The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Wike

  • Wike’s deputy seeks peace after council killings

    Wike’s deputy seeks peace after council killings

    Rivers State Deputy Governor Ipalibo Harry Banigo has urged the people of Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) to set aside their political inclinations and work for the restoration of peace.

    Dr. Banigo, in a statement by her Press Secretary, Paul Damgbor, urged opinion leaders to come together to fish out perpetrators of the heinous crime against humanity, adding that some politicians capitalised on the situation to cast aspersions on perceived political opponents.

    She hailed Governor Nyesom Wike for visiting ONELGA, noting that the visit inspired hope and confidence in residents.

    Dr. Banigo advised youths to embrace peace and shun cultism, kidnapping and other violent crimes.

    She said: “The Wike-led government is committed to  improving the living condition of the people. We must not drive away investors by allowing enemies of progress to cause harm in the name of cult-related crimes.”

    The deputy governor said  the governor would kick-start  the clay factory in Egi and solicited the support of all to enable the government actualise the project.

  • Abe accuses Wike of instigating violence

    Abe accuses Wike of instigating violence

    •Governor justifies soldiers’ presence  •MOSOP seeks withdrawal of military

    The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Rivers Southeast Senatorial District’s March 19 rerun, Senator Magnus Abe, has accused Governor Nyesom Wike of instigating violence.

    Abe’s senatorial Liaison Office in Bori-Ogoni, the headquarters of Khana Local Government, was burnt on Monday.

    Speaking yesterday in Port Harcourt, Abe told his supporters to consider the incident as a sacrifice and not to turn the state into a theatre of war. He pleaded with his supporters to remain calm.

    Soldiers from the 2 Brigade in Port Harcourt, on Monday, stormed the Yeghe-Ogoni, Gokana Local Government hometown of a former militant leader, Solomon Ndigbara, aka Osama bin Laden, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), leading to gunshots.

    Thugs gathered and burnt Abe’s senatorial Liaison Office, while three persons were feared dead when the attack was hijacked by cultists, according to witnesses.

    The APC chieftain sympathised with families that lost their dear ones, while praying that God should give them the fortitude to bear the loss.

    He assured the people that the perpetrators would be fished out, insisting that nobody was above the law.

    Abe said it was inhuman, wicked and callous for people to kill and maim their fellow citizens, just for power.

    Wike yesterday called on residents of  Khana and Gokana local governments, who fled their homes following military  presence in the area  to return  to  their homes.

    The governor said the military presence was aimed at securing life and property and not to harm law-abiding residents.

    In a statement by Simeon Nwakaudu, special assistant to the governor on Electronic Media, Wike assured the people of their safety.

    The  governor said his administration  would enhance  the  security of residents, urging  the  people of Khana and Gokana to cooperate  with  security agencies to maintain  law and order.

    But the President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People(MOSOP), Legborsi Pyagbara, has condemned the presence of the military, and called for their withdrawal from Ogoniland.

    Pyagbara said: “MOSOP condemns the military occupation of Ogoniland. This sole invasion of Ogoni communities has defiled military/civil conduct, I have not seen anywhere in the cause of search for criminals, you have to criminalise communities.

    “What has happened to intelligence gathering? Are they telling us that their intelligence has failed? In one single operation the communities are invaded and many people are on the run. As of now, we hear 12 people died. There is no reason that can justify this kind of military operation in Ogoni. They are returning us back to 1994.”

     

     

  • Wike suspends three caretaker chairmen

    Wike suspends three caretaker chairmen

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has suspended three caretaker commitee chairmen.

    The chairmen  are those of Abua/Odual, Ahoada East and Ahoada West local government  areas.

    The governor said they were suspended for failing  to  mobilise their  stakeholders to  attend  the  Special Security Town Hall Meeting for Orashi region.

    Speaking at Omoku yesterday during a security  town hall meeting, Wike  said  the  meeting,  which was attended by Security  Service commanders and the commissioner of Police, was to restore peace to Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, ONELGA,Abua/Odual,  Ahoada East and Ahoada West Local government areas.

    He said insecurity in the four local governments had nothing to do with politics. Wike said security agencies had been mandated to clamp down on those who shield cultists, kidnappers and robbers.

    According to him, nobody would be allowed to stop the programmes  of the government on account  of  insecurity.

    He urged traditional, political  and  religious  leaders to work with the government  and security agencies to identify  the  criminals  to restore  peace.

    “Nobody is happy. I am not happy. The service commanders are not happy. These cultists and criminals  are not from  Lagos, Kaduna  or Ebonyi.  They are indigenes of these communities  and the people  know them. Therefore, everyone must cooperate  with security agencies to resolve these challenges.”

