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S’West Shuts Down For New Security Outfit
Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has tongue-lashed ex-governor of the old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, over his comment that the Western Nigeria Security Network code-named ‘Operation Amotekun’ would lead to the declaration of Oduduwa Republic.
The security task force was initiated by the six South-West governors to tackle kidnapping, banditry and ritual killings bedevilling the region.
Many leaders from the region supported the initiative with some northerners kicking against it and the Federal Government through the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, describing it as illegal.
Balarabe had said during an interview with a national daily last weekend that Operation Amotekun would lead to the declaration of Oduduwa Republic.
But Soyinka, in a statement, yesterday, said Balarabe was sadly wrong with his position on Amotekun, adding that he hoped he wasn’t tragically wrong.
Soyinka said, “Balarabe is sadly but I hope not tragically wrong. I invoke the tragic dimension here because the making of tragedy, especially for nations, often begins when fears are mistaken or promoted as facts, and governments either by themselves, or together with interest groups, are enticed by fears into embarking on precipitate, irrational, and irreversible acts.
“Such acts turn out, in the end, to be based on nothing but fears, sometimes generated by guilt over past injustices, such as inequitable dealing. That is the basis of tragedy, towards which nations are propelled by a partial, or wrongful reading of socio-political realities and- history. I would like to see this nation avoid such a blunder. So, I am certain, would Balarabe Musa.
“Raising the spectre of secession is a facile approach to the dangerous, self-evident lapses in governance which Balarabe himself acknowledges in his response to the Amotekun principle made flesh. The midwives of Amotekun have repeatedly acknowledged that theirs is only a contribution towards a crisis of escalating proportions. Other states should be encouraged to emulate, not misread such initiatives, and then demonise them by false attributions. That is the certain recipe for tragedy.”
However, different groups under the aegis of Yoruba World Congress (YWC), yesterday, stormed streets in Osogbo, Osun State; Lagos; Abeokuta, Ogun State; Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State; Ibadan, Oyo State, Akure, Ondo State, for what leaders tagged ‘awareness march’ in support of the Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Amotekun.
In Osogbo, the march took off around 10:30 am at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park and moved to Okefia and to Olaiya Junction all within Osogbo metropolis, with the participants eulogising South-West governors for coming up with the security initiative.
Participating in the march were members of Agbekoya, Hunters Group of Nigeria and some civil society groups.
The participants were accompanied on the march by the police, operatives of Department of State Security, and National Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC).
Armed with a large banner with the inscription “On Amotekun We Stand,” the participants urged all stakeholders in the region to support the security initiative since it was designed to check rising insecurity.
Speaking with newsmen at Olaiya Junction before the march moved to other parts of the state capital, Coordinator of the event, Dr. Akin Adejumo, said the participants were not protesting the seeming opposition to the initiative.
He explained that the march was to sensitise the populace on the necessity of the Amotekun security initiative amidst rising insecurity in the region.
According to him, Western Nigeria Security Network was a response from South-West governors to the heinous crimes being perpetrated in states in the region.
He said the march was also to show governors in the region that the people were in support of Amotekun and to further get more people to back the initiative.
“We are telling the government on behalf of our people that Amotekun has come to stay. It is a response to a very serious problem that is not typical to the South Western part of Nigeria.
“The region used to be known as the most peaceful part of the country for generations. That peace was being cut short by some calculated efforts by brigands and all forms of negative vibes.
“That is why we have to encourage the governors to stop the tide. We are here to show our support to the governors. For the first time, they have proved to be Omoluabi.
“They responded to the yearnings of the people. We are telling governors that we stand by them and Amotekun must survive the present blackmail,” Adejumo concluded.
In Akure, the Ondo State Governor and Chairman, South-West Governors Forum, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu declared that Operation Amotekun has come to stay in spite of pressure by the Federal Government.
Addressing members of the Yoruba World Congress (YWC) comprising different pressure groups during a solidarity rally by the group in Akure, Akeredolu said the six governors of the South-West region have resolved not to bow to pressure from any quarter on the new security outfit.
The governor, who spoke through his Chief of Staff, Chief Gbenga Ale, said “we are not ready to abandon our people. We shall stand by the people of the Yoruba race notwithstanding the pressure.”
The Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency (RSIPA) has unveiled measures to enthrone ease of doing business and win back the confidence of the business community.
The Director-General of the Agency, Dr Chamberlain Peterside, unveiled the plans at the Breakout Session of RSIPA at the ongoing 18th Port Harcourt International Trade Fair, at the Obi Wali International Cultural Centre, in Port Harcourt.
Dr. Peterside said the agency was poised to free the state from accumulation of wrong narratives that branded it over the years as unsafe for business.
He, however, admitted that many things had gone wrong in the past where regulators joined to make the business environment difficult for investors.
He announced that the agency was rather focused on actions, solutions, and results as adopted in the mission statement of the Board.
“Our task is no mean feat. We are dealing with the perception risk that over several years branded the state as unsafe. We are also faced with the challenges of dealing with the lack of cohesion amongst MDAs, policy inconsistencies, multiple taxation, incessant harassment by miscreants, red tape and delays in obtaining operating permits, high cost of operations and opaque public sector,” he said.
