Politics
RVHA, RSSDA And Overseas Medical Students
In the exercise of its over
sight
function, the Rivers State House of Assembly recently summoned the executive
Director of the State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), Mr. Noble Pepple
to appear before the lawmakers on its overseas scholarship programme.
The invitation was sequel to a petition by the students of
Rivers oversea medical programme in the united Kingdom through their parents,
alleging that the RSSDA took the 2008 batch of foreign medical students to
Britain and abandoned them to their fate.
Upon the presentation of the petition on the floor of the
Assembly, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Otelemaba Amachree, directed the House
Committee on public complaints and petition to investigate the allegations
contained in the petition. Titled “The plight of Rivers State Government
sponsored medical students in the United Kingdom (2008 batch) to complete their
MBBS programme”.
Based on the issues canvassed in the said petition, the
committee was given two weeks to investigate the matter and report their
finding to the House for necessary intervention.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Michael Okey-Chinda and his
members went to work immediately and submitted their report in record time.
The findings of the Committee raised a lot of questions during
debate and that precipitated the resolution of the Assembly to invite the RSSDA
Executive Director via a unanimous voice vote by members.
The date was Wednesday, August 22, 2012, the Chamber created
an atmosphere of a tensed situation, suspense laced with mixed expectations as
the scenario and the gallery looked as if prospective commissioners were
undergoing screening. And to set the tone for the day’s business, the clerk of
the Assembly read out only two items in the order paper, namely the presentation
of Education Committee report on the outcome of its public hearing on the
Rivers State Education Quality Assurance Agency Bill, and the appearance of the
RSSDA Executive Director over the plight of State Government-sponsored medical
students in the United Kingdom.
The House Committee Chairman on education, Hon. Augustine
Ngo, delivered his report and debate was deferred to Monday August 27, 2012.
meanwhile, the bill has been passed by the lawmakers to give credence to
government vision of improving the standard of education to justify the huge
investment in the sector.
To set the stage for the item, the Leader of the House, Hon.
Chidi Lloyd, moved a motion to allow the RSSDA boss and his officials access
the hallowed Chamber as well as parents of the embattled students.
In the report submitted and adopted as working document of
the Assembly, Chairman of the House Committee on public complaints and
Petition, Hon. Michael Okey-Chinda, held that the petitioners were the first
batch of 2008 set of students sent to United Kingdom under the RSSDA’s overseas
medical programe.
Unfortunately, they were denied direct admission to study
medicine due to non-possession of A’level certificates.
As a result of this deficiency, they were enrolled into
foundation programmes in order to prepare them for direct admission into
medical schools in UK, but the late commencement of the preparatory programme
coupled with the government’s policy of limited space for foreign students,
none of the 2008/2009 batch succeeded in gaining admission to study medicine.
The Committee noted that following the development, the
students were subsequently admitted into school of Bio-medical sciences of the
University of Newcastle, UK and they obtained Bachelor of Science (B.Sc),
degrees in Pharmacology, Physiology, Bio-Chemistry, Micro-Biology, Bio-Medical
Sciences collectively referred to as premedical degrees.
However, to achieve their dream of becoming medical doctors,
the students approached the institution for admission but were rather offered
placements in Malaysia-based Newscastle University Medical School campus.
Surprising to the students, the authorities of RSSDA failed
to recognise the admission on the ground that the institution was not
accredited and issued them notification letters for their return back home,
having completed first degree programmes abroad.
As if the trauma of the students were not enough, the Agency
disbursed only £400 (four hundred pounds) to about 50 per cent of the students
in the programme out of their normal £800 (eight hundred pounds) monthly upkeep
and accommodation allowance.
The RSSDA team on the floor of the Assembly were the
Executive Director, Coordinator of the overseas scholarship, Mr. Godwin Poi,
and a professional U.K.-based consultant, Mrs blessing Tasie.
Although, the central cooling system of the Assembly was
working at optimum capacity, those who appeared before it were visibly
perspiring profusely as they battled to give cogent answers to the issues at
stake.
Members of the House put a few questions to the officials of
the Agency: the questions included which admission letter(s) the agency used to
secure UK Visa for the students?, who screened the students and found them
qualified for UK medical schools admission? Was the Agency not aware that they possessed
O’level and not A’level certificates before inviting them for their strict
aptitude test which the students passed? And what was the role of the UK based
consultant, Mrs Blessing Tasie, to the agency on the admission procedures
stipulated for medicine and the fact that only seven per cent placement was
reserved for all foreign students in Uk as a government policy?
Mrs Tasie was tongue-lashed for her inability to discharge
the responsibility placed on her shoulders, while Mr. Godwin Poi, struggled
fruitlessly to provide satifactory answers to the issues raised.
The more he tried, the more loopholes were created.
However, Mr. Pepple explained that during the period under
discussion, he was not part of the agency but acknowledged the failures which he
noted were regrettable and hinged his defence on the fact that 2008 batch was a
test case, coupled with the pressure to immediately kick start the programme.
He explained that the agency has since acquired a lot of
experience after the first experiment and therefore, has not recorded any more
case of this nature.
The RSSDA boss told the lawmakers that if any of the
premedical graduates secures admission on their own to study medicine in Uk,
the agency may be willing to sponsor, while promising to offset the areas of
the students upkeep allowance, subject to release of funds.
The Assembly, therefore, allied itself with the fears
expressed by the students and their parents of possible abandonement on return
and resolved that RSSDA should work cooperately with the premedical graduates
to seek for admission in any other of the nine countries covered by the
scholarship programme instead of limiting it to UK medical schools, adding that
it will help the students fulfill their ambition of becoming medical doctors and
contribute to the needed manpower in the health sector.
