The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Rivers

  • God will disgrace those plotting against me – Wike

    God will disgrace those plotting against me – Wike

    Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that those planning to truncate the lifespan of his administration will be disgraced by God.

    Addressing members of Lord’s Chosen Renewal Charismatic Ministry in Port Harcourt on Sunday, Governor Wike said that his victory at the polls was ordained by God and made possible by prayers of clerics including those of Pastors of the Lord’s Chosen.
    ” Those who are fighting and plotting to truncate the lifespan of the mandate freely given to me by the people of Rivers State, will be disgraced by the God of the Lord’s Chosen .
    “The way the God of the Lord’s Chosen did it on April 11, that is how he will do it again “.
    The governor recalled that it was at the Lord’s Chosen Renewal Charismatic Ministry, Rivers State headquarters that he made a vow that if the rumour that he was a member of a cult, he should not win the governorship election.
    He said he won the governorship election because the rumour spread by the opposition was false.
    The governor said that his administration be virtue of strategic planning has confounded those who claimed that road construction cannot take place at the height of the rainy season.

  • Rivers: INEC, Wike, PDP urge tribunal to dismiss Peterside’s petition over alleged fee default

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Governor Nyesome Wike of Rivers State and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have asked the state’s Governorship Election Tribunal to dismiss the petition by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last governorship election, Dakuku Peterside, and his party.

    INEC, Wike and PDP argued that the petitioners failed to comply with the provision of Paragraph 18(1) of the First Schedule of the Electoral Act 2010 by not paying the stipulated fee of N100 for their application for the issuance of pre-hearing notices (Form TF 007)  to parties.

    They contended that by not paying the fee, the petitioners were yet to ignite the tribunal’s jurisdiction and are deemed to have abandoned their petition and it should be dismissed.

    Lawyer to INEC, K. C. O. Njemanze (SAN), while moving his client’s motion, challenging the court’s jurisdiction, said the payment of filing fee for the application for pre-hearing notice was statutory and constitutional and constituted a condition precedent for the invocation of the jurisdiction of the tribunal to hear the petition.

    Wike’s lawyer, Emmanual Ukala (SAN), who made a similar argument urged the tribunal to adopt the decision of the Imo State Governorship Election Tribunal which dismissed the petition by Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP on a similar ground.

    He argued that the payment of filing fee was mandatory and was a condition precedent to the tribunal exercising its jurisdiction to hear the petition.

    Lawyer to INEC, F. O. Orbih (SAN), adopted the arguments by Njemanze and Ukala and urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition.

    Petitioners’ lawyer, Akin Olujinmi (SAN) argued that the requirement for the payment of N100 filing fee did not apply to application for pre-hearing notices, which he said, the party applying could make orally.

    Olujinmi insisted that since the application for the pre-hearing notice was by a letter to the Secretary to the tribunal, his clients were not liable to pay a filing fee as such was not specifically provided for in any law.

    He argued that Paragraph 2 of the TF007 only made provision for the submission of the form and not filing which would have warranted payment of a filing fee.

    Olujinmi contended that even if his clients were required to pay the fee, failure to do so could only amount to a mere irregularity which the tribunal could direct them to pay at any time.

    He further argued  that his clients, like other parties to the petition, had made a deopsit of N500,000 security funds to the tribunal, so the tribunal could easily deduct N100 from the said money, if it was a must that the N100 fee must be paid.

    Olujinmi said: “It is now settled that a petitioner can start a pre-hearing session by oral application. If  I’m passing by, I can just ask the Secretary to the tribunal to issue Form TF 007. So am I going to pay for the voice?”

    He urged the tribunal not to allow the justice of the petition to be defeated by mere technicality which the respondents’ applications were predicated.

    Olujinmi prayed the tribunal to dismiss the defendants’ motions and proceed to hear the petition, challenging the outcome of the April 11 governorship election in Rivers State.

    The Justice Muazu Pindiga-led tribunal has fixed Monday for ruling.

