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Tag: Wike

  • Wike sacks 17 caretaker committees

    Wike sacks 17 caretaker committees

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has dissolved caretaker committees of 17 local governments.

    A statement by his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, said the dissolution took immediate effect.

    The statement said the affected local government are:  Abua/Odual, Akuku Toru, Ahoada East, Andoni, Bonny, Eleme, Emohua, Etche, Ikwerre, Obio/Akpor, Ogu/Bolo, Okrika, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Omuma, Oyigbo, Port Harcourt City and Tai.

    It added that the chairmen should hand over to their most senior officials.

  • Wike, Elechi Amadi’s family disagree on govt’s burial committee

    Wike, Elechi Amadi’s family disagree on govt’s burial committee

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and the family of the late literary icon, Captain Elechi Amadi, have disagreed on a burial committee the state government set up to accord the writer a state burial.

    At the inauguration of the committee yesterday at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital, the governor said the renowned author deserved a befitting burial because of his contributions to the development of the state, Nigeria and humanity.

    He urged the family to cooperate with the committee to ensure that the late Ikwerre leader got a befitting burial.

    Wike warned against the politicisation of the burial, saying his administration would not struggle with any group to organise the burial.

    But the late writer’s family, through Elder Valentine Amadi, kicked against Wike’s composition and inauguration of the burial committee without proper consultation.

    During a condolence visit to Amadi’s family at Aluu in Ikwerre Local Government Area, Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi, also an Ikwerre and an former Rivers State governor, assured that he and his allies would foot the bill of the burial, considering the deceased’s contributions to the development of the state and other parts of Nigeria.

    But during yesterday’s inauguration, Wike said: “If the family (of Amadi) does not want Rivers State Government to participate in the burial, it should make its position known.”

    The governor also said the committee was set up after wide consultations with various stakeholders to carry every group along.

    He said the inaugurated committee could co-opt more members, as the need might arise.

    Wike said: “Nobody should localise the burial of the late Captain Elechi Amadi. In all ramifications, the late Captain Amadi served the nation in extraordinary ways.”

    Chairman of the burial committee, Frank Owhor, assured that the members would give the late writer a befitting burial.

    Other members of the committee are: David Briggs (Secretary), Prince Paul Wonodi (Deputy Chairman), Chief Monday Mgbor, Hope Ikiriko, Chris Orji, Chairman of Ikwerre LocaL Government Area, Samuel Nwanosike, Henry Wordu, Dr. Preye Elechi-Amadi, Carl Amadi, Azubuike Elechi-Amadi, Prof. S. C. Achinewhu, Ben Ugo and Chief V. Amadi.

     

  • APC, group: hold Rivers govt, Wike responsible for lawyer’s death

    APC, group: hold Rivers govt, Wike responsible for lawyer’s death

    •Group fingers govt in lawyer’s killing

    The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a group, the Vanguard for Justice, Equity and Strategy, have said the state and Governor Nyesom Wike should be held responsible for Monday’s killing of a human rights lawyer, Ken Atsuwete.

    Rivers APC told reporters yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, through its Deputy Chairman, Peter Odike, who was accompanied by some members of the State Working Committee (SWC), that well-meaning people should ignore what it called the spurious claim of the police command that Atsuwete died in an attempt to kidnap him and was not a target of the kidnap.

    It said: “On Monday morning, the Rivers State chapter of the APC received with shock the news of the assassination of popular human rights lawyer and activist, Ken Atsuwete, at his home.

    “Further interaction with the workers of the murdered lawyer showed that it was a case of premeditated murder, considering the dimensions of what happened.

    “We recall that the APC had relentlessly stated that the methods which led to killing its way to power in Rivers State, the government, led by Governor Nyesom Wike, cannot stop the violence, killings and maiming that have become part of the everyday chequered lives of the people and residents of Rivers State. In return, we have been called names and conveniently labelled doomsday prophets and naysayers. Today, such deceitful labelling by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Rivers State government officials has, once again, been proved wrong and we have been proved right.

