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APC Plans To Rig Rerun Polls – Tam-George …As PDP Tackles Party On Violence Claim
The Rivers State Government has condemned as provocative and irresponsible a statement made by Acting National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Segun Oni, who claimed that Governor Nyesom Wike was responsible for the recent violence in Rivers State.
In a statement released by the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr Austin Tam-George, the State Government denied any involvement in the cult-related violence that has claimed some lives in certain sections of the state.
Dr Tam-George said the APC’s reckless and false allegations were part of a plan to incite the military and other security forces against the people of Rivers State. ‘It is a crude plan to militarize the state and use the security forces to steal the results of the forthcoming re-run election’, the commissioner said.
Dr Tam-George said investigations by the Rivers State police command have since revealed that the recent deaths arose from retributive attacks launched by rival cult gangs fighting for supremacy. The police have since arrested some key culprits who have made useful statements, the commissioner emphasized.
“The attempt by the APC to appropriate every dead person in River State as their member might mean that the APC is in fact the sponsor of these satanic cult clashes, all in an attempt to destabilize the Wike administration,” the commissioner said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Felix Obuah has said the All Progressives Congress, (APC), is mischievously behind the military invasion of some parts of the state for the purpose of rigging the March 19, 2016 National and State Assembly re-run elections.
Alarmed by the continued provocative and inciting utterances of the APC leadership both at the national and state levels, the state PDP chairman, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jerry Needam, regretted that a party that is soliciting for votes from the people could choose the unholy path of using the military to traumatize and kill the same people they want their votes during the election against all known democratic principles the world over.
Obuah noted that certain unguarded public statements credited to the Acting National Chairman of the APC, Chief Segun Oni, shows that the party has leadership problem, accounting for why the APC has crashed to the lowest ebb of public discontent.
For Oni who knows nothing about the Rivers situation to rely on the mischief of disgruntled members of his failed APC in the state, to form his opinion, Obuah pointed out, explains why the APC has continued to suffer dwindling fortunes under the Oni leadership who could not win election in his ward, yet he went on to become the national chairman of the APC most undeservedly, perhaps, thinking he could find solace in Rivers State.
Obuah stated that from available facts, the APC in its desperation to rig the forthcoming re-run elections, has resorted to the use of all the security apparatus and other illegitimate means to intimidate the people in order to have a smooth ride during the elections.
The state PDP boss said evidence abound that the recent military invasion of Ogoni and the present attack and occupation of Asari-Toru Local Government Area, among other Ijaw-speaking parts of the state, were induced by the APC.
The pattern of the military actions and arrests which target PDP members and supporters, Obuah said, further lend credence to the grand plot and connivance between the APC and the military to create panic and tension in these areas, which are PDP’s strongholds so as to pave way for their evil plan to succeed but has failed.
The state PDP boss further alleged that shortly before the attack and invasion of Akuku-Toru Local Government Area penultimate Thursday morning, the trio of Magnus Abe, Dakuku Peterside and the state Chairman of APC, Davies Ikanya, had paid a secret visit to the minister of Interior in Abuja and were also sighted at the office of Chief of Army Staff with the APC acting national Chairman.
Obuah, however, expressed confidence in the more informed and reasonable Rivers people, whom he said, had long identified the real enemies of the state and those behind its under-development, saying that those undesirable elements want to take it by either hook or crook but have failed again.
He urged Rivers people to continue to bear the persecutions and assault, as there is visible light at the end of the tunnel, which will manifest in no distant time.
“These agents of darkness that call themselves APC know that their days are numbered and are leaving nothing to chance to either have their way or destroy the State but God is surely on our side and after the re-run elections which we are sure to win again to reassert your mandate, they would have been silenced forever,” the State PDP boss declared.
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.
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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.