  • Rivers APC candidates storm INEC headquarters

    Rivers APC candidates storm INEC headquarters

    ‎All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the last general elections Wednesday morning forced the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to shut it’s door.

    The candidates who stormed the national secretariat , Abuja demanding an audience with the acting INEC chairman, we’re denied entry by the security personnel.

    All entreaties to either allow them to meet with the INEC Chairman inside the commission or she comes out to brief them failed.

    The group who came to INEC to demand for the release of the election materials used at the last elections for the prosecution of their cases were stopped by the security.

    When the group led by the APC Governorship candidate in the April 11th election , Dakokou Peterside moved close to the commission’s gate, the automated gate was quickly shut and pepper tear gas was sprayed on them including the journalists who came to cover the protest.

    ‎The earlier quiet visit aimed to present the request was turned to protest following the tear-gassing of the candidates.

    The protest is still on at the time of filling this report and the INEC leadership was yet to meet with them.

  • Commercial drivers protest naked in Rivers

    It was a horrific and warlike scene in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Saturday when commercial drivers, conductors and sympathisers violently protested naked on major roads and streets.
    They protested while confronting hoodlums at Rumueprikom, Port Harcourt hometown of Governor Nyesom Wike, in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
    Trouble started around 12.20 p.m. on Friday at Whimpy Junction, along the ever-busy Ikwerre Road when a policeman on stop-and-search duty from the Kala Police Station, Rumueprikom shot and killed a bus driver, David Legbara, over N100 bribe.
    The late Legbara, an Ogoni man from Uegewe-Boue in Tai LGA of Rivers state was the only son and the bread winner of his family, who recently got married, with the wife eight months pregnant.
    The killing sparked off spontaneous protest from other commercial drivers, conductors and sympathisers, who saw the action of the policeman as unjustifiable.
    The protest spilled to major highways, causing traffic dislocation and pains to members of the public.
    Loading of intra-city and inter-state passengers was halted, as motorists, pedestrians, commuters groaning, trekking long distances and scampering to safety to avoid being hit by stray bullets.
    Having briefly protested on Friday evening, the drivers, conductors and their sympathisers were fully mobilised Saturday morning and they headed for the notorious Rumueprikom on Ikwerre Road, just before Rumuokwuta Roundabout in Port Harcourt, with the intention of razing the Kala Divisional Police Headquarters.
    The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Kala police headquarters promptly mobilised the policemen from the station, who confronted the protesters, leading to violence and confusion, with bullets flying all over.
    The roads and streets were quickly deserted, while commercial and economic activities came to a halt for some hours.
    In spite of the gunshots and teargas from the policemen to disperse the angry protesters, they were undeterred and continued to march to the Kala police station.
    Police reinforcement was immediately drafted to contain the situation which was later brought under control.
    The aggrieved protesting drivers and conductors then decided to completely strip, walking on the Port Harcourt’s major roads stark naked, without any pant or underwear.
    The unnamed killer policeman was promptly disarmed, arrested and detained, while the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, immediately ordered full-scale investigation into the circumstances and ramifications of the incident.
    The killer cop is to be charged to court on conclusion of investigation.

  • Rivers Deputy governor Banigo to doctors: be compassionate

    Rivers Deputy Governor Ipalibo Banigo has urged medical practitioners to be more compassionate in discharging their duties.

    Banigo spoke on Wednesday when members of the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA) association called on her in Port Harcourt.

    She called on the association to revive the ethics of their practice as medical doctors and Christians as Christ demonstrated in his encounter with the sick while on earth.

    “It’s is important we practice with love as believers in this profession to save lives,” she said.

    Banigo advised the group to bring healthcare closer to the rural dwellers through their medical outreach programmes.

    She commended the doctors for keeping the vision of the founding fathers of the association and urged them not to relent in their service to God and humanity.

    Banigo noted that the State Government was determined to provide quality and affordable healthcare service to the people.

    “The State Government will soon embark on the training and retraining of medical personnel to update their knowledge on current practices in the profession,” she said.

