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Unity Road: Dakuku Gives Kudos To Amaechi
The Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Hon. Dakuku Peterside says that no governor of Rivers State has done more for the realisation of the Unity Road linking Ogoni, Andoni, Opobo and Nkoro like governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has done.
Dakuku Peterside stated this while receiving political stakeholders of Andoni who paid him a courtesy visit in Port Harcourt recently.
Responding to an allusion to possible non-committal to early completion of all sections of the road, Peterside debunked such insinuations, saying that “We can all remember where that road was by the time Amaechi became governor; these things are verifiable because they are documented. We had not gotten the road to Asarama by the time Amaechi became governor; nobody can dispute that; we could drive by land to Asarama but we had not gotten the road to Asarama; it was just a bare dirt road at that time, not even Ebukuma bridge was built because I designed the bridge,”.
“We added a new alignment to the road leading to Nkoro because in the original alignment, Nkoro was not provided for. The original value of the contract was 11 billion naira and the Nkoro axis was not part of it; all we did was to make provision to link Nkoro and the value shot up to 18 billion naira. Of course, Andoni did not lose anything by that increase rather I decided to change the 2-span bridge (about 40 meters) designed to cross from Asarama to Ebukuma which was inadequate because our people are traditional fishermen who need to pass under the bridge doing their fishing; so I increased it from 2-span to 8-span and the value of the contract tripled,” the aspirant noted.
Peterside added: “The road that will take you to Ikuru was not designed at all; I did. As I speak, the value of that contract is 27 billion naira. Despite all manner of blackmail, I have maintained that the right thing be done to progress the completion of every portion of that road and we must thank the governor because no other governor has done as much on the road like Governor Amaechi has done so far.”
On the festering crisis in Andoni PDP, Hon Dakuku Peterside recalled his efforts in the past with the Deputy Governor, Engr. Tele Ikuru, to find a solution to the disunity that was rearing its ugly head in the PDP in Andoni.
“Peterside said he has made personal efforts to ensure that Andoni is united for the good of all, not just for the good of today but for the good of the future and for the good of our region”,. pledging to maintain the tempo.
“I believe that we must make conscious effort to subsume our personal interests for the interest of Andoni nation; we must make efforts, go out of our way to know that the interest of Andoni is greater than the interest of anyone of us. Our children will ask us question one day, ‘you met Andoni in this state, daddy, what did you do to make Andoni better than you met it?’ This should be food for thought for everyone of us,” Peterside opined.
Reacting to the Commissioner’s response to the Unity Road matter, Chief Awoh expressed his satisfaction with the commissioner’s res[pmse amd called for cooperation of all.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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