    The governor said commercial motorcyclists remain banned in the four councils between 5 pm and 8 am daily.

    Wike said: “We must put an end to the ugly situation  in these councils.  Enough is enough.  We cannot allow these criminals  to kill innocent  people“ .

    The Caretaker Committee Chairman,  Mr Isaac Umejuru, assured Wike  and security  agencies of the cooperation  of the people to ensure that peace returns to the communities.

  • Like Fayose, like Wike, like SAS

    Show me your friends, goes that English saying, and I will tell you the person you are.

    That appears to have played out in the controversial announcement of the no less controversial former Senator Ali Modu Sheriff  aka SAS as new national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    SAS’s coronation, which has sent a segment of the party hopping made, is a coup between the PDP national executive committee (NEC) and its governors.  Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, feckless and unimaginative at the best of times, has reportedly endorsed the move.  He called SAS “the right choice for the opposition”.  Dr. Jonathan’s patent political folly, which led to the PDP crash, appears set to undo any renaissance it may be dreaming of.

    In another section of the house divided against itself is the PDP Board of Trustees (BOT) and former ministerial appointees of Dr. Jonathan.  It appears another set of crisis within the once-upon-a-time self-proclaimed “Africa’s largest party”.

    But even among the governors that pulled the SAS coup, two stand out: Ekiti’s Ayo Fayose and Rivers’ Nyesom Wike.  Link both of them to SAS himself, and you can imagine the ruinous path PDP has chosen.

    Fayose bragged without end how he routed an incumbent in the Ekiti gubernatorial elections of 2014.  But the dirty revelations from Tope Aluko, on how that “win” was cooked, has exposed Fayose as another loud charlatan, professing democratic ethos.

    Wike, in the words of eminent lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, SAN, rode on the blood and limbs of the slain to power.  Despite the Supreme Court’s validation of his rotten election, it is clear who is on the moral defensive — the governor or critics of his so-called election.  As it was in the beginning of “militancy” that turned criminality in the Southsouth, armed enforcers, used and dumped by politicians in previous election, became the armed pest to their own people.  That sorry history is about to repeat itself in Wike’s Rivers.

    Link Wike’s probable progression to SAS’s chartered path in infamy, and what you have in your hands is a clincher.  SAS used armed muggers to “win” election in Borno.  But his attempt at use-and-dump led to the Boko Haram crisis, after the first Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was slain in police detention.

    And did you catch SAS’s victory whoop?  “By the grace of Allah, nothing will deter this party from going to Aso Rock in 2019,” he enthused.  “This my long cap is prepared to lead my colleagues and brothers to Aso Rock, Insha Allah.”!

    No qualms about the gridlock PDP’s 16-year misrule has caused.  No thinking about the integrity-deficiency of its many hierarchs, now facing corruption trials.  Absolutely no thought about the legendary incompetence of the last commander-in-chief the PDP inflicted on the country.  And, of course, millions of innocent Nigerians, grand victims of this misrule, absolutely don’t matter.

    What matters is power, power and p-a-w-a!  A deluded party, boasting all-power-no-brain?

    By the way, where does SAS’s ascendancy leave the now loudly quiet Olisa Metuh and his Janjaweed philosophy?  Or is SAS no longer Metuh’s sponsor of Boko Haram?

  • Supreme Court: Wike attacks Sagay

    Supreme Court: Wike attacks Sagay

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has attacked Prof Itsay Sagay (SAN) for criticising the Supreme Court judgment affirming his election.

    Wike, in a statement by his Commissioner for Information, Dr. Austin Tam-George, accused the lawyer of re-litigating a settled matter.

    The statement reads: “Prof Itse Sagay, one of the most opportunistic enablers of the corrupt regime of Mr. Rotimi Amaechi in Rivers State, seems to have found the courage to step out of his closet.

    “In a widely reported statement yesterday, Sagay launched a bitter and completely unwarranted attack on the justices of the Supreme Court judgment for affirming Nyesom Wike as the duly elected governor of Rivers Statement.

    “Prof. Sagay alleged, without any shred of proof that ‘everybody knows that people like Wike climbed into the governorship seat over dead bodies and over blood of human beings. There were no elections, they wrote the results; the evidence is there.’

    ‘’For a trained lawyer, Prof Sagay has lost his sense of irony. He criticises the legally sound and unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court, by resorting to the silly and unsubstantiated hearsay mindlessly peddled by the APC.

    “In the twilight of an unremarkable career, is Prof Sagay seeking to be the dubious originator of the sick jurisprudence of “Everybody knows”, even without evidence?

    “Is the Supreme Court no longer supreme in its judgments? Why is Sagay re-litigating a settled matter in the streets in such a disgraceful manner?