    Dr Friday Aaron, the State Chairman of CMDA, said that they had been on special medical mission to attend to medical, physical and spiritual needs of patients.

    Dr Chima Onoka, Chief Executive Officer of CMDA in Nigeria, said the association was currently providing succour to 1,500 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) through its manpower.

    Onoka called for financial assistance from the state government to touch more lives in the rural areas of the state.

  • IGP Arase to policemen: don’t allow criminals to overwhelm Rivers

    IGP Arase to policemen: don’t allow criminals to overwhelm Rivers

    •Wike donates 64 vehicles to security operatives

    Inspector-General Police (IGP) Solomon Arase has urged men of the Rivers State Police Command to bust criminal gangs from their hideouts to secure the state from criminals.

    There is a preponderance of illegal arms and ammunition in the Southsouth, especially in Rivers State.

    The police must do everything possible to ensure they were mopped up, Arase said.

    The police chief spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, when he addressed men and officers of the command, civil society groups and other stakeholders during his maiden visit to the state.

    Arase was in Rivers State to receive 64 units of patrol vehicles donated to security operatives, including the police, Army and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

    The vehicles are meant to boost the agencies’ fight against crimes and criminality.

    Arase said records would not be re-written negatively in the security history of Nigeria, adding that it had never been heard that criminals overpowered the security agencies of any country, including Nigeria.

    The IGP urged the police to ensure that criminals were frustrated out of the state.

    He hailed Police Commissioner Chris Ezike for fighting criminals since he assumed office on June 2.

    Arase urged him to step up the fight.

    He said: “I am here today to first share with you the policy thrust we’re having in the Nigerian Police Force and to commend you for the hard work you have done in this past one month to ensure that Rivers State does not degenerate into the state of anomie.

    “I also thank Chris Ezike for providing the leadership that has brought the state to the part of sanity.

    “I want to commend you …for all you have done in this past one month to reignite the indomitable fighting spirit of the Nigerian Police Force. There is no way we will allow criminal gangs mand groups to overwhelm the state. It has never happened in the history of any law enforcement agencies. I think it will not happen in Nigeria of our time.

    “We will not allow these culprits to take over this state or the citizens. Economic development cannot take place in any society, if the society is not safe and secure.

    “I want to commend all of you for all you have done in this last one month and to say that the one month state of emergency that has been declared is not enough to sanitise the security situation in Rivers to my satisfaction. It is because of this I am going to extend it by another one month.” Ezike told Arase that the state had a high number of illegal firearms in circulation.

    The police commissioner said they were suspected to be the offshoots of the March and April general elections.

    But he assured that the command would recover such arms.

     

  • Ahead of National Sports Festival: RIVERS, DELTA, OTHERS SWOOP ON BAYELSA ATHLETES

    Ahead of National Sports Festival: RIVERS, DELTA, OTHERS SWOOP ON BAYELSA ATHLETES

    There are strong indications that about 85 per cent of Bayelsa State’s active athletes are on the verge of dumping the  Sports Council to other states in the Niger Delta region following years of neglect.

    The athletes are under intense pressure with to port to mouth-watering Rivers , Delta, Lagos and Oyo states.

    Chairman of Bayelsa State Sports Council Coaches Association, Augustine Odumo raised the alarm, saying, the trend where athletes are lost to other states is a major reason Bayelsa State has been lagging behind at national sports festivals. The state has struggled to maintain or slump from the medals table.

    “We have also found ourselves wanting in the traditional sport where there has been comparative advantage,” Odumo said.

    “The coaches association said the only option to arresting the embarrassing situation is to set up a ‘Technical Committee’ to ascertain the 484 athletes and place them accordingly in order of merit in the contract employment of the council.

    “They are also recommending the review of the staff strength of the sports council and replace those that have retired or disengaged from service with most of the performing athletes.

    The coaches fear that if the 484 athletes are snatched, the sports council would be affected drastically . They noted that the drafting of the Supervising Commissioner for Sports Development,  Collins Cocodia to sanitise the sports industry was timely.

