Politics
Nwuke: Living His Words
The term democracy is derived from two Greek words demo and krations which means people’s rule. In ancient Greece, every adult male citizen participated in the process of reaching decisions for the governance of the community. The practice then was called direct democracy which implied that every adult male citizen must be physically present to participate in taking decisions over things that affected him and his community.
But over the years human race has increased in population and modern societies larger and more complex than the societies in the ancient Greece, and therefore it will be cumbersome to practice direct democracy. It is for this reason that modern societies, including Nigeria, have settled for representative democracy as an acceptable arrangement where the people elect some persons in a periodic, free and fair election to represent them in government.
The beauty of democracy is that those holding political offices can be challenged and displaced in accordance with the will of the people through a wide range of institutional mechanisms. Political offices are not chieftaincy stools where the occupants have life-long tenure.
For advanced democracies you would appreciate how elected representatives apply themselves to the work they were elected to do so as to sustain the confidence reposed in them by the electorate. They consider it as a mark of honour to be chosen by their fellow compatriots to initiate and implement policies and programmes that will bring about dividends of democracy for their common good.
But in developing nations, particularly in Nigeria, politicians see public office as a goldmine. They hoodwink the people with mouth-watering promises during electioneering campaigns and turn their back on them as soon as they find themselves at the corridor of power.
Nobody can gainsay the fact that Nigeria is blessed with natural and human resources. But a situation where celebrated thieves and rabble-rousers steer the ship of state is not acceptable.
The problem of Nigeria as an independent nation is centred on leadership. Nigeria has continued to suffer from the misfortune of having leaders that place their personal interest high and above the collective interest of the generality of the people.
Public utilities and institutions are collapsing by the day while those that have been entrusted with the resources of this nation are feeding fat from the commonwealth. For this country to move forward the leadership must be prepared to purge itself of corrupt elements. This, the leadership cannot achieve by mere official pronouncements. Rather, deliberate actions should be taken to ensure the delivery of dividends of democracy to the people.
It is against this backdrop that the Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi kick-started his administration by appointing Hon. Magnus Abe as Secretary to the State government (now Senator representing Rivers South-East). Chief Nyesom Wike as Chief of Staff, Government House (now Minister of State for Education) and Hon. Ogbonna Nwuke as Director of Press Affairs to the Governor, (now member, representing Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency at the National Assembly). Six months later, Hon Nwuke was elevated as Commissioner for Information when the governor constituted his cabinet. He also served as Commissioner for Commerce and Industry where he later resigned to seek his people’s mandate to represent them at the National Assembly.
Before he was invited to serve in Governor Amaechi’s government, Hon. Nwuke had carved a niche for himself as a consummate journalist both in the electronic and print media. He worked in Radio Rivers for many years, churning out well-researched and incisive commentaries that received the commendation of the public in the 1980s. He founded the Port Harcourt Telegraph in 1999 and nurtured the Newspaper to become one of the leading tabloids in the Niger Delta region.
Ogbo as he is fondly called is also a social critic. He would bare his mind on topical issues and stand on the side of the voiceless majority. When he decided to join partisan politics some people felt he would compromise himself by doing those things he copiously condemned in his write-ups, because it is widely believed that decency and selflessness are not the attributes of a Nigerian politician. Moreso, social crities more often than not merely propagate theories that are not easily implementable.
Again some of them that were privileged to occupy public offices did not fare better. They were myopic and failed to realize that it takes a team to win a tournament. Probably they would have performed creditably in a civilized clime where people work assiduously to leave enduring legacies.
However, Hon. Nwuke proved skeptics wrong when he gathered his people on Wednesday, November 7, 2012 to appreciate them for their goodwill. On that occasion he empowered 150 persons from his constituency by awarding scholarships as well as presenting motorcycles and vehicle to them.
The ceremony which took place at Okehi, the headquarters of Etche Local Government Area was attended by political stalwarts, traditional rulers, students, youths etc.
Speaking at the ceremony, Hon. Nwuke thanked the people for giving him the mandate to represent them at the National Assembly, saying “we have come to give back a little in appreciation of your goodwill”.
He emphasised the importance of education to human development, stressing that the best way to show love to a child was to send him or her to school to acquire knowledge to live a meaningful life.
He said that he had instituted a scholarship scheme for 20 students from his constituency in higher institutions of learning, pointing out that each of the beneficiaries would receive N100,000 annually for a period of four years.
The law-maker stated that he had earmarked the sum of N8 million for the scholarship scheme and advised the beneficiaries to take the studies seriously.
He also warned that he would not hesitate to withdraw the scholarship award from anyone that failed to measure up in his or her educational pursuit.
Hon. Nwuke noted that 129 Motorcyclies would been distributed to widows, ward chairmen and secretaries of his party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and other members of his constituency to aid them in their daily pursuits, adding that the Lexus Jeep was for the Etche PDP Secretary, Mr. George Nwanjoku.
He assured that he would give out 100 motorcyeles every year to members of his constituency as their representative at the National Assembly.
It is interesting to note that all those who benefitted from the scholarship scheme are indigent students.
According to the chairman of Proud To Be Etche (PTE), the group that conducted the screening exercise, Hon. Nwuke did not interfere in the selection process.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Queen Nwala expressed gratitude to Hon. Nwuke for his magnanimity.
