Politics
Rivers LGs And Amaechi’s Performance
No one would blame the Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi for evaluating last year the performances of various local government chairmen in the state. After the tour of the local government, his finding was that only four out of the 23 chairmen executed projects that had positive impact on their people. Interestingly, within two years of his saddle in the administration of the state, some of his policy implementation at the local government was uncommon and traceable to many completed projects at that tier of governance. It was on record that the state governor took over the payment of primary school teachers salary at the local government level, built more than 250 model primary schools. Again, those critical sectors which the constitution assigns specifically to the local government such as the construction and maintenance of markets and rural roads among others were shouldered by his two year old administration. No wonder that was why he was praised for rolling out the score card on local government chairmen shortly after his tour. According to Governor Amaechi, some of the local government chairmen are very reckless in expenditure. Again, he observed that some of them are not showing the required level of responsibility in regaining the confidence of the electorates that elected them into offices. Barr. Ibimina Kelechi a gubernatorial candidate under the platform of Progressive Party Alliance (PPA) for the April 14, 2007, Election in Rivers State also concurred with Governor Amaechi’s argument as he disclosed that the local government chairmen cannot restore the hope of the electorates because most of the chairmen were handpicked by their hierarchy at the People Democratic Party (PDP), contrary to the spirit of the constitution. He lamented at the low level of performance in the 23 local government areas in Rivers State. He said as a politician, his view may sound harsh but is occasioned by the frustration that many people in Rivers State feel over the stark non-performance of the local governments. According to Kelechi, most of the local government chairmen are mere puppets in power to do the bidding of their political masters. Speaking shortly after a meeting of the Governors’ Forum in Yenagoa last year, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan lamented over the low level of governance at the tier of government. The Vice President blamed no one in particular for this sad state of affairs. But Hon. Ambross Iyagbe a one time member of the House of Assembly in the old Rivers State blamed the local government chairmen for the present rot in the local government. To him, the blame is to be laid squarely at the doorsteps of both the council officials on one hand and the present cream of members in the State Assembly. According to Iyagbe it is the constitutional duty of the members in the Rivers State Assembly to oversee the local government council. He remarked that because the state legislatures is not performing their duty that the local government council get away with their fiscal responsibilities. A situation where only four local government councils performed creditably or meet the performance evaluation chart of the state governor is very sad. Today, he noted, out of the 100 per cent Federated Account Allocation, 48 per cent goes to the Federal, 52 per cent is shared between the states and local governments. But he said, unthinkable as it may sound, many a council chairmen has no idea of the number of communities under his jurisdiction so how can he effectively implement development programme to the total growth of the local government area. Chief Eze Chukwuenuke Eze, Publicity Secretary of Action Congress (AC) in Rivers State also corroborated Hon. Iyagbe’s argument as he vowed that only the Action Congress (AC) can bring total revolution in the local government system. It was no surprise therefore, he too concurred with Hon Iyagbe’s argument, as he lamented that the perpetual state of disrepair of rural roads, while most of the rural roads at the local government council continued to host potholes and gullies, despite millions of the tax payer’s money voted to fix it. Chief Eze said the unfortunate trend under development has gone on for many years at the local government council. But with the constant check and balances initiated by the state governor, most of the local government council would perform well this year. He advised the local government chairmen to improve the socio-economic condition of the rural dwellers. He also supported the proposal of the state governor to the effect that there shall be no longer automatic ticket for serving local government council chairmen. According to Eze the inclination by parties to impose or provide automatic tickets, has made accountability at the tier of governance non-existence. The result he said, was the low level of performance that Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi was lamenting. The AC publicity secretary also corroborated the submission of the state governor that the electorate should vote for persons with good track records. To Hon Tonye Brown, a councillor in Ward Three in Andoni, during the botched Third Republic, the sacking of local government chairmen by the State House of Assembly will provide accountability. He recalled that when the Better Life for Rural Dwellers was initiated by the late Maryam Babangida, the rot at the local government had not always been there. There were times when the allocation to the local government council was at near zero level, yet the council chairmen supported the better life for rural dwellers through the implementation of socio-economic programmes to improve their condition. Today, development at the local government councils is sometimes provided based on the party affiliation, noting that this has infiltrated the political system with dangerous definitions of power, nepotism, card carrying and so on. This has become he said, an antiquated stumbling stone on the path to democratic transformation at the local government areas. He argued, only the present monitoring of their performance can produce the needed optimal performance and tall expectation of the people at the local government area.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday brushed aside the order of the Court of Appeal in Abuja which ordered him to stay proceedings in a suit that sought deregistration of the African Democratic Party (ADC), Accord Party and three others.
The Court of Appeal in a unanimous decision of a panel of three Justices had on May 22, 2026 directed the Federal High Court Judge not to proceed with the suit until an appeal pending before them and filed by Accord Party is resolved.
In a Certified True Copy Enrol Order of the Superior Court, Justices Mohammed Danjuma, Adebukola Banjoko and Oyejoju Oyewumi asked the lower Court Judge to stay proceedings until all issues on the appeal filed by the Accord Party were resolved
Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State had, through the Accord Party, applied to justice Lifu to join him as a defendant in the deregistration legal battle instituted by a group of former legislators.
The contention of the Osun State governor was that he had a stake in the Accord Party, being the platform he was seeking re-election in the August 15 gubernatorial poll in the state.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu on April 27 ruled against the Osun State governor, rejecting his request to be joined in the suit to defend his own position and interest.