    “The APC wishes to put on record that the state government and its agents must be held responsible for the killing of Atsuwete and the reasons for our charge are obvious and lucid.

    “The late Atsuwete was one of the leading counsel to APC’s chieftain, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree (ex-chairman of Asari-Toru Local Government of Rivers State, who has been in Port Harcourt Prisons for over four months), who is incarcerated on trumped-up charges surreptitiously inspired and driven by the Rivers State Government, led by Governor Wike.

    “Officials of the state government have variously vowed to teach the APC and its leader, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, a lesson by jailing one of its most active leaders, Flag-Amachree. However, Atsuwete, as counsel to Flag-Amachree, had thrown in everything into the defence of his client, to the chagrin of officials of the state government, who are the traducers of Flag-Amachree.”

    Rivers APC also said the late lawyer had not relented in standing with citizens and public servants against the wrongful use of state powers, adding that several cases he filed in such circumstances attested to the fact.

    APC said: “Most importantly, we know that last week, the late Atsuwete threatened, while on a radio programme (in Port Harcourt), that he would, this week, expose how the Publicity Secretary of the PDP in Rivers State, Samuel Nwanosike, obtained a forged court order restraining INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) from releasing Tai (Ogoni) Local Government’s rerun results – a court order the PDP has been parading.

    “The late Atsuwete promised to present the proof that such a court order did not exist and that the judge who purportedly gave that order was not a vacation judge, as she had been on vacation in the United States (U.S).

    “Unfortunately, they ensured he never saw this week and, therefore, cannot now expose those characters. They might have stopped Atsuwete in his track but they cannot stop God from exposing them.

    “The late Atsuwete complained severally to close associates that he was being sent threat text messages, phone calls and sometimes physically attacked by those he suspected were agents of the state government, for speaking out on topical issues that made the government and its officials ostensibly uncomfortable.

    “The APC is further shocked that reports showed that officials of the state government have, since Monday, inundated editors of national and local media houses, to subdue the story of the dastardly killing of Atsuwete.”

    APC added: “We call on the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to prevail on the relevant authorities to unravel this crime. If a lawyer handling cases for the opposition in Rivers State could be this cheaply assassinated, who knows who will be the next victim.

    “The APC also calls on the Police commissioner, Department of State Services (DSS), Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Director-General, DSS and all security apparati in the land to solve the riddle surrounding the murder of Atsuwete and ensure the eventual prosecution of those who may directly and indirectly be involved in planning and execution of this heinous act.”

    Also, a group, Vanguard for Justice, Equity and Strategy, condemned the killing of the human rights lawyer.

    In a statement yesterday by its Coordinator, Jerome Alali Green, the group said the state government should be held responsible for Atsuwete’s death because of Wike’s administration’s inability to fight crime.

    It called for a state of emergency, adding that the governor was not ready to provide governance.

    The Vanguard for Justice, Equity and Strategy said: “Prior to his death, Atsuwete had written several petitions to the inspector-general of Police (IGP) on threats to his life, particularly on the matter of his client, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree, and his petition to the chief justice of the federation (CJF), against the chief judge of Rivers State for remanding Flag-Amachree in absentia, which was being attended to.

    “He also granted a live interview on Nigeria Info 92.3 FM in Port Harcourt on his position on the release of Tai Local Government’s election results and the procurement of a fake court order by Governor Wike, an interview which was said to have angered Samuel Nwanosike, who threatened him, among others.

    “Why was Atsuwete murdered in cold blood? Why has Governor Wike brought back the creek boys, who were used for 2015 elections to the streets again, with their guns? Why has Governor Wike abandoned the people of Rivers State to their fate? Why is the Federal Government allowing Wike’s antics to override the protection of life and property of Rivers people?”