What Hon. Nwuke has demonstrated by this singular act is that leadership entails responsibility. A good leader must embark on programmes that will positively affect the lives of his people to sustain their loyalty and support. Therefore, those who are of the opinion that Hon. Nwuke has done well should say aye, while those who have a contrary opinion should say nay.
The ayes have it.
Prof. Amupitan gave the warning on Saturday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the South-South Zonal Readiness Assessment and Interactive Staff Engagement organised ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said insecurity remained a potential challenge to the electoral process but stressed that the Commission would not allow threats against its personnel to undermine its constitutional responsibilities.
“Insecurity may pose a challenge, but our collective constitutional resolve is far stronger. Let me again send a clear message from Port Harcourt: anyone who attempts to threaten, intimidate, or harm our ad-hoc staff, NYSC members, or permanent personnel will be brought to justice under the full weight of the law,” he said.
The INEC Chairman, who was accompanied by National Commissioners, directors and technical aides, disclosed that the South-South engagement was the fifth in a series of zonal assessments, following similar exercises in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East.
He explained that his physical presence across the geopolitical zones reflected the Commission’s field-first approach, emphasising that electoral integrity must be established through effective operations at the grassroots.
According to him, the assessment would cover operational preparedness across the 123 Local Government Areas in the six South-South states.
On election security, Prof. Amupitan said INEC had moved away from reactive security arrangements traditionally activated around election day to a proactive, intelligence-driven framework known as the “ICCES Tentacle”.
He explained that the framework was designed to extend inter-agency security coordination from national and state headquarters to local government areas and Registration Area Centres, including remote communities.
He identified three critical pillars of the framework as mapping and mitigating security threats, protecting electoral personnel and infrastructure, and guaranteeing safe access to polling units.
The INEC boss said the security arrangement would provide comprehensive protection for electoral personnel, technological infrastructure, including Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and server infrastructure, as well as voters.
He added that the framework was intended to ensure that every polling unit, irrespective of its geographical location or history of security challenges, remained safe and accessible for the exercise of democratic rights.
Prof. Amupitan disclosed that the South-South security architecture comprised approximately 60 major operational formations, headquarters and state commands operating under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
The network, he said, brings together military, naval, air, police and other security and intelligence agencies across the six states.
“Together, this integrated multi-agency network represents the operational backbone that guarantees intelligence-led protection across every riverine creek, coastal axis, and land-based polling unit in the Niger Delta,” he stated.
Providing an overview of the region’s electoral significance, the INEC Chairman said the South-South had the fourth-largest voting bloc in the country, with 15,823,550 registered voters, representing 15.30 per cent of the national register.
Rivers State alone, he said, accounts for 3,736,434 registered voters spread across the 23 local government areas.
Alhaji Abubakar made the demand following revelations that some INEC registration officers allegedly abused their access to the voter registration system to introduce irregular records into the database.
In a statement issued by his Director of Strategic Communications, Mr Phrank Shaibu, the former vice-president described the development as a serious breach of the Commission’s internal safeguards and raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
He urged INEC to identify the officials implicated in the alleged misconduct and explain what disciplinary or legal measures had been taken against them.
Alhaji Abubakar also called for an independent forensic audit of the preliminary voters’ register to establish the scale of the alleged manipulation, identify affected records and determine how the questionable entries were introduced into the system.
He further insisted that INEC preserve all relevant voter records, image files, system access logs and electronic audit trails to prevent the destruction or alteration of evidence before an independent examination could be conducted.
The former vice-president also demanded that the Commission disclose the identities of companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials ahead of the 2027 polls, arguing that transparency was essential to building public confidence in the electoral process.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, had earlier disclosed during a television interview that some registration officers across the country allegedly used their official login credentials to introduce irregularities into the voters’ database.
Dr Bayode explained that the Commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System helped identify questionable records and establish how some irregularities entered the system.
He, however, clarified that not all suspicious photographs were AI-generated, as some resulted from poor registration procedures.
The development followed public concerns over suspected AI-generated photographs, alleged duplicate entries and other inconsistencies discovered in the preliminary voters’ register published online on October 26, 2026.
INEC has maintained that the published document is a preliminary register and that it is reviewing questionable records ahead of the certification of the final Register of Voters.
The controversy has intensified calls for greater transparency and accountability in the management of the voters’ register as preparations gather momentum for the 2027 general elections.
-
Rivers3 days ago
Don Seeks Repositioning Of Tech Education For Dev
-
Education3 days agoPAMO MEDICAL UNIVERSITY -Nullifies Arrest warrant on VC
-
Niger Delta3 days ago
PANDEF Seeks 50% Oil Derivation Allocation Increase
-
Education3 days agoIAUE MOVES TO END GHOST WORKERS SYNDROME AS 400 NEW NON-TEACHING STAFF UNDERGO MANDATORY ETHICS TRAINING
-
News3 days agoFresh Ebola Scare As NCDC Records Two Cases
-
News3 days ago
Customs Partners EFCC, NDLEA, Others To Tackle Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing
-
Politics3 days ago2027: South-East Govs Insist On Tinubu’s Re-election
-
Politics3 days ago2027: RIVERS GUBER CANDIDATES SIGN CHARTER TO PRIORITIZE CITIZENS’ DEMANDS