Not satisfied with the Federal High Court decision, the Osun State governor, through his lawyer, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), moved to the Court of Appeal in Abuja where he challenged the Justice Lifu decision to refuse to allow him join the suit.
After listening to the argument canvassed, especially that he has interest to protect as Accord Party gubernatorial candidate for Osun State governorship election, the three Justices of the Court of Appeal, unanimously directed Justice Lifu to allow them look into the grievances of the governor.
In specific terms, the Court of Appeal Justices directed Justice Lifu not to proceed further with the matter and fixed October 27 to determine the interlocutory appeal of the appellant.
However, when the certified enroll order and notice of appeal were served on Justice Peter Lifu by Mr Adetunbi (SAN), the judge rejected it on the ground that it was a ploy to arrest his judgment in the matter.
Although the judge had adjourned his judgment delivery in the matter indefinitely, he finally made a dramatic turn around on Monday and proceeded to deliver the judgment that has now proscribed the five political parties.
Actor turned politician, Mr Kenneth Okonkwo, has rejected the choice of former Rivers State Governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, as the running mate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In a statement on Monday, Mallam Bolaji Abdulllahi, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, announced the party’s choice of Mr Amaechi.
However in a statement, Mr Okonkwo said that the choice of Mr Amaechi from the South South strengthens the continued marginalization of people from the South East.
According to the former spokesperson of the Labour Party, any arrangement that would not factor a person from the South East either as president or vice president in the party is anti-Igbo.
He contended that Chief Raph Nwosu, who founded the ADC in 2005 and willingly surrendered it’s leadership to Senator David Mark did not do so to entrench Igbo marginalization in the party.
The former actor said: “I heard from the social media that ADC has picked its vice presidential candidate from the South-South. If this is true, it is unfortunate, as this will continue the crude marginalisation of the South-East.
“This geo-political zone has neither produced a president or vice president since 1999. To deny the South-East the opportunity to produce the president or vice president in the ADC in 2027, will amount to perpetuating the marginalisation.
“The ADC was founded by Ralphs Nwosu from the South-East in 2005. He made the sacrifice to give up the party in 2025 for the coalition to usher in a better Nigeria. He couldn’t have made that sacrifice to marginalise his own people.
“I did not join the coalition to assist in marginalisation of my own people further. I am of the opinion that if we made a sacrifice to give up the national chairman and the president, it will amount to unpardonable injustice to deny us the vice president in 2027.
“I joined politics to fight for a better Nigeria where no region, geo-political zone, or person will be marginalised.
“The only favour I asked Atiku Abubakar, who openly declared that he is the pathway to the presidency of the South-East, is to show it by choosing someone from the South-East to be his vice.
“If it is confirmed that he has chosen a candidate from the South-South, I wish him well. I am not favourably disposed to campaigning for any presidential ticket that does not have a person of South-East origin as president or vice in 2027”
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, on Monday said that the numerous projects being executed by President Bola Tinubu across the states in the southeast will give him upper hand over other presidential candidates during next year’s general elections.
Prof. Yilwatda stated this at the Abakaliki Township Stadium during a mega rally organized by the Ebonyi State government and Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, during which President Tinubu and other APC candidates for the 2027 general elections were adopted.
According to the APC National Chairman, no President had done for the southeast region what President Tinubu has done for them and expressed the confidence that the president would not only win in Ebonyi State but in the entire South East.
Prof. Yilwatda also used the occasion to address growing insinuations in some quarters that Ebonyi State had been conceded to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Dismissing the claim, Prof. Yilwatda said the state would not allow the PDP to win any position in the forthcoming general election.
“We will return President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Francis Nwifuru as Governor of Ebonyi State in 2027.
“We want to return all APC senators, members of the House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates in 2027.
“Nobody has conceded Ebonyi to the PDP. Therefore, there is no vacancy in Ebonyi State. Ebonyi PDP has no place, and there is no vacancy at all in the Government House come 2027,” the APC National Chairman declared.
He commended the people of the state for their support for President Tinubu and urged them to re-elect him in the next presidential election in appreciation of what he has done for the state and the entire South-East through infrastructural transformation and human capital development.
Governor Francis Nwifuru, who also spoke at the event, said the state had no other presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections apart from President Tinubu.
He declared that Ebonyi remained a stronghold of the APC and vowed that the party would deliver the President in the state.
Gov. Nwifuru said President Tinubu had shown exceptional commitment to the state and deserved total support for appointing Senator Umahi as Minister of Works, a role he said Senator Umahi had performed creditably.
“Ebonyi has no other presidential candidate apart from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and we will return him in the presidential election.
“We are standing here today to tell the whole world, especially those using the President’s name to orchestrate division and confusion in this great state, that we have only one party, and that is the APC.
“This statement became necessary because some people are going around claiming they have discussed with Mr President and that he has handed Ebonyi over to the PDP. They are also saying that Chief Nyesom Wike is their leader and that Wike said the President has given Ebonyi to him.
“Ebonyi is not for sale. We are restraining ourselves because the people are with us. Nobody should push us because we have what it takes to confront anyone trying to destabilise us.
“We want to tell Mr President that he has earned our votes. He gave us what we had never had in Eastern Nigeria — the office of the Minister of Works. And this Minister of Works is not sitting idle; he is working,” he stated.
Senator Umahi, in his remarks, said President Tinubu had done what no other President had done for Ebonyi State and the entire South-East by executing numerous projects across the state and the region.
“Ebonyi State is a one-party state under Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru. We are not going to repeat the mistakes of the past.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done a lot, not just for Ebonyi State but for the entire South-East and other geopolitical zones,” he said.