THE Rivers State Police Command says the state Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has redeemed the N100m bounty on the head of a notorious cult leader, Gift Okpara, aka 2Baba, who alongside his gang members killed a Divisional Police Officer, Superintendent Bako Angbashin, in the Oduemude area of the state. The state Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, confirmed the development during a parade held in honour of the slain DPO at the state police headquarters on Saturday, adding that the corpse of the slain officer had been released to the family. Disu said, “On March 25, 2024, the police killed the wanted…
Author: Eileen Peters
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THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is currently holding ward congresses in the various wards of Rivers states, against court orders. This is coming despite two court orders stopping the exercise. At the PDP Secretariat along Aba Road in Port Harcourt, various members of the party were observed collecting materials for the congress in their various wards. They left for their various councils after taking possession of the materials. It would be recalled that Justice Charles Wali on Friday, prohibited the party, its National Chairman Iliya Damagum, and National Secretary Senator Samuel Anyanwu, or their agents, from gathering anywhere in Rivers…
FORMER Local Government Chairmen in Rivers state have accused Governor Siminalyi Fubara of supporting illegality by continuing to support the illegal Caretaker Committee Chairmen’s stay in office despite a Supreme Court judgement nullifying them. In a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Friday, the former chairmen called on the IGP to arrest the CTC chairmen. They threatened that if the development continues they’ll force their way into their various councils and match the governor with force. “We are not cowards. If this continues, we will go back to our local government and force ourselves into the council. That’s exactly what…
A BABY was reportedly tear-gassed and became unconscious on Wednesday as supporters of the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, clashed with the loyalists of ex-governor Nyesom Wike in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state. It was gathered that the clash happened during a government medical outreach in the Eliozu community, Obio/Akpor LGA. Eyewitnesses told our correspondent that trouble started when officials of the state Ministry of Health were carrying out a medical outreach for women at the Eliozu Health Centre. It was gathered that no sooner had the programme started than some supporters allegedly loyal to the factional…
THE Nigeria Navy has apprehended two suspected oil thieves operating an illegal bunkering site concealed in their private residence in Rivers, an official has said. The Commander of Nigeria Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder in Port Harcourt, Commodore Desmond Igbo, said this on Wednesday when he took newsmen to the site in Okwuzi community of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area on Wednesday. Igbo said that during a raid on the building, the naval operatives discovered 200,000 litres of illegally refined diesel stored in the compound. “The operation was conducted based on credible intelligence, leading us to a private compound used solely for…
JUSTICE Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has restrained the Department of State Service (DSS), police, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and seven others from stopping or disrupting the conduct of congresses for wards and local governments of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State. The scheduled congresses are to elect new officers who will run the affairs of the PDP at the wards, LGs, and state levels of PDP in Rivers State. The congresses are also to elect ad-hoc and national delegates as specified in the constitution, guidelines, adjusted timetable, and scheduled of activities in…
A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has declined to bar Governor Siminalayi Fubara from spending government funds pending the hearing and determining the suit filed by the Martin Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly. Ruling on the motion ex parte marked FHC/ABJ/CS/984/24, Justice Emeka Nwite declined to grant the prayers, though he ordered the plaintiffs to put the defendants on notice. Justice Nwite however granted the motion ex parte to serve the 5th to 10th defendants in the matter by substituted means saying “the leave is hereby granted to the plaintiffs/applicants, to serve the 5th to 10th defendants/respondents with the…
The Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara has directed the immediate promotion of teachers under the employment of the government in all the senior secondary schools in the state. Governor Fubara gave the directive while inaugurating the Chairmen and four members each, for the Senior Secondary Schools and Universal Basic Education Boards at the government house in Port Harcourt on Friday. He said the promotion exercise in the senior cadre in public schools was suspended because the section was previously headed by an Acting Director whom he felt should not be given the responsibility to handle such a delicate task. The…
REINSTATED Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shuaibu, alongside the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legacy coalition members in his company, have defected to the All Progressive Congress (APC). He defected during the APC Edo State’s inauguration of the National Working Committee of the Edo governorship election meeting held on Saturday. The meeting had in attendance the former governor of Kano State and National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, including the governors of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Cross River Bassey Otu. The Edo state APC state chairman, Jarett Tenebe, and the Governorship Candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, and Adams Oshiomole…
A POLICE officer identified as Okon, attached to the All Progressives Congress candidate in the September 21 governorship election, Monday Okpebholo, was killed after mobs attacked the convoy of his principal and that of reinstated deputy governor of the state, Philip Shaibu, in Benin on Thursday after leaving the Benin Airport. Shaibu, who was impeached by the State House of Assembly on April 8, but was reinstated on Wednesday after Justice J.K. Omotosho of the Abuja High Court ruled that he was unjustly impeached. Shaibu and Okpebholo arrived at the Benin Airport around 2 pm to the rousing welcome of…
