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Tag: Senator Abe

  • Senator Abe advises on how to resolve Rivers APC crisis

    THE Senator  representing Rivers SouthEast Senatorial District, Senator Magnus Abe, has said  if members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Rivers State could overcome the internal struggle, the party will be stronger and the crises in APC River State will end. Abe, a governorship aspirant on APC platform, who is a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG) in the administration of Rotimi Amaechi, now Transportation Minister, assured that the current crises rocking Rivers APC would strengthen the main opposition party and boost the chances of candidates of APC to emerge victorious during the February 16 and March 2, 2019 general elections. He admonished APC stakeholders to maintain the unity of the party, rather than taking the issues personally.

    Abe, according to his Spokesperson, Parry Benson, yesterday in an online statement, assured that Rivers APC would come out stronger, if the right things were done. He noted that one of the issues that brought Rivers APC to its knees was the process of not producing a candidate that would be acceptable to the law, stating that he did not have issues with whoever emerged, as long as the right things were done.

    The senator stressed that he supports whoever emerges as APC  candidate in the state, but pointed out that the process by which the candidate would emerge was very essential. He said: “The APC is made up of human beings. People put their lives on the line to create the party you call APC in Rivers State and those people are alive. They are there in the state. “So, if they fight for what they believe in, I do not think it will weaken the party. At the end of the day, Rivers APC will come out stronger, if we are able to do the right thing.

    “People will have more confidence in the ability of the party (APC) to deliver on its core commitment to Rivers people, because they are also watching what we are doing. So, if we overcome this struggle internally, I believe that the party will actually be stronger. At the core of the challenges facing Rivers APC is that people actually want alternatives that they know will work. “We must be able to convince them from within the party that the alternative that we are offering  the people is one that will actually work and bring something different from what they are seeing at the moment.

    “Another thing is that the legal foundation, on which the Tonye Cole’s candidacy is based, both moral and legal, is very faulty. If leaders of the party decide to be quiet and ignore such a trend, it may lead to the party being completely shortchanged. “People must be able to speak up and be able to stand for what will help the APC in Rivers State. People have put in so much. People have suffered so much in the state for us to leave them with no options. I believe that at the end of the day, the party will emerge stronger.

  • Nigerians, not the law, are Nigeria’s problem – Senator Abe

    Nigerians, not the law, are Nigeria’s problem – Senator Abe

    THE representative of Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, Senator Magnus Abe, has stated that Nigerians, not the law, are the country’s problem.

    He was quoted yesterday by his Spokesperson, Parry Benson, as making the assertion in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, while speaking with reporters, shortly after the presentation of a 617-page book, titled: “The Challenge of Justice, Contemporary Legal Essays,” in honour of ex-Rivers Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice, Barinua Moses Wifa, SAN, an indigene of Kono-Ogoni in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers, who has just turned 80 Abe, a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), who hails from Bera- Ogoni in Gokana LGA of Rivers, said: “The same laws we have in Nigeria are the same laws we have in Britain and that is the same law we have in many other Commonwealth countries, in Australia, India and all that.

    “When you come to how we interpret the law and how we relate to one another in connection with the law, the Nigerian factor comes in.” The Senator, who is Chairman, Senate Committee on FERMA, described Wifa, a former Chairman of Port Harcourt branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), as an icon in the legal profession.

    He said: “The book will help all those who are into law practice. The book is a very good one. Barr. Wifa is a mentor to many young lawyers. “He (Wifa) is a radical and a reformer, as far as the Nigerian law is concerned. What the editors of the book did was to put some of his old thoughts and ideas on how to improve the law into a book. It is very commendable.” Abe also admonished younger Nigerians to emulate the legal icon by working very hard and contributing meaningfully to societal development.

  • Wike’s judicial commission of inquiry laughable –Senator Abe

    Wike’s judicial commission of inquiry laughable –Senator Abe

    THE lawmaker representing Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, Senator Magnus Abe, has described the judicial commission of inquiry inaugurated on Thursday at the Government House, Port Harcourt by Governor Nyesom Wike to investigate the violence and killings that greeted the December 10 rerun in the state as the joke of the year and one that should not be taken seriously. Abe, a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), stated this yesterday in Port Harcourt during an interactive session with reporters. Speaking to newsmen, Abe said: “I was amused when I saw reports in the press that Wike is setting up his own judicial commission of inquiry.

    I do not know how things happen, but some of the things that happen in Rivers State by the very nature of how they happen, are more of an amusement than something to be taken seriously. Wike’s setting up of the judicial commission of inquiry is the joke of the year. “Here you have a governor, whose voice is now all over the world. It has been on VOA; it has been on every imaginable network, saying to people ‘I will kill you if you do not return my money.’

