The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Wike

  • Wike prevents arrest of FHC judge in Port Harcourt

    Wike prevents arrest of FHC judge in Port Harcourt

    •Rivers CP averts bloody encounter between DSS operatives, policeman
    •Gov accuses police, DSS operatives of shoving, injuring him
    •APC, PDP in war of words

    A mid-night show played out at the Government Reservation Area (GRA), Port Harcourt, in the early hours of yesterday when Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State unexpectedly got locked up in a confrontation with operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS).

    Wike had rushed to the No. 35, Forces Avenue, GRA official residence of Justice Uche Agumuo of the Federal High Court (FHC), Port Harcourt, following information that she was under siege by security men.

    The security personnel had swooped on the compound, ready to take away Agumuo when the governor showed up.

    He wondered what the men were doing there at that time of the day.

    When he got no answer he began to kick and shout.

    He branded the action of the security men illegal and wondered why they did not come for the judge during the day.

    With the situation was appearing to get out of hand, Police Commissioner Francis Odesanya was tipped off and he too showed up, averting a possible shootout between the DSS operatives and a policeman on guard duty in the expansive premises.

    Wike accused the policemen and DSS operatives of manhandling and injuring him.

    He said it was all about a plot to declare a state of emergency in Rivers.

    The governor’s  Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, followed up with a statement saying: “The operatives of DSS reportedly rough-handled Governor Wike, pushing him around and injuring his hand. A few of the operatives cocked their rifles and threatened to shoot the governor. They were irked by Governor Wike’s arrival at the scene, shortly after the failed abduction process began.

    “It was learnt that Governor Wike received security information on the illegal moves, minutes after the operation started. The security operatives blocked the entrance of the residence of the Federal High Court judge at about 1 a.m. on Saturday, claiming that they were acting on orders from above. As they dragged Governor Wike, they insisted that they must be allowed to leave with the judge.

    “However, the commotion attracted passersby and journalists, who thronged the vicinity to know why hundreds of security agents, in several atrol vans had been mobilised. Upon the arrival of the national media, the Rivers State Director of the DSS, Mr. Tosin Ajayi, jumped into his vehicle and fled the scene.

    “However, addressing journalists, Rivers State Police Commissioner said the two security agencies were at the scene, because they received privileged information. Odesanya claimed he was at the scene as a peacemaker. He declined comments on why the police joined the DSS to abduct a serving Federal High Court judge.”

    Nwakaudu quoted his principal as saying: “Not under my watch will I allow this kind of impunity to take place. That is why we are here. I do not know which judge they were detailed to abduct. I did not bother myself to know which judge. All I am interested in is that, at this level, it is not allowed.

    “She is not a criminal and she is not an armed robber. If the person (judge) has committed an offence, invite her. It is only when she refuses to honour the invitation that you can adopt this commando style.

    “The Commissioner of Police is here, the Director of DSS is here. Their operatives cocked their guns and threatened to shoot me. I have never seen that before. Again, this is to tell you what we are facing. We know that more will come. For us in this state, we shall continue to resist it.

    “It does not matter what it will cost. When you talk about liberty, sacrifices must be made. We are not trying to stop an arrest. All we are saying is that things must be done decently and in line with the rule of law.”

    The State Director of DSS, Mr. Tosin Ajayi, did not respond to phone calls and SMS on the development yesterday.

    A Ford pick-up van, with registration number: NPF 2033 D, marked RRS 015 and an unmarked Toyota Hilux van, with fully-armed policemen, were stationed directly opposite the judge’s residence yesterday.

    Rivers Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Nnamdi Omoni, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said by phone that the operation was purely a DSS affair and had nothing to do with the police.

    He said the police commissioner intervened to prevent a possible bloodshed.

    The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party  (PDP) sided with Wike and said  the DSS  attempted to shoot the governor “for intervening in the illegal move to abduct” Agumuo.

    It described the development as most sacrilegious.

    It added: “the unruly behaviour of the overzealous security operatives is the worst of its kind in the history of Nigeria and is a cause for concern.

    “Though the target is to find reason to declare a state of emergency in the state, the President, the National Assembly members, Judicial Officers, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and all relevant authorities and stakeholders should be put on notice on these acts of recklessness against Rivers State as injury to one is injury to all.”

    But the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state said it was the governor that was at fault for “peddling bizarre stunt of bravado.”

    The party’s Publicity Secretary in the state, Chris Finebone, said: “Ordinarily, this morning’s (yesterday) macabre dance by Wike should not merit any serious interest from anyone, because everyone has become sick and tired of such from him, but for the innocent people and residents of Rivers State, whom he subjects to unbridled lies and misinformation under one phantom excuse or another.