     

  • Wike, Fayose ‘ll ruin PDP, says Bode George

    Wike, Fayose ‘ll ruin PDP, says Bode George

    Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Olabode George yesterday said the party was in ruins and imminent danger.

    Addressing a conference at the Lagos PDP secretariat, George’s Political Adviser, Mr. Uthman Shodipe-Dosunmu said Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose were bent in destroying the party.

    He said the August 17 convention would have divided the party more, stressing that the convention was hijacked by the two governors to prosecute their 2019 ambitions.

    George said: “This is indeed a sad period for the PDP; the sky is dark and bleak. The party is now at the edge of a cliff, dangling before imminent ruins and forfeiture. Our party has lost its soul, its fundamental defining logic of existence, stripped of all values of justice, fairness and equity.

    “We thought that the crisis provoked by the issue of Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff would be finally laid to rest after the August 17 convention, but we couldn’t be more wrong. To be specific Wike and Fayose have both succeeded in forming an unholy alliance against the growth and development of our party.”

    He said having reviewed the situation, leaders of the party should never allow Wike and Fayose to come near any crucial decision making process again.

    “Port Harcourt should never be allowed again to host the convention as long as Wike remains governor.

    “We are happy the charade was halted in its tracks. The dubious convention was written, produced, directed and managed by Wike and Fayose. This will never happen again.

    “Our party is dying. Benighted and unprincipled men have seized the jugular of our party.”

     

    They are hell bent on destroying what they cannot build. They have apparently sworn to destroy, to manipulate, to thwart the people’s will and sabotage the cause of democracy,” he said.

     

     

     

  • APC accuses Wike of wasting taxpayers’ money

    APC accuses Wike of wasting taxpayers’ money

    •PDP: the party
    is an interloper

    The Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC)  yesterday accused Governor Nyesom Wike of wasting taxpayers’ money on what it called “Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) convention jamborees.”

    But PDP fired back, describing APC as a “meddlesome interloper.”

    In a statement issued in Port Harcourt, the state capital, by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Chris Finebone,  APC alleged that Wike planned to spend government money on the convention.

    It said the APC was worried that the government which allegedly failed to pay civil servants’ salaries, planned to use public funds to host the convention.

    “Our worry heightens when we consider that PDP bills are humongous and Governor Wike has elected himself to offset the bills with the funds of Rivers people running into billions of naira.

    “Sadly, Southsouth states and others have always acted the wise boys because their governors know that their peoples’ money should not be wasted on jamborees,” the statement alleged.

    It added: “Civil servants, legislative aides, medical workers, teachers and other workers in different sectors in the state are groaning and protesting several months of unpaid salaries and wages.’’

    The statement advised Wike to concentrate on governance rather than using state resources to host the convention.

    “National conventions are very expensive business, the cost runs into billions of naira. Governor Wike has the responsibility to provide effective governance for the people. This he should do with the resources that belong to them and not to fritter billions of naira belonging to Rivers people on the affairs of his party, the PDP,” the statement added.

    It went on: “The APC is worried that, as a lawyer, Wike and other lawyers in the PDP are the ones shopping for all manner of conflicting court orders, regarding their national convention. The sum total of their actions point to unfettered reign of impunity on August 17 and this is familiar territory for Wike and his co-travellers. Whenever the dust of the convention settles, the likelihood of the convention being declared a nullity looms.

    ”However, the utmost concern to the APC is that the Rivers taxpayers are now made to bear the brunt of reviving the dying behemoth called PDP, now lying comatose in hospital and gasping for breath (apologies to former President Olusegun Obasanjo).”

    APC said the  insecurity in the state had been confirmed by that week’s kidnap of 14 passengers kidnapped last week, after their commercial bus was hijacked at Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) by gunmen and taken to an unknown destination in the forest, and the bus set ablaze. The abducted has since been freed.

    In a statement by its chairman’s spokesman Jerry Needam, PDP debunked the allegation.

