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Guber Polls: 2,000 Communities, Female Youths, Traders Endorse Wike
Over 2,000 communities spread across the 23 local government areas of Rivers State, have endorsed Governor Wike for a second term,
The endorsement was made at a conference of UCDC Chairmen and Secretaries in Port Harcourt.
The Coordinator-General of the United Community Development (UCDC), Mr. John Onwubualili who said that the more than 2,000 communities in the 23 local government areas of the state would support the Governor for second term of office.
Mr. Onwubualili also said it was the desire of the organisation to work with the various stakeholders to ensure free, fair credible and peaceful elections in the state.
“We shall not allow any form of intimidation from any agency to deprive Rivers people from participating in the elections.
“We are also ready to collaborate with INEC and security agencies to ensure that our votes are well counted”.
Onwubualili further said that the group would embark on a one week protest, if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies refused to allow free and fair elections in Rivers State.
He also said that the group would not allow any form of postponement of elections in the state.
According to him, the group will collaborate and synergise with the government and the various development partners to identify needs and ensure proper project sitting and maintenance in the various communities.
The Coordinator-General said the UCDC would hold town hall meetings in the 23 local government areas and in the various constituencies with the view to sensitizing the people on the importance of appreciating the various developmental projects of the present administration in their various communities.
He also requested the government to use the next four years of the administration to embark on human capital development/empowerment, attract foreign investment into the state for job creation as well as the renovation of schools.
Also requested were, the provision of office space for the organisation in Port Harcourt, appointment of a Special Adviser for CDC Affairs as well as financial assistance to the body for the town hall meeting.
Meanwhile, thousands of Female Youths from the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State have endorsed Governor Nyesom Wike for a second term.
Governor Wike was also endorsed by Non Indigenous Female Youths residing in the 23 Local Government Areas of the state .
In a programme tagged: “Female Youths For Governor Wike “, the young ladies took over the Obi Wali Cultural Centre where they displayed their preference for Governor Wike in dance, music and songs.
The mobilisation was so massive that the female youths spread across the vicinity of the Obi Wali Cultural Centre.
All the female youths expressed gratitude to the Rivers State Governor for his developmental strides and commitment to the advance the welfare of Female Youths.
Special Assistant to the PDP Rivers State Governorship Candidate on Female Youths, Hon Soibi Ibibo Jack said female youths from the 23 Local Government Areas are totally in support of the Governor’s re-election.
She said Governor Wike is the most gender-friendly governor since the creation of the state. She that Governor Wike has created opportunities for women to be in government.
Hon Jack said female youths apart from voting for Governor Wike will defend their votes across the polling units of the state.
She said that Governor Wike is the best thing to happen to Rivers State. She said supporting the re-election of Governor Wike will help women get more presence in government.
It was a declaration of profound commitment to the re-election of Governor Wike by the Female Youths of Rivers State.
Selected Female Youths from the different ethnic groups of Rivers State took turns to profess their endorsement of Governor Wike. They stated they will promote the governor’s re-election and deliver their respective units.
Female Artiste, Jikume Bethelem thrilled the audience with some of her popular tunes.
Accepting the endorsement of the Female Youths, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike stated that he is overwhelmed by the mobilisation and support of the female youths for his re-election.
The governor said that the time has come for Rivers women to take their rightful place in the governance of the state. He said that he will continue to promote the growth of women and female youths in governance, politics, business and the Civil service.
“This is an opportunity for the female youths to express themselves. This mobilisation is awesome. What you have done here is to give female youths a voice in the politics of the state.
“By this mobilisation, you are saying that female youths must be involved in governance. You are saying no government will be formed without female youths “, he said.
The governor urged the Female Youths of Rivers State to sustain their mobilisation beyond the elections to enhance their relevance in the polity.
He urged the women to fight for their positions and not wait to receive positions on a platter as has been the case.
He said: “The women should fight for their place in government. They should not wait to be given positions because they are qualified to struggle and win such positions.
“Time has come when women must take their appropriate places in Rivers State”.
The governor stated that with their number, female youths are in the right position to stop anyone from manipulating the electoral process in the state.
Governor Wike directed the Female Youths to go to their respective polling units to form association of women and female youths to mobilise for votes .
“As registered voters, go back to your respective units and form associations of girls/women in each unit. From the Coordinator of Female Youths for Governor Wike, we require 4442 names of girls who will serve as leaders of each of the 4442 polling units.
“In each polling unit, each leader must lead in the mobilisation of girls/women “, the governor said.
He charged the female youths to also lead the charge to defend their votes across the 23 Local Government Areas of the state.
“This is not the period to tie wrapper. This is the period of jeans and canvass. You have to be prepared to defend your votes.
“This is a war between darkness and light. When you are confronting darkness, you get prepared. APC is dictatorship and PDP is freedom. To crush dictatorship you have to be prepared “, he said.
The governor said that in his second term, Female Youths will be appointed as Commissioners and Special Advisers. He added that during the next Local Government Council polls, the state will produce nine female local government council chairmen.
Speaking further, Governor Wike announced that female youths will get allocation of shops at the Mile One Market and Fruit Garden Market when they are completed.
He added that the female youths will receive interest free loans and be given 40 percent of employment out of the new 7000 appointments into the State Civil Service.
Governor Wike urged Rivers State Female Youths to vote massively for Atiku Abubakar and other PDP candidates for the emancipation of the country.
For the February 11 Presidential Rally in the state, Governor Wike directed the Female Youths to mobilise 500 young ladies per local government and wear a distinct uniform for the programme.
Highpoint of the occasion was the defection of Female Youths from APC to the PDP.
Also, traders and construct ion workers have declared their unflinching support for the re-election of Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike.
This is as the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike assured traders at the Fruit Garden Market that his administration would deliver the market next month.
Addressing the traders after inspecting the ongoing construction of the burnt Fruit Garden Market, last Saturday, Wike said work would be sustained because he wants the traders to sell in a conducive environment.
The governor thanked the traders for their support, saying that he will always live up to their expectations.
He said unlike the failed All Progressives Congress (APC), he runs a promise-keeping administration that caters for all sections of the state.
Wike charged the traders to use their permanent voters’ cards to re-elect him and vote for other Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates in order for his administration to deliver more dividends of democracy.
The traders, who trooped out in their numbers to welcome Wike, sang his praises, and assured him of their votes.
Wike took out time to make purchases at the Fruit Garden Market.
Also, last Saturday, the governor inspected the concluding construction works at the Judges’ Quarters in Port Harcourt.
The construction workers, on sighting the governor, broke into singing and dancing, declaring their support for the re-election of Wike.
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
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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