    “There is no question that the melodrama is just one of the many chapters in Wike’s book on political demagoguery. How can anyone explain the many obvious inconsistencies that fly in the face of his highly-mendacious account to the media this morning?

    “Indeed, we ask: How come the governor said he did not know the occupant of the house? How did he find his way to the gate of a house he did not know the occupant? Is the judge of a Federal High Court under the governor of Rivers State? May be, yes but why? Is the Federal High Court, its judges and the DSS not belong to the same Federal Government?

    “The APC believes that the Rivers governor is once again up to his dishonest self. We do not believe his account. We believe that the bizarre stunt of bravado being peddled by Wike is just for the purpose of convincing his collaborators in the judiciary in Rivers State that he will always protect them.

    “The claim by Wike that his presence at the scene of the incident was to help resist abduction is typically dishonest. He was there to obstruct justice. Simple! The reason is that crime connects much more than innocence does.”

     

  • Wike to Nigerians: Let’s salvage our nation

    The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has called on Nigerians to salvage the allegedly sinking nation.

    He claimed that Nigeria was sinking irreversibly down the abyss, stressing that only a united front would salvage the country and set it on the path of growth.

    Wike, a former Minister of State for Education, regretted that either by commission or omission, the federal government had allegedly dragged Nigeria into its worst economic crisis, where some Nigerians had been finding it difficult to feed.

    The Rivers governor, yesterday in his special independence address during the 56th Independence Day celebration at the Sharks Stadium in Port Harcourt, the state capital, claimed that ordinary Nigerians were dying daily from ailments that were ordinarily curable.

    He said: “Just look at the situation of our country at this material time. Never in history has the seeds of disunity, distrust, hatred; intolerance, violence and terrorism proliferated in our country than now, not even in the years of the civil war.

    “By acts of omission or commission, the Federal Government has pushed the nation into its worst economic nightmare. With inflation on the loose, poverty is increasing as ordinary Nigerians are finding it difficult to have one decent meal in a day.  Families are losing loved ones to curable ailments, simply because they can no longer afford necessary medications to sustain their health and vitality.

    “Worse still, just as our collective security is being threatened by the activities of motley terrorist groups, such as the Boko Haram insurgents and Fulani herdsmen, most Nigerians are increasingly becoming disillusioned with the country’s failing national institutions, for their inability to mirror the nation’s character and values.”

    Wike also stated that the Rivers government, through policies and programmes, had empowered the people and improved their living conditions.

     

  • Wike: Rivers has created right platform for FDIs

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday said his administration has created the right platform for Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in the Agricultural sector.

    He also said the government had begun the preliminary process for the construction of a specialist tertiary hospital.

    Wike spoke yesterday at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital, when he hosted the Minister for Africa at the United Kingdom (UK) Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mr. Tobias Ellwood, and the British High Commissioner in Nigeria, Mr. Paul Arkwright.

    The governor noted that the development of basic infrastructure across the state was meant to attracting foreign investors.

    Pledging to always cooperate with the UK to enhance the development of Rivers State, Wike assured that his administration would grant access to land, wit the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) to willing investors.

  • WIKE APPOINTS SPECIAL ASSISTANT ON TRAFFIC LIGHTS

    WIKE APPOINTS SPECIAL ASSISTANT ON TRAFFIC LIGHTS

    THE Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has ppointed Daye Graham-Douglas as his Special Assistant on Street/Traffic Lights.
    The governor in an online statement by his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, yesterday stated that the appointment took immediate effect.

  • Oshiomhole to Wike: pay workers’ salaries to be man enough to speak on Edo poll

    Oshiomhole to Wike: pay workers’ salaries to be man enough to speak on Edo poll

    Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday threw another jab at Governor Governor Nyesom Wike of River State, asking him to face governance in his state and pay the salaries of workers, instead of squandering the peoples’ slim resources on an election the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is bound to lose.

    Governor Oshiomhole’s attack on Wike is the latest in the exchange of brickbats between the governors ahead of the September 28 governorship election in the state.

    Oshiomhole said it was laughable for Governor Wike to have some level of effrontery to talk about governance when he (Wike) has been unable to pay the state’s workers’ salaries for several months.

    He urged Governor Wike to learn how to talk him, “that is performing and up-to-date with payment of salaries and not one, whose noise alone can cause further pollution in a Rivers environment that was already degraded.”