    Then, the IGP asked the police to investigate the circumstances of the things that happened, but Wike says he has no confidence in the investigation by the police, but he rather set up his own inquiry. This is a man that for the past one week has done nothing but to express his bias. He has already indicted everybody that he can indict and then, he is setting up a judicial commission of inquiry.

    How will other persons have confidence in his inquiry, when his bias is known, his prejudice is clear and like every other commission that had been set up by this administration, it is designed to indict leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.

    “The rest of the country knows that this is a joke, but like every other joke that had been reduced to pen and paper, we are going to treat it seriously.” While insisting that the people of Rivers Southeast Senatorial District massively voted for him on December 10, Abe also berated the Rivers governor, the state Chairman of PDP, Chief Felix Obuah, and their allies, for claiming that his victory would be short-lived. The senator also condemned Wike’s threat not to inaugurate the duly-elected APC lawmakers in Rivers House of Assembly, who were returned by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    He said: “PDP members and Rivers governor are saying that my victory will be short-lived and that they are going to the courts to reverse or upturn my victory. They earlier said my victory would not even happen. The same people who said it would not happen are alive to see it happen. I have been duly sworn in by the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki. So, it has happened. Their next step now is that it will be shortlived. Let me assure everybody that just as they failed in the first instance, that is how they are also going to fail in this instance.

  • Senator Abe accuses Dogara of underming Rivers APC

    Senator Abe accuses Dogara of underming Rivers APC

    A chieftain of the Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Magnus Abe, has described the public hearings on the Rivers State as “politically manipulated” to undermine the APC and lend support to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration in the state.
    Abe, who made the remark in a letter addressed to the Speaker, explaining why he shunned the hearing, accused the Speaker of anti-party activities, saying the petition that led to the public hearing, which was sponsored through Dogara’s office, is nothing but an ill-disgusised attempt by the PDP to manipulate federal agencies and influence public opinion in order to secure undue advantage for the party in the coming rerun elections.
    The letter read in part: “Mr Speaker, it is sad to note that every intervention of the National Assembly in Rivers State usually begins with a boast by the Peoples Democratic Party led by Governor Nyesom Wike announcing the involvement of the National Assembly. Thus far, actions of the House of Representatives are tailored towards achieving a clear political advantage for the Peoples Democratic Party.
    “It is no secret that there are two armies operating in Rivers State today; the PDP army commanded by Governor Nyesom Wike and the Nigerian Army. Actions of the PDP Government in Rivers State are designed to restrict the operation of the Nigerian Army so that the PDP army can operate freely, particularly as it affects the elections.
    “This latest hearing instituted by your office is just another desperate attempt to embarrass the Nigerian Army in furtherance of the PDP agenda. If that were not the case, what is the point of inviting me and Hon. Barinaadaa Mpigi, the APC candidates in the rerun elections. Are we soldiers? The Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State has already instituted a narrative to link the APC to the activities of soldiers and you have now been recruited to provide the visual images for the PDP campaign in Rivers State.”
    He said the public hearing is a clear abuse of the constitutional powers of the House of Representatives and a violation of the Speaker’s oath of office, to be fair to all Nigerians. He said: “The Speaker of the House of Representatives cannot be a speaker for only PDP in Rivers State and this is made even more painful when we remember that you were elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), the party you are now using the enormous powers of your office to persecute.”
    Abe said it is disheartening that the petitions of the APC members to the Office of the Speaker received no attention and that every action of the House of Representatives as announced by Governor Wike is implemented to the letter. He added: “For the first time in the history of our country, members of the House of Assembly elected on the platform of a political party are denied the right to participate in the affairs of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Their constituencies are denied representation simply because they voted for APC. This has elicited no response whatsoever from your office.
    “Painfully, hundreds of innocent Nigerians are being murdered every day by the PDP army in a sponsored orgy of violence against the APC members and supporters in Rivers State with no comment by the House or the speaker. Yet committees of the House of Representatives at your instance are always in Rivers State to do the bidding of Governor Wike and the PDP.”
    The APC chieftain said it is instructive that the hearings are always coming up whenever there are talks of holding the Rivers rerun elections.

  • Blame PDP leaders for killings, says Senator Abe

    The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Rivers Southeast Senatorial District in the March 19 rerun, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, has said that the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should be blamed for the crisis in Ogoni land.