THE Court of Appeal Abuja has dismissed the appeal brought before it by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Timipre Sylva to challenge the judgment of the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal. The Tribunal had in its judgment delivered May 17, 2024, in Abuja, upheld the election and the return of Senator Douye Diri and his deputy, Senator Lawrence Eruwjadkpo as lawfully elected governor and deputy respectively. Justice James Abundaga who read the lead judgment of the Court of Appeal affirmed the declaration of Diri and the People’s Democratic Party PDP as the joint winners of…
JUSTICE James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has reinstated Philip Shaibu as the Deputy Governor of Edo State, months after he was impeached by the state assembly. In the Wednesday judgment, Justice Omotoso said the impeachment by the Edo State House of Assembly was illegal and unconstitutional. The judge held that the impeachment was in gross violation of the Constitution. Aside from restoring Shaibu, the court also ordered that his salaries and allowances should be paid to him from April when he was impeached as the deputy governor of the state. Meanwhile, the Edo State House of…
THE Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule, on Monday, wrote to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, stopping him from spending funds from the state Consolidated Revenue Fund. The development followed the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum given to the governor by the lawmakers loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for him to submit the 2024 budget afresh. The fresh presentation of the budget was among the conditions for peace, signed during a parley held at the instance of President Bola Tinubu to reconcile the factions of Wike and Fubara, in Abuja. Fubara, in 2023,…
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the reinstatement of Professor Nenibarini Zabbey, as the Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP). A statement by the Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Chief Ajuri Ngelale, on Monday, said the president reached the decision following a performance review of the HYPREP Project Coordinator, and concluded that he is fit to discharge his functions following the regulations guiding the execution of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP). It said, “By the directive of the president, the reinstatement of the HYPREP Project Coordinator takes immediate effect.” The development comes after the Movement…
TENSION is currently mounting in Rivers State as the two factions of the State House of Assembly are locked up in parallel sittings this morning. Lawmakers were already arriving at the House of Assembly Quarters amidst heavy security presence as this report was filed. While Speaker, Martin Amaewhule was seen walking into the chamber, the Victor Oko-Jumbo section will also sit to screen a commissioner nominee. Oko-Jumbo will be presiding over the other House sitting. On Sunday night, the Oko-Jumbo-led House loyal to the State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara had in a letter by the Clerk, Dr G. M Gillis-West, invited…
THE Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Mr Tony Okocha has described Governor Siminalayi Fubara as the political investment of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike. Okocha described Wike as Fubara’s mentor, saying the latter would not have been governor without the strong backing of the former. “The feud between the governor and his mentor, Governor Fubara is Wike’s political investment,” he said on Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria. “From civil servant to the candidate of a party and delivering him in 23 local governments out of 23, the first in…
SIEMENS, A leading global technology company and PANA Infrastructure Have announced their collaboration to tackle Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure sector. The partnership, according to the , is aimed at modernizing and upgrading Nigeria’s electric power infrastructure through the provision of grid automation, creating job opportunities in the country , and smart infrastructure solutions across Nigeria. The agreement signed between Siemens and PANA infrastructure, focuses on enhancing grid reliability and stability, deepening electrification rates to meet the rapidly growing demand for electricity in Nigeria. They stressed that the collaboration, solidified through a formal agreement, signifies a pivotal step towards addressing Nigeria’s pressing…
GOVERNOR of Abia State, Alex Otti on Wednesday inaugurated a 100-bed Sustainable Development Multipurpose Hospital in Obeaja, Ugwunagbo Local Government Area. The hospital, constructed and equipped by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs), aims to enhance access to quality healthcare in the region. Speaking during the ceremony, Otti emphasized that health occupies a significant position in Abia Government’s rebuilding agenda. He noted that the state-of-the-art hospital would bolster efforts to improve healthcare access. The hospital is part of the Federal Government’s health intervention program aimed at achieving Goal 3 of the…
THE authorities of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) on Thursday shut down academic activities in the institution indefinitely. The university, in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Dr Benedicta Ehanire, attributed the decision to the refusal of the students to shift grounds on their demands. This newspaper recalls that the students on Wednesday took to the streets, blocking the ever-busy Benin-Ore Highway, to protest weeks of power outages on campus. The students, who had two weeks until their first semester examination, said the situation was severely affecting their preparation. The students also called for a downward review of transport…
THE Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, said on Wednesday that he is not interested in being a running mate to ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar for the 2027 presidential election. A statement by Diri’s Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, on Wednesday, said, “A faceless group, which sarcastically named itself Diri Angels, in a statement, had made the suggestion to Alhaji Abubakar.” Atiku was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 presidential election, which he lost to President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress. According to Alabrah’s statement, the Diri Angels met with Atiku and expressed…