  • Save us from cult groups, Rivers community leader, youths call on Wike

    Save us from cult groups, Rivers community leader, youths call on Wike

    Following another round of killings by rival cult groups in Rivers State, the monarch of Ubima in Ikwerre Local government Area of Rivers State, His Royal Highness Eze Chima Ofurum and the youths of the community have called on the state governor,  Nyesom Wike, to come to their rescue.

    which has made the total number of people killed to four in Ubima community  in Ikwerre Local government Area of Rivers State, the monarch and Youths of the community have pleaded the immediate intervention of Governor Nyesom Wike.

    Eze Ofurum said the supremacy fight between the rival cult groups has got to stage where the government should act to restore peace back to the community.

    It will be recalled that the Degban cult fraternity and the Axelander cult group, last week engaged each other in a deadly fight in the area, during which four cult members were killed, while scores of villages were left various degrees of injuries.

    Ubima community, the home town of Governor Chibuike Amaechi and Sir Celestine Omehia has been engulfed in serious cult war since 2014.

    Reacting yesterday to the spate of clashes between cult groups in the community,  Eze Ofurum said he is hopeful that peace would return to the community if government intervenes and put a stop to the activities of the cult groups.

    The monarch noted that if Governor Wike truly loves the people of the community, he should mobilize security operatives to the area, adding that some of the villagers who could not withstand the heat of the fight between the rival cult groups have relocated to neigbouring communities.

    The youth leader of the community, Michael Amaechi, said the youths are ready to work with security operatives to ensure that peace is returned to the community.

    A member of the Degban cult group  who pleaded anonymity, said the latest spate of fighting started when one of their leaders, Chinedu Umezurike a.k.a Biggi,  was murder  by  the Axelander cult group.

    But a member of the Axelander, who also pleaded anonymity, while speaking with our reporter on phone, accused the Degban group of committing a lot of atrocities in the community.

     

    Abducted Delta poly lecturer regains freedom

    n Polycarp Orosevwotu, n Ughelli

     

    Abducted Delta Polytechnic lecturer, Mr. Chike Gbemudu, has been released after spending two weeks with his abductors.

    Gbemudu, a lecturer in the Directorate of General Studies department of the institution, was kidnapped in the early hours of July 3, 2015, at his residence, in the Ozoro metropolis.

    The kidnappers demanded a N20 million ransom fee for his release.

    A source in the institution, who revealed that Gbemudu was released on Wednesday, said he was receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

    He said, “A certain amount of money was paid to the kidnappers as ransom, but I cannot say precisely how much was paid.  The good thing is that he has been released and we thank God that for keeping him alive.”

    Contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Celestina Kalu, confirmed that Gbemudu had been released.

  • Gunmen kill 15, injure others in Rivers

    Rampaging gunmen have killed no fewer than fifteen innocent persons and injured many people at the market in Agbonchia, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
    The three gunmen, who rode motorcycles, on Saturday evening, shot indiscriminately at the people, especially youths at the motorcycles’ washing section of the ever-busy market.
    Many people scampered for safety, while the unfortunate ones either got killed instantly or were severely injured.
    It was learnt from witnesses on Sunday by our reporter that the casualty figure was so high, because the people at the market thought the gunmen came to wash their motorcycles, until they started shooting at close range, leading to fatality.
    Our reporter also gathered that after the shooting spree, the youthful gunmen quickly escaped on their motorcycles.
    The Rivers police Spokesman, Muhammad Kidaya Ahmad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), who confirmed the incident, stated that the command had arrested a suspect and currently undergoing interrogation, while investigation into the incident was ongoing.
    Ahmad, however, claimed that five persons were killed in the shooting spree, stressing that police’s preliminary investigation revealed that the incident was an attack by a cult group.
    The police’s spokesman assured that the fleeing gunmen would soon be apprehended and prosecuted, to serve as a deterrent to other criminally-minded persons.

  • Rivers: Court dissolves 22 elected local councils

    Rivers: Court dissolves 22 elected local councils

    A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Thursday, nullified the 22 elected local government councils in the state.

    Details later……