    The statement reads: “Their only concern is that the National Convention holding in Port Harcourt has punctured their baseless propaganda of insecurity in the State just to discredit the unequalled efforts of the God-sent Executive Governor of the State, Chief Barr Nyesom Wike who has roundly demonstrated an unstoppable interest in restoring sanity to the State by putting to an end the regime of organized crime aimed at mortgaging the State by a few inconsequential political neophytes insisting on the ‘old order’.

    “There is no gainsaying the fact that the PDP National Convention holding in the Garden City of Port Harcourt besides debunking the many lies of the APC about the State, will further bring the tourism potentials that abound across the State to the front burner of social discourse with the side attraction of opening up the State to potential investors desirous of taking advantage of the rich oil and gas resources to invest in the State.

    “This is simple economic arithmetic that only the APC lacks the knowledge to understand, no wonder the prices of petroleum products, agricultural produce, consumer products, building materials and everything with no exception have sky-rocked to the high heavens so much so that even the APC supporters across the country are causing the day the reins of power and leadership of this once great nation unfortunately slipped into the hands of ‘one chance’, sorry, chain agent called APC gov

  • Wike, IYC disown Niger Delta Avengers

    Wike, IYC disown Niger Delta Avengers

    Who are the sponsors of the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) militants blowing up oil installations and facilities in Niger Delta? The sponsors’ identities remained shrouded in secrecy yesterday as those linked to the group denied having anything to do with it.

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) dismissed claim that they were behind NDA.

    In a statement by his spokesman Simeon Nwakandu, Wike described his link to the group as “false media propaganda.”

    The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to yet another  false media propaganda  wherein it was claimed that Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike is one of the sponsors of the militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers.  We nequivocally  deny this false report which was fabricated with the aim of diverting  attention  from the superlative  performance  of Governor Wike.

    “Any close observer of this propaganda  machine would have noticed that  all they do is concoct lies about Rivers State.  We urge all well-meaning  persons to disregard this current falsehood  credited to a faceless splinter group of NDA .

    “This falsehood may not be unconnected  to Governor  Wike’s  speech at the just-concluded conference  of the Nigerian Guild of Editors where he publicly declared that he and other stakeholders  in the state have prevented militant groups from sabotaging  oil installations as is the case elsewhere.  Not happy  with this declaration,  they  resolved to concoct another ill-conceived  report trying to mislead the people.

    ”Nigerians already know what these propagandists represent. They represent retrogression , deliberate  falsehood,  under-development and biased unprofessional  journalism.

    ”Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike is a patriotic leader,  committed to the sustenance  and  improvement of the nation’s  democracy and economy.  He is a promoter of security and good governance.  He cannot be disparaged by concocted publications  from APC  media agents.”

    IYC Worldwide President Mr. Udengs Eradiri said as leader of the influential Ijaw socio-cultural group, he was against a violent approach to actualising the Niger Delta struggle.

    He said he would continue maintain his stand because of his belief that only dialogue with genuine leaders would solve the problems.

    A splinter NDA, the Reform Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) in a statement by its spokesperson, Cynthia Whyte, listed President Goodluck Jonathan, Governor Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Governor Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and other prominent leaders from the region as NDA sponsors.

    The statement also claimed that Eradiri was speaking for the group using the pseudo-name ‘Brigadier-General’ Murdoch Agbinibo.

    But Eradiri, who spoke in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, said he was not surprised that his name was being dragged in the mud because of his position on the Niger Delta crisis.

    He accused the promoters of the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) of blackmailing him for opposing their Aaron Team.

    He said: “I have no business whatsoever with the Niger Delta Avengers. I am the President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), the largest youth organisation in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria and not the spokesman of the Niger Delta Avengers.

    “Since the splinter group of the Niger Delta Avengers said they have broken away and repented from their old ways, I call on them to come out in the open and identify themselves openly instead of still using pseudo-names such as Cynthia Whyte to issue statements.

