Politics
Amaechi Tasks Education Boards On Transformation
Last week in Government House, activities started
on an inaugurative note. First was the inauguration of three state-owned tertiary institutions boards – University of Education, Rivers State College of Health Science and Rivers State Polytechnic, Bori.
The new board was inaugurated by Governor Chibuike Amaechi represented by the secretary to the State Government, Mr George Feyii.
The governor charged members of the new board to be focused saying that it is your responsibility to produce up to standard and quality so that they can compete comparatively. Amaechi also stressed the need for the board members to rise to the challenge of transforming their institutions.
Further more, he charged them to ensure that the vision the State government in education, in ensuring that the people that come out of there meet the requirement in character and learning.”
Chairman of the new Governing Board of University of Education, Dr Aaron Ikuru responded unbehalf of other members and assured that they will not fail in their new task of driving the vision of the state government to use quality education to transform the state.
On Tuesday last week, the governor inaugurated members of the different committee ahead of the mega rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to be held at the new stadium in the Greater Port Harcourt City, Omagwa.
Represented by his deputy, Engr Tele Ikuru, Governor Amaechi charged members of the different rally committees to ensure that the goal of the rally was achieved to showcase that the APC does not only exist on billboard, but on the mind of Rivers people.
On the same Tuesday, presidential hopeful and former head of state Gen Muhammadu Buhari visited the state and was received by Governor Chibuike Amaechi. Buhari who disclosed his plans to run for the presidency under the APC platform urged party faithful to keep faith and stay united to ensure the ruling party was voted out.
On his part, Governor Amaechi described Buhari as a statesman whose integrity is not in question. He assured the former head of state that he would soon hear from them and wished him well.
On Thursday, Amaechi retuned to the State and took an unscheduled visit to new stadium at the Greater Port Harcourt City. The complex is scheduled to host over 60,000 persons expected at the state APC mega rally on the 25th.
The governor shortly after inspecting the 40,000 capacity stadium told newsmen in an interview that there was no credible candidate in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) contesting for governorship in next years elections. He added that Rivers people need to vote out the PDP, since the quality of candidates are those that rob the state of its resources.
On the proposed APC mega rally, Amaechi said the event which targets 69,000 APC supporters in the state was designed to showcase the popularity of the party in the state and prove that the APC is not a billboard party as widely speculated by the Presidency.
Later in the evening of Thursday, Govenror Amaechi played host to the students of Defence College led by Brigadier Mohammed Aliyu. They were held to a cocktail dinner as part of their state study tour.
On the same evening, the governor also hosted the Best of Nollywood Award. He lauded the actors and other stakeholders in the film industry for their creativity, urging them to use film to fight against bad governance in the country.
The Senate yesterday received the 2026-2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper from President Bola Tinubu, marking the formal launch of the 2026 federal budget cycle.
In a letter addressed to the upper chamber, Tinubu said the submission complies with statutory requirements and sets out the fiscal parameters that will guide the preparation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
He explained that the MTEF/FSP outlines the macroeconomic assumptions, revenue projections, and spending priorities that will shape Nigeria’s fiscal direction over the next three years.
The letter was read during plenary by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who urged lawmakers to expedite consideration of the document.
“It is with pleasure that I forward the 2026 to 2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for the kind consideration and approval of the Senate.
“The 2026 to 2028 MTEF and FSP were approved during the Federal Executive Council meeting of December 3, 2025, and the 2026 budget of the Federal Government will be prepared based on the parameters and fiscal assumptions therein,” the President stated.
Last week, the Federal Executive Council approved the fiscal projections, pegging the oil benchmark price at $64.85 per barrel and adopting a budget exchange rate of ?1,512/$1 for 2026—figures expected to significantly shape revenue forecasts and expenditure planning.
After reading the President’s letter, Jibrin referred the document to the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), with a directive to submit its report by Wednesday, December 17.
The Senate adjourned shortly after to allow committees to commence scrutiny of the fiscal framework and continue the ongoing screening of ambassadorial nominees.
Tinubu’s communication to the Senate came less than 24 hours after he transmitted the same MTEF/FSP documents to the leadership of the House of Representatives.
The letter was read on the House floor by the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, who also urged timely legislative action as required by law.
The MTEF and FSP are statutory instruments mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act and serve as the blueprint for Nigeria’s annual budgets.
They outline the government’s fiscal stance, macroeconomic assumptions, revenue frameworks, projected deficits, and sectoral priorities over a three-year period.
The Tide reports that approval by the National Assembly is a prerequisite for the executive to present the Appropriation Bill for the next fiscal year.
In a statement on Saturday, the former Senate Leader stated that the allocation of nominees across states and geopolitical zones falls short of the constitutional requirement for fair representation in the composition of the Federal Government.
The ex-Senate Whip warned that allowing the list to pass could deepen ethnic suspicion at a time when the administration should be consolidating national unity.
He highlighted disparities in the spread of nominees, noting that while some states have three or four slots, others have none. He also cited the inclusion of Senator Adamu Garba Talba from Yobe, who reportedly died in July.
“The entire North-East states have seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively.
“North-Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominee while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Senator Ndume said.
According to him, such imbalances could heighten tensions and undermine Section 14(3) of the Constitution.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust.
“I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholder in the country. He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on the Federal Character Principle,” Senator Ndume added.
He accused the legislators of undermining the sanctity of the legislature and acting as instruments of destabilization.
“The members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have, by their actions since they assumed office, shown that they are political puppets and a clog in the wheels of democratic progress,” Comrade Ememobong stated, adding that “They will go down in history as enemies of democracy and those who made mockery of the legislature.”
“So the easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC,” he said.
Comrade Ememobong announced that the party would deploy constitutional provisions to reclaim its mandate from those who have “ignobly and surreptitiously” abandoned the platform on which they were elected.
“Consequently, the PDP will take legal steps to activate the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) to recover the mandate gained under the banner of our party which these people have now switched to another platform,” he said.
He urged party members in Rivers State to remain calm and steadfast.
“We urge all party members in Rivers State to remain faithful and resolute, as efforts are underway to rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness and equity,” Comrade Ememobong assured.
