Politics
Amaechi To Admit Boko Haram Victims In State Schools
Last weekend, during the Easter celebrations, Governor
Chibuike Amaechi sued for peace and peaceful co-existence to commemorate the death and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, saying the season should be used for sober reflections. The governor was represented by his wife, Dame Judith Amaechi at various occasions during the Easter period.
Also last week, Dame Amaechi and the Deputy Governor, Engr Tele Ikuru were among dignitaries who attended a special dedication service of the land of Ikuru to God.
General Superintendent of Redemption Ministries, Rev. Stephen Akinola prayed for the ancient town. The governor’s wife later took an excursion along the beautiful Ikuru beach.
She later attended the womanhood ceremony of the wife of the state Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs Gogo Levi Charles, saying women deserve to be honoured. She thanked the commissioner for honouring his wife in a grand style. According to her, such honour attracts God’s blessings and grace.
Her Excellency also attended the Womanhood Ceremony of Mrs Grace Sam Jaja at Opobo in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area of the state.
Also during the week under review, Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs Ibi, Semenitari wasat Opobo Town for a special womanhood ceremony sponsored by wife of former Deputy Governor of the state, Dame Christy Toby. About 10 maidens participated in the Bibite and Egerebite ceremonies held in Chief Toby’s compound in the ancient town.
Returning to the state on Tuesday, Governor Chibuike Amaechi visited Abonnema Town, headquarters of Akuku-Toru Local Government Area, where he commissioned a 15KVA power generating line and Owukori Memorial Hall, including the Chibuike Amaechi Ultra-Modern Market constructed by the Chairman of the council, Theodore Georgewill.
The governor later visited the Amayanabo of Abonnema, HRH Gbobo Disrael. During the visit, he addressed the people of the area and promised to embark on a new sand-filling project and completion of abandoned projects in the area.
On Wednesday, the governor together with former Head of State, Gen Abdusalami Abubakar, the Nobel Laureatte, Prof. Wole Soyinka; former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili and representative of President Jonathan, Mrs Omolara Woods flagged off the World Book Capital in Port Harcourt.
Gen. Abubakar said the ceremony was momentous and has brought pride to the country. He, therefore, enjoined the organisers to ensure that all activities slated meet expectations of a Book Capital, as he enjoined Nigerians to work for peace and unity of the country.
In the same vein, Prof Wole Soyinka used the ceremony to call for a concerted efforts towards ending the menace of Boko Haram in the country. On his part, Governor Amaechi, while thanking God for the success, called for an urgent need to reverse the economic decline and leap from development by bringing back the book. He also promised to admit young girls who were abducted by Islamic fundamentalists in Borno State in the model secondary schools built across the state.
Non-indigenes in the state who are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) paid a solidarity visit to the Governor in Government House. The group under the banner of Non-indigenes Political Forum of APC, led by Chief Williams Ubaka, described Rt Hon Amaechi as the best governor ever produced in Rivers State and Nigeria. They also thanked him for “the uncommon transformation which his leadership has brought to the state.”
On Friday, Head of the United States Bureau of Conflict and Stabilisation, Operations and the Assistant Secretary of States, Rick Barton together with the US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle paid a courtesy visit to the governor. They intimated the governor that, they were in the state to promote a special programme to train youths in film production.
Mr Barton who expressed concern for a peaceful political transition in the country, assured that the USA was ready to offer assistance in ensuring the development of the country.
On Saturday, they governor was represented by his deputy, Engr Tele Ikuru at the Airport to welcome the President who was enroute Bayelsa State. The deputy governor later participated in the state congress of the APC at the Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre, Port Harcourt, where the APC State congress produced new substantive executive led by Chief Ibiamu Ikanya.
Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has directed his legal team to resume all court proceedings against Mrs. Tracy Ohiri over her repeated allegations of indebtedness and other claims against him.
Mrs Ohiri had publicly accused Senator Umahi of owing her N280 million for campaign materials from his tenure as party chairman in Ebonyi State.
The allegations went viral on social media, where she also accused the Minister of sexual harassment.
Security agencies arrested Mrs Ohiri, and she was subsequently prosecuted. Her lawyer, Barrister Marshall Abubakar, intervened, leading to the deletion of all posts and a public apology, which also gained widespread attention online.
However, days after the apology, Mrs Ohiri resumed her claims against Senator Umahi.
In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze, Senator Umahi said he had informed Barrister Abubakar during the intervention that if Mrs Ohiri could provide verifiable evidence, logs, and communications from the period in question, some of his associates were willing to contribute a sum of One Billion Naira (N1billion) to her, evidence which, he said, she had yet to provide.
“The Honourable Minister of Works, Senator Engr. David Umahi, has been monitoring the ongoing public discourse surrounding the claims and counterclaims by Mrs. Tracy Ohiri.
“Ordinarily, this would have been ignored, but in the interest of truth and public clarity, it is necessary to address the issues directly”, the statement read.
The statement clarified that Barrister Abubakar acted in good faith and without any financial interest, motivated solely by a desire to assist Mrs Ohiri.
At no point did the lawyer discuss or negotiate any payment with the minister, although some well-meaning associates independently offered support”, the statement added.
Senator Umahi reiterated the conditions for resolving the matter: either the claims must be tested in court, or Mrs Ohiri must provide credible evidence, including all relevant communications, to substantiate her allegations.
The minister emphasised that Barr Abubakar conducted himself with integrity throughout the process.