The lawmakers accepted the recommendation of the committee
that the agency maintains its stand on the Malaysia Medical School campus of
the Newscastle Unviersity as state funds should not be spent to acquire
unaccredited medical degrees.
They equally resolved that since their Visas will expire in
December 2012, they should return home while RSSDA collaborates with them to
get another admission and fully sponsor, in view of the fact that the fault was
not from the students.
The House also expressed appreciation that all the students
performed well in the programmes they were enrolled in and urged the affected
premedical degree graudates to remain grateful to the state government for the
opportunity and seeing them through the four-year academic sponsorship in spite
of the temporary set back.
Politics
Reps Constitution Review Committee Holds Zonal Hearing For Rivers, C’River, Akwa Ibom In Calabar

A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed that the Calabar Centre — designated as Centre B — will host representatives and stakeholders from Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.
The public hearing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Transcorp (Metropolitan) Hotel, Calabar.
The initiative, according to the statement, is designed to promote inclusive dialogue and capture the aspirations of Nigerians from all regions.
It aims to serve as a platform for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing national efforts to refine and strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.
“Citizens, civil society groups, professional bodies, traditional rulers, and other interest blocs are invited to participate in this landmark engagement aimed at advancing a more just, equitable, and responsive Nigerian Constitution,” the statement read.
The hearing forms part of the broader review process of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and is seen as a strategic move toward fostering national unity and addressing structural legal issues within the federation.
Politics
Tinubu’s Contribution To Buhari’s Presidency Marginal – Ex-SGF

For the first time since 2022, when then-presidential aspirant Alhaji Bola Tinubu declared he made former President Buhari Nigeria’s President in 2015, Mr Mustapha dismissed the claims, stressing that the merger only contributed about three million votes in addition to Buhari’s existing 12 million votes in the North.
He insisted that former President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to the breakthrough, not the three million votes from the merging parties, which he described as insignificant.
Speaking on the role of the merging parties, particularly President Tinubu, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Mustapha, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of the book ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’ authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, described the impact of the votes from other merging parties as very insignificant.
In attendance were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, chair of the event; immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; SGF George Akume, who represented President Tinubu; PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; former Chief of Staff to Buhari Ibrahim Gambari; elder statesman Babagana Kingibe; former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); former ministers Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare; former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, and Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman, among others.
According to Mr Mustapha, “I do not intend to stir up any controversy. The merger in 2013 was midwifed to create a Buhari presidency. Let us look at the statistics. In the 2003 election, it was the Obasanjo-Buhari presidential contest where Buhari recorded 12.7 million votes. In 2007, it came to 6.6 million, and it went back to 12.2 million in 2011.
“When we were conceptualising the merger, what would give us a headstart? Obviously, it was at the back of our consciousness that the merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though it had only one state, the ACN had six states, ANPP three states, and when you sum up the total votes that we had as the presidency in 2015, the aggregate of the total votes was 15.4 million.
“So, basically, what we brought to the table after the merger outside the Buhari 12.5 million votes was three million. Before turning to that presidency, it is important to recognise the former President’s role in reshaping Nigeria’s political trajectory.
“In early 2013, as the leader of the CPC, Buhari formally requested and supported the creation of a CPC merger committee, part of a broader coalition-building process that brought together the ACN, ANPP, APGA faction, and elements of the ruling party through the breakaway ‘new PDP’ group. His endorsement and participation, along with other party leaders such as President Tinubu and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, lent credibility and direction to the merger, helping to unify disparate party factions under the banner of the APC. That coalition-building paved the way for the first democratic defeat of an incumbent ruling party in Nigeria’s history.
“President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to that breakthrough. No account of President Buhari’s tenure would be complete without acknowledging the extended periods he spent on medical leave. These moments, while politically delicate, were also telling of his leadership philosophy and personality,” he said.
In his remarks, President Tinubu promised to build on the legacies of former President Buhari, stressing that “nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lay the foundation for the next.
“In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just, and inclusive Nigeria—a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens”.
Politics
Your Lies Chasing Investors From Nigeria, Omokri Slams Obi
Speaking during an appearance on live television on Wednesday, Mr Omokri alleged that Mr Obi’s statements were misleading and damaging to the country’s economic prospects.
Mr Omokri said some investors currently operating in Nigeria were considering exiting the market due to Mr Obi’s remarks.
“That is not true. He doesn’t rile me up. I rile him up. The reason why I came here is because I’m a patriot. Peter Obi lied. You know, foreign direct investors are watching your programme, who are making investment decisions not to come to Nigeria. There are foreign investors in Nigeria that are making investment decisions to leave Nigeria because of the lie he told.
“One of the lies he told is that President Tinubu has borrowed more than the administrations of Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari. That is a blatant lie”, Mr Omokri said.
To buttress his claims, Mr Omokri referenced figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), maintaining that President Tinubu had actually reduced Nigeria’s external debt burden since assuming office.
“I have here with me data from the Debt Management Office, and Nigerians who are watching can go to DMO.com and search Debt Management Office, Nigeria State of Indebtedness 2015.
“As of 2015, Nigeria was owing a total of $63 billion. When Buhari was leaving office, Nigeria was owing $113 billion. Today, from the DMO, our debt has gone from $113 billion to $97 billion, meaning that Tinubu has reduced our debt by over $14 billion.
“We should be appreciating this man. Yet Peter Obi came here and lied to the Nigerian people. He took the debts and translated them into naira to make it look like the debts have increased”, he said.