    Oshiomhole also advised Wike to spend the money he planned to spend for the PDP in Edo State to pay the backlog of salaries owed civil servants in River State.

    Speaking through the State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Kassim Afegbua, Oshiomhole stated that there was no reason why Governor Wike would waste the people’s resources on Edo election out of sheer desperation to acquire regional powers.

    According to him, “In the circle of governance, where men are truly called men, someone like Governor Wike cannot muster any courage to be called a man when he has continuously held Rivers workers in scorn without paying them their due salaries and emoluments.

    “Even though Edo State is not as economically viable as Rivers State, we do not only pay our workers salaries, we have since increased our workers minimum wages from N18,000 to N25,000.

    “That this salary increase is happening at a time when Governor Wike is lamenting over paucity of funds should explain in greater details our uncommon creativity and prudent management of resources.

    “The last time we visited Rivers State, we were appalled by the plights of Rivers workers whose lamentations Governor Wike has consistently ignored. Our piece of advice to him as a younger brother was to properly guide him so he doesn’t go astray by the temptations of an election that his party is bound to lose.

    “Rather than waste Rivers people’s money, keep Rivers people’s money for them. He should be reminded that Edo voters are not gullible like voters elsewhere and their level of sophistication would make the September 28th election a smooth sail for the All Progressives Congress. It is our responsibility to caution Governor Wike before he exports his gangsterism to Edo State.”

  • Group slams Wike, Okowa over polls

    A socio-political group, the Niger-Delta Alliance for Good Governance (NDAFGG) has vowed to resist alleged plots by Governors Nyesome Wike and Ifeanyi Okowa of Rivers and Delta states to rig the September 28 governorship election in Edo state.

    It said Edo would not return to the days of Peoples Democratic Party where the state was ruled from Okada Avenue and the state wealth shared among cronies.

    The group noted that it was disheartening that both Governors Wike and Okowa could not pay workers’ salaries but doled out N2bn to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu to bribe voters.

    The President of the group, Mr. Nosa Omorogie, in a press statement, said the NDAFGG has received reports about plans to rig the governorship election in favour of the PDP candidate.

    Omorogie stated that it was painful that rather than face their states’ businesses, Wike and Okowa have resorted to fighting Edo people by making the election a do or die, as they did in their states.

    The statement reads in part: “We know that they are yet to get over their failed plans as a result of postponement of the election, which they had already perfected to rig with the importation of militants.

    “Edo people must reject them. Edo is not like Delta or River state where the governors have refused to pay workers even with the huge resources they receive from both internally Generated Revenues and the Federal allocation.

    “Edo is working, the people can attest to it. Any attempt by people in guise of governors to cause mayhem in a state they know nothing of will be opposed.

    “We urge all Edo citizens to be wise as the likes of Governor Wike and Okowa mean no well for the development of the state at large and its people.”

  • Oshiomhole to Wike: Pay your workers’ salaries

    Oshiomhole to Wike: Pay your workers’ salaries

    Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Friday told his Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike, to pay workers’ salaries before “squandering the people’s lean resources” on the Edo State governorship election.

    Oshiomhole said it was laughable that Wike talked about governance when he has been unable to pay his state workers’ salaries for several months.

    He advised Wike to spend the money meant for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) election campaign in Edo State to pay backlog of salaries owed civil servants in River State.

    Speaking through the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Kassim Afegbua, Oshiomhole said there was no reason why Wike would expend the people’s resources on Edo election out of sheer desperation to acquire regional powers.

    “In the circle of governance, where men are truly called men, someone like Governor Wike cannot muster any courage to be called a man when he has continuously held Rivers workers in scorn without paying them their due salaries and emoluments.

    “Even though Edo State is not economically viable as Rivers State, we do not only pay our workers’ salaries, we have since increased our workers’ minimum wages from N18, 000 to N25, 000.

    “That this salary increase is happening at a time when Governor Wike is lamenting over paucity of funds, should explain in greater details our uncommon creativity and prudent management of resources.

    “The last time we visited Rivers State, we were appalled by the plights of Rivers workers whose lamentations Governor Wike has consistently ignored. Our piece of advice to him as a younger brother was to properly guide him so he doesn’t go astray by the temptations of an election that his party is bound to lose. “

    “Rather than waste Rivers people’s money in Edo State, keep Rivers people’s money for them. He should be reminded that Edo voters are not gullible like voters elsewhere and their level of sophistication would make the September 28 election a smooth sail for the All Progressives Congress. It is our responsibility to caution Governor Wike before he exports his gangsterism to Edo State.”