“Following the failure to meet these conditions, particularly the inability to provide verifiable evidence, the Minister has directed his legal team to proceed with all court processes to ensure the truth is fully established,” the statement said.
Senator Umahi said despite years of public provocations and attacks, he chose to remain silent, focusing on national and state services.
He thanked Nigerians who had taken time to assess the facts and noted that “not everyone who presents themselves as a victim truly is one, and in some cases, narratives are deliberately inverted.”
The Minister affirmed that he will not be distracted by Mrs Ohiri’s allegations and remained committed to his mandate at the Ministry of Works.
“The focus remains on results, service, and ensuring that Nigerians continue to benefit from projects that improve connectivity, economic growth, and national development. This administration will continue to pursue its transformation agenda with dedication, transparency, and an unwavering sense of responsibility,” he concluded.
A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has adjourned proceedings in a suit filed by three aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to April 14, 2026, for the hearing of all pending motions.
Justice Stephen Jumbo made the pronouncement during a recent sitting in Port Harcourt.
The suit, which borders on the legitimacy of the party’s leadership structure in the state, was instituted against the factional State Chairman of the PDP, Chief Aaron Chukwuemeka, alongside the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and other respondents.
Also joined in the matter are the PDP as a corporate entity, the Rivers State Government, as well as Obio/Akpor, Port Harcourt City and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas, including their respective Vice Chairmen and Councillors.
The claimants, Enyi Uchechukwu, Wisdom Kalio and Uche Amadi, approached the court via an originating summons seeking judicial interpretation on the validity of actions taken by the Chief Chukwuemeka-led state executive committee of the party.
Central to the dispute is whether the said executive committee, whose emergence the claimants contend has been nullified by a subsisting court judgment, retains the legal authority to act on behalf of the party in critical electoral matters.
The plaintiffs specifically urged the court to determine whether the factional leadership could validly submit a list of candidates to RSIEC for the purpose of participating in local government elections.
They further questioned the legitimacy of the PDP’s participation in the August 30, 2025 local government elections, contending that any list purportedly submitted by the factional leadership was invalid and of no legal consequence.
In addition to the declaratory reliefs sought, the claimants also prayed the court to grant consequential orders addressing the outcome and conduct of the said elections across the affected local government areas.
At the resumed hearing, counsel representing the PDP and the affected local government councils informed the court that they had only recently been served with the originating processes and accompanying documents.
The defence team, comprising several Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), disclosed that service of the court processes was effected on March 13, 2026, leaving them with limited time to adequately prepare their responses.
Consequently, the defence counsel applied for an adjournment to enable them study the processes and address the legal issues raised, particularly as they relate to jurisdictional questions and points of law.
Counsel to the claimants, Glory Chizim-Chinda, did not oppose the application, following which the presiding judge granted the request and adjourned the matter to April 14, 2026, for the hearing of all pending motions, with a possible ruling expected ahead of the substantive suit.
By: King Onunwor
A former state lawmaker in the old the Rivers State, Professor Alex Eseimokumo, has described Nigerian opposition political parties as mere preposition political parties.
He also advised the country’s electorate against selling their votes during next year’s general elections.
The former legislator, who is also the president of the Institute for Peace, Conflict Resolution and Entrepreneurial Research, said this in an exclusive interview with The Tide on the sidelines of an event organized by the institute in Port Harcourt.
He said opposition political parties in Nigeria have been reduced to preposition political parties as most of them are not only dinning with the government but advising government on what to do to win election.
“The problem in Nigeria is we are not practicing politics the way it is supposed to be.The opposition are more in preposition.
“You see, opposition is supposed to find out things that are wrong in government but in our present day politics, you see opposition even dinning with the other group. So, there is basically nothing like opposition in Nigeria “, he said.
He lamented a situation where some individuals within the opposition are allegedly working hard to prevent their parties from fielding presidential candidates in the forthcoming election, adding that such individuals were only there to protect their personal interest.
Prof. Eseimokumo said as a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he could not wish his party to fail in the election, even though nothing is impossible in Nigeria.
He noted that though the government in power has been trying it’s best, there was more to be done.
In his words, “I’m an APC member, so I don’t have the right to criticize my party but a word of advice: we still need to do more, more people oriented leadership where everybody will feel carried along.
“For now, I’m campaigning for APC to be re elected and if I stand here to say APC is not doing well, I’m not being fair to myself. But I think, with God all things are possible, there can be changes”.
On his assessment of the performances of governors of the Niger Delta states, Prof Eseimokumo said the governors were doing well within the limit of their resources.
” I don’t know what is given to them as allocation, but if what we are seeing in terms of window dressing is not window shopping, then they are doing well”, he said.
Meanwhile, Prof. Eseimokumo has advised Nigerian electorates against selling their votes during the forthcoming elections.
He said credible election could only be achieved when the electorates refuse financial inducement during the elections.
According to him, though Nigerian voters had been difficult to persuade, the time had come for them to stop selling their votes.
Prof. Eseimokumo said the forthcoming elections will serve as a litmus test for the Nigerian electorate to demonstrate their desire for changes in the country, stressing that free and fair elections will continue to be a mirage in the country until the was a change in the attitude of the electorate.
“If you want your vote to count, don’t take money from anybody; if you want your votes to count, don’t collect money for your vote. The moment you collect money for your vote, you have sold your conscience”, he warned.
He said his institute will continue to work for peace, not just in the Niger Delta region but across Nigeria.
By: John Bibor
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