Politics
Coronavirus: Wike Appeals For Sustained Support
As the world continues to wage war against the dreaded Coronavirus, the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has appealed to the people and residents of the state to sustain the ongoing fight against spread of the virus.
He made the appeal last week while receiving food donation from Dufil Prima Foods Plc in Government House, Port Harcourt.
The Governor said: “ We are aware that the COVID-19 is what we didn’t expect, but as christians, we are prayerful, believing that the situation is not going to last forever. So we are calling on our people to cooperate with the government and remain at home”.
The Governor, who was represented by the State Commissioner for Special Duties, Hon Bariere Thomas, assured that the food items donated by the company would get to the less privileged and thanked the firm for responding timely to the situation.
Head of Administration of Dulfil Prima Food Plc, Mr Chinedum Wali, said the company brought the food as token to assist and support the less privileged. One thousand cartons of noodles and five hundred cartons of pastas were donated.
Members of the Rivers State Executive Council, in the week under review announced the donation of their April 2020 salaries to support the state government’s fight against coronavirus.
Secretary to the State Government, Dr Tammy Danagogo, disclosed this last Thursday, in Government House, Port Harcourt.
Also in same spirit, members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, announced the donation of their one month salary in support of the Rivers State Government’s fight against the dreaded Coronavirus in the state.
Disclosing the gesture at a press conference Wednesday in Port Harcourt, Speaker of the House, Rt Hon Ikuinyi -Owaji Ibani, said members arrived at the decision after an interface with the Rivers State Ministry of Health on the fight against the virus.
“As responsible representatives of our various constitutuencies, we resolved that one month salary of all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly be deducted by the Ministry of Finance and remitted to the committee set up to fight coronavirus in the state”, the Speaker said.
Ikuinyi-Ibani added that the sacrifice by lawmakers was not to the exclusion of other individual contributions of members in their respective constitutuencies to ameliorate the shocks associated with the pandemic.
“We restate our commitment to the fight against coronavirus pandemic and our full support of all efforts and actions taken by the Rivers State Government to keep our people safe and healthy”, he stated.
Another major event last week in Brick House was the lifting of the curfew placed by the Rivers State Governor Chief Nyesom Wike in some parts of Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The Governor had, in a state broadcast last Thursday lifted the curfew on Education Bus Stop to Agip Junction along Ikwerre Road and Obiri Ikwerre Junction to Ozuoba, Rumualogu and Choba effective from Friday, April 3, 2020.
He had imposed the curfew following the non adherence of traders to the directives placed by the state government.
Governor Wike also lifted the suspension of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
He said that implementation of the palliatives to cusion the effects of recent directives on the citizens would soon take place.
Last week, the Rivers State Ministry of Housing Tenders Board officially opened bid for the sale of the uncompleted state government owned 17- storey building, formerly known as the Nigerian Stock Exchange building, in Port Harcourt.
The bidding process took place at the Obi Wali International Conference Centre, Port Harcourt
The Rivers State Housing Commissioner, Elder Chinedu Tasie Nwabueze noted that the bidding process was transparent, while civil society, professionals and the media witnessed the event.
By: Chris Oluoh
The Senate yesterday received the 2026-2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper from President Bola Tinubu, marking the formal launch of the 2026 federal budget cycle.
In a letter addressed to the upper chamber, Tinubu said the submission complies with statutory requirements and sets out the fiscal parameters that will guide the preparation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
He explained that the MTEF/FSP outlines the macroeconomic assumptions, revenue projections, and spending priorities that will shape Nigeria’s fiscal direction over the next three years.
The letter was read during plenary by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who urged lawmakers to expedite consideration of the document.
“It is with pleasure that I forward the 2026 to 2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for the kind consideration and approval of the Senate.
“The 2026 to 2028 MTEF and FSP were approved during the Federal Executive Council meeting of December 3, 2025, and the 2026 budget of the Federal Government will be prepared based on the parameters and fiscal assumptions therein,” the President stated.
Last week, the Federal Executive Council approved the fiscal projections, pegging the oil benchmark price at $64.85 per barrel and adopting a budget exchange rate of ?1,512/$1 for 2026—figures expected to significantly shape revenue forecasts and expenditure planning.
After reading the President’s letter, Jibrin referred the document to the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), with a directive to submit its report by Wednesday, December 17.
The Senate adjourned shortly after to allow committees to commence scrutiny of the fiscal framework and continue the ongoing screening of ambassadorial nominees.
Tinubu’s communication to the Senate came less than 24 hours after he transmitted the same MTEF/FSP documents to the leadership of the House of Representatives.
The letter was read on the House floor by the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, who also urged timely legislative action as required by law.
The MTEF and FSP are statutory instruments mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act and serve as the blueprint for Nigeria’s annual budgets.
They outline the government’s fiscal stance, macroeconomic assumptions, revenue frameworks, projected deficits, and sectoral priorities over a three-year period.
The Tide reports that approval by the National Assembly is a prerequisite for the executive to present the Appropriation Bill for the next fiscal year.
In a statement on Saturday, the former Senate Leader stated that the allocation of nominees across states and geopolitical zones falls short of the constitutional requirement for fair representation in the composition of the Federal Government.
The ex-Senate Whip warned that allowing the list to pass could deepen ethnic suspicion at a time when the administration should be consolidating national unity.
He highlighted disparities in the spread of nominees, noting that while some states have three or four slots, others have none. He also cited the inclusion of Senator Adamu Garba Talba from Yobe, who reportedly died in July.
“The entire North-East states have seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively.
“North-Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominee while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Senator Ndume said.
According to him, such imbalances could heighten tensions and undermine Section 14(3) of the Constitution.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust.
“I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholder in the country. He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on the Federal Character Principle,” Senator Ndume added.
He accused the legislators of undermining the sanctity of the legislature and acting as instruments of destabilization.
“The members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have, by their actions since they assumed office, shown that they are political puppets and a clog in the wheels of democratic progress,” Comrade Ememobong stated, adding that “They will go down in history as enemies of democracy and those who made mockery of the legislature.”
“So the easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC,” he said.
Comrade Ememobong announced that the party would deploy constitutional provisions to reclaim its mandate from those who have “ignobly and surreptitiously” abandoned the platform on which they were elected.
“Consequently, the PDP will take legal steps to activate the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) to recover the mandate gained under the banner of our party which these people have now switched to another platform,” he said.
He urged party members in Rivers State to remain calm and steadfast.
“We urge all party members in Rivers State to remain faithful and resolute, as efforts are underway to rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness and equity,” Comrade Ememobong assured.