    “Any discerning mind would know that the said statement purportedly naming sponsors of Avengers was issued by the promoters of the Aaron 11 MEND negotiation with the federal government.

    “Their grouse against me is because I said in my recent interviews that MEND Aaron 11 team does have the mandate of the Ijaw and other Niger Delta people to negotiate with the Federal Government. They are desperate because of the lack of credibility in what they are doing”.

  • Cleric urges Wike to eschew political patronage

    The Bishop of Anglican Communion, Church of Nigeria, Diocese of Evo in Rivers State, Rt. Rev. Innocent Ordu, has called on Governor Nyesom Wike to jettison favouritism in the award of contracts in the State.

    The Bishop who spoke yesterday while reading his Presidential address and Bishop’s charge during the end of the 3rd 2016 Synod of the diocese which took place at St. Jude’s Anglican Church Oginigba Deanery Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said no contractor should see the contract to build Rivers roads as political compensation for party loyalty, adding that the ongoing roads project must be built to last as not waste the scarce resources by reconstructing roads.

    The theme of this year’s Synod was Attitudes and Role Relationship in God’s Earthly Family, the Church.

    The cleric who used the opportunity to address several issues affecting the church and the nation urged the Rivers governor to choose and make a particular sector of infrastructural development its focal point.

    “We want to call on the leaders of the two main political parties in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to watch their actions and utterances in the secret and in the open as well as to examine their consciences to ensure that they are not contributing to the insecurity in the state.”

  • Wike sacks traditional ruler

    Wike sacks traditional ruler

    Residents of Apara Kingdom of Obio/Akpor Local Government in Rivers State have condemned the removal of their paramount ruler, Eze Gift Eziwho Johnson, by the Nyesom Wike administration.

    Johnson, who is the Eze Oha Apara IV, got his certificate, recognition and staff of office on May 27, last year, from the preceding Rotimi Amaechi administration.

    Wike has shifted his recognition to one of his associates, Mr. Chike Worlu-Wodo, as the new paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom.

    Addressing reporters yesterday at the palace of Eze Oha Apara IV in Rumuigbo, Port Harcourt, the people of Apara Kingdom urged the Federal Government and security agencies to intervene in the  alleged injustice.

    The media briefing was addressed by the Chairman of Ekinigbo Clan Town Council, Chinedu Johnson Amadi, who was accompanied by the Secretary of the clan’s Council of Chiefs, Eze Allwell Ome Egeonu; Chairman of Ekinigbo Owhor Holders, Elder Samuel Egeonu and Chairman of Ekinigbo Opinion Leaders, Ambassador John Okocha.

    The paramount ruler appeared briefly at the event before leaving to attend to other matters outside the palace.

    A former Chief of Staff at the Government House in Port Harcourt, Chief Tony Okocha, who hails from Rumuigbo in Apara Kingdom and who is an ally of Amaechi, expressed shock at Wike’s withdrawal of government recognition of the monarch.

    Okocha noted that the governor and his “cohorts” were inviting anarchy in the peaceful kingdom. He hoped the situation would not be allowed to degenerate into civil disobedience.

    The President-General of Ekinigbo Youth Council, Dele Jnr. Egeonu, said he and other members of the council were pleading with other youths to avoid violence.

    But he urged the Federal Government and security agencies to prevent anarchy.

    Egeonu said Johnson must be reinstated for peace to reign in Apara Kingdom.

    But Wike, who reacted to the development through his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, insisted that his administration took the step to ensure peace.

    Apara Kingdom’s residents, through the Ekinigbo Clan Council, said they were troubled by Wike’s “vexatious and utterly malicious move,” purporting to have withdrawn the king’s official government recognition.

    It said: “Eze Oha Apara, Eze Gift Eziwho Johnson, was properly selected by the Rumukesiorlu Royal Kingmakers, after due consultations. He was properly coronated and duly presented to the public, in line with the established customs and tradition of Ikwerre people, for the purpose of installing a bona fide occupant of an ancestral stool.

