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Edo 2020: Oshiomhole Lacks Moral Standing, Wike Affirms …Says Disgraced Ex-APC Chairman Cannot Dictate For Edo People

The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, says the former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, does not have the moral standing to tell Edo people not to vote for Governor Godwin Obaseki.
Wike, who is also the chairman of PDP National Campaign Council for the Edo 2020 Governorship Election, said the purported issue of Obaseki’s secondary school certificate does not hold water.
He was reacting to comments by Oshiomhole during the flag-off of the APC Governorship Campaign in Edo State.
The governor berated the former APC national chairman for his continued claims that Obaseki was not a graduate even when the University of Ibadan had affirmed that he graduated from the institution.
Wike challenged Oshiomhole to present his academic certificates to Edo people rather than advising them to shun a candidate he claimed to be the brain-box of his erstwhile administration’s achievements.
“The certificate claims about Governor Obaseki by the former APC national chairman is a non-issue because he is the best candidate for Edo State.
“It is unfortunate that we are in a country that somebody that does not have a certificate will question the one that has.
“Oshiomhole has trade test which is not an academic qualification. I challenge him to show the world his academic qualification.
“This same man he said has three credits was his brain-box when he was in government. So, is it not better for Edo people to support a man that has three credits than to follow someone, whom he said, was a cultist and fake pastor who destroyed the manhood of his fellow man?
“Oshiomhole is trying to tell Edo people that whatever he decides is what will be, and this is an opportunity for Edo people to say: ‘No’.
“His claim that if APC losses the election, they will secure the mandate through the courts, is a total confirmation that the party cannot win the Edo election through the ballot box.
“Securing victory through the courts will be null and void as there are still judges in Nigeria with conscience who cannot dance to the tune of the APC,” he stated.
On the claims that President Muhammadu Buhari endorsed the APC Governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Wike challenged APC supporters to show evidence where the President announced that he has endorsed a man who is facing corruption charges before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He said that the absence of the President and Vice President at the flag-off of the APC Governorship campaign was a confirmation that Ize-Iyamu does not have their support.
On the comments by the former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu that the action of Obaseki on the Edo State House of Assembly crisis was wrong, Wike stated that he was surprised at his comments.
“Tinubu is one man that I have great respect for; so, when I read the newspapers, I was taken aback. It is unfortunate that members that were not inaugurated can turn around to illegally impeach people.
“What Governor Obaseki did is what any chief security officer should do. It is justifiable in order to avoid chaos,” he added.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

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
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

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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