     

  • Wike has no link with militants, says Rivers PDP

    Wike has no link with militants, says Rivers PDP

    The Rivers State chapter of the People Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said Governor Nyesom Wike did not mobilise militants to Edo State ahead of the September 28 election.

    The party said the allegation was aimed at blackmailing the governor.

    It said Wike had no link with militants and could not mobilise them to Edo State for the poll.

    The Rivers PDP said Wike only advised the Edo electorate to vote for its candidate, defend their vote and ensure that their votes counted.

    Addressing reporters yesterday at the party’s secretariat in Port Harcourt, the state capital, the state’s PDP Publicity Secretary Samuel Nwanosike said Wike could not be deterred by what he called cheap blackmail and allow his party to be manipulated.

    The PDP accused Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole of desperation to win an election he knew his party would lose.

    The party said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State had lost its popularity, adding that instead of giving excuses and pointing finger, it should wait till the Election Day to see which party was more popular in the state.

    PDP said: “Wike has no link with militants. The statement credited to Oshiomhole shows that he is a desperate man who is looking for a way out. There is no truth that Wike and Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa provided N2 billion for the Edo State governorship election…”

    On Wike’s amnesty programme in Rivers State, the PDP said the governor was not giving financial support to cultists or militants but beginning a move that would improve their lives.

    He said: “At APC rally in Bonny, one of the chieftains accused Wike of giving money to cultists and militants in the name of amnesty. We are here to say that the governor cannot exchange the livelihood of the youths, which is paramount, to a mere stipend.

    “Governor Wike is a man who understands the plight of his people. He knows what is good for these boys. He doesn’t want to give them money but an empowerment that could last forever. That was why the call for amnesty was necessary.”

  • Wike admits supporting PDP candidate with N2bn

    Wike admits supporting PDP candidate with N2bn

    The Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has admitted that he supported the Edo State candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Osagie Ize-Iyamu, not militants, with N2 billion.

    Wike spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital, through the state’s Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George.

    The Rivers governor, who is a former Minister of State for Education, also denied the insinuation that he and his Delta State counterpart, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, mobilised militants to rig the Edo governorship election in favour of the PDP.

    Wike reacted to allegation by Edo Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, that the two Niger Delta governors donated N2 billion for the postponed governorship poll, claiming that he (Wike) never made such financial donation.

    He said: “Governor Wike has no links with militants in the region and anywhere else in the country. He has only given moral support to the PDP candidate in Edo State to overcome the ineptitude and dysfunction the All Progressives Congress (APC) imposed on the people.”

    The Rivers governor also declared that he would continue to give moral support to democratic forces, not just in the crude oil and gas-rich region, but across Nigeria, to bring better life to people of the country.

    Wike called on the people of Edo state to ensure that whenever the governorship election held, they would stand firm in defence of their sovereign right to vote for the PDP.

  • Kumuyi urges Wike to remain committed to development

    Kumuyi urges Wike to remain committed to development

    The General Superintendent of Deeper Life Christian Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi, has urged Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, to remain committed to the development of the state, while assuring that the church will continue to back him in prayers.

    Pastor Kumuyi, who spoke yesterday during a courtesy visit to the Government House, Port Harcourt, admonished Wike never to be distracted in his pursuit of development for the state.

    He disclosed that he was in Rivers to bring divine solutions to human problems, assuring that the state would overcome its challenges to be a leading light in the country.

    The cleric noted that because the Rivers government had honoured God, it would get divine visitation that would address all the challenges that the people of the state were facing.

    Pastor Kumuyi said: “The challenges we face are temporal. God will use us to bring a time of peace and security to the state.”

    The renowned cleric also gave an assurance that the future was bright for Rivers and other states of Nigeria, stressing that the present challenges would also pass away.

    In his response, Wike declared that Rivers was dedicated to God, who he said had been faithful to the state, in spite of the evil machinations of the enemies of Rivers.

    He noted that the visit of the General Superintendent of Deeper Life Christian Ministry to Rivers State would attract spiritual blessings to the state and help Rivers attain further grace for rapid development.

    He reiterated that his administration was anchored on God, who had protected his leadership from all ungodly attempts to pull it down since his May 29 last year’s inauguration.

    Wike said: “Your coming to Rivers State will mark the end of our challenges. I know that God will do his work for this state.

    “My administration is anchored on God. But for God, we would have been pulled down. God has been on our side.”

    Highpoint of the visit of Pastor Kumuyi was his inspection of the new chapel nearing completion at the Government House, Port Harcourt.