnessed by the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike; former Speaker of the House of Representatives Mr. Austin Opara; Senator Lee Maeba and PDP chieftain Sergeant Awuse.

    Justice Ishak Bello of an Abuja High Court on Monday sacked the Ake-led committee, which is believed to be sympathetic to Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    Other states’ chapters of the party in similar crisis are: Adamawa, Ogun, Oyo and Ekiti.

    But stakeholders in the state and members of the sacked committee have accused the Presidency of interfering in the process.

    The stakeholders, who are favourably disposed to Amaechi-led administration spoke at a news conference in Abuja. The briefing, which was addressed by the Chairman of the Rivers Caucus in the House of Representatives, Honourable Asita Honourable.

    They said the Abuja High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the case, wondering how a state high court could assume jurisdiction on a matter involving the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) a federal agency.

    They described the rival group that won the case as impostors, who neither bought nomination forms nor participated in the congress that produced the sacked exco members.

    They said: “Yesterday (Monday), yet again, the psyche of Rivers people, and indeed that of all Nigerians, was further battered by the High Court of the FCT presided over by Honourable Justice Ishaq Bello, which gave judgment in favour of a clandestine group claiming to be the duly elected state executive committee members of the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State.

    “This group of impostors, who openly boast of having the support of Oga and Madam at the top, did not even purchase nomination forms nor were they anywhere near the venue of the PDP state congress on the date in question.

    “That in spite of the avowals of the National Secretariat of the party as to who, by all records available to it, are the duly elected state executive committee members of the party in Rivers State and who they have accordingly inaugurated and accredited as bonafide delegates to the National Convention of the party and dealt with on all party matters.

    “This point was so lucidly canvassed by the party before the judge, who closed his eyes and chose for himself who should run the PDP in Rivers State.”

    Describing the Abuja court judgment as a travesty of justice and broad daylight robbery, the stakeholders said that the judgment would not stand the test of time.

    They said: “That the trial judge could with temerity turn down a report from INEC who monitored the elections as prescribed by the Electoral Act as an unbiased umpire, stating who won the March 17, 2012 State PDP Congress in Rivers State.

    “That a High Court of a state could assume jurisdiction on a matter involving a Federal Government agency – INEC.

    “That the presiding judge could delve into intra party matters even in the face of a preponderance of decisions of various courts on such matters and in this instance which matter was, by the trial judge’s admission, already status barred.

    “That the presiding judge could hear and determine such heavily contentious issues of fact by originating summons without calling for oral evidence to test the veracity of witnesses.

    “This travesty of justice and broad day light judicial robbery leaves much to be imagined and casts doubts in our minds over the much talked about reforms in the judiciary now ably championed by the respected Chief Justice of Nigeria and the National Judicial Council.”

    The protesters, however, said they would respect the verdict and explore every legal avenue to seek redress.

    They said: “However, we want to use this medium to urge all Rivers people and especially our party members to remain calm while we take steps to exhaust all legal avenues open to us.

    “This injustice will sure not stand the test of time as the triumph of evil over good is usually only temporary.”

     

  • Police strengthen security in Rivers

    The police in Rivers State have strengthened security in the state, following threats and renewed hostilities allegedly caused by the Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)and the disquiet in the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, said the state’s security network is in contact with Governor Rotimi Amaechi to ensure that life and property are secured.

    Mbu said there is a synergy among security forces and assured that the officers and men have braced themselves for the security challenges in the region.

    He urged the public to stay away from crime and go about their businesses “because it is no more business as usual for criminals.”

    The commissioner reiterated the ban on the use of siren and tinted glasses except for few government officials such as the governor, the speaker, service chiefs, ambulances and banks carrying cash.

  • ‘ Rivers Assembly approved helicopter purchase’

    The Rivers State Government has said the House of Assembly approved its purchase of a helicopter.

    The Commissioner for Information, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, said besides getting the approval of the lawmakers, the Federal Government was also in the know as the helicopter was jointly bought by the two governments.