    ‘’Prof Sagay may wish to re-read the history of the people of Rivers State. We never give up our sovereignty.

    “We condemn this orchestrated campaign of calumny launched by the APC and its cowardly surrogates against Nigeria’s justice system, which is the bedrock of our evolving constitutional democracy.

    ‘’Working with other Nigerians and our sister states in the Niger Delta, the government and people of Rivers State will continue to defeat the dark political fundamentalism of the APC.

    “We call on the international community to restrain the APC from its desperate attempts to politically dominate our people and plunder the resources of our land.”

  • What did Odili tell Wike?

    What did Odili tell Wike?

    The Supreme Court may have given to reasons for upturning the rulings of two lower courts in the petitions written by Rixes state governor Nyeson Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Dr Dakuku Peterside of the All Progressive Congress (APC). But, the verdict of the apex court is not without its controversies, writes Group Politicical Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU

    The judgment of the Supreme Court is final. Once it is pronounced inside the hallowed court, it becomes a precedent. In the past, nobody will raise an eyebrow at the verdict, which was often faultless and sacrosanct. This time-tested virtue underscores credibility and integrity of the final arbiter which should never be in doubt.

    But, opinion is divided on the recent apex court’s verdict on the Rivers State governorship election. Criticisms have trailed the judgment, with some stakeholders, particularly eminent lawyers and chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing it as a perverse judgment.

    Those criticising the verdict argue that the poll was not credible because it was marred by violence and irregularities. But, it would appear that the substance of the verdict was beyond the keen and comprehension of those who expected a contrary pronouncement.

    To critics, what is striking is the chain of events preceding the judgment. The APC candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has alleged that Governor Nyeson Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was privy to the judgment before it was read by the apex jurists. To that extent, he said the judgment lacked fairness and credibility. Wike has denied it, saying that his challenger and his party were trying to create confusion because the judgment did not favour them.

    To prove that Wike had foreknowledge of the verdict, Peterside alluded to what he described as his pre-judgment actions and utterances. He alleged that Wike, a lawyer, had sought audience with the Chief Justice when the case was pending before the Supreme Court. But, there was no evidence that the revered jurist granted him audience. Wike explained that he visited the Supreme Court to seek audience with the CJN to discuss issues relating to the appointment of the chief judge of Rivers State. But, the chief justice was not available.

    Besides, Peterside alleged that Wike interacted with some of the judges who decided the matter in his favour both in Nigeria and overseas.

    However, in Peterside’s view, Wike’s public confession that former Governor Peter Odili and his wife, Mary, a Supreme Court judge, were his advisers during the litigation.

    Peterside said: “This simply confirmed his earlier statement that he had contact with the justices after several attempts to reach the Chief Justice of the country failed.

    “It is, therefore, obvious that the decision of the Supreme Court on the Rivers State election was not a product of justice, but rather a product of compromise and orchestrated contrivance to legalise electoral violence and rigging and, in turn, reward injustice. This calls for serious introspection by our judiciary and judicial officers.

    “For the records, in his speech at the church service, Governor Nyesom Wike probably forgot that he was on live telecast when he stated: ‘Let me thank our former governor, Dr. Peter Odili (husband of Supreme Court Justice Mary Odili). He will call me midnight to tell me what to do…he will say ‘go to so and so place.’ I took his advice and here we are today.”

    These remarks have raised some puzzles: What did Odili tell Wike? Where did he ask him to go? What advice in particular did the former governor give Wike? Who did he advise him to see?

    “This shocking confession needs no further explanation, except for you and other decent Nigerians to further make your fair conclusions,” Peterside maintained.

    Wike has denied the allegations. He said he only referred to Odili and not his wife. He also said he could not have made revelations on a judgment that had not been read.

    The judgment has come and gone. But, the controversy has refused to go.

  • Police confirm kidnap of Wike’s commissioner’s mum

    Police confirm kidnap of Wike’s commissioner’s mum

    The Rivers police yesterday confirmed the kidnap of the mother of Commissioner for Information Dr Austin Tam-George.

    Police spokesman Muhammad Kidaya Ahmad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said at 6:16 pm. yesterday: “Emerging facts indicated that the abducted woman in Okrika is the mother of the Rivers State Commissioner of Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George.”

    But the command and Tam-George initially disagreed on his mother’s kidnap.

    Ahmad earlier said: “There was a reported kidnap case of a woman at Okrika, but she is not the mother of Austin Tam-George. Efforts are on to safely rescue the victim.”

    The commissioner said his mother was kidnapped around 8.55 p.m. on Saturday, on her way from church at Giogioma-Okrika.