    “The purported cancellation and withdrawal of government recognition from Eze Gift Eziwho Johnson by Governor Wike were maliciously conceived to ridicule our ancestral stool, embarrass the incumbent and cause anarchy in Apara Kingdom. The action was not only taken in grave error, it is vindictive and vexatious against due process, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

    “We wish to state categorically that the Ekinigbo Clan Town Council will not allow anybody to play vindictive politics with our highly-revered ancestral stool, as Governor Wike appears to be doing, by claiming to have ‘selected’ and ‘installed’ Mr. Chike Worlu-Wodo as ‘Eze Oha Apara.’

  • Rivers voters’ll resist plot to rig rerun, says Wike

    Rivers voters’ll resist plot to rig rerun, says Wike

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has said the electorate will resist any plot to use the instruments of state to rig the rescheduled rerun.

    The governor admonished  Police Commissioner Francis Mobolaji Odesanya and the command to be apolitical during the election.

    Wike spoke yesterday at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital, when he hosted Odesanya.

    The governor admonished policemen not to take sides in the discharge of their security duties.

    He noted that policemen ought to work professionally to create the right atmosphere for residents to exercise their franchise without molestation.

    Wike said: “If anyone uses instruments of state to rig elections, we will not fold our arms.”

    The governor reminded the police of the need to rid the command of compromised officers with political affiliation, saying he had written to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris, on the matter.

    He assured that his administration would continue to support the police to fight crimes.

    Wike said: “For the last one year, we have bought over 100 vehicles for security agencies. We will always support the police to improve security.

    “We have to work together to fight crimes. I am happy with the level of policing in the state, which has reduced  crimes.”

    The governor added that the government would supply additional vehicles to the police.

    He directed local governments to provide logistic support to enable police divisions perform their duties more effectively.

    Odesanya assured that the police, under his leadership, would mop up arms to protect life and property.

    The police chief said Rivers would not be home to crimes, adding that measures were being implemented to root out criminals.

    He promised that the command would be apolitical and professional in the discharge of its duties.

  • No court order has stopped PDP convention, says Wike

    No court order has stopped PDP convention, says Wike

    RIVERS State Governor Nyesom Wike has said there is no court order stopping the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) August 17 National Convention in Port Harcourt.

    He said the convention would hold as scheduled, although the court was yet to hear the suit by the “sacked” Acting National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, challenging conduct of the national convention.

    While addressing PDP’s Southsouth Executive Committee at the Government House, Port Harcourt, yesterday, Wike said: “The court could not have sacked Senator Ahmed Makarfi, because it cannot sit on appeal on the judgment of a court of coordinate jurisdiction.”

    The governor also added that there was an application to allow Markafi to be joined  in the suit, stressing that hearing was adjoined till August 15.

    He insisted that the suit challenging the conduct of the national convention was yet to be entertained by the court.

    Wike said the Edo State chapter of the PDP would be supported to win next month’s governorship election.

    He said: “PDP in the Southsouth cannot be complete, until we take over Edo State. Therefore, I urge INEC to conduct a free and fair election in Edo State and every other state where we have elections.

    “I thank the party in Edo State for doing quite well in the campaigns. As an opposition party, PDP members have promoted the party’s chances through committed campaigns.”

    The Rivers governor also said the leaders of the PDP in the South would meet on Thursday to determine positions, ahead of the national convention.

    Wike promised that the PDP would emerge stronger from the challenges, claiming that Nigerians were waiting for the party to provide leadership.

    The National Vice Chairman of the PDP in the Southsouth, Emma Ogidi, earlier hailed Wike for using the people’s mandate to transform the state.

    Ogidi stressed that Wike was a complete party man, who helped in rebuilding PDP through his engagements with party stakeholders.

    The Southsouth executive committee also conferred an award of excellence on the governor.