    Mrs. Semenitari, who showed documents of the purchase agreement between the state and Bell Helicopter which was drawn on August 16, 2011, also used the document to support her claim that the amount paid for the helicopter, a Bell 412EP, was $28,414,640.

    The helicopter, the commissioner said, is an armoured type, fitted with camera and other security gadgets.

    Mrs. Semenitari said the main reason for buying the helicopter is to secure life and property as promised by Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    She also said the government went for this type because it wanted to avoid a situation where bunkerers could shoot the helicopter down.

     

  • A lift for widows in Rivers

    A lift for widows in Rivers

    Despair has given way for scores of widows in Port-Harcourt, capital of Rivers State. They got cash. They got food. They got clothing. And, above all, they got love from where all those gifts came.

    Their benefactor was the Divine Elects Sapphires Club (DESC), a non-denominational group of Christian professionals.

    The widows’ emotions got the better of them. One launched forward with outstretched arms and embraced the club’s president, Mr Anthony Oko-Ikpor. Others had tears flowing down their cheeks, but they were tears of joy.

    The DESC gave each widow who turned up at the event a bag of rice, a piece of Ankra cloth, N10,000 cash and condiments to cook the rice, among other things.

    Overwhelmed by the gesture, Mrs Hannah Etitinwo from Elekahia community in the state capital recalled how unkind life has been for her since she lost her husband years ago.

    To worsen matters for her since 2007, an ailment left her dependent on medicine and hot water.

    “I drank medicine until the medicine in the chemist’s shop almost finished. It was since this year that I told God that He must heal me and since then I have been receiving favour,” she said.

    Mrs Ibiada Eugene from Bukuma-Agum in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, Mrs Alice Patrick who came from Port-Harcourt as well as many other widows who benefited from the kind gesture also had similar stories of sorrow to tell.

    With tearful eyes, they prayed for the progress of DESC for sparing a thought for them in a society that is fast becoming too individualistic.

    Addressing the widows, the President of DESC, Mr Oko-Ikpor said that the club embarks on philanthropic services from time to time and that it considered it worthwhile to bring widows together and show them love.

    Oko-Ikpor also told them that just as the club gave them a surprise message to come and collect these items, they would still be called upon to receive empowerment but all they have to do is to believe that with God all things are possible.

    Words of exhortation also came from a member of the Board of Trustees of the club, Mr Ndubuisi Oti who advised the widows to cast their burdens on God who is always the husband of the widows.

     

  • Rivers community bemoans fraudsters’ rampage

    Amiddle-aged man, Smart Jack of Abonnema, headquarters of Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, has said that telecom scammers defrauded him of N300, 000. While he was still brooding over the misfortune, it was discovered that other members of this coastal community also lost various sums of money to the scammers.

    Mr Jack disclosed this at the Abonnema Town Hall during the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC’s) Eighth Consumer Town Hall Meeting. The theme of the meeting was “Protection of Telecom Infrastructure.”

    Representatives of some service providers attended the meeting.

    Jack said he received a call on his MTN line, adding that the caller eventually defrauded him and many others of money totalling N1 million. He asked the NCC to do something about the ugly development so that subscribers would not lose their hard-earned money to fraudsters anymore.

    The NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, Okechukwu Itanyi, noted that there are scammers everywhere who set up parallel networks and reach subscribers faster. He urged the people to be careful to avoid being victims of fraudsters.

    The NCC boss also noted that the scammers dupe individuals and corporate organisations. He urged subscribers to always verify their information.

    Itanyi, who was represented by NCC’s Assistant-Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Dr. Femi Atoyebi, lamented that telecoms installations across Nigeria were being vandalised daily by criminals. He condemned the spate of bomb attacks on telecoms infrastructure; especially in the northern part of the country.

    He said: “There have been numerous challenges, revolving around tariff and quality of service, power and vandalisation of telecoms infrastructure.

    “The vandalisation of telecoms infrastructure and equipment has become a worrisome development in Nigeria’s highly competitive telecoms market.