    Tam-George said: “I am pleading with the abductors to release my mother unhurt. My mother is a harmless woman. My mother, Patience, is 85-year-old. My mother cannot hurt anyone. She went to church, as she had done for years, to pray and worship God.”

    Investigation showed that the kidnappers contacted the family of the victim and demanded ransom, but the exact amount could not be ascertained.

  • Wike suspends commissioner, accountant-general

    Wike suspends commissioner, accountant-general

    Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Friday evening suspended the state’s Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Fred Kpakol, and the Accountant General, Sir Abere Dagogo.

    Wike, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, said the two officials’ suspension was with immediate effect, without giving any reason for the action.

     

  • Peterside: Wike knew about Supreme Court judgment

    Peterside: Wike knew about Supreme Court judgment

    •APC wants to create confusion, says governor

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the 2015 governorship election in Rivers State, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, yesterday raised doubts about the fairness of the Supreme Court judgment that affirmed the election of Governor Nyesom Wike.

    He said Wike had a foreknowledge of the judgment —going by his actions and utterances.

    Dr. Peterside told a news conference in Port Harcourt that Wike’s threat to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was “unbecoming”.

    He also criticised Wike as lacking the moral right to speak in uncomplimentary terms about President Muhammadu Buhari and the military.

    Wike denied it all, saying the APC was trying to cause confusion.

    Peterside arrived at the party secretariat by 11:30 am with his running mate, Asita Honourable Asita, and some supporters.

    The Supreme Court gave its decision on the Rivers governorship election on July 27, promising to make the reasons known later.

    Peterside said that some of Wike’s actions and statements before and after the judgment are indicative of his foreknowledge of the judgment.

    He said: “Credible information confirmed that Nyesom Wike had earlier confessed to some persons of having met one of the Justices of the Supreme Court in Mbaise during an important burial, another at Owerri in a hotel and yet others in Dubai and Saudi Arabia respectively . These Justices were in the panel that decided the matter in Wike’s favour.

    “However, the most striking revelation by Nyesom Wike is contained in his account at the thanksgiving service last Sunday. He obviously stunned his audience and the watching world when he confessed that when it came to the Judges, Dr. Peter Odili and the wife Justice Mary Odili (a Justice of the Supreme Court) were his advisers.

    “This simply confirmed his earlier statements that he had contact with the Justices after several attempts to reach the Chief Justice of the country failed.It is therefore obvious that the decision of the Supreme Court on the Rivers State Election was not a product of justice but rather a product of compromise and orchestrated contrivance to legalise electoral violence and rigging and, in turn, reward injustice. This calls for serious introspection by our Judiciary and judicial officers.

    “For the records, in his speech at the church service, Governor Nyesom Wike probably forgot that he was on live telecast when he stated: ‘Let me thank our former governor, Dr. Peter Odili (husband of Supreme Court Justice Mary Odili). He will call me midnight to tell me what to do….he will say ‘go to so so place.’ I took all his advice, and here we are today’.

    “This shocking confession needs no further explanation, except for you and other decent Nigerians to further make your fair conclusions.”

    Peterside added that also at the thanksgiving service, Wike said as a result of the the judgment , “the apex court helped in preventing bloodshed in Rivers State.”

    ”Blood would have flowed if the election was going to hold again….So, I called some people, including the Chairman of PDP, Uche Secondus, that I was not going to run again. They said why and I explained that if I did, many people would die.”

    He added that “these voluntary confessions made by Governor Nyesom Wike confirm beyond doubt that he was obviously behind the orgy of violence during the last elections”.

    Speaking on Wike’s alleged violence threat, Peterside quoted the governor as saying: ”Anyone who plans to rig an election is an armed robber and should be treated as such. If you are coming to rig an election in the state, first prepare your will before embarking on the journey. Inform your wife or husband and go ahead to say your last prayer.

    ”We are not afraid of any re-run at all. But we have always said if they said there should be a re-run, let it be a re-run and not to write the result. Let them bring anybody as INEC official from anywhere that wants to be funny, I wish the person must have written his Will before he comes.”

    Peterside said: ”Wike promotes violence and believes so much in jungle justice but he forgets that such outlook does not have any place in a civilised society.”

     

  • Wike promises even development

    Wike promises even development

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has promised even development of communities.

    The governor, who noted that since his January 27 victory at the Supreme Court, the security situation has improved, spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt while addressing Ikwerre Chiefs and Elders Forum.

    He called on leaders of communities to promote peace for enhanced growth.

    Wike said: “Since the Supreme Court judgment, the security situation in communities has improved. Community leaders should continue to cooperate with security agencies to enhance peace for sustainable development.

    “As your son, I will make you proud. Rivers State is my constituency and I will touch every community. We will carry good governance to every community.”