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Contempt: Court Jails Ahoada East Councillors
A Port Harcourt High Court in Rivers State presided over by Justice George Omereji, has sentenced four principal officers of the Ahoada-East Local Government Legislative Council to three months imprisonment with hard labour, and without option of fine for showing lack of respect to court directives.
Those sentenced include the former leader of the legislative arm, Hon Emeka Golden, Deputy Leader, Hon Goodlive Whiegbe, Chief Whip, Hon Onwudiwe Abraham as well as the clerk of the House, Mr Aaron Ikechukwu Odum.
The principal officers had earlier been convicted along side the other nine councillors of the local government council by the court following an application for committal to prison of the councillors brought by the embattled Vice Chairman of the council, Hon Britain Ewor through his counsel, Barrister Agent B. Ihun-Maduenyi in the case before the court challenging his purported impeachment and removal from office by the councillors despite the court order restraining them from such legislative exercise .
Sentencing the principal officers yesterday, the trial judge, Justice George Omereji ruled that the convicts failed to purge themselves and grab the window of opportunity earlier given them by the court to free themselves from the wrath of the law and punitive consequence of their disobedience to the court.
According to him, the court has on February 25 2013, found the principal officers, including the other nine councillors culpable of court contempt, and admitted them to bail so as to enable them show remorse to their offences before the next adjourned date.
Justice Omereji averred that the convicts were warned of the consequence if they failed to comply with the court directive.
He described the purported impeachment of the Vice Chairman by the councillors after the court had restrained them from doing so as an act meant to undermine the integrity and honour of the court.
He stated that the convicted councillors and their colleagues, rather than comply with the court directive to reinstate the vice chairman, approached an Appeal Court to challenge their conviction by the High Court.
The trial judge posited that on the 16th May, 2013, the councillors, through their counsel, Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN) brought an oral application informing the court that the matter was before an Appeal Court, and requested the court to adjourn the case beyond June 5, 2013 which is the date of hearing of the matter at the appellate court.
He averred that the oral application was not enough reason to stop the court from giving its ruling on the matter, noting that there was no evidence of notification from the Appeal Court on the matter.
‘There is no process or Appeal filed from the appellate court to my court. There is no record from the registry that the court will rely on”, he said.
‘The rule is that when a matter under trial at any lower court be it Magistrate, High and Appeal Court , and the matter is moved to a higher court of jurisdiction with evidence of proof, then, the lower court will stop hearing the matter. But in this case, it is not so”, he declared.
Justice Omereji warned that the court could not fold its arms and watch people ridicule the integrity of the court, even when their crimes are contemptuous in nature, adding that such would brew anarchy and lawlessness in the society.
However, the sentencing did not come without some legal drama displayed at the court room.
At about 11.40am, when the case was called by the court clerk and the counsel in the matter announced their appearance, and the judge was set to rule, it was observed that three of the convicts were absent.
The development forced the court to stand down the proceeding for 2 hours, 2mins and Justice Omereji directed the counsel to the defendants to ensure that all the convicts in the matter were present in the court.
He said the order became imperative because the nature of the offence committed by the convicts was “quasi criminal”, adding that the law required all the parties to be in court during the proceedings.
It would be recalled that the High Court had on the 27th of June, 2012 given an order restraining the Ahoada East Local Government councillors from impeaching the vice chairman of the council, Hon Britain Ewor pending the determination of the suit before the court, which the legislators failed to abide by but rather described the court order as “a mere pieces of paper”.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.