    Abe made the remark yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

    He said: “It is important that I make this statement with regard to the crisis arising from the military’s attempt to effect the arrest of Solomon Ndigbara (aka Osama bin Laden, an ex-militant leader), at Yeghe-Ogoni in Gokana Local Government Area, which led to the hoodlums burning down my senatorial liaison office in Bori-Ogoni, Khana LGA.

    “I am happy that Governor Nyesom Wike, as the Chief Security Officer (CSO) knew and approved the military operations in Yeghe, Ogoniland. There is nothing wrong if he, as the CSO, and after appraising the situation in Ogoni, approves that the military should raid the area of criminal elements and maybe recover arms.

    “The person who stands to be blamed for the crisis is Solomon Ndigbara and his group, who chose to engage the military in a shootout. Information available to me points to the fact that there was a deliberate attempt by the PDP to incite the people against my person and the APC.

    “PDP leaders know pretty well that we are innocent. But in their desperate attempt to exploit the situation for their political gain, they want to hang it on us. It is sad that this type of politics is being played by people who hold responsible positions.

    “It is unfortunate that the governor visited the home of ex-militant leader, Solomon Ndigbara, in Yeghe community, but did not deem it fit to visit my burnt senatorial liaison office building at Bori, which is less than two kilometres away from Yeghe.’’

    Abe, a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), who hails from Bera-Ogoni in Gokana LGA, also pleaded with Ogoni people to eschew violence, lawlessness and to ensure that they maintain peace.

  • Senate condemns shooting of Senator Abe

    The leadership of the Senate on Monday condemned in “strong terms” the alleged shooting of Senator Magnus Abe by the police in Rivers State.

    The Senate in a statement by its spokesman, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, in Abuja also “deplored the escalating political violence in Rivers State.”

    The Senate, according to the statement urged the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, to probe the incident and ensure that it does not recur in future.

    It warned politicians to avoid acts capable of overheating the polity and derail the nation’s democracy.

    “The Senate particularly condemns the Sunday violence which resulted to injuries on a serving Senator, Magnus Abe,” Abaribe stated.

    Senator Abe, representing Rivers South East, was allegedly shot by the police in an attempt to disperse a pro-Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s rally organized by the Save Rivers Movement in Port Harcourt on Sunday.

    Abe has been reportedly flown to London for urgent medical attention as a result of the shooting.

    Abaribe said the “Senate is disturbed that what should have been a peaceful gathering turned violent resulting in injuries.”

    He added: “On this score, the Senate associates itself with the admonition of President Goodluck Jonathan on his pronouncements to mark the Armed Forces Remembrance Day, wherein he warned that no Nigerian blood is worth spilling in the name of politics.

    “Consequently, the Senate urges the Inspector General of Police to investigate the latest incident and ensure that it never recurs.

    “In the same vein, the Senate advises politicians and their supporters to exercise greater restraint and avoid acts that will not only overheat the system but may harm the country’s democracy.”

     

  • Ogonis protest Senator Abe’s shooting

    Thousands of Ogoni people from four local government areas in Rivers State – Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme on Monday protested Sunday’s shooting of the representatives of Rivers South-east Senatorial District, Senator Magnus Abe, who was flown on Sunday night to London in air ambulance.
    Protesters blocked East-West Road in front of Eleme Petrochemical Company and no vehicular movement to refineries in Eleme, ports in Onne, Akwa Ibom and Cross River State were allowed.

  • Police deny shooting Senator Abe

    The Rivers Police Command on Sunday denied allegations that its personnel shot and wounded a member of the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Abe.
    Its spokesman, Ahmad Muhammad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, (DSP), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt that the police did not release any bullet while dispersing a rally by Save Rivers Movement on Sunday.
    He said the group was at the state College of Arts and Science for the rally when they were dispersed because they did not obtain a police permit.
    “I can confirm to you that Sen. Magnus Abe was not shot. The police did not expend any single bullet while dispersing the crowd.
    “It is not true. The police did not shoot the senator, we only used minimum force to disperse the crowd at the venue of the rally,’’ he said.
    NAN reports that the Rivers Government has alleged that Abe was shot by the police at the venue of the rally.
    The state Commissioner for information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, made the accusation in a statement on Sunday in Port Harcourt.
    “Today’s attack on members of the Save Rivers Movement, a non- governmental association, at the College of Arts and Science, Rumuola, Port Harcourt, Rivers State and especially the unprovoked shooting of Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, the senator representing Rivers South East senatorial district, is a cause for worry and an indication of the length that the Peoples Democratic Party is willing to go to silence opposing views.
    “Rivers State Government therefore reiterates its call for the re-deployment of CP Mbu from Rivers State before he turns the state into a graveyard because of his intolerance and unprofessional behaviour,’’ she said.