“It is about listening to the investors in the field and ensuring that MDAs are carried along, hence the imperative for the setting up of our One-Stop-Center”, he added.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Warisenibo Joe Johnson, who represented the state governor, said the Fubara administration was ready to listen to the business community to see ways of reducing impediments to investments.
He listed the stages of actions being undertaken by the governor as outlined in his 37-page blue print to revive the economy of Rivers State.
The Mayor of Housing, My-ACE China, who was presented at the event as a star investor and promoter of Rivers State reputation, said for the plans of the investment promotion agency to materialize, an enabling law should replace the Executive Order that established the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency.
He said this would insulate the agency from political instability and remove fear in the minds of investors about its sustainability.
According to him, protection precedes promotion and Local Direct Investment (LDIs) is what attracts and promotes Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs).
“It is the rat at home that reveals to the one in the bush that there is fish in the kitchen”, he added.
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?The Mayor of Housing who is also the CEO of the Alesa Highlands Sustainable Green Smart City said that Port Harcourt is like a business empire under lock and key because it is not protecting its own and also not promoting its own enough for investors to come in.
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?In the area of land documentation and inventory, China urged Rivers State Government to borrow a leaf from Abuja and adopt the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in dealing with land and property registration and documentation for ease of doing business.
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?He said Lagos understood the power of business information, adding “this creates the impression that if you are not doing it in Lagos, you are not doing it in Africa.
“We need to shout louder than Lagos, because we need more investments than Lagos and the structural integrity of Abuja. When you marry both, Rivers State would be wonderful and become green with investments,” he said.
In her speech, the President of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), Dr. Chinyere Nwoga, called on the state government to look into the menace of parked trucks now turning Trans-Amadi into a risk zone.
She outlined the activities of the PHCCIMA and invited investors and businesses to the Port Harcourt economic hub, saying peace has returned.
The Director, Investors Relations of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Mrs Lovina Kayode, urged Rivers State to make haste and catch up on Ease of Doing Business, saying the Council has come to help businesses in the state.
Mrs Kayode, who represented the Executive Secretary/CEO of NIPC, Aisha Rimi, commended the Mayor of Housing and his counterpart, Mr. Oliver Biedima of Rainbow Heritage Group, for their decision to invest in Rivers State, saying it is a proof that Rivers State is safe for investors and their investments.
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In his remarks, Oliver Biedemi of Rainbow Heritage Group urged government to give the private investors chance to develop the economy, saying ordinarily government does not have the funds to develop the economy.
Happy Birthday Chief Barr. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike CON
Honourable Minister Federal Capital Territory
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We’ll Drive Tinubu’s Vision in Rivers With Vigour – Fubara …Inaugurates Dualized Ahoada/Omoku Road ….Debunks Rift With RSHA
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has stated that he will lead Rivers people to galvanize support for President Bola Tinubu to drive the vision and objectives of the Renewed Hope Agenda in the State with vigour.
The governor, who joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday, explained that his decision to join the APC was not for personal interest but for the overall benefit of Rivers State.
Fubara disclosed these while inaugurating the extension of the dualized Ahoada/ Omoku Express road in Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
He commended the contracting firm, Julius Berger, for timely delivery of the project, saying the project is a campaign promise fulfilled which will bring economic benefits to the people and tackle issues of insecurity associated with the route.
He said his administration has remained focused in delivering democratic dividends in the state despite facing glaring challenges.
The governor thanked the people of Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas for their continuous support, and urged his supporters to remain steadfast and also support President Tinubu who he said, has demonstrated love to Rivers State as a father.
Fubara denied having rift with the Rivers State House of Assembly, stating that his meeting with the lawmakers was stalled as a result of delay in the agreed meeting to be convened by former Governor Nyesom Wike and other stakeholders for him to meet with the state lawmakers.
“I have made every effort to meet with the Assembly members, but it is not within my leadership to initiate the meeting process.
“The arrangement was for my leader, Wike, and the elders led by Anabraba to call for a meeting with the the lawmakers.
“I’m a gentleman and principled. I can’t go behind to call them when we’ve already agreed. Whoever that tell them that I don’t want to meet with them, or I rejected proposal meant for them isn’t saying the truth,” Fubara said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Rivers State Ministry Works, Mr Austin Ezekiel-Hart, who gave the project description, said the delivery of the project was a fulfillment of long time dream by the people of Ahoada East and Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Areas.
He said the road was previously a single lane and has now been dualised to 14.6 meters wide, complete with solar-powered streetlights with drainages.
He said the road significantly would reduce travel time between Ahoada and Omoku while improving economic activity in the region.
In his welcome address, Chairman of Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area, Hon. Chuku Shedrack Ogbogu, described the road as a symbol of unity, oneness, and development, thanking the governor for fulfilling his campaign promises.
On his part, the Managing Director of Julius Berger, Engr. Peer Lusbash, said the project was awarded to his company in 2023 with a completion period of 18 months which was achieved in best quality.
He added that Julius Berger enjoyed a good support from the Fubara administration, and assured to complete all ongoing projects being handled by Julius Berger on specification, especially the Ring Road project which is a legacy project.
