Author: Eileen Peters

THE Rivers State Representative on the Board of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Chief Tony Okocha, said the commission has about 953 abandoned projects in Rivers State alone. Okocha who disclosed this at an interactive meeting with the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers in Port Harcourt yesterday said many of the abandoned projects were awarded by the previous management of the commission. The board member noted that some of the abandoned projects were fully mobilised but were still abandoned. He blamed inconsistency in the board and management of NDDC as one of the major reasons for the abandoned projects.…

THE International Association Of World Peace Advocates IAWPA has announced Lord Mayor Osuji Kenneth Alphons as a recipient of the International Mayor of Peace Award. Ambassador Emmanuel Nkweke, the International Spokesman of IAWPA made this known in a press statement he personally signed and made available to newsmen in Abuja, Tuesday. Nkweke said, Lord Mayor Osuji will be the 5th person in the world  to be bestowed with this prestigious award due to his contributions to humanity. Other notable personalities who have been bestowed with this award include the outgoing President of Liberia George Opong Weah among others. Nkweke stressed…

FORMER Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, says the G5 group within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027. Ortom made this known on Sunday at a luncheon hosted by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. Wike, an ex-governor of Rivers donned a black shirt and a butter-coloured jacket and was flanked by Ortom and another G5 member, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu). The G5, a group of five then-governors within the PDP, rejected Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate before the 2023 poll…

THE protracted feud between Rivers State Governor, Siminalaye Fubara; and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, may have been publicly resolved with the “intervention” of President Bola Tinubu last December but the camaraderie hitherto shared by the two gladiators cannot be said to have returned as the governor was absent from a luncheon hosted by his predecessor in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Sunday. While Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was present at the luncheon with many of his allies, Fubara and his men both in the House of Assembly and the two other organs of…

FOREMOST elder statesman from Nigeria’s South-South, Pa Edwin Clark, has accused the South-South governors of corruption and embezzlement of 13% oil derivation funds allocated to their states. The 96-year-old former federal commissioner of communication under a military regime in the old Midwestern Region claimed that the governors have been misappropriating the oil derivation funds meant for the development of their respective states, describing the action as a deeply-rooted problem plaguing the region. The prominent Ijaw leader and politician spoke on Friday, January 5, 2024, during an interview on the third episode of “Inside Sources,” a highly acclaimed political TV programme…

NYESOM Wike has again spoken about the Rivers State crisis and maintains he still has a stronghold in the state he finished serving as its governor just in May last year. The Minister of the FCT has been at loggerheads with his successor Governor Sim Fubara. While President Bola Tinubu had waded into the political tangle, Wike believes with time, residents of the state will know the real political giants. “Forget about these hungry noisemakers on the road. When the time comes, we will know who is in charge and who is not in charge. I don’t know whether you…

THE Wold Peace President of the International Association Of World Peace Advocates IAWPA Amb Per Stafsen has declared the year 2024 as a year to celebrate women globally for their achievements and contributions to the promotion of global peace and stability. Amb. Stafsen from the Kingdom of Denmark also stressed the need for women to be given more roles and responsibilities to play in their various countries and the United Nations. In his new year message to all peace lovers and Eminent Peace Ambassadors, he stressed the need for all regional  and country Directors to harness programmes that will promote…

EDISON Ehie has resigned as a member representing Ahoada East in the Rivers State House of Assembly and also the speaker of a group of lawmakers. His notice of resignation was contained in a letter dated 29th December 2023 and addressed to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Mahmood Yakubu. “This is to formally notify you of my voluntary resignation as Speaker and Member of the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly representing Ahoada East Constituency II with effect from the date of this letter. “I wish to appreciate my colleagues and the people of my…

NO fewer than 20 persons have lost their lives following an explosion from an illegal oil tapping point in Omoku, Ogba/Egebema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State. It was gathered that the incident occurred on Sunday morning after the youths allegedly broke a pipeline belonging to one of the multinational oil firms operating in the area, many started using jerry cans and buckets to scoop fuel when tragedy struck. An eyewitness said while 20 persons are feared dead, many suffered varying degrees of burns and are receiving treatment in different hospitals in the area. “It is a very terrible incident.…

RIVERS State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has pledged to fully implement the comprehensive presidential peace agreement aimed at resolving the ongoing political crisis in the state. In a statewide broadcast on Monday , the governor reaffirmed his belief that no price is too high for peace to prevail in the region. He said, “As a principal participant in the entire saga, I have taken some time to study the terms therein and have come to the conclusion that the peace pact is not as bad as it is being portrayed by those genuinely opposed to it.” He added that the peace…