    “This act of vandalism could send negative signals to investors that Nigeria is not a safe place to do business. Security concern is one of the several considerations that could potentially discourage foreign and local investments.

    “The advent of GSM in Nigeria has significantly enhanced the lives of Nigerians, individually and collectively, even as it has stimulated economic growth and facilitated cross-industry linkages and improving efficiency.

    “Nigeria’s telecoms sector has witnessed phenomenal growth in the last decade and has emerged as the leading mobile telephony market in Africa, in terms of subscriber base and revenue.

    “The resultant increase in investor confidence led to an abundant inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), which provided the financial lubricant required to sustain growth and expansion in network infrastructure and services deployment in the country.”

    Itanyi also stated that in order for telecoms services to be delivered effectively and efficiently, it required building of infrastructure, upon which voice data and video services would be delivered to telecoms subscribers.

    The NCC boss stressed that in most countries, transmission infrastructure for telecoms services, such as fibre cable links and power supply were built and provided by the government. But in Nigeria, telecoms operators build the required infrastructure for effective service delivery.

    Mr Damian Udeh who is Etisalat’s Regulatory Affairs Manager lamented the vandalisation of the company’s equipment and stealing of its generators, equipment and diesel at the base stations. He described the situation as unfortunate.

    Speaking in the same manner, MTN’s Iyasi Afam said the company’s equipment and cables had, on many occasions, been vandalised and stolen, even as he added that personnel of the company have been harassed by local government officials over payment of tenement rates and levies.

  • Oil field dispute: Rivers takes Bayelsa to court

    Oil field dispute: Rivers takes Bayelsa to court

    After a brief break, Rivers and Bayelsa states have reopened their battle for the Soku oil fields.

    In contention is their boundary in Akuku-Toru and Nembe council areas in Rivers and Bayelsa states.

    Bayelsa State yesterday accused Rivers of an abuse of the judicial process in the disputes .

    The authorities of Akuku-Toru Local Government Area in Rivers State had, in a suit against the National Boundary Commission (NBC) and Attorney-General of Bayelsa State, prayed the court to declare River Santa Barbara as the boundary between the Kalabaris in their domain and the Nembes in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    They also sought the court’s declaration on the purported 11th Edition of the Administrative Map of Nigeria, arguing that it was done in error and that its adoption should be declared null and void.

    But one of the defendants – the Bayelsa State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Francis Egele argued that Rivers State erred in its demand because it has no locus standi.

    Egele claimed that boundary matter is an issue between states and not local government areas or communities and describe the suit as an abuse of the judicial process.

    The Attorney-General recalled that the Supreme Court had earlier adjudicated on the matter and there wrong of any individual, group, or state to flout the order of the apex court.

    Quoting copiously from the ruling of the Supreme Court as read by Justice Suleiman Galadima, Egele said the boundary between the two states could not be determined until after the completion of the NBC assignment as contained in the Supreme Court judgment in a suit.

    The judgement reads: “I have set out the function of the NBC above and from the provision of the NBC Act, it cannot be seriously suggested that before the jurisdiction of this court is invoked in a boundary dispute between states, the NBC should have determined the dispute or completed its exercise in delineating the disputed boundary.

    “It is on account of the foregoing and because of the technical nature of the dispute and the claims of the parties this court finds that the NBC, as an authority vested with authorities and expertise know-how in dealing with this matter should have once and for all conducted an exhaustive exercise of delineating the disputed boundary.

    “In the light of the observations, I have clearly expressed above, I do not feel comfortable to grant the declarations sought until the NBC concludes its exercise of delineation of the disputed boundary to finality. It will be futile and premature to determine the boundary of the two states in the present circumstances.”

    The suit filed in by Chief Goddey Orusah and seven others, for themselves and as representing the chiefs and principal members of the Akuku- Toru Local Government Areas, has been fixed for hearing at the Federal High Court 7, Abuja, on March 10.

    According to Egele, despite the fact that Bayelsa government was not properly served the writ of summon, the state will file its defence at the hearing.