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…
Author: Eileen Peters
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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…
THE political tsunami sweeping Rivers State appears unabating as three more commissioners on Thursday resigned from Governor Sim Fubara’s cabinet. The latest to pull out of the cabinet are the Commissioner for Works George-Kelly Alabo – who served in the same capacity under Nyesom Wike’s government – and the Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Commissioner Inime Aguma and their Finance counterpart Isaac Kamalu. Their resignations – coming hours after the state’s Attorney-General (AG) and Commissioner for Justice Prof Zacchaeus Adangor quit his post – were contained in separate letters to Governor Fubara. “I hereby resign my appointment as the Commissioner for…
INTRIGUES continue to trail the political crisis in Rivers State as the state House of Assembly Complex was on Wednesday demolished. This was as Governor Siminalayi Fubara presented the N800bn 2024 budget estimates to the Edison Ehie-led group at the Government House the same moment the demolition was carried out. Ehie and Martins Amaewhule have been embroiled in a Speakership tussle which is in court. The presentation of the budget was held at a hall in the Government House, apparently, due to the “renovation” work at the state assembly complex which started Wednesday morning. Present at the budget presentation were…
FORMER President Goodluck Jonathan has said Nigerian politicians must change their brand of politics and prioritise national interests to allow for growth and development in the country. Jonathan also stated that the country must avoid the “dangerous system” of “over-domesticating” government, but instead ensure that the right persons are put in the right places. The former President made the statements on Tuesday at the public presentation of a book titled, ’Development as Attitude’, written by a former Minister of Budget and National Planning, Prof. Osita Ogbu. “Our attitude as politicians matters towards our development. If we must develop, there are…
GUNMEN have ambushed a convoy of Daewoo workers along the Ahoada/Abua East-West axis in Rivers State. The gunmen shot four soldiers, and two drivers dead while they reportedly kidnapped two expatriates of the company on Tuesday. It was gathered that the incident occurred around 9.30 am. Our correspondent gathered that the victims were on their way to Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital when they were ambushed. A source who spoke on condition of anonymity told our correspondent that the miscreants trailed the expatriate workers who were being escorted by soldiers along the Ahoada–Obua Road and opened fire on them. The source…
A MEMBER of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Enemi Alabo, has given insights into the recent defection of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Alabo, who spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday monitored by News Point Nigeria, cited internal divisions within the PDP as a primary reason for the defection. “We have a division in the PDP. We have cases in court concerning the secretaryship of our party. We desperately tried to reach the secretariat of our party, and we could not. As I speak to you, I can’t…
THE Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, is currently meeting with the members of the state executive council. This newspaper gathered that the meeting is holding at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital. The emergency meeting followed the defection of 27 members of the 32-member House of Assembly from the governing Peoples Democratic Party to the opposition All Progressives Congress. Their defection was a fresh twist to the lingering political impasse between the governor and his political godfather, former governor Nyesom Wike, who is currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. According to findings, the meeting…
THE ongoing political drama in Rivers State has taken a very interesting turn as 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). A member of the Assembly, Enemi George, confirmed to this newspaper that the 27 lawmakers were under the leadership of Martin Amaewhule. He said the decision was taken during their sitting on Monday morning. For weeks, Amaewhule and another member, Edison Ehie, have been embroiled in a Speakership tussle. Amaewhule is believed to be loyal to ex-governor Nyesom Wike while Ehie is known…