THE FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has warned residents of Rivers State against getting involved in any political conflict without knowing the cause of such a fight. The minister made this known on Sunday while addressing the congregation during a thanksgiving ceremony for George Kelly Alabo, the immediate past Commissioner for Works at the Kings’ Assembly in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. “Don’t get involved in any fight between 2 politicians without knowing the real cause of the quarrel,” Wike said. “In any facet of life, there are rules and they must be obeyed. As a pastor, there are rules…

COALITION of Civil Society Groups in Nigeria has declared that they will stand by the popular will of the Rivers people in the ongoing political impasse between the former governor, FCT Minister,  Nyesom Wike and his successor Sim Fubara. According to a signed statement  by Amb. Dr. Emmanuel Nkweke on behalf of the Coalition, the Rivers political crisis is an unnecessary distraction which is affecting governance  in the state  “hence the need for the Civil Societies to intervene on behalf of the people and for the aspiration and wishes of the people” the statement added. The statement stated that the…

A JUDGE of the Akwa Ibom State Judiciary, Justice Joy Unwana, who was abducted on Monday night and her driver have regained their freedom. This was disclosed by the state Commissioner for Information, Comrade Ini Ememobong, in a statement on Friday. Ememobong disclosed that the state Governor, Umo Eno, received Unwana at the Government House in Uyo, the state capital. Governor Eno thanked God for her safe release, while appreciating security agencies for their swift response and commitment to duty. He further assured citizens that the state under his watch would never be a safe haven for criminals, charging security…

The  BFO 4 SIM-NGOZI Support  Group has condemned in its entirety the resort to cheap blackmail against its leader, Bro Felix Amaechi Obuah. The frontline support group that has always promoted the good efforts of Bro Obuah made this known in a press statement signed by the Director, Media and Publicity, Nwokoma Messiah, Thursday. While reacting to an interview granted to a radio house by a former House of Assembly member and Commissioner in Rivers state Hon. Elemchuku Ogbowu wherein he stated that Bro. Felix Obuah has joined the Nyesom Wike group to leave the Peoples Democratic Party PDP. Hon.…

THE Port Harcourt Refining Company in Rivers State has recommenced operation in line with the Federal Government’s promise to ensure the production of refined products at the facility in December 2023. The development is coming after many years of underperformance and turnaround maintenance of the facility. Four of Nigeria’s refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna have a combined capacity to process 445,000 barrels per day (bpd). But they were shut down in 2019. However, in August, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said the refinery will recommence operations in December. Lokpobiri said this during…

48 HOURS after Truce, Damian Okoro, the Counsel for Governor Siminalaye Fubara, is yet to withdraw a suit filed to restrain the Rivers State House of Assembly from impeaching his client. News Point Nigeria had reported that after weeks of dramatic twists in Rivers State, the political gladiators in the oil-rich South-South state reached a truce on Monday after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Villa in Abuja. The meeting had in attendance Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Also at the meeting were…

GUNMEN suspected to be kidnappers have abducted a High Court judge, Justice Joy Unwana, and her driver in the Oron local government area of Akwa Ibom state. This newspaper gathered that her police orderly was killed during the incident which occurred on Monday along the Uyo-Okobo road which leads to Oron town. The chairman Oron branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Torosco Eyene confirmed the incident yesterday. He said the judge was kidnapped on her way back from a court sitting. He disclosed that members of the association have scheduled a meeting with the State Commissioner of Police and…

AN Inspector in the Rivers State Police Command has committed suicide after he reportedly shot his colleague – Monday Gbaramana – dead. The police operative identified as Inspector Nelson Abuante reportedly shot his colleague on Sunday at Nyogor-Lueku in the Khana Local Government Area of the state. Both of them who are attached to the Taabaa Division of the Command had gone to arrest a suspect in the community following a complaint by the suspect’s mother. Gbaramana sustained injuries and was immediately rushed to the hospital. But the matter worsened when the vehicle conveying them ran out of petrol, leading…

AMID the political crisis rocking Rivers State, ex-governor Nyesom Wike, has warned politicians not to pull the ladder they used in getting to exalted positions. “Don’t pull the ladder that you use in climbing up. When you are coming down, the ladder may not be there,” Wike said on Saturday. “And leave the ladder too so that other people can also climb the ladder.” Wike, who has been embroiled in a dispute with his successor and incumbent governor of the oil-rich state, Siminalayi Fubara, spoke at his residence in Port Harcourt, the state capital while addressing the traditional ruler of…

THE gale of resignations from the Rivers State Executive Council continued on Friday with three more commissioners joining the fray making it a total of nine to dump Fubara’s Cabinet. They are Commissioner for Transportation Dr. Jacobson Nbina; Commissioner for Housing, Dr. Gift Worlu; and Commissioner for Environment, Austen Ben-Chioma. Their resignations were contained in separate letters sighted by our correspondent and addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government. Both Nbina and Ben-Chioma were also commissioners during the immediate past administration of Nyesom Wike. Their resignation came on the heels of the political crisis that has…