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No Emperor ’ll Govern Rivers – Amaechi …PDP ’ll Lose For Imposing Wike – Princewill
RIVERS State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has declared that no emperor will govern the state as the people will not vote for any governorship candidate that presents himself as a highhanded leader.
Amaechi, who spoke at the freestyle parade of the Rivers State Cultural Festival known as CARNIRIV in Port Harcourt on Saturday, said, Rivers people would only vote for a statesman and an effective leader that understood their problems.
The state governor expressed confidence that the All Progressives Congress would win the forthcoming governorship election, adding that an APC governor in the state would not allow the annual CARNIRIV celebration to die.
He said, “It is only a leader that understands what the problems of the people are and has taken time to think and explore ways to find solution to their problems that can govern them well. I believe that the All Progressives Congress will win the governorship election and the APC governor that will emerge from the election will not allow what happened to the previous CARNIRIV to happen.
Amaechi said, “I believe that he (an APC governor) will sustain CARNIRIV. And the governor that will take over from my successor will also be APC, so our yearly Christmas Carnival parade will be sustained. I am very confident that incoming APC governors will sustain CARNIRIV because I do not see APC producing emperors as governors. Listen, the APC must field that statesman, that man who knows and appreciates the pain of poverty; that man who understands that poverty has filled everywhere.”
“My honest advice to the people of Rivers State is to vote for a God-fearing man and not an emperor. It is my conviction that only a God-fearing man can wipe out poverty from the state. Only a man of strong character can bring development to the state and not an emperor. No emperor will govern Rivers State.”He added.
In his remarks, the APC governorship candidate in the state, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, pledged that as a state governor, he would promote tourism as a vehicle to empower the youths. Adding, “I will sustain CARNIRIV to harness the vigour of our active youths. I believe that tourism can create wealth for the state and assist in liberating our people from poverty.”
Meanwhile, the Governorship candidate of Labour Party in Rivers State, Prince Tonye Princewill, has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party will lose Rivers State because of the disorganised state of the party as a result of the imposition of the PDP governorship candidate, who was a former Minister of state for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike.
Princewill, who was a governorship aspirant in the PDP before he defected to the LP as a result of the rancourous governorship primary in the party, spoke with journalists in Abuja yesterday and condemned what he described as the humiliating treatment meted to other PDP aspirants under the influence of Wike.
He also described the choice of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as running mate of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(rtd.) as a smart move? by the opposition party.
Princewill said, “Looking at PDP, I decided not to support Wike simply because by my opinion he cannot win. It is just pointless to me that If Wike loses and APC wins, we are sitting there and watching it happen. ?If you want to win an election, what Wike is doing is not how to do it. You don’t alienate more than 20 governorship aspirants in a manner that will do nothing but offend them.
He said, “If you truly want to win an election with PDP, that is not how to do it. Maybe the plan is to drive people from PDP so that the APC will win because I tell you the only way APC can win is if PDP is disorganised and Wike has done absolutely everything in the book to ensure the PDP is disorganised.
Rivers State APC governorship candidate, Hon. Dakuku Peterside (right), addressing newsmen after collecting his nomination and intent forms at the party secretariat, Port Harcourt, last Thursday. With him is a member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Honourable Asita recently. Photo: Obinna Prince Dele
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
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RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.